PGA:
Phil Mickelson had a three-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer heading into the second round of the British Open at Royal Troon. Mickelson had a chance to become the first player in major championship history to shoot a 62, but he missed a birdie putt on his final hole to settle for an 8-under 63. Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker are among eight players at minus-4.
Angel Cabrera and Jhonattan Vegas are co-leaders through one round of the Barbasol Championship in Alabama after each fired 6-under 65s. Cabrera and Vegas both eagled the par-5 13th on Grand National's Lake Course, holing a 60-footer from the fringe, and birdied the two other par 5s in a bogey-free round.
MLB:
The Boston Red Sox open up the back half of the regular season tonight as they face the Yankees in New York, with Steven Wright set to open the series opener for Boston against the Yankees' Michael Pineda. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to be called up to start Saturday's game.
The Boston Red Sox have acquired All-Star lefty Drew Pomeranz from the Padres for right-handed prospect Anderson Espinoza. Pomeranz tossed a scoreless inning in Tuesday's All-Star game after opening the season 8-7 with a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts for San Diego. Baseball America ranks Espinoza as the No. 3 prospect in the Red Sox system.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are demoting struggling pitcher Shelby Miller to Triple-A Reno. Miller has been a major disappointment after being acquired in an offseason trade with Atlanta, going is 2-9 with a 7.14 ERA. He was on the disabled list with a finger injury and also pitched two games in the minors this year.
NFL:
A person with knowledge of the negotiations has told The Associated Press the Denver Broncos have increased their offer to linebacker and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller before Friday's deadline. The person says the six-year deal includes a guaranteed $70 million. Miller's agent and the Broncos agreed to the parameters of a six-year, $114.5 million deal last month, but Miller's camp held out for more guaranteed money.
New England quarterback Tom Brady is taking a pass on speaking at next week's GOP convention in Cleveland. Brady is a friend of presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Heisman winner Tim Tebow will be at the convention, along with UFC head Dana White and pro golfer Natalie Gulbis.
Buffalo Bills running back Jonathan Williams has been arrested in northwest Arkansas on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. Fayetteville police say an officer pulled over the former Razorback early Thursday after seeing his vehicle weave within its lane. A police report says Williams told the officer that he had one beer but he refused to take a blood-alcohol test, citing previous advice from his agent. Williams was booked in the Washington County jail and released two hours later. Williams was a fifth-round pick this year for the Bills after sitting out his senior season at Arkansas with a torn ligament in his foot. At Arkansas, Williams had 2,321 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns and added 345 yards receiving and six touchdowns in 36 career games.
LPGA:
Hyo Joo Kim, Mirim Lee and Haru Nomura share the first-round lead at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio. Kim had four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the second nine before closing with a bogey for a 5-under 66. Top-ranked Lydia Ko birdied her final two holes to join second-ranked Brooke Henderson in the group at 68.
NBA:
A diversity report shows that NBA hiring practices remain the best of any professional sports league when it comes to hiring people of color, but the league did see a dip in hiring women. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport in the report released Thursday gave the NBA an overall grade of A with 90.4 points, which is just a slight decline from the 92.7 points the league received on the Racial and Gender Report Card in 2015. But the NBA's gender hiring practices went from a B-plus a year ago to a B this past season. The NBA received A-plus for racial hiring practices with a score of 97.2 points. Reports are also issued on the NFL, MLB, MLS, WNBA and college sports.
The Spurs have signed Pau Gasol to bolster a front line that just lost Tim Duncan to retirement. The 7-foot Gasol averaged 16.5 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Bulls last season. He is a six-time All-Star and one of six players in NBA history to reach 19,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. Gasol won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the 36-year-old Gasol received a two-year deal worth more than $30 million.
Tour de France:
Belgium's Thomas De Gendt conquered winds of around 80 mph to win the 12th stage of the Tour de France. The conditions on Mont Ventoux forced organizers to shorten the stage by nearly four miles to 111-miles. Defending champ Chris Froome survived a crash near the finish to hold onto the yellow jersey of the overall leader. He increased his lead to 47 seconds ahead of fellow British rider Adam Yates.
NHL:
The Detroit Red Wings have signed center Luke Glendening to a four-year, $7.2 million extension that runs through the 2020-21 season. The former Michigan star had eight goals and a career-high 21 points last season after producing a career-high 12 goals and 18 points in 2014-15.
NASCAR:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not compete in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway due to symptoms of a concussion. Doctors declined to clear him to race after evaluating him in Charlotte this week. Earnhardt was involved in a 22-car wreck in Daytona earlier this month but said last weekend that he was feeling fine and thought the problem was allergies.
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