GOLF: Kelly leads in New Orleans
Jerry Kelly shot a bogey-free 3-under 69 to take a three-shot lead over Steve Marino at the Zurich Classic yesterday in New Orleans. Kelly had 13-under 203 total at TPC Louisiana. He opened with rounds of 68 and 68.
* Loren Roberts and Mark Wiebe reeled off five birdies and an eagle over the final nine holes for a better-ball 61 and 125 total, a stroke ahead of John Cook and Joey Sindelar (63) at Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in Savannah, Ga.
* Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a 4-under 69 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Norway’s Suzann Pettersen into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Corona Championship at Morelia, Mexico.
TENNIS: U.S. tied 1-1 in Fed Cup
In Brno, Czech Republic, the 19-year-old Alexa Glatch pulled off a major upset in her Fed Cup debut, dominating Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-2 to lift the U.S. to a 1-1 tie with the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost to Petra Kvitova 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the opening match on the indoor hard court at Rondo Arena. The U.S. is playing without No. 2 Serena Williams and fifth-ranked Venus Williams, who are sitting out this Fed Cup matchup.
HOOPS: Duke’s Henderson to enter draft
Gerald Henderson is entering the NBA draft but is keeping open the option to return to Duke for his senior season. The school said Henderson has not hired an agent.
BOXING: Froch KOs Taylor
Super middleweight champion Carl Froch (25-0) delivered a stunning knockout of Jermain Taylor (28-3-1) in the final round last night, stealing a fight he would have lost had it been allowed to go a few seconds longer in Mashantucket, Conn. The WBC champion trailed 106-102 on two of the judges’ scorecards entering the final round, but he knocked Taylor down with less than a minute remaining. Froch then battered Taylor against the ropes until referee Michael Ortega stopped the fight with 14 seconds left.
* Felix Sturm easily (32-2-1) easily retained his WBA middleweight title, stopping Japanese challenger Koji Sato (14-1) in the seventh round last night in Krefeld, Germany.
NFL: Steelers extend Ward’s contract
Pittsburgh WR Hines Ward, about to enter the final season of his contract, agreed yesterday with the Steelers to a contract extension that will pay him a lower salary than the $5.8 million he was to make this season but will make up the money in a signing bonus. The deal was being finalized but is expected to be worth about $22 million over four seasons.