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Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 3-11

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Chicago Tribunei
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Chicago, Illinois
Issue Date:
Page:
3-11
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Chicago Tribune Chicago Sports Section 3 Sunday, July 3, 2016 11 GOLF TENNIS BASKETBALL 'TBT has plain name, big games, $2M purse PGA BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL Scramble doesn't drop Day Piercy tied for lead; Johnson 3 shots back By Doug Ferguson Associated Press AKRON, Ohio Jason Day wanted to expand his lead Saturday in the Bridgestone Invitational. He was happy just to keep a share of it. Spraying tee shots all over Firestone, Day spent most of the afternoon scrambling for par until he made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole that settled him down in a hard-earned round of 1-under 69 to share the lead with Scott Piercy. "I felt like Mr. Havercamp out of 'Caddyshack' trying to find his golf ball and not knowing where the golf hole goes," Day said.

But he could find the bottom of the cup, including three par putts of at least 8 feet. Piercy, coming off a runner-up finish in the U.S. Open two weeks ago at Oakmont, quickly tied Day for the lead with an eagle on the par-5 second hole and was flawless until the final hole. He had a one-shot lead until pulling his tee shot into the left rough, running a low shot through the green and into a back bunker, and having to scramble just to escape with a bogey and a 67. They were at 5 -under 205, the highest 54-hole score at this World Golf Championship since 2007.

Only nine players remained under par, and given the firm conditions of Firestone, Day believes all of them have a chance. David Lingmerth of Sweden had a 69 and was one shot behind. The big move Saturday belonged to U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, who hits it a long way and has a short memory. Johnson was 5 under through 11 holes and closing in on the lead when he played the final seven holes in 1 over for a 66.

Still, that was enough to get him to 2-under 208, three shots behind, along with Charl Schwartzel (67) and William McGirt(70). Jordan Spieth reached a turning point on the 16th. He was starting to make putts when he debated whether to hit 3-wood on the 654-yard 16th hole, thinking he could keep it away from the water and try to make his birdie from the rough. His third shot came up just short and into the water. His next shot went over the green and he couldn't get up-and-down, making triple bogey.

Spieth said his caddie talked him out of the 3-wood, and he agreed. Spieth had another 71 and was five shots behind. Piercy had no such issues. He holed a bunker shot on the second hole for eagle and didn't have any stress in his round except for the 35-foot par putt he holed from the back fringe on the 14th hole. The final hole cost him the lead, but he is driving it well enough to think he has a strong chance to pick up his fourth career victory.

"I know I can do it," Piercy said. "It's just doing it on a consistent basis like a Jordan or a Jason and those guys." ADAM PRETTYGETTY No. 1 Novak Djokovic has a moment to reflect on his way out of Wimbledon after losing to Sam Querrey in the third round Saturday. WIMBLEDON Chase is over for Djokovic St. Xavier to host 12 games in tournament featuring 64 teams By Teddy Greenstein Chicago Tribune Remember Bill Veeck? He launched fireworks to celebrate White Sox home runs, let spectators vote on in-game managerial decisions and once sent a midget to home plate.

His legacy lives on, indirectly, in an event coming to Chicago this month. Jon Mugar channeled Veeck years ago when he asked a friend: "What if we threw down a life-changing sum of money, $50 million, and said: Any basketball team can play for it." At the time Mugar was a Second City-trained comedy writer in southern California with a trailblazing spirit, borrowing a page from the 1962 autobiography "Veeck as in "One thing I want to do on this planet," Mugar said, "is to leave things behind that wouldn't otherwise be there." His creation, The Basketball Tournament, features dozens of former NBA players and NBA hopefuls batding it out for a top prize that has surged to $2 million in the event's third year. The tournament begins Saturday, and the ESPN networks will broadcast 11 of the games. Some of the teams have sponsors, such as the "120 Sports" crew put together by Tim Doyle, who once held Northwestern's single-season assists record and is now an on-air personality for the Chicago-based digital sports media company. "I've always been a big fan of said 120 Sports President Jason Coyle.

"It happened to work perfecdy (for sponsorship) because Tim put together a team that's in line with how we think of ourselves young, smart guys who are well coached." Let's take a look at the event How many teams are entered? About 350 applied for 64 spots. Most were selected based on fan votes, with "Purple and Black" receiving the most nods Former Kansas State players make up the bulk of the team, but an exception is former Illinois star Demetri McCamey, who has played overseas and in the NBAs Development League. Each region (Chicago, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Los Angeles) has 16 teams. Players must be at least 18, and there's no entry fee. Will the Chicago games be played at DePaul, like last year? Nope, the on-campus gymnasium is unavailable because of a volleyball camp.

So the 12 Chicago games (July 16-17) will take place at the Shannon Center at Saint Xavier University. Who should we root for? The second most-popular team after "Purple and Black" is a band from the University of Kentucky called "The Bluegrass Boys" featuring Bulls legend Marquis Teague. And by legend, we mean legendary flameout In about two years' time, Teague went from first-round pick to Oklahoma City of the NBADL. The No. 3 team (by popularity) in the bracket is "Spartan Heroes," which lists Tom Izzo as a "booster" and has a loaded roster that includes: Charlie Bell, Korie Lucious, Raymar Morgan, Derrick Nix, Delvon Roe and Travis Walton.

The top players have a listed "salary" of $120,000 their take if their team wins the title. cruised through Omaha with victories in both butterfly races as well as the 200 individual medley. Assuming he is on all three men's relays in Rio, he'll get a chance to add six more medals to his already massive collection 18 golds and 22 medals overall. The second Olympic spot in the 100 fly went to Tom Shields, who touched in 51.20 to barely beat out Seth Stubblefield (51.24) and Jack Conger (51.26). "I have a lot of emotion, with Boomer and with the family here, and being my last meet on American soil," Phelps said.

"We did everything that we wanted to do." Track and field: AUyson Felix advanced to the final of the women's 400 meters at Olympic CHRIS CHAMBERSGETTY Former Northwestern guard Michael "Juice" Thompson will play for the "120 Sports" team. Anyone else? Yes, the "120 Sports" team contains former Northwestern players Juice Thompson, Craig Moore and Drew Crawford. This wouldn't be a Wildcats team if injuries were not a factor: John Shurna, the 2012 Big Ten scoring champion, broke his right arm in early June while playing for Valencia in Spain. He is out. Purdue's Robbie Hummel will play if his surgically repaired left shoulder responds well to the final stages of rehab.

Crawford played in Israel last season and will suit up for the Raptors in the 2016 Las Vegas NBA Summer League. If the Raptors advance to the playoffs, Crawford could be tied up July 16 (quarterfinals) and July 17 (semis) and will just have to hope that "120 Sports" can advance to the Sweet 16 without him. Doyle supplemented the former Northwestern players with the likes of Justin Sears, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year for Yale, and former Georgetown forward Nate Lub-ick. Former DePaul coach Pat Kennedy will call the shots from the bench. "I wanted to get someone credible," Doyle said.

"And Pat let his teams play. In terms of X's and O's, he's not Tom Thibo-deau. But he's familiar with the Princeton offense and can draw up inbound plays." From humble beginnings Mugar created the event in 2014. He and business partners put up the $500,000 top prize, leaving no money for marketing. Thanks largely to a Grandand.com piece by Zach Lowe, word spread on social media But slowly.

"For a while the only team that registered was called James and the Dudes' and they hadn't played beyond the eighth grade," Mugar said. "This was a disaster. We were going to end up paying $500,000 to guys who were horrible at basketball. But then teams from St. Anthony's and (eventual champion) Notre Dame joined, and it grew.

We had 130 teams apply. "The first game, (former Ole Miss star) Marshall Henderson shows up a minute before tip with his jersey slung around his neck and says: 'OK, let's play some For the first time, the event will get prime time coverage from ESPN. Mugar worries about referees and temptations, but said his crew has been vetted and that they're "the best in the world." The $2 million winner-take -all tide game will take place Aug. 2 at Rose Hill Gym at Fordham University in New York. Fans will share in the winning team's booty, with $200,000 set aside based on social media participation.

The top fan gets $20,000. The tournament is getting big, matching Mugar's aspirations. His dream venues? Madison Square Garden and Michigan Stadium. The Big House. tgreensteintribpub.com Twitter TeddyGreenstein home race5 trials in Eugene, finishing her lap in 50.31 seconds, .03 behind Francena McCorory.

Felix is nursing an injured right ankle that she said is still bothering her. She is aiming for a double in the 200 and 400 meters, and so far, the ankle injury has done nothing to change those plans. The final is set for Sunday. Later in the day, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Trayvon Bromell and Mike Rodgers all advanced easily through the first round of 100-meter qualifying. Gadin won his heat in 10.03 seconds, to move one step closer to a possible Olympic showdown with Usain Bolt Gadin lost to Bolt by .01 seconds last year at world championships.

dominant with his powerful serve, won 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) and made good on the two-set lead he built Friday when the match was suspended because of rain. "I slept great," Querrey said. "I'm a pretty relaxed guy. Got back here today and went to work." Querrey moves on to the Round of 16 to play France's Nicolas Mahut. In terms of tournament favorites, the spotlight now swings to Scotland's Andy Murray, who won here three years ago and became the first British player to claim a Wimbledon singles tide since Virginia Wade in 1977.

Saturday's conclusion to the two-day Querrey-Djokovic match was staged in frustrating spurts under churning skies, with rain delays coming after 17, 25 and 53 minutes of play. By all appearances, that played right into the hands of the underdog, as Djokovic never had a chance to keep his momentum going after winning the first five games of the day. Querrey's massive serve was a huge factor, too, and it only grew more pronounced as the match rolled along. He finished with 25 aces against the toughest player to ace with 15 of those coming in the decisive fourth set Querrey is the first American to beat a player ranked No. 1 in the world since John Isner knocked off Djokovic three years ago in Cincinnati.

samuelwilliamfarmertribpub.com 28th-seeded Querrey scuttles No. 1 player's run at Grand Slams By Sam Farmer Tribune newspapers LONDON Reign, suspended. The world's No. 1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic, is out of Wimbledon. In a stunning upset that was repeatedly delayed because of showers, the two-time defending champion was ousted in the third round Saturday by Sam Querrey, a native Californian seeded 28th in this storied tournament.

"It's an unbelievable win," said Querrey, 28. "To do it here at Wimbledon is really special." It was a shocking dismissal of Djokovic, who had won four majors in a row and was halfway to a so-called calendar Grand Slam, requiring same-year victories in Wimbledon, along with the Australian, French and U.S. Opens. Djokovic already had won the Australian and French. "It's an amazing feeling to be able to hold four Grand Slams at the same time," said Djokovic, 29.

"Coming into Wimbledon, I knew that mentally it's not going to be easy to remotivate myself. But the importance of this tournament is so immense that you always find ways to get inspired and prepare and try to give your best "Obviously, my best wasn't enough this year." The 6-foot-6 Querrey, who was 3, rallies to win 100 butterfly in his 'final OLYMPIC TRIALS Phelps 3 for Tribune news services Michael Phelps wasn't about to lose his last race in the United States. With his huge wingspan cutting through the water, Phelps dazzled the home fans one last time. Phelps made it three-for-three at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, rallying on the return lap to win the 100-meter butterfly Saturday night in Omaha, Neb.

In what was billed as the farewell race in his home country, Phelps competed in Lane 7 after a sluggish swim in the semifinals. As usual, it took him a lap to really get going, making the turn in fourth place. But Phelps powered to the front, as he has done so many times. Even with a long glide to the wall, he finished in 51.00 seconds. When Phelps saw the "1" beside his name, he pounded the water and pointed toward his family including 7-week-old son Boomer in the stands.

He'll now get a chance to win his fourth straight gold in the 100 fly at Rio. When his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, asked for a game plan before the race, Phelps kept it simple. "I don't want to lose my last race on American soil," he said. "That was ldng of in my head." Katie Ledecky and Maya DiRa-do also won their third individual events on the next-to-last night of the trials, while Nathan Adrian made up for the disappointment ON THE CLOCK Days until the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. of four years ago by winning the 50 freestyle.

For Ledecky, it has been the dominating performance everyone expected, this one a nearly 10-second victory in the 800 freestyle. For DiRado, it has been a huge surprise, the first-time Olympian setting herself up to make quite a splash before she retires at age 23. Phelps, of course, is also planning to retire for the second time as soon as his fifth Olympics are over. At 31, he.

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