GOLF
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) - Sergio Garcia surged to the top of the leaderboard by shooting a 7-under-par 65 in the second round of the Houston Open.
The Spaniard’s overall score of 12-under 132 matches the 36-hole low at the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston, and he’s one shot ahead of Matt Kuchar.
Garcia, opening on the back nine, climbed the leaderboard with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on his front nine. His eagle on No. 13 came after sticking his 282-yard second shot to 5 feet.
First-round co-leader Bill Haas followed his opening 65 with a 2-over 74 in gusty conditions. The other first-round leader, Charley Hoffman, fell to 3 under overall.
Phil Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 and is 6 under overall, six shots back of Garcia.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) - Lexi Thompson found a putting touch to match her power game in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
The 19-year-old Thompson, already a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour, shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 at Mission Hills for a share of the lead with Se Ri Pak.
Thompson had only 25 putts after taking 35 in a first-round 73.
Pak birdied the final hole for a 70 to match Thompson at 7-under 137 in the first major championship of the year. The 36-year-old South Korean player won the last of her five major titles in 2006 and has 25 LPGA Tour victories.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) - LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan weighed on Golf Digest’s provocative cover featuring Paulina Gretzky.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed and frustrated by the editorial direction (and timing) Golf Digest has chosen with the announcement of its most recent magazine cover,” Whan said in a statement at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the tour’s first major tournament of the year.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Danny Manning grew up watching Wake Forest play games at the Greensboro Coliseum, memories that linger in his mind all these years later.
He never thought one day he’d coach the Demon Deacons.
Manning, the former Kansas star who spent the past two seasons coaching Tulsa, was hired as Wake Forest’s basketball coach. He’ll be introduced at a news conference next week on campus in Winston-Salem, N.C., a short drive from where Manning grew up.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A federal query into whether Florida State University adequately investigated whether Heisman Trophy-winner Jameis Winston sexually assaulted another student could result in the school losing federal funding, but history suggests a settlement will be reached instead, officials said Friday.
The woman who accused the quarterback of raping her in 2012 filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which decided the university should be investigated for possible Title IX violations over the way it responds to sexual violence complaints. After an investigation by Tallahassee police and prosecutors, officials announced in December that Winston would not be charged.
PRO FOOTBALL
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that coach John Fox has agreed to a new three-year contract with the Denver Broncos.
The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced, said the team ripped up Fox’s 2014 contract and replaced it with a deal that runs through 2016.
Fox has gone 37-17 with three AFC West titles in his three seasons in Denver.
SEATTLE (AP) - The first major contract extension finalized by the Seattle Seahawks following their Super Bowl title was a commitment to coach Pete Carroll - and to an ideology that finally proved successful at the professional level.
The Seahawks locked up Carroll through the 2016 season with a three-year extension announced Friday. The new contract rips up the final year of the original five-year deal Carroll signed in January 2010, and cleared up any uncertainty whether the 62-year-old coach wanted to stick around after his original deal expired.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Champ Bailey will get to chase a Pro Bowl record and another Super Bowl appearance with the New Orleans Saints.
The veteran cornerback agreed to a two-year contract with the Saints, with a maximum value that approaches $7 million, including guaranteed money and a signing bonus in the first year. The 35-year-old Bailey played the past 10 seasons with Denver after spending his first five in the NFL with Washington.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The CJ2K era is over in Tennessee, just the latest step by the Titans in their franchise makeover.
The Titans told Chris Johnson they are releasing him Friday after six seasons to avoid paying $8 million the running back is due in 2014, along with the final three seasons left on the $53.5 million contract he signed in September 2011. His release comes before the Titans start their offseason program Monday with new coach Ken Whisenhunt.
BASEBALL
CLEVELAND (AP) - Only hours before this season’s home opener, the Indians guaranteed Jason Kipnis will be around for more than a few more.
The All-Star second baseman agreed to a $52.5 million, six-year contract, binding him to the Indians through the 2019 season. The deal includes a club option for 2020.
TENNIS
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - It proved tough to be a top seed at the Family Circle Cup this week.
No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic and No. 3 seed Sara Errani were both upset in the quarterfinals, leaving sixth-seeded Eugenie Bouchard as the lone top-10 seed left in the semifinals.
Jankovic fell to Bouchard 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to start the round of eight before 17-year-old qualifier Belinda Bencic pulled off an even bigger shocker by eliminating Errani, a runner-up at the French Open in 2012.
AUTO RACING
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Chase Elliott used a strong move on the outside to pass Kevin Harvick for the lead at Texas Motor Speedway and then sailed away his first career Nationwide Series victory.
The 18-year-old won in his sixth career start and is the second youngest winner in series history. He’s roughly four months older than Joey Logano, who was 18 years and 21 days when he won his first career Nationwide race in 2008.
Elliott won in a Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 9 as a tribute to his father, 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott.
OLYMPICS
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - More than 2,000 construction workers were off the job Friday in the second day of a strike that has slowed work at the Olympic Park, the main cluster of venues for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
A spokesman for the construction consortium Rio Mais said he was not sure when work would resume.
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