Monday’s Sports Briefs – Washington Times

BASEBALL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A woman says she had a sexual relationship with former baseball great Pete Rose in the 1970s, starting when she was 14 or 15 years old.

Her sworn testimony was submitted as part of a federal lawsuit Rose filed last year in Philadelphia against a lawyer whose investigation got him kicked out of baseball for gambling. Rose alleges John Dowd defamed him in 2015 by saying Rose raped girls during spring training.

Rose’s lawyer says the woman’s submitted testimony is “a big distraction” that shows Dowd can’t defend himself in the case.

The woman, identified as “Jane Doe,” says they began a sexual relationship in Cincinnati in 1973 that lasted several years.

Rose says in a statement accompanying Monday’s filing that he did have a relationship with the woman – starting when she was 16, which is the age of consent in Ohio.

CHICAGO (AP) – Steve Bartman is getting a World Series championship ring from the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs announced they were giving a ring to the fan remembered for deflecting a foul ball that might have landed in left fielder Moises Alou’s glove with Chicago five outs from the World Series in 2003.

Bartman was harassed after the incident and has avoided the spotlight since then. Chicago beat Cleveland last fall for its first championship since 1908.

The Cubs say they “hope this provides closure on an unfortunate chapter” and Bartman “continues to be fully embraced by this organization.”

Bartman released a statement saying he is “deeply moved and sincerely grateful.” He praised team owners the Ricketts family and management, and called the ring a reminder of “how we should treat each other in today’s society.”

GOLF

Rory McIlroy has fired his caddie and will use his best friend at the Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship, according to published reports.

Reuters cited a source it did not identify as saying McIlroy has parted ways with J.P. Fitzgerald. They have worked together for the past nine years, during which McIlroy has won four major championships and reached No. 1 in the world.

McIlroy is due to speak about the change Wednesday at the Bridgestone Invitational.

The Telegraph reported that McIlroy’s caddie at the next two tournaments will be Harry Diamond.

It is the second significant player-caddie split this summer. Phil Mickelson and Jim “Bones” Mackay decided to end 25 years together. Mackay since has taken a job as an analyst on the course at NBC Sports.

HOCKEY

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets is getting a one-year contract extension following a season in which he was the NHL’s Coach of the Year.

General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced the move. Financial terms were not released.

Tortorella was entering the last year of a five-year, $10 million deal he signed with Vancouver in 2013.

Since joining Columbus on Oct. 21, 2015, Tortorella has led the Blue Jackets to an 84-57-16 record and .586 winning percentage.

Columbus had a 50-24-8 record and 108 points last year, the NHL’s fourth-best record. This was a 32-point turnaround from 2015-16.

TENNIS

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Maria Sharapova played her first WTA match in the United States since 2015 and beat Jennifer Brady 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 in the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic.

Sharapova, a wild-card entrant and five-time Grand Slam champion, won the opening four games of the match, lost the first three of the second set and cruised in the third.

Sharapova served a 15-month ban after testing positive for a newly banned drug at the 2016 Australian Open. She returned in April and played in three tournaments, but missed Wimbledon because of an injury.

Top-seeded and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza will play 17-year-old American Kayla Day, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Japanese veteran Misaki Doi.

Ana Konjuh, the No. 5 seed from Croatia, won 6-3, 1-0 after New Zealand qualifier Marina Erakovic retired from the match with an injury. Seventh-seeded Lesia Tsurenko beat Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena 6-3, 6-3.

NEW YORK (AP) – Get ready for U.S. Open Tennys.

American Tennys Sandgren was moved into the main draw for the tournament when Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka withdrew to continue his recovery from a knee injury.

Nishioka was injured in March while playing in the Miami Open.

Sandgren, ranked No. 106, will be making his U.S. Open main-draw debut. The 26-year-old Tennessee native lost in the first round of the French Open in what was his first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.

Sandgren’s parents gave him his great-grandfather’s first name.

ATHLETICS

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Olympic 800-meter champion and world-record holder David Rudisha withdrew from the world championships after straining a thigh muscle in a training session in Kenya.

The double world and Olympic champion said an MRI scan on the right-leg injury showed it would not heal in time for the championships, which open at London’s 2012 Olympic Stadium on Friday. The 800 heats are on Saturday.

The injury happened last week, but Kenyan team officials gave Rudisha as long as possible to see if there was any chance of him recovering in time to defend his world title. The team leaves for London on Tuesday.

Rudisha announced his withdrawal on Twitter , saying it was “sad and disappointing.” Rudisha’s tweet was accompanied by a photo of his injured leg with strapping on it.