TENNIS: Venus Williams has reached the Wimbledon final for the ninth time. The five-time champion at the All England Club will play Garbine Muguruza for the title on Saturday. Williams improved to 9-1 in Wimbledon semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, who was hoping to become the first British woman to reach the final since Virginia Wade won it in 1977. At 37, Williams is the oldest Wimbledon finalist since Martina Navratilova was the 1994 runner-up at that age. It will be the second trip to the Wimbledon final for Muguruza, who advanced by beating unseeded Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1.
MLB: The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs have found the pitching help they were looking for just a few miles from Wrigley Field. The Cubs acquired left-handed ace Jose Quintana from the White Sox in a major trade between crosstown rivals that could shake up the NL Central race.
— Chicago White Sox reliever Nate Jones has undergone season-ending arm surgery. Sidelined since April 28 because of inflammation in his right elbow, he experienced discomfort during a throwing session last week.
— The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired left-handed reliever Tyler Webb from the New York Yankees for minor league first baseman Garrett Cooper. Webb was assigned to Triple-A following the trade. He had a 4.50 ERA in seven appearances this year season with the Yankees without recording a decision. Cooper was batting .366 with 17 homers and 82 RBIs at Triple-A.
— The Washington Nationals say they've "won a major legal victory." An appeals court has ruled that a committee of Major League Baseball owners and executives can determine the amount of rights fees the Nationals can earn from television broadcasts of their games. It's the latest chapter in a long dispute between the Nationals and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is controlled by the Baltimore Orioles. In 2015, a New York judge threw out an arbitration decision that said the network owed the Nationals about $298 million for the team's 2012-16 television rights.
— The Tampa Bay Rays have placed injured outfielder Colby Rasmus on the restricted list after the player's decision to 'step away from baseball. The team did not provide specifics, instead saying in a brief statement that the club fully supports the player deciding to leave. Respecting the privacy of Colby and his family, the Rays say they will have no further comment. Rasmus, who signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent last winter, had been on the 10-day disabled list since June 23 with left hip tendinitis.
Tim Tebow hit the first game-ending home run of his pro baseball career Thursday night, lifting the Class A St. Lucie Mets over the Daytona Tortugas 5-4 in a seven-inning game. The former NFL quarterback went deep with one out against Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer Austin Orewiler, hitting a first-pitch fastball over the fence in left field. It's his third home run in 16 Florida State League games following a promotion from Class A Columbia, and his sixth home run in 80 games overall in his first season as a minor leaguer. Tebow has hit safely in 11 straight games and is batting .327 with St. Lucie.
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona rejoined his team Thursday for an extended stay in Northern California, one week after undergoing a minor procedure for an irregular heartbeat. Wearing his familiar uniform, Francona smiled and laughed as he talked about his health while the Indians held an evening workout at the Oakland Coliseum. Cleveland begins a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday. The 58-year-old Francona was supposed to manage the American League during Tuesday's All-Star Game but opted out after undergoing a cardiac ablation procedure at the Cleveland Clinic on July 6.
NBA: A person with knowledge of the details says the New York Knicks have promoted Steve Mills to president and hired Scott Perry as general manager. Mills takes over the position left vacant by Phil Jackson's departure last month, the person told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person was granted anonymity because no announcement had been made. Perry was the executive vice president of operations for the Sacramento Kings and previously held front-office roles for other organizations. Mills returns to the role he held briefly before Jackson was hired in March 2014 and Mills was made his general manager.
In other NBA news:
— A person with knowledge of the situation says the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets are still talking about a trade involving Carmelo Anthony but that no deal is imminent. The person says Anthony has told the Knicks he would accept a move to the Rockets but the teams are still trying to find a trade that works for both sides. Anthony has a no-trade clause and would have to agree to any deal. He has told the Knicks he would waive it to go to Houston or Cleveland.
— The Denver Nuggets have announced the signing of four-time All-Star Paul Millsap. The former Atlanta forward, a highly coveted free agent, agreed to a three-year deal worth $90 million.
— The Dallas Mavericks have signed another big forward from Dirk Nowitzki's hometown in Germany. A week after Nowitzki got a new contract for his 20th season with the Mavericks, the team on Thursday signed Maxi Kleber, a 25-year-old from Wurzburg, Germany, who played professionally in Europe the past eight seasons.
—The Los Angeles Lakers have signed summer league standout Alex Caruso to a two-way contract. Caruso spent last season with Oklahoma City's G League affiliate after going undrafted out of Texas A&M. After joining the Lakers for summer league play, the guard cemented his impressive performance Monday by getting 18 points and nine assists against Sacramento.
—The Washington Wizards have matched the Brooklyn Nets' $106 million, four-year offer sheet to keep forward Otto Porter. Under NBA rules, the Wizards had two days to match Brooklyn's offer sheet for the 24-year-old restricted free agent. Porter becomes Washington's highest-paid player for the time being, ahead of guards Bradley Beal and John Wall.
— A person with direct knowledge of the deals says the Utah Jazz have reached agreements to sign free agents Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh. The Jazz also released Boris Diaw, whose 2017-18 salary would have been guaranteed Saturday.
NHL: Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. is considering selling the NHL team. Hurricanes spokesman Mike Sundheim said in a statement that Karmanos is deciding whether to accept an offer for the franchise or remain the owner, but he declined to say who made the offer.
The offer could have come from former Texas Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg. Bloomberg News and WRAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, reported that Greenberg is close to purchasing the team and will not move the Hurricanes. Bloomberg reported the sale price at roughly $500 million. Karmanos bought the Hartford Whalers franchise in 1994 and moved it to North Carolina three years later. He had been publicly seeking a local buyer for at least three years.
— The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed Andrei Loktionov, the Russian center who won a Stanley Cup ring with the club in 2012. Loktionov was a fifth-round pick by the Kings in 2008, and he played 59 games with Los Angeles over three seasons from 2009-12.
— The New York Rangers have agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with forward Lias Andersson, the No. 7 overall pick last month. The 18-year-old Andersson had nine goals and 10 assists in 42 games last season for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League.
—The San Jose Sharks have re-signed forward Chris Tierney to a one-year contract. The 23-year-old had 11 goals and 12 assists in 80 games for San Jose last season. For his career, he has 24 goals and 40 assists in 202 games — all with the Sharks.
— The Calgary Flames re-signed forward Micheal Ferland to a two-year, $3.5 million contract Thursday. The 25-year-old restricted free agent had 15 goals and 10 assists in 76 regular-season games last season
PGA: Charles Howell III and Ollie Schniederjans each shot 8-under 63 in perfect morning conditions Thursday to share the first-round lead in the John Deere Classic.
Howell birdied seven his first nine holes and added a birdie on No. 7 at rain-softened TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois. The two-time PGA Tour winner lost a playoff to Kyle Stanley two weeks ago in the Quicken Loans National.
Schniederjans birdied five of his last eight holes in his lowest round of the PGA Tour. He earned a PGA Tour card last year through the Web.com Tour.
Local favorite Zach Johnson was two strokes back at 65 along with Rory Sabbatini, Patrick Rodgers and Chad Campbell. Johnson, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, won the 2012 tournament.
Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters winner making his first Quad Cities start in seven years, opened with a 69. Fifty-year-old Steve Stricker, the winner from 2009-11 at Deere Run, had a 73.
Defending champion Ryan Moore had a 74 in his return from strained tendon in his left shoulder that sidelined him for five weeks.
The British Open is holding one spot for the leading player among the top five who is not already exempt next week at Royal Birkdale.
Larry Mize birdied half the holes and shot an 8-under 64 Thursday for a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Senior Players Championship. Seeking his second win on the PGA Tour Champions, the 58-year-old Mize was 5 under after the front nine. He made his only bogey on the par-4 10th hole but rebounded with birdies on 14, 15 and 16. Three-time defending champion Bernhard Langer, Corey Pavin and Steve Flesch were one shot back. Langer enjoyed a bogey-free round on the 7,196-yard Caves Valley Golf Course. Langer played in a threesome with Brandt Jobe, who was 8 under before pushing a 7-iron off the tee and into the water on No. 17. That led to a double bogey, and he bogeyed 18 to shoot 66.
LPGA: Shanshan Feng shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 and held a one-shot lead over Amy Yang on Thursday when the first round of the U.S. Women's Open at a quiet Trump National Golf Club was suspended by darkness. Despite complaints over playing the biggest event in women's golf on a course owned by President Donald Trump, there were no apparent protests Thursday over his comments about women. The road outside the club was relatively traffic-free and those in in attendance were there for the golf. The only problem was the weather. Lightning delayed play for 2 hours, 5 minutes late in the afternoon and the horn sounded to stop play for the day at 8:33 p.m. Play was scheduled to resume at 7 a.m. Friday.
Lydia Ko played in the same threesome with Feng and finished at 68 along with top-ranked So Yeon Ryu, the only two-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour. Carlota Ciganda also was 4 under with a hole left.
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