Alex Bentley scored 14 points and rookie Rachel Banham added 13 but it was not nearly enough as the Connecticut Sun were routed by the host Chicago Sky, 93-70, on opening night in the WNBA Saturday. Banham and Morgan Tuck each hit a 3-pointer to cut the Sun’s deficit to 14-13 with 1:38 left in the first quarter, but Cheyenne Parker scored the final 7 points in a 19-5 run that gave Chicago a 15-point lead and Connecticut trailed by double digits the rest of the game . . . Maya Moore had 27 points and a career-high 10 assists to help the defending league champion Minnesota Lynx open with a 95-76 win over the Phoenix Mercury . . . In other games, the Dallas Wings pushed aside the Indiana Fever, 90-79, in Indianapolis; the New York Liberty beat the host Washington Mystics, 87-76; and the Atlanta Dream topped the host San Antonio Stars, 73-63.
Soccer
FIFA official quits in protest
Domenico Scala, FIFA’s compliance chairman, resigned in protest Saturday over what he saw as a power grab by new president Gianni Infantino. Scala’s walkout — on the issue of taking hiring and firing power over himself and independent panels that monitor FIFA officials and money — comes amid claims of tension between the two men over the presidential salary. It marks a major test for Infantino’s presidency since he was elected to succeed Sepp Blatter in February promising more openness and modern leadership. Scala had overseen FIFA’s billion-dollar annual spending since 2012.
Barcelona defends its title
Barcelona left it late — very late — but finally rescued its season by pulling off five straight victories to clinch its second straight Spanish league title. Barcelona defeated Granada, 3-0, in the last round, with a hat trick by league top scorer Luis Suarez. That meant Barcelona finished 1 point ahead of Real Madrid . . . In MLS, C.J. Sapong scored the tying goal in the 24th minute in the Philadelphia Union’s 1-1 draw with the Impact in Montreal . . . Kekuta Manneh and Pedro Morales scored two minutes apart in the second half and the Vancouver Whitecaps held on for a 4-3 victory over host Toronto FC . . . Kevin Doyle scored on a header to help the Colorado Rapids tie the host Columbus Crew, 1-1 . . . Mauro Diaz and Michael Barrios scored and host FC Dallas beat the Seattle Sounders, 2-0, to end a three-game losing streak.
Olympics
Russia supports retesting
Russia says it supports retesting drug test samples from the 2014 Sochi Olympics following accusations it operated a mass doping program at the Games. GrigoryRodchenkov, the former head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory, told the New York Times he switched tainted urine samples for clean ones for athletes allegedly identified by the Russian government as being part of a state doping system. Russian officials denied operating a doping program or influencing the testing. Three gold medalists named in the Times report denied doping.
Miscellany
Cannons top Rattlers in OT
The Boston Cannons took a 15-14 overtime victory over the Rochester Rattlers in Major League Lacrosse play at Harvard Stadium, tying the game on a length-of-the-field 2-point goal by Brodie Merrill as time ran out in regulation. Davey Emala scored the winner in OT . . . Top-ranked Serena Williams and Madison Keys advanced to the Italian Open tennis final in Rome, the first time two American women have met in a final on clay since Serena beat older sister Venus in the 2002 French Open. In the men’s tournament, top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will meet in a final for the second straight week . . . Bruins forward Brad Marchand had an assist in Canada’s 5-0 win over Slovakia at the World Hockey Championship in Russia. Canada won its third straight game and secured a spot in the quarterfinals. The United States plays Germany on Sunday . . . The Washington Nationals picked up the contract option for Mike Rizzo that keeps the president of baseball operations and general manager with the organization through the 2018 season . . . Christy O'ConnorSr., one of Ireland’s best golfers and a member of 10 straight Ryder Cup teams, died at 91 . . . Unified remained unbeaten (3-0) by holding off Governor Malibu by three-quarters of a length in the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park in New York. Unified won in 1 minute, 47.14 seconds.
. . . Swmmer Katie Ledecky had a blistering final lap to finish in 4 minutes, 0.31 seconds — less than 2 seconds off her world record of 3:58.37, to win the 400-meter freestyle at the Atlanta Classic . . . Simon Pagenaud won the Grand Prix of Indianapolis for his third straight IndyCar victory and second in three years on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway . . . Justin Gatlin won the 100 meters in 9.94 seconds at the Shanghai Diamond League track an field meet in China. . . . Britain’s Lee Haskins successfully defended his IBF world bantamweight title with a unanimous points victory over Mexico’s Ivan Morales in Cardiff, Wales . . . USA Luge is staying in Lake Placid, N.Y., for at least five more years, thanks in large part to a $5 million from the Olympic Regional Development Authority toward the construction of a new state-of-the-art start ramp facility, and $1 million over the next five years from New York’s economic development agency to support marketing and promotion — namely televised events . . . Chatrice White, who led the University of Illinois women’s basketball team in scoring and rebounding last season, completed her transfer to Florida State.
