LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea reclaimed the lead in England ― at least for a day ― Atletico Madrid remained in front in Spain and Bayern Munich’s record 53-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga ended with a 1-0 loss to Augsburg on Saturday.Chelsea provisionally dislodged Liverpool from the top spot by cruising to a 3-0 victory over Stoke, while title rival Manchester City routed Southampton 4-1.Atletico found it tougher, only overcoming Villarreal 1-0, while Barcelona beat Real Betis 3-1 and Real Madrid r

SoccerApril 6, 2014

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) ― Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson topped the Kraft Nabisco leaderboard, setting up a possible final-round showdown the LPGA Tour has been waiting for.The 24-year-old Wie shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Saturday to match Thompson at 10-under 206 at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year.“I think Lexi is a really entertaining golfer,” Wie said. “I like to think I’m somewhat entertaining as well. So, I think the both of us paired together is great. I

GolfApril 6, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Madison Bumgarner struck out 10 while working into the seventh inning and the San Francisco Giants beat Los Angeles 7-2 Saturday as Yasiel Puig returned to the starting lineup for the Dodgers.Puig started in right field and batted leadoff a day after he was benched for arriving late for stretching and batting practice before opening day at Dodgers Stadium. He went 1 for 4, and was picked off first in the third inning for the final out with Adrian Gonzalez at bat.Michael Morse

BaseballApril 6, 2014

SoccerApril 4, 2014

Shanshan Feng picked the brain of a wily veteran en route to grabbing the clubhouse lead at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major of the women’s golf season, on Thursday. Feng, China’s first winner on the LPGA Tour, carded seven birdies and one bogey for a six-under 66 to head teenage amateur Angel Yin by two strokes with half the field in the clubhouse at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Feng played her opening round with three-time Kraft Nabisco Championship w

GolfApril 4, 2014

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) ―Venus Williams couldn’t dig herself out of a hole this time and lost to Eugenie Bouchard of Canada 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-4 at the Family Circle Cup on Thursday. Williams fought back in each of her first two matches to advance. She seemed to follow the same game-plan in this one, rallying from a set down to win the second set and lead 2-1 in the third. That’s when Bouchard took over, breaking Williams’ serve twice in the third set, including the final game. “She played

More SportsApril 4, 2014

Juventus scored late to beat Lyon 1-0 and take a big stride toward the Europa League semifinals while Benfica and FC Basel also won to move within sight of a second straight appearance in the last four on Thursday. Leonardo Bonucci poked home Juventus’ 85th-minute winner in its quarterfinal first leg at Stade Gerland, keeping the Italian league leaders and competition favorites on course to reach the final in their own stadium on May 14. “It’s a pity,” said Lyon midfielder Maxime Gonalons, whose

SoccerApril 4, 2014

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Choo Shin-soo drew a bases-loaded, game-ending walk against Jonathan Papelbon as the Texas Rangers rallied in the ninth inning for the second night in a row, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Wednesday.The Rangers scored three times in the ninth off Papelbon (0-1), who gave up four hits while retiring only one batter.Adrian Beltre, whose ninth-inning single Tuesday night drove home Choo with the winning run, started this rally with a leadoff single. After Mitch Morela

BaseballApril 3, 2014

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AFP) ― World No. 1 Park In-bee returns for the first of her three major title defenses this season, seeking a first victory this year at the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship.After her stunning 2013 campaign, Park has yet to win on the LPGA Tour in 2014, but she has posted four successive top-10 finishes and won a Ladies European Tour title at the World Ladies Championship in China in March.Although she hasn’t broken through for an LPGA win so far this year, the 25-year-

GolfApril 3, 2014

The International Crown on the LPGA Tour has all the trappings of the best team event in golf until the Olympics in 2016. And considering there will be no team medal awarded in Rio, the LPGA event might be best team format in golf after the Olympics.The Americans nudged South Korea as the top seed for the International Crown, which features eight teams of four players on July 24-27 at Caves Valley in Maryland. The combined world ranking of their four players ― Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Lexi Th

GolfApril 2, 2014

ARLINGTON, Texas (Yonhap) ― Choo Shin-soo picked up his first two hits as a member of the Texas Rangers and scored the game-winning run in Arlington, Texas, Tuesday, a day after going hitless in his debut with the American League West club.The South Korean outfielder went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, including the walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth, as the Rangers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2. Choo also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch, reaching base four times in five plate ap

BaseballApril 2, 2014

SUNDERLAND, England (AP) ― Sunderland’s relegation fears worsened with a 2-1 home loss to West Ham in the Premier League on Monday.Andy Carroll helped the visitors take a major step toward securing their own status for next season by powering in a header from a corner in the 10th minute, and Mohamed Diame doubled the lead five minutes into the second half.Adam Johnson gave Sunderland hopes of a comeback when he pulled one back with a good finish in the 65th, but goalkeeper Adrian pulled off a do

SoccerApril 1, 2014