IN BRIEF

GOLF

Blackmar, Sluman tied for Schwab Cup lead

Phil Blackmar and Jeff Sluman shot 6-under-par 66s Thursday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif.

After winning the AT&T Championship last week in San Antonio to gain the final spot in the season finale, Blackmar had six birdies in a bogey-free round. Sluman was even par at the turn, then birdied three of his first four holes on the back nine, eagled the par-5 16th and birdied 17.

Also: American Anthony Kim won two round-robin matches in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain, and fourth-ranked Paul Casey lost twice to drop out of contention for a semifinal spot.

Kim topped the Seve Ballesteros Group with four points after beating Casey and Retief Goosen, both 3 and 2. Scott Strange beat Casey, returning from a rib injury, 1-up. Goosen beat Strange 1-up.

In the Mark McCormack Group, Oliver Wilson beat Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, both 1-up, and Robert Allenby topped Kaymer 1-up and halved with Garcia.

England's Ian Poulter carded a 5-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over South African star Ernie Els and Taiwan's Chan Yih-shin during the suspended first round of the Singapore Open.

American Phil Mickelson opened with a 69.

TENNIS

Serena Williams makes Sony Ericsson semis

Serena Williams became the first player to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, defeating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the tournament's round-robin group phase.

Her sister Venus, the defending champion, stayed alive by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 for her first win in three matches. She needs Kuznetsova to beat Dementieva today to have a chance of advancing to the semifinals.

MISCELLANEOUS

Pacquiao: Mayweather wants no part of me

Manny Pacquiao thinks the biggest potential fight in boxing will never happen because Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants no part of him.

Pacquiao is training in Hollywood, Calif., for his fight with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand, but the pound-for-pound champion spared a moment to consider his chances of fighting pay-per-view king Mayweather in what would be an extremely lucrative bout for both fighters.

"I don't think it's going to happen," Pacquiao said. "I'm sure he doesn't want to fight."

Also: The NCAA's board of directors, meeting in Indianapolis, unanimously endorsed a series of new rules intended to clean up men's basketball recruiting.

Among the measures proposed: toughening existing rules that prevent the funneling of money to those close to recruits; putting an end to consulting fees paid by the schools; and prohibiting schools from hiring a recruit's high school or summer league coaches to help with summer camps or clinics.

Bob Knight will not attend next week's induction into the Indiana athletic department's hall of fame.

Athletic director Fred Glass said the former Hoosiers basketball coach was concerned that the interest in him would be a distraction from the other six inductees.

Shane Boyd threw for one touchdown and ran for a second, and Parker Douglass kicked two field goals as the California Redwoods (2-2) beat the New York Sentinels (0-3) 20-13 in a United Football League game in East Rutherford, N.J.

Brigham Young beat UNLV 25-18, 15-25, 23-25, 14-25 in a Mountain West Conference volleyball match in Provo, Utah.

Samantha Richards had 38 assists and 12 digs for the Rebels (6-13, 4-7 MWC).