In Brief

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ohio State takes freshmen's wristbands supporting Tressel

Two days after several Ohio State freshmen proudly displayed wristbands supporting deposed Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, the university has taken them away and refunded the players' money.

Ohio State spokesman Jerry Emig said Friday that officials wondered if wearing the wristbands -- which said "JT" -- could be an NCAA violation.

Since Ohio State goes before the NCAA's committee on infractions Aug. 12, it also might appear that the school remains firmly behind a coach who was forced out May 30. Tressel was pressured to resign when it was revealed he knew some of his players had broken NCAA rules but did not report it for more than nine months.

"There was a concern that maybe this isn't a thing that should have been done," Emig said of the wristbands, which were worn by several freshmen at a news conference Wednesday.

He added that Ohio State decided to take a "cautionary" approach after the wristbands, which were sold by an Ohio State staffer, were mentioned prominently in several media reports. After turning in their wristbands, the players' $15 was refunded.

GOLF

Two-time Reno champ Taylor leads by one after two rounds

Vaughn Taylor's only two career wins on the PGA Tour have come at the Reno-Tahoe Open, where he's making a bid to claim a third after a 6-under-par 66 gave him a one-shot lead over Will MacKenzie after the second round.

Taylor, 35, had an eagle and four birdies, then parred the final five holes to move to 9-under 135 at Montreux Golf & Country Club, where his victories in 2004 and 2005 make him the 13-year-old tournament's only two-time winner.

Steve Flesch, the 2007 champion, shot 69 and is tied for third with Hunter Haas and first-round leader Nick O'Hern at 137. Steve Elkington birdied four of his last five holes for a 65 to get in a group at 138 that includes 2002 champ and former UNLV standout Chris Riley.

Also: Jay Haas birdied the final four holes en route to an 8-under 64 to share the first-round lead with John Huston in the 3M Championship at Blaine, Minn. Haas also recorded an ace during his round.

Huston, who has one Champions Tour win in seven starts since turning 50 on June 1, bogeyed the first hole, but made six birdies in a seven-hole span to get to 6 under after the 12th hole. He closed with two straight birdies.

Gary Hallberg, Tom Lehman, Peter Senior and Rod Spittle were one shot back at the TPC Twin Cities.

Cody Proveaux of Leesville, S.C., drained a 15-foot putt from the fringe for birdie on the 18th hole and a one-stroke victory in the 36th Junior PGA Championship at Fort Wayne, Ind. He finished the 72-hole tournament at 6-under 282.

Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn won the girls division by 10 strokes, finishing at 15-under 273.

MISCELLANEOUS

U.S.'s Young runs streak to four, reaches first ATP Tour semifinal

American Donald Young reached the semifinals for the first time on the ATP Tour, beating No. 7 seed Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic quarterfinals at Washington.

The 22-year-old left-hander, who was born in Chicago and now is based in Atlanta, entered this hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open ranked 128th and with a 19-53 record as a professional. He now has won a career-best four straight matches.

His run this week assures Young of returning to the top 100 in Monday's ATP rankings. If he beats Radek Stepanek in today's semifinals, Young would surpass his previous high of 73rd.

Eleventh-seeded John Isner of the United States reached his third consecutive ATP semifinal by beating No. 3 Viktor Troicki, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1. Not known for a particularly effective return game, Isner broke Troicki three times in the third set.

Isner will face top-seeded Gael Monfils.

Also: Top-seeded Vera Zvonareva staved off three break points in the third set, then scored a key service break for a 4-3 lead en route to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over No. 12 seed Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals of the Mercury Insurance Open at Carlsbad, Calif.

In today's semifinals, Zvonareva will play No. 5 Ana Ivanovic, who beat fourth-seeded Peng Shuai, 6-4, 6-2. No. 2 seed Andrea Petkovic and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska will meet in the other semifinal.

Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham led provisional qualifying for the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals at Kent, Wash., posting a 3.830-second run at 319.07 mph. John Force (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) led their respective divisions.

Olympian Garrett Weber-Gale won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. national championships in Stanford, Calif., touching in 48.87 seconds to defeat Texas training partner Jimmy Feigen, who took second at 48.99. Scot Robison was third at 49.06.