In Brief

golf

Mediate shoots ace, 64, leads
Frys.com Open by one stroke

Rocco Mediate made a hole-in-one on the third hole and shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Frys.com Open at San Martin, Calif.

Paul Goydos, Bo Van Felt and Ryuji Imada opened with 65s, and John Mallinger, Michael Letzig, Shaun Micheel and Will MacKenzie shot 66s.

Mediate is trying to make the cut for next year's PGA Tour. He's 182nd on the money list and needs to finish among the top 125.

Also: Brittany Lincicome shot an 11-under 61, recording the tour's best round of the season, to take a four-shot lead after the first round of the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge at Danville, Calif. Lincicome had 11 birdies and posted the second-lowest score in relation to par in the tour's history.

Robert Karlsson and Johan Edfors of Sweden and Maarten Lafeber of Netherlands each shot 8-under 64 to share the first-round lead at the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura.

basketball

Union cries foul over NBA's call
on technicals, plans legal action

The NBA players association is planning legal action over the league's decision to issue more technical fouls for complaining. Billy Hunter, the executive director of the union, said players weren't consulted about the rules changes, which he called "an unnecessary and unwarranted overreaction" by the league.

The NBA has told players they will be whistled for technicals for overt gestures, even if they aren't directed at a referee, running up to an official to contest a call, or other actions that don't show proper respect for the game. That figures to create a rise in technical fouls, which come with heavier fines this season.

The league put the policy in place this season after saying its research showed fans thought players complained too much.

Also: Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn will be allowed to practice but remains suspended indefinitely from games while facing allegations that he broke his girlfriend's jaw in a domestic dispute last month. Baylor begins practice today.

miscellaneous

Liverpool gains upper hand
in attempt to sell soccer club

Liverpool's board of directors won the latest court battle in the drawn-out attempt to sell the club to the owners of the Boston Red Sox, leaving the current American owners with slim hopes of using the Texas legal system to block the deal.

On a second successive day of legal wrangling on both sides of the Atlantic, a British High Court judge granted an injunction against co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr., ordering them to withdraw their legal action in a Dallas district court. The order effectively nullified a temporary restraining order Hicks and Gillett had obtained Wednesday to block the 300 million pound ($476 million) sale of the club to New England Sports Ventures, which is headed by financier John Henry.

Hicks and Gillett, who stand to lose more than 140 million pounds if the sale goes through, have described it as an "epic swindle" that undervalues English football's most successful club.

Also: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal lost to 13th-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the third round of the Shanghai Masters, the first time this year the Spaniard has failed to reach the quarterfinals. Nadal had not lost a set to Melzer in three previous meetings.

UNLV's Jana Albers, Nives Pavlovic and Lucia Batta won in straight sets to reach the final 16 in the main draw of the USTA/ITA Mountain Region Championships at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. In doubles, Pavlovic and Aleksandra Josifoska, Albers and Adrienn Hidvegi and Batta and Anna Maskaljun advanced to the main draw's final 16.

UNLV won eight of nine individual events and both relays in a 146-96 Mountain West Conference swimming victory over host New Mexico in the season opener for both teams. Freshman Jessica Heim won the 500 freestyle and 1,000 free to lead the Rebels.

Ashleigh Shoughro scored in the 84th minute to give UNLV a 3-2 women's soccer victory over Wyoming at Johann Memorial Field. Amanda Forrester scored the first two goals for the Rebels (9-5, 1-2 Mountain West).

UNLV lost to host Utah 28-26, 25-15, 25-17 in a women's volleyball match. The Rebels fell to 6-13 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West.

UNLV senior golfer Therese Koelbaek has been named to Denmark's three-member team for the World Amateur Team Championships from Saturday to Oct. 31 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Indiana sophomore running back Darius Willis, who leads the team in rushing with 279 yards, will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.

North Carolina senior tailback Ryan Houston has been cleared to play Saturday at Virginia after missing the first five games while the school and the NCAA worked to determine his status. He led the team in rushing in 2009 with 713 yards and scored nine touchdowns.