Former Baylor star Brittney Griner said Sunday that her coach at Baylor, Kim Mulkey, asked her to not be publicly open about being gay out of fear it would hurt recruiting.

"It was a recruiting thing," Griner told espnW.com. "The coaches thought that if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn't let their kids come play for Baylor.

Not discussing one's sexuality "was more of a unwritten law," she said. "It was just kind of, like, one of those things, you know, just don't do it. They kind of tried to make it, like, 'Why put your business out on the street like that?' "

Griner came out as gay last month, before being chosen by the Phoenix Mercury with the No. 1 overall pick of the WNBA draft.

Mulkey declined to comment on Griner's statement. "Brittney Griner represented Baylor University proudly on and off the basketball court, and she leaves behind an incredible legacy," the coach said in a statement issued by Baylor. "I cannot comment on personal matters surrounding any of our...

With less than a week to go before his title defense against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, Cain Velasquez retains the top spot in The Times' MMA rankings for May.

Heavyweight

1. Cain Velasquez

2. Junior Dos Santos

3. Daniel Cormier

4. Fabricio Werdum

5. Antonio Silva

6. Alistair Overeem

7. Josh Barnett

8. Frank Mir

9. Roy Nelson

10. Travis Browne

Saturday night, Antonio Silva has the opportunity to take the crown as the world’s top heavyweight fighter. Unfortunately for Silva, standing in his way is UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Velasquez’s destruction of Silva a year ago was frightening in its ferocity and it will be an uphill climb for Silva to avenge that loss. Daniel Cormier made his UFC debut and while he wasn’t spectacular, he decisively defeated Frank Mir.

Light Heavyweight

1. Jon Jones

2. Alexander Gustafsson

3. Lyoto Machida

4. Dan Henderson

5. Rashad Evans

6. Phil Davis

7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

8. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

9....

SAN JOSE -- Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick will not be subjected to supplementary discipline from the NHL for going out of his way to yell at referees Wes McCauley and Marc Joannette on Saturday after the Kings’ 2-1 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 3 of the teams’ Western Conference semifinal playoff series.

Quick was given a game misconduct after Sharks center Logan Couture scored the power-play winner for San Jose 1 minute 29 seconds into sudden-death overtime to cut the Kings’ series lead to two games to one. The reason for the game misconduct was verbal abuse of an official, which carries a $200 fine and the possibility of review by the league for the purpose of imposing a more costly fine or suspension.

“This matter has been dealt with,” said Rob Shick, a former NHL referee who is now an officiating manager for the NHL and is the supervisor of this series.

A league executive who did not want to be identified because he was...

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Peter Sagan, a 23-year-old Slovakian who won five stages a year ago, won a sprint finish in the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday, sneaking past American Tyler Farrar of the Team Garmin-Sharp and Daniel Schorn of Team NetApp-Endura for his second stage win.

But the big winner was 24-year-old American Tejay van Garderen of the BMC Racing team. Van Garderen has stamped himself as the top young American rider by taking his first big stage race in dramatic fashion, dominating Friday's time trial in San Jose and holding his own up the mountaintop finish at Mt. Diablo on Saturday.

Sunday was more a victory ride in the wine country for Van Garderen, who was first discovered by Riverside's Bob Stapleton, who put him on his HTC team before the team dissolved two years ago.

“It's a big relief. It's a weight off my shoulders,” Van Garderen said. of his Tour of California victory. “Hopefully this gets the ball rolling.”

Van Garderen...

Serena Williams extended the best run of her career on Sunday by winning the Italian Open title in a rout of third-seeded Victoria Azarenka on the clay in Rome.

The top-ranked American has now won 24 matches in a row and four consecutive tournament titles with the 6-1, 6-3 victory over the 23-year-old from Belarus. The domination by Williams began early by breaking Azarenka's first two service games.

Williams, 31, had 41 winners compared with 12 for the two-time reigning Australian Open champion and also served nine aces. She also avenged her last defeat, a three-set loss to Azarenka in the Qatar Open in February.

Next is the French Open, where Williams was upset in the first round last year by No. 111-ranked Virginie Razzano.

“It wasn’t easy, nothing is ever easy,” Williams said. “Last year I was feeling excellent on clay but didn’t do that great at Roland Garros; this year I’m cautious and I want to work hard and stay focused and win every point I...

When the San Jose Sharks finished off a 2-1 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday night, it was complete with everything you'd expect in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

Jarring hits, a flashy goal by Kings rookie Tyler Toffoli, excellent goaltending and controversy. The overall play wasn't always stellar, but it was rugged playoff hockey.

Times reporter Lisa Dillman wrote: "Until a late surge of activity, the game had precious little momentum and seemed curiously disjointed for both teams."

Times columnist Helene Elliott examined the controversies, which included two late penalties against the Kings that gave the Sharks a two-man advantage for nearly two minutes at the end of the third period and beginning of overtime as well as a game misconduct given to goaltender Jonathan Quick for verbally abusing the officials at the conclusion of the game.

David Beckham bid a tearful farewell to Paris Saint-Germain fans on Saturday when he was replaced late in the club's 3-1 victory over Brest, hugging teammates and opponents as he departed the pitch to a standing ovation in the 81st minute.

It appears the legendary English midfielder has played his final football game at the highest professional level. Rumors are that he will not take the field when PSG, already France's Ligue 1 champion, plays its final game of the season.

As he walked to the sideline Saturday, tears rolled down his face. He knew the waterworks were only a matter of time.

"To end my career in front of a crowd like that, with players like that, it's very special," Beckham said. "It started about 20 minutes before that, to be honest. I started thinking and then, you know, I couldn't concentrate by then, and it was difficult. You know, you try to hold the emotion back because it is what it is, but it's difficult."

The former England national star won championships with...

The good news for NBA fans in North Carolina is that they might be well on their way to rooting for the Charlotte Hornets again.

The bad news for those fans is that the team they'll be cheering for will still be the same one that is currently known as the Bobcats.

Multiple sources are reporting that the Michael Jordan-owned franchise has started the process of pursuing a name change that harkens back to the late '80s and most of the '90s, when the Hornets sold out 364 consecutive games at the Charlotte Coliseum.

When the team relocated to New Orleans in 2002, it took the nickname too. Two years later, the NBA returned to Charlotte in the form of the Bobcats, but that mascot never seemed to quite catch on with many local fans.

Starting next season, however, the team in New Orleans will be known as the Pelicans. And since the Bobcats name belongs to the league, Charlotte is free to pursue that name. The fact that incoming NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has already indicated his support of...

Overtime

Sharks center Logan Couture blasts a shot from about 10 feet past Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick on a power play 1:29 into overtime to give San Jose a 2-1 win in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday night at HP Pavilion.

The Kings began overtime down two men because of penalties late in the third period. Moments after getting one man back onto the ice, the Sharks work the puck into the corner, then a pass goes to winger Patrick Marleau to the left of Quick.

Marleau quickly centers the puck into the slot to Couture, who takes aim and beats Quick.

The game includes 75 hits in regulation, 41 by the Sharks.

The Kings successfully kill the Sharks 5-on-3 advantage for 1:19 to start overtime with center Anze Kopitar and defensemen Rob Scuderi and Drew Doughty beginning play on the ice.

Couture misses a chance to follow a shot by defenseman Dan Boyle, then Quick blocks another attempt. Kings center Mike Richards steals a pass to ease the pressure for a few...

Alberto Callaspo drove in five runs, highlighting a five-run seventh inning with a three-run home run, and Mark Trumbo had a solo homer, a run-scoring double and three runs scored Saturday in the Angels' wild 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium.

The Angels had a 10-4 lead through seven innings, but the White Sox made the game way too interesting for the Angels and their fans with a five-run eighth inning that cut the lead to 10-9.

But the Angels tacked on two huge insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, and closer Ernesto Frieri  struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save to help the Angels (16-27) snap a three-game losing streak.

The Angels were down, 4-0, when Trumbo led off the fourth inning with his 10th homer of the season, a no-doubt-about-it shot over both bullpens beyond left field. Howie Kendrick flied out, but Callaspo singled, Brendan Harris walked and both runners advanced on Hector Santiago’s wild pitch.

Chris Iannetta walked to...

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who at age 50 came out of retirement earlier this year, led Oxbow to a wire-to-wire victory in 1:57.54 and a big upset of Kentucky Derby winner Orb today in the 138th Preakness at Pimlico Race Course.

Stevens is the oldest jockey to win the Preakness, his third in the second leg of the Triple Crown. He’s won nine Triple Crown races, three in each leg.

“It's so special,” Stevens said. “Wayne, he supported me. Put me on my first Triple Crown winner. A lot of people were trying to get me off. He was the first guy to call me up and said 'I'm going to have a colt for you. His name is Oxbow.'

"Wayne is like a brother, coach, a father figure to me."

It was the sixth Preakness victory for 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, second all-time. It was Lukas' 15th win in a Triple Crown race, most in horse racing history.

“I get paid to spoil dreams,” Lukas told NBC after the race.

The win by Oxbow, a 15-1 longshot,...

SAN JOSE -- The answer is: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders and the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers.

The question is: Which NHL teams have overcome 3-0 deficits to win a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series?

The San Jose Sharks, who lost to the Kings in the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal, don’t want to be in the position of attempting that kind of difficult comeback. Well aware of the perils of falling so far behind, the Sharks say they’re intent on cutting the Kings’ series lead to 2-1 Saturday night at HP Pavilion so they won’t have to face a daunting 0-3 deficit.

“We know we have to take care of business at home,” Sharks forward Joe Pavelski said. “We need this one. This is the one we need right now and it’s the only one that matters because that is a huge difference.”

Pavelski said the Kings’ late rally for a 4-3 victory on Thursday “was a tough loss. But you rebound. You...