SANDY, Utah –  Jozy Altidore's fourth goal in as many games — a left-footed strike from about 10 yards — in the 73rd minute gave the U.S. a hard-won 1-0 lead over Honduras in a World Cup qualifier before a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

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Needing a win to move a big step closer to a berth in next summer’s World Cup in Brazil, the U.S. national team battled Honduras through a scoreless first half in the third and final of its June qualifying matches.

The U.S. had a big lead in possession time — nearly two to one — but the Honduran defense proved an unsolvable riddle for most of the first 45 minutes. The Rio Tinto Stadium turf also seemed to play a bit fast for the Americans, who saw many of their passes go long.

The U.S., which expected Honduras to be physical, actually dealt out most of the rough blows in the early going. But the U.S. also had a number of good early scoring chances, with Clint Dempsey missing wide on a...

In 2009 the Phoenix Coyotes were bound for Canada. The owner of the Coyotes had agreed to sell the team for $212.5 million, but the NHL intervened and said no team could move without league approval.

In court papers, Major League Baseball supported the NHL. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court agreed, ruling that the right of a team owner to sell to the highest bidder did not trump the right of the league to determine where its teams would play.

That is at the heart of the lawsuit the city of San Jose filed against MLB on Tuesday. After four years of waiting on MLB to decide whether the Oakland Athletics could move, San Jose decided to try force the issue.

The issue is not whether a jury would bypass Bud Selig and permit the A's to move to San Jose. The issue is whether the case gets thrown out right away.

MLB has the precedent of the Coyotes case on its side, and a federal antitrust exemption that the NHL did not have. The courts generally have held that matters of league governance -- for...

If Mark Trumbo turns down an invitation to the July 15 Home Run Derby in New York’s Citi Field, it won’t be because of his lengthy slump after finishing third in the long-ball event during last summer’s All-Star game festivities in Kansas City.

“I’m not leaning any way right now, but I won’t be doing it if I’m not on the All-Star team,” the Angels slugger said. “I think it’s awkward to do it if you’re not on the team.”

New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, named American League home run derby captain for the second straight year, will choose three other players for his derby team, but they do not have to be All-Stars to participate.

Trumbo, who made his first All-Star team in 2012, entered Tuesday ranked seventh in the AL with 15 homers, ninth with 46 runs batted in and seventh with 31 extra-base hits.

He is not among the top three vote-getters at his three positions — first base, right field,...

The words “North Carolina State” have to make a UCLA fan cringe.

The Bruins met the Wolfpack in the 1974 Final Four. John Wooden had seven consecutive NCAA championships. He didn’t win an eighth straight.

It could work out better today. The Bruins won’t have to face David Thompson today. They will be dealing with pitcher Logan Jernigan in the College World Series at 5 p.m. PDT.

Coach Elliott Avent hemmed and hawed before naming a starter. The Wolfpacks’ rotation thins out considerably after Carlos Rodon, who threw eight shutout innings against North Carolina Sunday.

Of North Carolina State's 50 victories this season, Rodon has 10 and the bullpen has 31. So Jernigan gets the call, but North Carolina State is ready with a committee.

Jernigan is 1-0 with a 1.19 earned-run average, but has not gone more than five innings this season. He missed more than a month with a broken hand.

Jernigan went five innings, giving up one run and two hits, against Rice in an...

The schedule for Steve Alford’s first season as UCLA’s basketball coach comes dressed for success.

The Bruins do have a date with Duke in Madison Square Garden on Dec. 19, and there is a potentially rough trip to Missouri on Dec. 7. But five of nine nonconference opponents failed to crack .500 last season, including the Bruins’ first four opponents -- Drexel, Oakland, Sacramento State and UC Santa Barbara.

UCLA will play in the Las Vegas Invitational, but only two of the other seven teams in the tournament had winning records in 2012-13. The Bruins play the first two games of the tournament at Pauley Pavilion.

While the home schedule includes Weber State and Alabama, it also includes Prairie View A&M, which UCLA defeated by 42 points last season.

Nonconference:Drexel, Nov. 8; Oakland, Nov. 12; Sacramento State, Nov. 18; Las Vegas Invitational, Nov. 22-24-28-29; UC Santa Barbara, Dec. 3; at Missouri, Dec. 7; Prairie View A&M, Dec.14; Duke at Madison Square Garden,...

Actor Patrick Dempsey plans to race in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.

"Anybody who's a road racer or who loves racing wants to come to Le Mans and experience it," Dempsey, 47, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.

It would be the second time the "Grey's Anatomy" star has competed in the endurance race in Le Mans, France, which features several classes of cars.

Dempsey, an avid sports-car driver who co-owns his race team, made his first appearance at Le Mans in 2009, when he finished ninth in the GT2 class in an AF Corse Ferrari.

This year he's driving a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Am division with co-drivers Joe Foster and Patrick Long.

It's the only all-American team in the race, according to the American Le Mans Series, a sports-car racing series in North America.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans "means everything to us, and it's humbling, it's exciting, it's inspirational and it's so moving to be a part of this event," Dempsey said.

"I haven't had a win yet" and to...

Steve Gleason took the high road Tuesday afternoon.

The day after three Atlanta radio hosts were fired for mocking the former New Orleans Saints safety and his battle with ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig's disease), Gleason accepted the men's apologies in a statement posted on the Team Gleason page on Facebook.

"The DJs have provided genuine apology," Gleason wrote. "Received and accepted. We have all made mistakes in this life. How we learn from our mistakes is the measure of who we are."

Gleason also tried to turn the incident into something positive, as it has raised awareness of the disease.

"I think everyone can learn from this event," he wrote. "It's clear to me that, on a national & global scale, ALS is not understood, which is part of why its under funded and largely ignored. In the past 36 hours lots of people have been talking. Lets talk about this.

"There are zero treatments for ALS. If you take any action as a result of this event, I prefer it to be action to end ALS."

H...

SANDY, Utah -- Three more teams earned places in next summer's World Cup in Brazil with Australia, Iran and South Korea all advancing through regional qualifying Tuesday.

Australia got a goal from substitute Josh Kennedy in the 83rd minute to beat Iraq, 1-0, before a crowd of 80,523 at Sydney's Olympic Stadium to finish second in its group in the Asian Football Confederation tournament.

Visiting Iran, meanwhile, got a score from Reza Ghoochannejhad in the 60th minute to beat South Korea, 1-0, and win Group A of the AFC event, qualifying for its fourth World Cup and first since 2006. South Korea advances for the ninth time, this year as the group runner-up.

Japan qualified for Brazil earlier this month, also out of the Asian Football Confederation, while Brazil is in the tournament field as the host country.

That leaves 84 nations competing for the 27 remaining spots in the 32-team tournament.

The United States can move a big step closer to earning its invitation with a win over...

Voynov’s deal is for six years and $25 million. He would have become a restricted free agent on July 5.

This, by all accounts, was a breakout season for the 23-year-old Russian, who shouldered increased responsibility because of injuries to defensemen Willie Mitchell and Matt Greene. He had six goals and 25 points, playing in all 48 games of the lockout-shortened season.

Voynov took another big step forward in the playoffs, scoring six goals -- four of them game-winners -- during the Kings’ run to the Western Conference final. Two of his game-winning goals came in the first-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

The only other King player with more than one game-winning goal in the playoffs was Justin Williams, who had two.

The marketplace was set for young defensemen in May when the Phoenix...

Longtime Southern California swim coach Bill Jewell has been banned for three years by USA Swimming for violations of its code of conduct.

Jewell had been coaching at Golden West Swim Club in Huntington Beach since the summer of 2011, and, before that, at Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST). According to USA Swimming, he waived his right on June 10 to a National Board of Review hearing and accepted the three-year membership ban, effective immediately.

The behavior that led to USA Swimming's action occurred during Jewell's stint at FAST.

Swimming World magazine's website first reported the decision.

“USA Swimming’s case against Mr. Jewell was based on a pattern of inappropriate behavior, including making sexually explicit comments toward athletes and other individuals affiliated with the club,” USA Swimming said in a statement.

 "There was no allegation of or evidence to support inappropriate sexual touching."

In September, Dia Rianda, a former Golden West Swim Club...

After four years of waiting for Commissioner Bud Selig to decide whether the Oakland Athletics should be granted permission to move, the city of San Jose filed an antitrust suit against Major League Baseball on Tuesday.

Lew Wolff, the managing partner of the A's, said he had "no details" on the suit.

"I am not in favor of legal action or legal threats to solve business issues," Wolff told The Times.

The San Francisco Giants control the rights to San Jose and have opposed the A's proposed move. An antitrust suit would challenge those rights and, more broadly, the league's power to determine where its teams play. Courts generally have upheld that right.

The objective for San Jose would appear to be similar to the one achieved by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt when he took the team into bankruptcy in 2011: It is less about winning in court than it is about obtaining a favorable settlement in exchange for keeping Selig off the witness stand.

The San Jose City Council voted in favor of...

Venus Williams will not win her sixth Wimbledon singles title this year.

The 33-year-old announced Tuesday via Facebook that a back injury will prevent her from taking part in this year's event, which is scheduled to start Monday.

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon this year,” Williams said. “I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved the Championships, but I need to take time to let my back heal.”

Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including the five at London's All England Club, but none since Wimbledon 2008.

She has struggled with a lower-back injury for much of the year and was eliminated in the first round of the French Open last month.

According to her Facebook post, Williams intends to return to the courts July 8, the day after Wimbledon wraps up, for a World Team Tennis event in Washington, D.C.

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