Roberts (66) leads Senior Players Championship

Loren Roberts capped a bogey-free, four-under-par 66 with a two-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, an appropriate finish to a steady round Friday that gave him a two-shot lead over Scott Hoch at the halfway point of the Senior Players Championship at Baltimore.

In all, Roberts made four birdies and is at seven-under 133 after 36 holes. Hoch shot a 68 and was alone in second place in the Champion Tour’s final major tournament of the year.

David Eger shot a 67 for a 136, tied with Des Smyth, who completed his 66 with a bogey on 18.

Roberts began the day in a five-way tie atop the leaderboard. He saved par on the 427-yard first hole, blasting out of the left bunker to within 10 feet of the hole before making the putt.

Jesper Parnevik followed his career-best opening 61 with a five-under 65 to take a four-stroke lead midway through the Texas Open at San Antonio.

He is at 14-under 126, the lowest 36-hole score on the PGA Tour this year and just a stroke off the tour record of 125 held by Tiger Woods, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin.

Mathias Gronberg was second after a 65. He eagled the par-five 14th with a 16-foot putt before birdies on 16 and 18 with putts inside 10 feet.

Defending champion Karrie Webb and Lorie Kane shot three-under 69s to share the second-round lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge at Danville, Calif. Lorena Ochoa was a stroke back after a 70.

Webb and Kane are at six-under 138. Juli Inkster (66), Se Ri Pak (71), Suzann Pettersen (65) and Charlotte Mayorkas (67) were four under.

Jon Mills (68), Chris Baryla (66) and Jeff Wood (67) share the lead at the halfway mark of the Nationwide Tour’s Mark Christopher Charity Classic at Empire Lakes Golf Club in Rancho Cucamonga at nine-under 133. They have a two-shot lead over Keoke Cotner (69) and Brenden Pappas (70).

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TENNIS

Venus Williams reaches final of Japan Open

Top-seeded Venus Williams defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the final of the Japan Open at Tokyo. She will play fifth-seeded Virginie Razzano, who beat eighth-seeded Flavia Pennetta, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

The 17-year-old Wozniacki took a 5-4 lead in the second set, but Williams won the final three games to close out the match in 1 hour 37 minutes.

Top-ranked Justine Henin defeated Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 6-4, and second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated sixth-seeded Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany.

Henin will play third-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who reached the semifinals when seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova retired during the second set because of a hip injury while leading, 7-6 (5), 1-5. Kuznetsova will play Tatiana Golovin, who beat qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3, 6-4.

Top-seeded Tommy Robredo beat Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4, 6-4, and advanced to the semifinals of the Moselle Open at Metz, France. He will next play Nicolas Mahut, who beat eighth-seeded Igor Andreev, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6.

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MOTOR RACING

Franchitti learns a lesson at Talladega

It took Dario Franchitti less than a straightaway to know he was in foreign territory at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

The Indy Racing League champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, making his stock car debut in the ARCA RE/MAX 250, immediately ran out of room on the high-banked 2.66-mile oval.

Franchitti, who qualified sixth, finished 17th.

Todd Bodine won the pole position for today’s NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bodine turned a fast lap of 181.811 mph in a Toyota. Jack Sprague, also in a Toyota, was second at 181.639.

Former open-wheel star Jacques Villeneuve qualified 10th in a Toyota.

Formula One drivers’ championship points leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren was spared a penalty after an investigation of his driving during last week’s Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Mark Webber collided, and later claimed they crashed because Hamilton was speeding up and slowing down while the field was behind the safety car in wet conditions.

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SOCCER

Donovan wins U.S. player-of-year award

Landon Donovan won the Honda Award as U.S. soccer player of the year in a landslide vote, winning for an unprecedented fourth time.

The 25-year-old Donovan also received the award in 2002, when he was the youngest winner. He took the trophy in 2003 and 2004, becoming the first player to win the award three times.

He received 413 points in the nationwide balloting. Goalkeeper Tim Howard finished second with 122 and three-time finalist Carlos Bocanegra was third with 105.

Mexico national team Coach Hugo Sanchez named his roster, which includes teenage star Giovani dos Santos, for the team’s next two friendlies, against Nigeria on Oct. 14 in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and against Guatemala at the Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 8 p.m.

Sanchez picked five European-based players-- Gio, as the 18-year-old Dos Santos is more commonly known, Nery Castillo, Andres Guardado, Carlos Salcido and Carlos Vela -- but the majority of the 33-man roster is made up of young players that are being considered for the Olympic team.

-- Jaime Cardenas

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MISCELLANY

Horse trainer Biancone suspended

Trainer Patrick Biancone was suspended for one year by Kentucky racing officials for violations of horse medication rules, but he vowed to appeal.

The suspension for Biancone, one of the nation’s top trainers, takes effect Oct. 15.

It means he won’t be allowed to train horses anywhere in the U.S. State racing regulators usually recognize actions from another state.

Charlotte Bobcats forward Sean May will sit out the season after deciding to undergo microfracture surgery on his right knee. He will have the surgery Tuesday in New York. Recovery will take six to 12 months.

USC freshman forward Davon Jefferson suffered a sprained knee during a pickup game this week and is expected to be sidelined until Oct. 15, meaning he will sit out the Trojans’ Midnight Madness event next Friday, the school’s first since 2002.

-- Ben Bolch