Venus Williams ousted in Eastbourne quarterfinals

Venus Williams lost to Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, in the quarterfinals at Eastbourne, England, on Thursday, exiting a day after her sister, Serena, was defeated but still pleased with her Wimbledon preparation in her return to tennis.

Both sisters are back after lengthy injury breaks. Venus was playing her first event in five months since retiring because of hip and abdominal injuries during the Australian Open in January.

Venus said she heads to Wimbledon with plenty of confidence as she targets a sixth title at the All England Club. The tournament begins Monday.

“I played a lot of matches here, spent a lot of time on the court,” Williams said. “It’s not the best luck today, but I feel good about my preparation.”

Hantuchova had previously won only two sets in 10 meetings with Williams. She advances to a semifinal against fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2).

ETC.

Kurt Rambis’ future topic of talks

A person familiar with the situation said Minnesota Timberwolves Coach Kurt Rambis and team President David Kahn will meet at length over the next two days to discuss whether Rambis will return for a third season in Minnesota. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.

Rambis is 32-132 in two seasons as Timberwolves coach. He has been in limbo the last two months, ever since Kahn declined to give him a vote of confidence in a season-ending news conference in April. He has two years left on a four-year contract he signed to leave Phil Jackson’s side with the Lakers and take over the struggling Timberwolves.

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An estimated crowd of 200,000 crammed downtown Dallas on Thursday morning for a parade in the NBA champion Mavericks’ honor, with 20,000 or so more filling the team’s arena for a rally.

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The Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup-clinching victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night earned the highest television rating for an NHL game in 37 years.

Boston’s 4-0 win in Game 7 on NBC earned a 4.8 rating and 8 share. That’s the best since a 7.6/27 for Boston-Philadelphia in 1974.

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The Minnesota Wild has made Mike Yeo its head coach, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.

The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire. The Wild called a Friday news conference.

The Colorado Avalanche promoted former player Adam Deadmarsh to assistant coach.

Deadmarsh, who helped the team to a Stanley Cup crown in 1996, has spent the last two seasons overseeing video and development.

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The Heritage Classic golf tournament announced that RBC will serve as its new title sponsor, ensuring the PGA Tour will continue to make an annual stop in South Carolina for the next five years.

Officials said the tournament at Hilton Head Island will be renamed the RBC-Heritage through 2016.

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It turns out Kentucky basketball Coach John Calipari hasn’t reached 500 victories after all.

The school says it will change Calipari’s career record because of 42 vacated victories from his time at Memphis and Massachusetts. In a statement, Kentucky said it had consulted with the NCAA and determined it was “in error” to have celebrated Calipari’s 500th win against Florida on Feb. 26.

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The International Cycling Union says Alberto Contador has the right to defend his Tour de France title while it is appealing the Spanish cycling federation’s decision to clear him of doping at last year’s Tour.