Justin Rose has first-round lead at BMW Championship

Feeling as though he had nothing to lose, Justin Rose put himself in position for a big gain with his best round of the year Thursday in the BMW Championship at Lemont, Ill

Rose made birdie on half of his holes at Cog Hill, a tough course that played even longer in chilly conditions, giving him an eight-under 63 and a two-shot lead over Webb Simpson and Mark Wilson.

The measure of Rose’s good round was that his 63 was nearly nine shots better than the average score in the opening round, and only 16 other players managed to break 70.

K.J. Choi opened with a 67, while the group at 68 featured Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas, both of whom need a big week to advance to the Tour Championship.

Jennifer Johnson shot a career-best, seven-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead over teenager Lexi Thompson in the Navistar LPGA Classic at Prattville, Ala.

Thompson, 16, is one stroke back after a six-under 66, with Becky Morgan and Alison Walshe another shot behind. A seven-way tie for fifth at four under includes Yani Tseng, the world’s No. 1 player.

Britain and Ireland took a 4-1 lead over Continental Europe after the opening fourballs Thursday in the Vivendi Seve Trophy at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche, France.

Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari won the only point for the European team with a single-hole victory over Mark Foster and Lee Westwood.

Scott Jamieson and Ross Fisher were the standout performers, beating Peter Hanson and Raphael Jacquelin, 6 and 4.

JURISPRUDENCE

Art Schlichter pleads guilty in fraud

Former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter pleaded guilty in Columbus, Ohio, to state theft charges linked to a sports ticket-fraud scheme.

In a deal worked out with state and federal prosecutors, Schlichter pleaded guilty Thursday to 13 counts and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He also was ordered to pay $680,000 in restitution, though a prosecutor conceded victims were likely to never see the money.

Schlichter, 51, will appear Friday in federal court, where he faces related charges of bank and wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Schlichter has indicated he’ll plead guilty to those charges.

Javaris Crittenton extradited in murder case

Former NBA guard Javaris Crittenton was returned from Los Angeles to Atlanta Thursday to face a murder charge in the shooting death of a woman, police said.

Crittenton, a onetime Laker, is charged in the death of 22-year-old Julian Jones, a mother of four who was hit by gunfire during a drive-by shooting, police said. The shots apparently were aimed at someone walking with her.

FIFA rejects Mohamed bin Hammam’s appeal

FIFA rejected Mohamed bin Hammam’s appeal against a life ban from soccer for allegedly offering bribes during his campaign to unseat Sepp Blatter as president of the sport’s governing body.

The Qatari official posted Twitter messages to say he would challenge FIFA’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, “where from now on I will be equal to my rival.

ETC.

Jeff Gordon accuses Childress team of intentionally causing caution

Allegations of team orders swirled Thursday around the opening round of NASCAR’s championship race, with Jeff Gordon alleging Richard Childress Racing intentionally caused a caution at Richmond that helped Kevin Harvick win the race.

Gordon was leading Harvick in Saturday night’s race when RCR driver Paul Menard spun with 16 laps to go. The drivers pitted, Harvick was first off pit road and pulled away on the restart four laps later.

Harvick went on to win his fourth race of the season, which tied him with Kyle Busch for the top seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. It was a big swing for Gordon, who was denied his fourth victory and trails the leaders by three points for Sunday’s opening Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Tony Parker leads France to semifinals

Tony Parker scored eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as France rallied to beat Greece, 64-56, at Kaunas, Lithuania, and line up a semifinal matchup with Russia at the European basketball championship.

Joakim Noah had a key steal late in the game to send the French into the next round against Russia, which beat Serbia 77-67.

Spain and Macedonia will play in the other semifinal on Friday.

The NBA and its referees agreed to a new five-year deal, just two years after a contract dispute nearly caused the league to open the season with replacements.

Top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA Bell Challenge tournament at Quebec City with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 win over Hungary’s Melinda Czink.

Hantuchova will play Marina Erakovic in the next round after the New Zealander advanced with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win over seventh-seeded American Irina Falconi.