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TENNIS • Roger Federer appeared to lose focus in his first match back after the birth of his second set of twins, allowing a lead to slip away Wednesday in a second-round defeat at the Italian Open in Rome. The 17-time Grand Slam winner lost to 47th-ranked Jeremy Chardy of France 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6). Federer's boys, Leo and Lenny, were born last week, prompting the fourth-ranked Swiss player to withdraw from the Madrid Open. Meanwhile, Serena Williams showed no trouble — and no taping — from a left thigh injury that forced her to withdraw from Madrid. The top-ranked American beat 28th-ranked Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-2. Also, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray eliminated Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-2, 7-5.
NCAA numbers still show a wealth gap
ACADEMICS • The money gap at Division I colleges is continuing to show up on the playing fields and in the classrooms. Thirty-six teams will be banned from the 2014-15 postseason because of sub-par scores on the newest Academic Progress Rate, which was released Wednesday. None is from a power conference. Of the 17 football and men's basketball teams, eight are from historically black schools: Alabama State and Florida A&M made the list in both sports. The NCAA has awarded approximately $4.3 million over the last three years to low-resource schools, defined as those ranking in the bottom 15 percent in funding. The money is to be used for extra tutoring or other academic resources for student-athletes.
From wire reports