Nadal, Murray reach U.S. open semis
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Defending champion Rafael Nadal and fourth-seeded Andy Murray claimed semifinal berths with wins Friday at the U.S. Open.
Murray collected his fourth Grand Slam semifinal slot this year with a 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) win over 28th-seeded John Isner. Nadal followed with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 rout of No. 21-seeded Andy Roddick.
They join world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and third-seeded Roger Federer, who will play in the first match in Saturday's semifinals. Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray collected 14 of the 16 major tournament semifinal spots this year.
Murray broke Isner's serve just twice but each was worth a set. He lost his serve once, which cost him the third set. Isner committed a double fault and fell behind 1-2 in the tiebreaker. Murray won five of the next six points to advance.
Nadal recorded breaks the first two times Roddick served and had early breaks in both the second and third sets in taking control. Nadal, who hasn't lost a set in the tournament, had just 13 unforced errors against Roddick.
Nadal has a four-match winning streak and 12-4 overall record against Murray.
Federer is one of two players -- Murray is the other -- to have beaten Djokovic this year. He took a four-set decision at the semifinals at the French Open. That improved Federer's career record to 14-9 versus Djokovic, although he's 1-3 this year against the world No. 1.
Weather delays Tuesday and Wednesday led to the schedule being pushed back with the men's singles final set for 4 p.m. EDT Monday.
Reutimann wins pole at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- David Reutimann, among the last to make his qualifying run, won the pole Friday for the final Sprint Cup race prior to the start of the championship chase.
Reutimann traveled at 127.383 mph during his lap around the Richmond International Raceway and will start out front in Saturday's Wonderful Pistachios 400.
After this weekend's race, the top 10 point earners and two wild-card entrants, based on number of victories, will compete for the series title. That competition will take place over 10 races, the final one coming Nov. 20 in Homestead, Fla.
This is the fourth pole in Reutimann's career and his first in 84 races. He was the 40th out of 46 would-be qualifiers to make his attempt. Jamie McMurray qualified second, just .0008 of a second behind Reutimann.
Neither of the top two qualifiers has a chance to make the chase for the championship.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer rounded out the Top 5 qualifiers.
The last two spots in the points standings are currently held by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.
Stewart will start 22nd and will clinch a spot in the chase if he finishes 18th or better in the race. Earnhardt qualified 27th and he will have a spot in the chase if he winds up no worse than 20th.
Ohio State fires Olympic gold medalist
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Ohio State fired 2004 Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Paul Hamm Friday following his arrest on assault charges.
Hamm has been an assistant to Ohio State gymnastics coach Rustam Sharipov. Multiple reports said Hamm was arrested after assaulting a taxi driver in a dispute over a $23 fare.
Hamm won gold at the Athens Olympics in the all-around event, which identifies the world's best gymnast.
The victory was controversial, however, because three judges made a mistake in not assigning the proper scoring value to a parallel bars routine performed by Dae-eun Kim of South Korea. Hamm's gold medal winning total wound up being just .012 of a point higher than that of Kim, but if the proper scoring value had been listed by the judges Kim would have won the gold.
The international governing body of gymnastics refused a South Korean protest on the grounds it had been filed too late, but suspended the three judges involved and later asked Hamm to give up his gold medal. The United States Olympic Committee said Hamm would keep his medal because the International Gymnastics Federation was "trying to shift responsibility for its own mistake."
Hamm, 28, graduated from Ohio State in 2007. Gene Smith, Ohio State's athletic director, said Hamm would be dismissed immediately.
"We have high standards for our coaching staff and unfortunately Mr. Hamm failed to meet those standards," Smith said.
California Senate approves new LA stadium
SACRAMENTO, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The California Senate voted Friday in favor of the construction of a 72,000-seat stadium in downtown Los Angeles.
It was the last legislative step required for creation of a facility designed chiefly to bring a National Football League franchise back to the city. Los Angeles has not had an NFL franchise since both the Rams and Raiders left town following the 1994 season.
The bill, approved 32-7, would expedite a judicial review, create environmental protections and prevent frivolous lawsuits against the project.
The legislation even gives the proposed stadium a name -- Farmers Field. It would be built at a cost of $1.2 billion where the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center now stands.
"The building of a new sports arena and convention center is a game changer for the city of Los Angeles and the region," said Alex Padilla, the state senator who sponsored the legislation. "This project represents $1.2 billion in private investment in our city. It will create thousands of jobs and continue the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles."
For Los Angeles to acquire a team, a current franchise will have to move to the city or the NFL must expand from its current 32-team configuration.
