Marshall Shoots 68, Shares Lead in LPGA du Maurier

Kathryn Marshall, battling a migraine headache, shot a five-under-par 68 Thursday to join Colleen Walker and Vicki Fergon atop the leaderboard after the opening round of the LPGA du Maurier Classic at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Canada.

Headaches are a price she pays to play golf, said Marshall, who is from Scotland.

“Whenever I do play well, I tend to get headaches,” she said. “When you’re not well, you concentrate on each shot more. You just want to get off the course.”

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Larry Mize had eight birdies to take the lead in the suspended first round of the rain-delayed Sprint International at Castle Rock, Colo.

Mize posted a score of 15 points under the modified Stableford scoring system used in the tournament, which awards two points for a birdie and subtracts a point for a bogey.

Phil Mickelson, battling for a Ryder Cup berth, was in second with 14 points.

Track and Field

As expected, the International Amateur Athletic Federation’s Congress voted by a 2-to-1 margin to reduce its minimum drug bans from four years to two, drawing protests from those wanting the sport to take a tougher stand.

The decision brings the IAAF in line with other world federations and the International Olympic Committee on policing drugs.

The ruling is retroactive, meaning anyone serving a four-year suspension who has completed at least two years could be reinstated immediately.

College Football

The NCAA cleared Grambling football Coach Eddie Robinson of any violations, but put the university on two years’ probation because of minor infractions by his son, Eddie Robinson Jr., and the play of two academically ineligible basketball players.

The announcement came as Robinson--the winningest coach in college football with 405 victories--prepares for his final season at the school. Violations in the football program included improper recruiting contacts with prospective transfer athletes, improper tryouts and out-of-season practices.

Steve Spurrier, who coached Florida to its first national championship last season and then spurned NFL offers, has agreed to an contract extension worth about $2 million a year, the Florida Times-Union reported.

Jurisprudence

In return for his guilty plea on one count of filing a false federal income tax statement in 1993, two other counts against NBA referee George Toliver of Harrisonburg, Va., were dismissed. Toliver will be sentenced Oct. 24.

A jury in Cleveland deliberated for three hours without reaching a verdict in a civil case over a fight involving Charles Barkley. The eight jurors told the judge they would return today to decide whether to award damages to Jeb Tyler, who is suing the NBA star for $550,000.

Kentucky football player Jason Watts was charged with first-degree assault in connection with the shooting of teammate Omar Smith, according to police in Lexington, Ky.

Portland Trail Blazer forward Clifford Robinson was stopped by Portland police Wednesday night and cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana.

Tennis

The du Maurier Canadian Open lost its second- and third-seeded players when Goran Ivanisevic and Thomas Muster were upset in the third round at Montreal.

Ivanisevic was ousted by 57th-ranked Chris Woodruff, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. Muster lost, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, to 50th-ranked Fabrice Santoro.

Top-seeded Michael Chang survived, coming from a set down to post a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over the 15th-seeded Alex O’Brien. Chang next will play eighth-seeded Richard Krajicek, who defeated former UCLA standout Justin Gimelstob, 6-2, 6-4.

Miscellany

Mike Dunleavy, named coach of the Portland Trail Blazers 2 1/2 months ago, signed a five-year contract with the team. . . . Forwards Brent Severyn and Yves Sarault signed one-year deals with the Colorado Avalanche. . . . The Phoenix Coyotes and forward Jim McKenzie agreed to a one-year, $500,000 contract. . . . John Forney, a fixture in the broadcast booth at Alabama football games for more than a quarter-century, died of cardiac arrest. He was 70. . . . Two-time Olympian Peter Newton, of Bellevue, Wash., won the K-1 500-meter race at the U.S. Canoe and Kayak Championships at Lake Lanier, Ga., and teamed with Angel Perez, of Miami, to win the K-2 500-meter race. . . . Brooke Bennett, who won the 800-meter Olympic gold medal last summer, won the same event at the Phillips 66 National Swimming Championships at Nashville. Her time was 8 minutes, 28.79 seconds. . . . Ron Hornaday pulled away on the outside of race leader Jimmy Hensley on the last lap to win the NASCAR Truck series Cummins 200 at the Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.