Jones Grabs Early Lead With a Near-Record 64

Steve Jones shot an eight-under-par 64 -- only one stroke off the course record -- to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Jones stole the spotlight from the stars on the tame TPC at Sawgrass and has a one-shot lead over Fred Funk, Zach Johnson and Lee Westwood.

Jones hasn’t won in seven years, and an elbow injury left him so uncertain about his future that he dabbled in commercial real estate and house painting in case he needed another career to fall back on.

Vijay Singh matched his best start at the Players Championship with a five-under 67. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods each shot 70. Ernie Els had a 71.

Tennis

Kim Clijsters needed only 46 minutes to win her first-round match at the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Clijsters continued her comeback from a wrist injury by winning the first 11 games and beating Sandra Kloesel, 6-0, 6-1.

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Hockey

The NHL canceled its June draft, citing the lockout that led to cancellation of the 2004-05 season. The draft had been scheduled for June 25-26 in Ottawa.

The league and its 30 teams would have had to reserve hotel and meeting rooms, an expense they decided against considering the state of negotiations with the NHL Players’ Assn. No meetings are planned, and a deal to end the lockout may be months off.

The NHL did not announce plans for a draft once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, but a league source said it would be conducted via a teleconference call and using electronic selections.

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College Basketball

Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier and Fresno City College Coach Vance Walberg will be the latest to interview for the Loyola Marymount men’s basketball job next week.

Carlos Powell scored 21 points to lead South Carolina (18-13) to a 69-66 victory over Georgetown (19-13) in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament at Columbia, S.C.

Former Indiana guard Dane Fife, 25, became the nation’s youngest Division I coach when he was hired by Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. Fife spent the last two seasons on Mike Davis’ staff at Indiana.

Wichita State Coach Mark Turgeon received a three-year contract extension after the Shockers’ second consecutive 20-win season.

Eastern Kentucky’s Travis Ford has been chosen as coach of Massachusetts.

Alabama junior forward Kennedy Winston will skip his final season of eligibility and make himself available for the NBA draft on June 28.

In the Division II semifinals at Grand Forks, N.D., Bryant defeated Tarleton State, 60-55, and Virginia Union defeated Lynn, 76-61. Bryant (25-8) and Virginia Union (29-4) will meet Saturday for the title.

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Jurisprudence

Keith LeGree, assistant basketball coach at Cincinnati, was suspended after he was charged with driving under the influence, less than a year after Coach Bob Huggins was suspended for a drunk-driving conviction.

Former Avenger Cornelius Coe pleaded guilty in Marquette, Mich., to a felony charge of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine and 500 or more grams of cocaine. Coe faces a minimum of five years in prison and could serve up to 40 years.

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Soccer

The referee at the center of German soccer’s game-fixing scandal says a gambling ring knew in advance which officials would work Champions League and international matches.

Robert Hoyzer, who has admitted taking bribes to rig games, told investigators he saw the list of referees in a car belonging to a Berlin cafe owned by three Croatian brothers alleged to have run the scam, Der Spiegel magazine reported.

Chivas USA acquired rookie defender/midfielder Victor Arbelaez in a trade with San Jose, the Earthquakes receiving the fourth pick in the 2006 Major League Soccer supplemental draft. Arbelaez was San Jose’s third-round draft pick this year from Nevada Las Vegas.

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Cycling

Natalia Tsylinskaya of Belarus upset Olympic and world champion Anna Meares of Australia in winning the women’s 500-meter time trial in 34.738 seconds at the Track Cycling World Championships in Carson. Meares was second, in 34.752. Rebecca Conzelman of Cincinnati finished 13th (36.074).

Volodymyr Rybin of Ukraine defeated Ioannis Tamouridis of Greece to win the men’s 40-kilometer points race, 38-36.