In brief: Couples still leads at Senior Players event

Golf: Fred Couples shot a 3-under-par 68 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Senior Players Championship in Harrison, N.Y., the Champions Tour’s final major of the season.

Couples is at 11-under 202 for the tournament and is trying for his first Champions Tour title since a seven-stroke victory last October at the Adminstaff Small Business Classic in Texas.

Peter Senior remained in second at 10 under after a third-round 68 and was tied with John Cook, who moved up from fourth with a 66. Corey Pavin was fourth at 8 under after shooting a 69.

Tom Lehman shot a 67, finishing in a four-way tie for fifth at 207 with Tommy Armour III (67), Mark Calcavecchia (67), defending champion Mark O’Meara (69) and Jeff Sluman (69).

• Simpson leads by two at Wyndham: Webb Simpson shot a 6-under 64 to move to 15-under 195 and take a two-stroke lead after three rounds at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.

The Raleigh (N.C.) native and former Wake Forest player had four birdies and an eagle during his late charge at the final event before the PGA Tour’s playoffs start next week.

Tommy Gainey (69) is 13 under.

• Choi leads Safeway Classic: Na Yeon Choi took a three-stroke lead in the Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore., shooting a 2-under 69 to reach 8 under on Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club’s Ghost Creek course.

Stacy Lewis (68) is second. Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) shot a 75 in the second round and is tied for 25th at 2 over.

Murray outlasts Fish to reach finals

Tennis: Andy Murray survived enough break points to set up a tournament title match against the world’s top player.

The Scotsman overcame a pair of break points late in the second set, then another in the tiebreaker, beating American Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-6 (8) and advancing to the final at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

He’ll play No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who advanced when Tomas Berdych withdrew from their semifinal because of a shoulder injury.

In the women’s tournament, Maria Sharapova rolled to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Vera Zvonareva that clinched a spot in the finals.

Sharapova will play Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the finals. Jankovic beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 7-6, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

Georgia, Taiwan avoid elimination

Little League Baseball: Every step around the bases and every swing at the plate made Jake Fromm’s back ache.

The 13-year-old slugger from Warner Robins, Ga., had the perfect remedy – take a hack at the first pitch in each of his first two at-bats.

Fromm hit a home run and drove in four runs to lead Warner Robins, Ga., to a 6-3 win over Rapid City, S.D., at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. South Dakota was eliminated from contention.

Also, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, eliminated Oranjestad, Aruba, with a 20-3 victory; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, eliminated Rotterdam, Netherlands, with a 4-2 win; and the central Pennsylvania favorites from Clinton County defeated Cumberland, R.I., 2-0 in the nightcap.

Lynx beat Sparks to clinch playoff berth

WNBA: Seimone Augustus scored 17 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 87-68 to earn their first playoff berth since 2004.

Candice Wiggins added 13 points, including four 3-pointers for Minnesota (20-6), which tied a team record for wins in a season and entered the day leading the Western Conference by 41/2 games over second-place Phoenix. Monica Wright scored 11 points for the Lynx, who also own the WNBA’s best record by two games over East-leading Indiana (18-8).

Leyva, Horton lead U.S. team for worlds

Gymnastics: Danell Leyva’s first U.S. title earned him another trip to the world gymnastics championships.

Leyva and runner-up Jonathan Horton, whose performance Friday night had automatically qualified him, lead the U.S. team for the world championships. Joining them are U.S. bronze medalist John Orozco; Jake Dalton, who was fifth in the all-around and won the floor and vault titles; Steve Legendre, sixth overall; and Alexander Naddour, a pommel horse specialist.

The world championships are Oct. 7-16 in Tokyo and serve as the main qualifier for next summer’s London Olympics.

• Wieber wins U.S. title: Jordyn Wieber lived up to the hype and then some, winning her first title at the U.S. gymnastics championships in a rout in St. Paul, Minn.

Wieber finished with 121.30 points, 6.15 points ahead of McKayla Maroney.

LSU’s Miles unhappy with players

Miscellany: LSU coach Les Miles says players have “been involved in behavior that’s unacceptable to me” after starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson and several unidentified teammates were implicated in a fight at a local bar early Friday morning.

A group of 22 players who make up the Tigers’ Unity Council accompanied Miles for a terse 61/2-minute media session that included an apology from senior offensive lineman Josh Dworaczyk.

Miles said a “relatively large group” was involved in the incident, mentioning senior lineman T-Bob Hebert and Jefferson by name. Miles said all team members were accounted for at a 10:30 p.m. curfew check Thursday.

• Former Eagles defensive end Willey dies: Norm Willey, a former Pro Bowl defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles, died in Newark, Del. He was 83.

Nicknamed “Wild Man,” Willey played in 92 games for the Eagles from 1950-1957 and earned All-Pro selections three times (1953, ’54, ’55). He was named to the Pro Bowl, as well, in 1955 and 1956.

Royal Delta rallies to win Alabama Stakes

Horse racing: Royal Delta rallied strongly in the stretch and drew away to a 51/2-length victory in the $500,000 Alabama Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Jose Lezcano rode Royal Delta, who took the lead with less than a furlong to run and was quickly in control in what was the first stakes victory of her career. She ran 11/4 miles in 2:03.12 and earned $300,000 for her owner, Palides Investments.