*COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Redshirt sophomore Billy Baptist has been dismissed from the Illinois-Chicago team by coach Jimmy Collins for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Baptist, who was expected to compete for a starting job with the Flames, played at Illinois Central Junior College last season and was Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year, averaging 12 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting 64 percent from the field.
*AUTO RACING: Felipe Massa took the pole position for the decisive Brazilian Grand Prix, edging overall leader Lewis Hamilton. Massa, last year’s winner in Brazil, drove his Ferrari around the 2.6-mile Interlagos track in 1 minute 11.931 seconds, 0.151 faster than Hamilton. Sunday’s Brazilian GP will decide the tightest F1 race for the championship in 21 years that features a battle among Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton has 107 points, four more than McLaren teammate and two-time defending champion Alonso and seven more than Raikkonen. A win is worth 10 points and second through eighth are 8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
*GOLF: Carl Pettersson played steadily, and the result was a one-stroke lead for the Swedish-born player through three rounds of the Fry’s Electronics Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Pettersson shot a 6-under 64 and was at 13-under 197. Mark Hensby, with a 68, fell into a tie with Canadian Mark Weir at 12-under 198. … Suzann Pettersen shot an even-par 72 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Hana Bank KOLON Championship in Gyeongju, South Korea. Seeking her fourth LPGA Tour victory and fifth overall title of the year, Pettersen bogeyed two of the final three holes to finish at 3-under 143. Eun-Hee Ji was second at 2 under after a 68. … Tom Kite moved into position for his first tour victory in his native Texas, shooting a 6-under 65 for a share of the second-round lead with Mark O’Meara in the AT&T Championship in San Antonio. Born in McKinney and a longtime Austin resident, Kite is 0-for-119 in Texas on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. O’Meara, the first-round leader after a 63, shot a 68 to match Kite at 11-under 131.
*BOXING: Germany’s Felix Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title, fighting to a draw with American Randy Griffin in Hale, Germany. Both fighters traded shots non-stop for 12 rounds. One judge ruled the fight 114-114, while the other two had it 117-116 for Griffin (24-1-3) and 115-114 for Sturm (28-2-1).
