Birdies flock to Diaz late, provide a three-stroke lead

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Laura Diaz rallied for four birdies down the stretch to shoot a 2-under 69 for a three-stroke lead over Lydia Ko and Lee-Anne Pace after Friday’s second round of the Marathon Classic.

Diaz, who has devoted more time to her family than competition in recent years, led by four shots after shooting a bogey-free 62 in the opening round. She is at 11-under 131 at the tournament’s midpoint.

Ko, bidding for a second LPGA Tour title as a pro to go with the two she won as an amateur, shot a second consecutive 67 to share second with South Africa’s Pace, who had a 68.

Lurking another shot back at 135 are 2012 Marathon winner So Yeon Ryu and Rebecca Lee-Bentham, both of whom shot 67s.

MLB

Top pick Aiken rebuffs Astros with an eye toward UCLA

CHICAGO – The Houston Astros have failed to sign the first pick in this year’s draft.

The Astros say they didn’t reach an agreement with high school pitcher Brady Aiken before Friday’s deadline.

The left-hander from San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic was just the third prep pitcher to be selected first overall when he was taken last month. Aiken was also the first high school lefty to be drafted in the first five picks since Adam Loewen went fourth overall to Baltimore in 2002. The UCLA recruit has a fastball that hits 96-97 mph.

NBA

Haslem rejoins Miami Heat on a 2-year discount deal

New York – Udonis Haslem signed a two-year, $5.6 million contract with the Miami Heat.

Haslem has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Heat and is the franchise’s all-time rebounds leader. He and Dwyane Wade are the only players to appear on all three of Miami’s championship teams.

The Miami native opted out of a contract that would have paid him $4.6 million next season to give the team flexibility during free agency.

Haslem averaged 3.8 points last season. For his career, Haslem has averaged 8.6 points in 715 regular-season games.

NFL

Aldon Smith sentenced to probation in weapons case

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A judge has sentenced San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith to three years of probation and to spend 11 days with a work crew after he pleaded no contest to drunken driving and assault-weapons charges.

The sentence came Friday after the Santa Clara County Superior County judge reduced the weapons charges to misdemeanors, noting that the football star has no criminal record involving violence.

Smith was also told to serve 235 hours of community service and pay nearly $4,000 in fines.

Prosecutors say Smith didn’t receive special treatment in the case.

The weapons charges stem from a 2012 party at his home where several shots were fired. Investigators later found unregistered weapons in Smith’s house.

NFL restricts underclassmen evaluations to 5 per school

NEW YORK – The NFL will limit the number of underclassmen who can receive evaluations for the draft to five from a single school, although special exceptions will be allowed.

Concerned about the record 107 underclassmen who applied for this year’s draft, and with 37 of them not selected, the league’s College Advisory Committee developed new guidelines for players considering forfeiting their final years of eligibility.

Troy Vincent, the league’s head of football operations, said Friday the underclassmen will be advised on their potential to be picked in the first or second round. They also could be advised to stay in school.

Previous assessments dealt with the first through third rounds, and whether a player had no potential of being selected.

Associated Press