Briefs | Tennis: Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 4th time in a row

Tennis

Serena reaches Family Circle semifinals: American Serena Williams beat Russian Maria Sharapova for the fourth consecutive time, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 and advancing to the Family Circle Cup semifinals in Charleston, S.C.

Williams, who is ranked ninth in the world, has not lost to Sharapova, who is ranked fourth, since 2005 and is 5-2 overall against her.

In today's semifinals, Williams faces 40th-ranked Alize Cornet of France, who said, "I hope not to be ridiculous."

Blake advances: American James Blake defeated Agustin Calleri of Argentina 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston. Blake will face Spain's Oscar Hernandez, who beat American Mardy Fish 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

Smoke from a nearby hamburger concession wafted into the stadium.

"I felt like I was playing in a bar," Fish said.

Safety

Agency looks into possible hazards in artificial turf: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking into the possible health hazards of lead in artificial turf installed at schools, parks and stadiums across the country.

Two AstroTurf fields in New Jersey were closed this week after state health officials detected what they said were unexpectedly high levels of lead in the synthetic turf.

Boxing

Hopkins-Calzaghe bout is tonight: American Bernard Hopkins kept his hands to himself at the weigh-in for his fight tonight with Joe Calzaghe of Wales, engaging in none of the actions that led to a $200,000 fine after his fight against Winky Wright in July.

Hopkins and Calzaghe each weighed in at 173 pounds at the Planet Hollywood casino, two pounds below the light-heavyweight limit for tonight's fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Though Hopkins and Calzaghe touched heads and engaged in some vigorous trash-talking after stepping on the scales, the gamesmanship didn't erupt into violence, as it did before Hopkins' bout against Wright.

College football

Charges against ex-Penn State player are dropped: Sexual-assault charges, and all others, were dropped against Austin Scott, 23, a former Penn State running back. The state Superior Court ruled earlier in the day that jurors could hear testimony about the alleged victim's involvement in a separate sexual-assault case in 2003. The defendant in that case was acquitted.

The Centre County district attorney's office said it withdrew the charges because there was "no reasonable likelihood" it could meet the burden of proof.

Soccer

Ex-Husky Franchino is traded by New England: The Los Angeles Galaxy acquired midfielder Joe Franchino, 31, from the New England Revolution for a 2009 Major League Soccer second-round draft choice. Franchino played college soccer for Washington in 1996 and 1997 after transferring from Cal State Fullerton. He began his MLS career with the Galaxy.

Wagner, Mitts return to roster: Aly Wagner and Heather Mitts are back from injury-caused layoffs and were among 25 players selected for upcoming exhibition matches with the U.S. team.

Running

Lagat schedule: World champion Bernard Lagat, a former Washington State standout, will compete in the 1,500-meter event at the Adidas Track Classic on May 18 in Carson, Calif.

Huckabee drops out of Boston Marathon: Mike Huckabee, ex-Arkansas governor and former Republican presidential candidate, withdrew from Monday's Boston Marathon because of a knee injury, organizers said.

Diving

Finchum, Boudia triumph: Thomas Finchum and David Boudia won the 10-meter synchronized final for the sixth time, and Mary Yarrison and Abby Johnson took their second title in the women's 3-meter event in the spring nationals in Minneapolis.

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