Montana winning but missing school

The boys from Billings have the perfect excuse to miss the start of school Wednesday back home in Montana -- they keep winning at the Little League World Series.

Patrick Zimmer tossed five shutout innings and Ben Askelson hit a two-out, two-run single in a 3-1 victory over Lafayette, La., on Sunday that kept the Northwest region champs undefeated in South Williamsport.

It's not a bad start for the first team from Montana to ever qualify for youth baseball's biggest tournament, even though the players didn't think they would get here.

"We were just kind of hoping to make it" to the regional tournament, said Ian Leatherberry, 12, who added an insurance run in the sixth with a two-out, RBI double. "That was our ultimate goal, and then we got even farther."

California beats Kentucky

Huntington Beach, Calif., pounded out 12 hits and Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto combined on a two-hitter as the West region champs stayed undefeated in the Little League World Series with a 10-0 victory over LaGrange, Ky. ... Yonny Hernandez hit two homers, and three pitchers combined for a shutout to help Maracay, Venezuela, stay undefeated at the Little League World Series with an 8-0 victory over Langley, British Columbia.

Djokovic retires during finalNovak Djokovic's remarkable winning streak ended with a grimace, one that puts a new spin on the U.S. Open.

It was the Serb's first bad moment in his 57-2 season. Djokovic had won 16 consecutive matches since his only previous loss of the season in the semifinals against Roger Federer on June 3 at Roland Garros. The winning streak has taken a toll.

Djokovic talked about feeling exhausted in Cincinnati, coming off his record fifth Masters series title in Montreal last week. He said his serving shoulder had bothered him for about the past 10 days, but he'd been able to manage the soreness and keep winning.

On Sunday, he couldn't go on.

"There is no good loss, that's for sure," Djokovic. "The good thing is there's a week, eight days to the start of the Open.

"I'm confident I can recover and be ready for the U.S. Open."

AROUND THE HORN

Running: John J. Kelley, winner of the 1957 Boston Marathon and known to his fans as the first modern American road runner, has died. Amby Burfoot, a friend whom Kelley coached in high school in Groton in the early 1960s, confirmed his death. He said Kelley died Sunday in Stonington at his daughter's home from a melanoma that spread to his lungs. He was 80.

Basketball: Nnemkadi Ogwumike of Stanford scored 24 points and Elena Delle Donne of Delaware added 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead the United States to a 101-66 rout of Taiwan in the gold medal game of the World University games on Sunday.

WNBA: Renee Montgomery had 21 points and seven assists, and Connecticut stopped a two-game losing streak with a 96-87 victory over Atlanta. ... Katie Douglas scored 15 points to lead Indiana over Washington 83-51. ... Candace Parker scored 23 points and Los Angeles ran off 16 consecutive points to overcome a 15-point, second-half deficit and hand Tulsa its WNBA-record 18th consecutive loss, 73-67.

Horse racing: Three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Calvin Borel was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Indiana.