Murray starts Wimbledon defense with win

LONDON (AP) — It had been, famously, more than 75 years since a British man arrived at Wimbledon as the defending champion.

So Andy Murray took a moment to take in the sights and sounds at Centre Court as nearly 15,000 spectators, including Shaquille O’Neal up in the Royal Box, rose to greet him with a raucous standing ovation.

Murray then went out and beat 105th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 victory for Murray. No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic won in similarly easy fashion, beating Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. However, three lower-seeded men lost: No. 18 Fernando Verdasco, No. 25 Andrea Seppi and No. 31 Vasek Pospisil.

Venus Williams got her first victory at Wimbledon since 2011. But there were losses for 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur, 18th-seeded Sloane Stephens and 27th-seeded Garbine Muguruza, the 20-year-old Spaniard who surprisingly beat Serena Williams in the second round of the French Open last month.

Duncan to return to Spurs

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tim Duncan could have easily gone out on top, with his fifth NBA championship trophy under his arm and his health intact just a few months after his 38th birthday.

There’s just no way. Duncan is having too much fun with his San Antonio Spurs coaches and teammates, and he’s playing too well to call it quits now.

Duncan has decided to exercise the option on his contract for 2014-15 and will return next season.

Vanderbilt takes game 1 of CWS final

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Vanderbilt capitalized on Virginia starter Nathan Kirby’s sudden loss of control to score nine runs in the third inning, then held off the Cavaliers to win 9-8 in the opener of the best-of-three College World Series finals.

Tyler Campbell continued his improbable breakout for the Commodores (50-20), doubling twice in the third inning. His second double came off reliever Whit Mayberry with the bases loaded to put Vanderbilt up 9-2.

But Virginia (52-15) chipped away, scoring three runs in the third, two in the fifth and another in the eighth to make it a one-run game.

Adam Ravenelle came on in the ninth to get the last three outs for his second save of the CWS.

Canucks hire Desjardins as coach

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Willie Desjardins was hired as coach of the Canucks, succeeding the fired John Tortorella after a season in which Vancouver missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

It will be Desjardins’ first NHL head coaching job. He was an assistant with the Dallas Stars from 2010 to 2012 and most recently led the AHL’s Texas Stars to a Calder Cup title. Desjardins is the 18th head coach in Canucks history.