KOFU, Japan (AP) — Milivoje Novakovic scored twice in the first half Saturday as Omiya Ardija beat Ventforet Kofu 3-0 to maintain its lead in the J-League standings. Novakovic opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the fourth minute and defender Kosuke Kikuchi widened the lead midway through the first half with a right-foot shot from 15 meters.

MONACO (AP) — Sebastian Vettel needs to rediscover his speed in qualifying if he is to protect his overall Formula One lead at the Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is the hardest track to overtake on in F1, with only two drivers winning from outside of pole position in the last 10 years, so starting from the front is crucial. [...] Vettel's Red Bull has not been as dominant in qualifying over the last three races, and the German's lead over Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen is just four points going into Sunday's showcase race. Tire management has been a crucial factor, with the Pirelli tires shredding too easily in all five races so far. The Italian manufacturer was heavily criticized in Barcelona, where there were nearly 80 pit stops and most drivers had to shelve plans for a three-stop strategy, taking four instead. Vettel is a big fan of Monaco, which blends danger with a picturesque setting featuring the glittering harbor, the resplendent casino and Prince Albert's palatial residence looming imperiously over the track.

A year ago at Indy, Will Power was collected in the race's first crash and a bouncing wheel wound up hitting the car of his teammate, Helio Castroneves. The year before, we didn't quite get it right, so it was a kick in the butt, said Castroneves, the first foreign-born three-time Indy 500 winner. Nobody knows that better than Penske, whose pursuit of perfection and uniformity changed IndyCar racing forever. In 1995, his team tried everything to get its cars into the starting grid. Over the last three years, Penske drivers have been victimized by botched pit stops, crashes and miscues, making the once unbeatable team look fallible. There are four distinct turns, and track conditions can change at any whim Mother Nature throws out — hot or cold temperatures, windy or still conditions and especially moisture. Two years ago, after Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon both ran out of fuel in qualifying, they miscalculated the fuel consumption on race day. On Sunday, he'll start third, the outside of Indy's coveted front row still trying to get a victory that has eluded five Andretti drivers.

There were four birdies in his first seven holes Friday, and he got the lead with a 6-foot birdie putt at the 457-yard 14th hole. Ranked No. 13 in the world — the highest in the field — Kuchar took the lead with a 6-foot-birdie putt at the 457-yard 14th, and recovered from a drive into a fairway bunker on the 15th for a par while clouds darkened and thunder could be heard in the distance. First-round leader Ryan Palmer, the Colonial member who had an opening 62, was still at 8 under after an up-and-down 12 holes Friday that he managed to play at even par. Flesch's 64 matched the best completed round of the day and, more importantly, will end his string of 16 missed cuts on the PGA Tour since October 2011. The 2004 Colonial champion missed the cut in all 12 of his PGA Tour starts last year before right shoulder surgery in August, and is playing only his third tour event this year. The former Texas A&M golfer with three PGA Tour wins sank an 11-foot birdie putt at No. 3, but hit his drive at No. 5 landed behind a tree and he took a drop in the rough, leading a double bogey.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — U.S. Olympic champion Ryan Lochte won the 200-meter backstroke and 200 freestyle Friday night in the Mel Zajac Jr. International Canada Cup. Lochte finished the backstroke in 1 minute, 59.56 seconds and took the freestyle in 1:50.15. "I have a faster gear," he said. "I just never went to it. The time was decent. The win was nice." American Emily Brunemann won the women's 1,500 in a meet-record 16:27.99.

Details of the offers were not made official, but Brazilian media reported that Real Madrid is willing to pay €35 million for Neymar, €7 million more than rival Barcelona. Neymar learned the details of the offers past midnight Brazilian time in the coastal city of Santos, but left Santos' headquarters without giving any hints about which team he will choose. Neymar's dad said the player was expected to play for Santos in the team's opening match in the Brazilian league on Sunday, against Flamengo in Brasilia. The player officially rejected a €35 million offer from Chelsea in 2010, and a year later Santos said five European teams contacted the club to try to sign the youngster, who eventually re-signed with Santos until the 2014 World Cup, with a buyout clause of €65 million. Bayern Munich reportedly also was trying to sign the 21-year-old forward, who is touted as the future of Brazilian football and the main player carrying the country's hopes to win the 2014 World Cup at home.

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — Colin Montgomerie called the Sergio Garcia "fried chicken" controversy a "mountain out of a molehill." The Scottish player spoke Friday about the controversy surrounding Garcia and George O'Grady, the European Tour CEO who used the term "colored" during a live television interview in which he was reacting to the spat between Garcia and Tiger Woods. Totally, Montgomerie said at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Woods and Garcia have exchanged barbs over the past two weeks, dating to the third round of The Players Championship when Garcia implied that Woods purposely stirred up the gallery as the Spaniard was playing a shot. "George says colored, somebody says black, but who is to say who is right and wrong, and for the chief executive who is a very educated man to get caught up then we need to decide what we can and can't say and move on quickly," Montgomerie said.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — They raced 1-2-3 in line, trading the lead a whopping 15 times over the final, frantic 75 laps. The bar was certainly raised at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year with 34 lead changes, passing throughout the field, Franchitti rallying from the back to win and three of the late Dan Wheldon's closest friends sweeping the podium. The series is off to a terrific start this year with three winners in the first four races, and for the first time since 1991 none of the winners drive for the mighty Penske Racing or Chip Ganassi Racing teams. Franchitti and Helio Castroneves are each vying to join Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of the Indy 500, a feat that's not been done since Mears' 1991 victory. "What an incredible opportunity for the fans to have not only one, but two guys trying to make history," Castroneves said. Carlos Munoz, a 21-year-old Colombian making his IndyCar debut, will start second alongside Marco Andretti, who is once again considered a favorite but must overcome a curse that has limited his famous family to one win — Mario Andretti in 1969 — in 80 starts. [...] Rahal thinks everybody is overlooking AJ Allmendinger, who will make his Indianapolis 500 debut seven years after he left open-wheel racing for NASCAR. A failed drug test cost him his NASCAR ride last summer with Roger Penske, but the team owner has given him a second chance with this IndyCar opportunity. Carpenter, the stepson of IndyCar Series founder Tony George, is a graduate of Butler and a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan and the surprise pole-winner for the Indy 500. Carpenter is powered by Chevrolet, which for the second year in a row dominated all the preparations for the Indy 500 and swept the first 10 spots in qualifying. If that sounds familiar, it should — last year, Chevrolet dominated leading into the Indy 500 but Franchitti won in a Honda.

(AP) — Kara Cannizzaro scored four straight goals in a 7:20 span in the second half to help third-seeded North Carolina beat two-time defending national champion Northwestern 11-4 on Friday in the NCAA women's lacrosse semifinals. Brooke Griffin scored the go-ahead goal on an assist from Katie Schwarzmann with 2:51 left to lead top-seeded and undefeated Maryland (22-0), which has won 11 national titles, into its 21st championship game appearance. Friend scored two first-half goals to help North Carolina to a 4-1 halftime advantage. [...] the Tar Heels opened the second half with three straight goals, capped by Kelly Devlin's goal on a free position that put them up 7-1 with just under 23 minutes left. The Wildcats played short-handed in the final 15:45 after Leonard received a second yellow card. Against Syracuse, Kelly McPartland had three goals, and Alex Aust, Beth Glaros and Taylor Cummings each had a pair of goals for Maryland, which claimed seven straight titles from 1995-2001 and won its last title in 2010. McPartland tied with a goal from close range with just under 11 minutes remaining. [...] Glaros scored from close range on a pass from Schwarzmann with 35 seconds left, and Aust followed with a tally on a free position with 11 ticks left in the half, also off a feed from Schwarzmann, to put Syracuse up three goals at the break. Gait spoke out afterward about the need for a rules change, which wouldn't allow teams to maintain possession like Maryland did for much of the final 10 minutes.

WIAA Class 1A, 2B, 1B track championship results (AP) — Results from the Class 1A, 2B and 1B track and field championships: Boys team Scores: 1, Trout Lake/Glenwood 23.50. 3, Shoreline Christian 14. 5 (tie), Crescent, Bickleton 12. 7 (tie), Mansfield, Entiat, Valley Christian 10. 10 (tie), Mount Rainier Lutheran, Wellpinit 9. 14 (tie), Neah Bay, Soap Lake 5. 16 (tie), Cusick, Odessa-Harrington, Lummi, Wishkah Valley 4. 20 (tie), Republic, Shorewood Christian, Northport 3. 24 (tie), Waterville, Christian Faith School 1. 2 (tie), Trout Lake/Glenwood, Columbia (Hunters), Waterville 16. 11 (tie), Muckleshoot Tribal School, Wilson Creek, Soap Lake 5. 15 3, (tie), Cedar Park Christian/MLT, Neah Bay, Valley Christian 3. 3, Caleb Bonner, Shoreline Christian, 4:44.65. 7, Tyrell Bonner, Shoreline Christian, 4:52.50. 8, C. J. Cabiles, Christian Faith School, 5:01.42. Boys Triple Jump 1, Macen McLean, Mansfield, 44-10 1/2 New 1B State Meet Record. Previous record 43-10 set by Macen McLean of Mansfield in 2012. Daniel Hall, Shoreline Christian, 41-03 1/2. Boys Discus Throw Boys Pole Vault 1, Kenny Carr, Pomeroy, 13-00 New 2B State Meet Record. Previous record 12-09 set by Nic Venema of Bickelton in 2012 and Patrick Maeder of Bickelton in 2009. 8 Mark Loveless, Mt. Boys Javelin Throw 4, Jason Korneychuk, Soap Lake, 153-03. 1, Emily Wooldridge, Entiat, 11:52.24 New 1B State Meet Record. Previous Record11:57.39 set by Lucy Deflippis of Seton Catholic in 2011. 2, Valerie Vogt, Trout Lake/Glenwood, 11:58.81. 8, Iraina Nitz, Evergreen Lutheran, 13:36.43. Girls Shot Put 3, Kaitlin Jones, Columbia (Hunters), 32-11. 5, Marissa Brooks, Soap Lake, 30-05. 7, Elizabeth Larrew, Columbia (Hunters), 29-01 1/2. Girls High Jump 3, Emily Holder, Evergreen Lutheran, 4-10. Girls Long Jump 2, Elizabeth Larrew, Columbia (Hunters), 15-11. 4, Olicia Ho, Muckleshoot Tribal School, 15-02. 8, Esther Coreas, Soap Lake, 13-11. Girls Long Jump 2, Elizabeth Larrew, Columbia (Hunters), 15-11. 4, Olicia Ho, Muckleshoot Tribal School, 15-02. 8, Esther Coreas, Soap Lake, 13-11. Boys team scores: 3 (tie), St. John-Endicott, Waitsburg-Prescott 11. 5 (tie), La Conner, Onalaska 10. 7 (tie), Tekoa-Oaksdale-Rosalia, Kittitas 8. 11 (tie), Morton-White Pass, Wahkiakum, Liberty Bell, Winlock 5. 15 (tie), Naselle, Napavine 4. 17 (tie), Walla Walla Valley, Toutle Lake 3. 19 (tie), Northwest Christian (Colbert), Bear Creek, Reardan, Pe Ell 2. 23 (tie), St. George's, Ocosta 1. 9 (tie), Mossyrock, Lake Roosevelt, South Ben, 6. 13 (tie), Raymond, Dayton, St. John-Endicott, Liberty Bell 4. 17 (tie), Onalaska, Ocosta 3. Boys 1600 Meter Run 1, Stephen Bottoms, Onalaska, 4:13.24 New 2B State Meet Record. Previous record 4:18.3h by Erick Goldman of University Prep in 1989. Boys Long Jump Boys Shot Put Boys High Jump Girls Triple Jump 8, Makenzie Russell, South Bend, 31-00. Girls Javelin Throw 1, Karen Bulger, Northwest Christian (Lacey), 154-04 New 2B State Meet Record. Previous record 146-04 set by Kristina Reed of South Bend in 2003. 4, Myranda Curtis, South Bend, 121-00. Girls Discus Throw 1, Piper Loop, Asotin, 127-01. Boys team scores: 2 (tie), Bellevue Christian, Cedar Park Christian 14. 4 (tie), Mount Baker, Blaine, Quincy. 7 (tie), Charles Wright Academy, King's Way Christian. 9 (tie), Meridian, King's, La Center 9. 12 (tie), Chewelah, Eatonville 8. 14 (tie), Highland, Port Townsend 6. 16 (tie), Kiona Benton, Freeman, La Salle 5. 19 (tie), Newport, Chimacum. 21, Toledo 3. 22 (tie), White Salmon, Stevenson, Kettle Falls, Cashmere 2. 26 (tie), Naches Valley, Lakeside, Montesano, South Whidbey, Vashon Island 1. 3 (tie), Lakeside, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 15. 5 (tie), Chelan, Seattle Christian 10. 9 (tie), University Prep, Columbia-Burbank 6. 11 (tie), Montesano, Freeman 5. 13 (tie), Kalama, Rainier 4. 15 (tie), Connell, Brewster 3.5. 17 (tie), King's, Eatonville, Zillah 3. 22 (tie), Life Christian Academy, Chewelah 1. Boys Triple Jump 7, Chris Boring, Kettle Falls, 40-06 1/4. Boys Pole Vault Boys 1600 Meter Run 3, Jack Espinoza, Highland, 4:26.77. Boys Discus Throw Boys Javelin Throw Girls Shot Put 3, Audrey Western, University Prep, 11:28.12. Girls Long Jump Girls High Jump