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PETERMORRISON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Phil Mickelson of the United States plays a shot on the 14th fairway during the second round of the British Open Golf Championships at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, on Friday. ByDougFerguson The Associated Press TROON, SCOTLAND Phil Mickel- son wore a black rain suit that he didn't need until he approached the far end of Royal Troon and al- ready had stretched his lead. Hen- rik Stenson opened the curtains at his house expecting to see rain coming down sideways and was pleasantly surprised by the calm. Good golf and the good end of the draw is tough to beat in the British Open. Mickelson hit a wedge that spun back toward the cup un- til it stopped about two postage stamps away on the par-3 eighth hole, the signature shot in his 2-under 69 that allowed him to back up his record-tying start and take the 36-hole lead in a major for the first time in three years. "I thought it was a good round to back up the low round yester- day," Mickelson said. "I played kind of stress-free golf again. I made one or two bad swings that led to bogeys. But for the most part, kept the ball in play." He just couldn't shake Stenson, who timed his birdies perfectly. The Swede made three straight birdies before the wind showed up and the clouds began to spit rain. He added two more during lulls in the increasingly bad weather. And he wound up with a Friday- best 65 that enabled him to close within one shot of Mickelson. "I was five back of Phil from yesterday, so of course I was hop- ing to gain a little," Stenson said. "And the way it turned out, I gained quite a lot. It's still early in the tournament, though. We're only halfway through. But so far, so good. I'm happy with the way I played the course. It's not easy out there." Try telling that to the players who had to endure an afternoon of gusts that topped 30 mph and rain so heavy at times it was hard to see. "Some draws go your way," Rory McIlroy said, "and some draws don't." Just look at the leaderboard. Mickelson was at 10-under 132, the best 36-hole total ever to lead at Royal Troon. Stenson, a BRITISH OPEN GOLF Mickelsonshinesinwind,rain American keeps lead of 1 shot over Stenson heading into weekend By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, MASS. Tom Brady said Friday he will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block his four-game "Deflategate" suspen- sion, ending his fight in a scan- dal that tested the power of the NFL commissioner and tarnished the reputation of one of the sport's greatest players. "It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the dif- ficult decision to no longer pro- ceed with the legal process," the New England Patriots quarter- back said in a Facebook post . "I'm going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New Eng- land Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to re- turn to the field this fall." The decision by the four-time Super Bowl champion comes two days after his case was turned aside by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Brady's only remaining hope to take the field when the Patriots open the season against Arizona on Sept. 11 had been a stay from the nation's high- est court, which accepts about 1 percent of the appeals submitted. More worrisome for Brady and the Patriots, though, was the chance that he would receive a stay — which would require only NFL Br ad y en ds appeal, will serve his suspension By Dan Gelston The Associated Press LOUDON, N.H. Jeff Gordon is ready to pull his firesuit out of storage and come off the bench for one more shot at winning one of NASCAR's crown jewel races. Gordon might not be done, but Junior just might be, at least for the immediate future. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been parked for this weekend's NAS- CAR race and more absences could be ahead. Gordon, the four- time NASCAR champion, could make his retirement a brief one and go for his sixth win at the Brickyard next weekend in India- napolis if Earnhardt is not cleared to return from concussion symp- toms. Earnhardt will sit out Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and there is no timeta- ble on when NASCAR's most pop- ular driver might return. While retirement talk for the 41-year-old Earnhardt might be premature, his history of concussions could accelerate the process on when he decides to hang up the helmet. Gordon thought he was fin- ished, walking away at the end of last season and one final champi- onship run from one of NASCAR's NASCAR SPRINT CUP Gordon could race next week for Earnhardt By Samuel Petrequin The Associated Press LA CAVERNE DU PONT-D'ARC, FRANCE Chris Froome and the other Tour de France leaders laid bouquets on the podium in a solemn ceremony. There were no kisses, and the usual podium celebrations. The publicity caravan which precedes the riders and blasts music, rode silently. A day after the deadly attack in Nice, France's biggest sport- ing event was in mourning. "I'm not as satisfied as I would normally be. Cycling gets a lit- tle less important on a day like this," said Tom Dumoulin af- ter winning the 13th stage time trial on Friday. Froome, second to the Dutch time trial specialist, was in a similar dark mood despite cre- ating bigger gaps on all of his direct rivals with an impressive performance. Froome was the strongest of all the main con- tenders, and limited his time loss to Dumoulin to 63 seconds. His lead overall improved to 47 seconds on Dutch rider Bauke Mollema. Fellow Briton Adam Yates was third, 2:45 back. Froome's main rival in the mountains, Colombian climber Nairo Quintana, was lagging by 2:59, and the first alpine stage was not until Sunday. "Our thoughts are with all the families affected down in Nice. It's where I do most of my train- ing," said Froome, who wore a black armband to his news con- ference. "It definitely puts things into perspective here." Amid reinforced security, the race rolled on and thousands of people lined the 23-mile route in Ardeche to celebrate the Tour and pay homage to the dozens killed and injured by a truck which drove through beachfront crowds celebrating Bastille Day. There was a minute's si- lence after the stage, as the yel- low, green, and polka-dot jersey holders plus the stage winner gathered on the podium with bouquets. "It's a very sad day," said Froome, who tweeted a picture of the French flag in the morn- ing. "I'm affected by all the things that happened in France. My thoughts are with all the fam- ilies affected by the attack. I want to express my solidarity with France." Froome attended the post- stage news conference with a black armband. He made only a brief statement after race or- ganizers said he would not take questions about his perfor- mance on the bike. "It's pretty clear today," said Froome, who lives near Nice in Monaco, "everyone's thoughts are with those affected down in Nice, and it's difficult for us to be talking about the race. I do a lot of training on those roads and to see the Promenade (des Anglais) the way it was last night, with bodies all over the place, was just horrific. My deepest sym- pathies go out to the affected families." The attack, on France's na- tional holiday, did not deter fans from showing up in numbers at the starting line in the small town of Bourg-Saint-Andeol. "We can't let our guard down, but it was important that they continued the race," said fan Bruno Pruvost after organizers had an emergency meeting with authorities. "Otherwise, it would be too easy for them." There was also a moment of silence at the start, several hours' drive from Nice, and Tour director Christian Prudhomme wore a black armband around his blue shirt. "We want to pay homage to the victims with dignity," said Prudhomme, holding back tears. "We have been asking ourselves if the race should continue and, after consulting with author- ities, we have decided that it should. The Tour de France will continue in a subdued and sol- emn manner." The publicity caravan, which precedes the riders on the route every day handing out free gifts and souvenirs and blasting loud music, rode silently. TOUR DE FRANCE FROOME HAS LEAD, DAY OF MOURNING France's biggest sporting event honors victims of deadly terror attack in Nice PETER DEJONG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Netherlands' Tom Dumoulin crosses the finish line during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in La Caverne du Pont-d'Arc, France, on Friday. CHRISTOPHE ENA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Britain's Chris Froome, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, speeds downhill during the 13th stage of the Tour de France, an individual time trial over 23miles with the start in Bourg-Saint-Andeol and finish in La Caverne du Pont-d'Arc, France, on Friday. OPEN PAGE 2 FRANCE PAGE 2 BRADY PAGE 2 NASCAR PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, July 16, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1