Charlotte.com: Sports

Garcia ends his 3-year drought

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Sergio Garcia, the best player without a major, got the next best thing Sunday.

Garcia ended the longest victory drought of his career by making a clutch par putt to force a playoff and hitting the island-green 17th on the first extra hole to defeat Paul Goydos at The Players Championship.

Haunted by putting problems that kept him without a victory the past three years and 53 PGA Tour events, Garcia came up with a 45-foot birdie on the 14th hole to get back in the game and a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-under 71.

Goydos, playing in the final group, missed a 15-foot par putt on the last hole for the win. He closed with a 74.

"It's been a lot of work," Garcia said, clutching the crystal trophy. "It feels like the last three years I've been playing well. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come around and win. This week, I played so nicely. It felt like everything was so hard. I'm just thrilled the week is over and I managed to finish on top."

It was the first playoff at The Players Championship since 1987, and the first time the PGA Tour opted to start it on the most notorious par-3 in golf. The shot was only 128 yards, but in wind that blasted 30 mph throughout the day, to a green surrounded by water.

What a bad coincidence for Goydos -- he was the first to hit into the water when the tournament began Thursday, and the last player to go into the water at the worst time. His wedge came up short, and when Goydos saw the splash, he looked to the sky.

Garcia still faced the pressure of finding land, and his wedge hit the middle of the green and rolled to 4 feet. He missed the birdie putt, the one time it didn't matter. He could have taken three putts from there and won.

Goydos wound up making double-bogey, the end of a dream week during which his dry humor and honest perspective finally had an audience.

Garcia and Goydos finished at 5-under 283.

Garcia, 28, whose seven PGA Tour victories are the most by players under age 30, earned $1.71 million from the richest purse in golf and again enters the conversation as a major contender with the U.S. Open a month away.

In the first playoff of his 16-year career, Goydos was extraordinarily gracious in a defeat so difficult that he tripped over his words.

He patted Garcia on the back as they walked to the island green, congratulating him.

And he offered no excuses.

"Look at the shot Sergio hit in the playoff," Goydos said. "I got beat. I played good golf. That doesn't mean you win. There's no defense. I can't tackle the little guy. There's no knee-capping. You have to accept the guy beat me.

"They key is to have the lead with no holes to go."

The consolation for Goydos was $1.026 million, more than he earned for winning the Sony Open last year.

Jeff Quinney had a chance to join the playoff. He went bogey-free for 10 holes in gusts that topped 40 mph at times, but failed to save par from a bunker behind the 18th green and had to settle for a 70 and third place, one shot behind.

Panthers primed for title

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Providence High's golf team finished third at the N.C. 4A state championship last year.

Today at Pinehurst No. 6, the Panthers will try to finish two spots higher.

Coming off a fourth straight N.C. 4A Western Regional championship, Providence's best shot at a title might be this week.

Providence is 8-0 this season and was 7-1 last season. Five of the seven players are seniors: two-time regional champ Nik Peterson, who finished third in the state last year, Tyler Murphy, Andrew Marco, Luke Bobrowski and David Boyce.

The Panthers also have juniors Stefan Brewer and Ryan Vince, who won the regional championship his freshman year.

"The guys have done a very good job up to this point and handled this year pretty well," Providence coach Bob Estock said. "We've got two more days to go."

A quick look at the championships:

Class 4A

Site: Pinehurst No. 6 (6,500 yard, par 72)Team favorites: Morrisville Green Hope (two-time defending champ) and Providence

Golfers to watch: Peterson, three-time Southwestern 4A champ Daniel Meggs of Butler, and Green Hope's Marcus Lindroos, who shot 2-under 70 at the Eastern Regional.

Notes: No Mecklenburg golfer has won this event in 16 years. ... The best individual round in an NCHSAA state championship was a 65 by Independence's Russell Killough in 2001.

Class 3A

Site: Fox Fire (6,500 yard, par 72) Team favorites:

Gastonia Forestview (won 3A West Regional by 18 shots), Southeast Guilford (beat defending champ Hickory by seven shots at the Midwest Regional), Hickory

Golfers to watch: Jamestown Ragsdale's Michael Widman (3A Midwest champ), Gastonia Forestview's Harold Varner (3A West champ), 2006 state champ Michael Muscatell of Charlotte Catholic

Note: Muscatell won the 2A title as a freshman, 3A as a sophomore and didn't qualify for the final as a junior.

He can tie a 33-year-old Mecklenburg County record for individual championships with a third state win.

Others

• The 2A championship will be at Longleaf in Southern Pines and the 1A at Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek. Both courses will be set up as 6,500-yard par 72s.Ledford has won the past three 2A championships. East Surry has won the past three 1A titles.

NCISAA

• The N.C. Independent Schools will hold state finals in three classes today and Tuesday.

The 1A championship will be at Hyland Hills in Pinehurst. The 2A at Bayonet at Puppy Creek in Fayetteville.

The 3A final, including the big private schools in the CISAA locally, will be at Bryan Park in Greensboro.

Charlotte makes good impression

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:12 EDT

Before the ACC tournament in March, Karl Hicks met with workers at what was then called Bobcats Arena.

Ushers, concessionaires and others listened as Hicks, the ACC's associate commissioner for men's basketball operations, asked them to make sure fans had a great experience at the tournament in Charlotte.

" `Don't just point them to their seat,' " Hicks said he told the workers. " `Walk them over to their seat.' And they did."

Afterward, Hicks received compliments about the customer service at the arena as the ACC tournament made its only scheduled trip to Charlotte over a 13-year period. City and tourism officials made the good impression they were hoping for in the tournament's first appearance in the arena.

But the post-expansion ACC has 12 schools and many fans clamoring for tickets. Though conference officials are expected to give a favorable review of Charlotte this week at the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., the small capacity of what's now called Time Warner Cable Arena remains a concern.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in Atlanta or Greensboro every year through 2015. There is an option to take the tournament out of Greensboro in 2013, 2014 or 2015, with the stipulation that Greensboro will get the 2016 tournament if that happens.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said last week that officials haven't discussed if the tournament should come to Charlotte in any of those years, or after 2015. The scarcity of tickets seems to be Charlotte's only hurdle.

"The people and the committee in Charlotte did a great job of hosting," said North Carolina athletics director Dick Baddour. "I think our fans had a great time. If I had any concerns, it's on the size of the venue."

Charlotte's attendance for the tournament sessions was 20,035. The Greensboro Coliseum seats 23,745 for the tournament, and Atlanta's Georgia Dome sat 40,083 the last time the ACC was there in 2001.

N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said officials at many ACC schools like to have lots of tickets to award to their generous donors.

Aside from the ticket issue, officials said, there were few complaints about Charlotte.

The quality of the arena and proximity to uptown hotels and restaurants were cited as benefits of having the tournament in Charlotte.

"We definitely laid the groundwork for the tournament to come back as quickly as it makes sense for the conference to do that," said Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Tim Newman.

Regardless of what happens with the basketball tournament, Charlotte remains prominent in the ACC's plans.

The ACC football championship is coming to Bank of America Stadium in 2010 and 2011.

If and when an uptown stadium is built for the Charlotte Knights, the ACC baseball tournament also could come to the city. The tournament will be in Jacksonville, Fla., this year and at Boston's Fenway Park in 2009.

Swofford said an uptown stadium would make Charlotte "a natural" for consideration after that. And he said the basketball tournament provided a good "lead-in" for the football championship.

"I'm glad to see the Charlotte-ACC connection rekindled in several different ways," he said.

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:30 EDT

@charlotte.com

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BOSTON AT CLEVELAND8:15 p.m., TNT

At some point between the end of the regular season and a series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics went from being road warriors to road kill.

After losing Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-84 on Saturday, the Celtics dropped to 0-4 on the road in the postseason.

To make matter worse, the 24-point loss was Boston's largest of the season. Sure, the Celtics have a 2-1 lead in the series, but they were 0-3 in Cleveland this season.

When asked the reason for the Celtics' poor postseason road record, Kevin Garnett said, "There are no excuses for it. If we had that answer, we wouldn't get beat on the road, huh?"

Today's TV

All times p.m. unless noted. Schedules subject to change.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

@Atlanta at Pittsburgh SS 12:30

Boston at Minnesota ESPN 7

$Florida at Cincinnati SS 7

NBA

Boston at Cleveland TNT 8:15

ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Philadelphia at Georgia ESPN2 8

NHL

Detroit at Dallas VS 8

NOTES: @ Available on SportSouth in South Carolina and the N.C. counties of Anson, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Moore, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Union, Watauga, Wilkes.

$ Available in the N.C. counties of Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Moore, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Watauga, Wilkes.

Radio Highlights

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Atlanta at Pittsburgh 12:30WSTP-AM (1490, Salisbury)

MINOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL

Hickory at Columbus 7

WMNC-FM (92.1, Morganton)

Toledo at Charlotte 7:15

WFNA-AM (1660, Charlotte)

NHL

Detroit at Dallas 8

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte)

TALK SHOWS

Sports Page (Weekdays) 6 a.m.

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte)

Chuck Howard (Weekdays) 10 a.m.

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte)

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WFNZ (610, Charlotte)

Prime Time (Weekdays) 3

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte)

Fast Talk (Mondays) 7

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte); WHKY-AM (1290, Hickory)

Primetime in the ACC (Tuesdays) 7

WFNZ-AM (610, Charlotte)

NASCAR Live (Tuesdays) 7

WFNA-AM (1660, Charlotte); WHKY-AM (1290, Hickory)

NBA Notebook | Celtics seek to end their postseason road woes

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:13 EDT

Kevin Garnett stutter-stepped as he reached a potential right turn down a seemingly endless hallway early Sunday. After losing Game 3, he and Boston teammate Paul Pierce were on their way to a media interview room proving difficult to find.

"Where's it at?" Garnett growled.

That's the Celtics, searching for directions on the NBA's playoff highway.

Boston went a league-best 31-10 in away games during the regular season and is 6-0 at home in these playoffs. But the Celtics dropped to 0-4 on the road this postseason with a 108-84 loss Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who trimmed Boston's series lead to 2-1.

Game 4 is tonight.

Elsewhere

L.A. LAKERS: Ronny Turiaf was ejected during the second quarter Sunday against the Jazz for a flagrant foul. He knocked Utah's Ronnie Price hard to the floor as Price drove for a layup, leaving the Jazz guard with a bloody gash over his right eye. Price said he didn't think Turiaf was trying to hurt him.

"Those kind of plays happen in the playoffs," said Price, who needed four stitches.

ORLANDO: His team backed into a 3-1 corner in the Eastern Conference semifinals, guard Jameer Nelson guaranteed a Magic victory when the series returns to Detroit on Tuesday. "We're going to make some adjustments and we're going to win this game," Nelson said after Orlando's 90-89 loss Saturday.

That's a tall order for a Magic team that couldn't even the series at home despite a 15-point, third-quarter lead against a Pistons team playing without injured Chauncey Billups (hamstring). Detroit coach Flip Saunders said he wouldn't guess when Billups would be ready to play.

SAN ANTONIO: Robert Horry played in his 237th playoff game, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA record.

Rewind | Gordon, Earnhardt Jr. aren't where they want to be yet

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:34 EDT

Notes

Not quite once again for Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up fourth in the Dodge 500 Saturday night, his fourth top-five and eighth top-10 finish of the season. But he still hasn't won in his No. 88 Chevrolet."We had a real good car all weekend," said Earnhardt Jr., who started second and led four times for 35 laps in the race won by Kyle Busch. "But when the race started, I knew we weren't exactly like we had been."

Earnhardt Jr. said he found out after the race his crew had changed a lower A-frame.

"We were off a little bit all night," he said. "But when you are off and you run fourth, I guess you've got to be happy."

Earnhardt Jr. said he was disappointed in how the race played out.

"Track position was everything," he said. "You could not pass, period. That was the worst I've ever seen it as far as being able to pass." -- DAVID POOLE

Ragan wiggles his way into top 12

At one point this season David Ragan said he worried about being in the top 35 in owner points to ensure he was locked into the race each week. Now, he can focus on another measuring stick.

Ragan's fifth-place finish moved the second-year driver into 12th -- the cutoff to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"It's something to talk about and something to enjoy, but guess what?" he said. "In two more weeks everybody is going to forget about this race and focus on the next one. It can easily slip back and forth; this points race is pretty tight."

Through 11 races, Ragan has matched his totals for top-fives (two) and top-10s (three) from his rookie season. He is two points ahead of 13th-place Ryan Newman.

"To do this at Darlington is something special," Ragan said. "When you're running laps out there, you think about the guys who made this place famous like Cale Yarborough and (Bill) Elliott and David Pearson and it makes you realize how lucky we are to get to do this." -- JIM UTTER

J. Gordon frustrated with top-5 finish

Jeff Gordon might have matched his best finish this year -- third, but he remains frustrated with his inability to battle for wins."I am happy that we are third but also frustrated because of how far off we are from winning races right now," Gordon said. "We did the tire test here at Darlington and (Busch) just kicked everybody's tails tonight."

Gordon said he doesn't know where Busch was beating him Saturday.

"It wasn't aerodynamics," Gordon said, "because Kyle hit the wall. I can't tell you how many times he tried to give this race away by slamming the wall. His right side was destroyed."

Gordon moved up three spots to 10th in points, but he is just 62 ahead of 14th. -- J.U.

Burton keeps consistency going

Jeff Burton is second in the standings, 79 points behind Busch, after finishing 10th. Burton has completed every lap this year, and his worst finish is 13th at Daytona.

"Toward the last third of the race, I drove way more aggressively and my car got a lot better, too," he said. "We didn't hit anything all night and that was a good thing."

Burton said his team has work to do if it wants to keep pace with Busch's.

"They are just in a league of their own," Burton said. "That doesn't surprise me when you look at preseason testing. They were ridiculous fast." -- D.P.

Kenseth just happy to get to the finish

Matt Kenseth wasn't just happy to finish sixth; he was also just happy to finish."We've been running so terrible and having such bad luck," he said. "The only little frustrating (thing) is the racing was kind of weird at the end. Everybody was trying to stretch (their gas) on that last five laps, so that was kind of weird. Other than that, it was good. It was a great finish."

In his three previous races, Kenseth had not finished better than 38th and had fallen from 13th to 22nd in points. He's moved up to 20th.

"Everything pretty much went right for a change," Kenseth said. -- J.U.

Kvapil a surprise showing in top 10

Not only did Travis Kvapil earn his second top-10 finish in three races, but at one point Saturday he was fourth.

"I really thought we had a chance to win there for a while, but we got behind with the adjustments," said Kvapil, in his first season driving the No. 28 Ford for Yates Racing. "We didn't make many adjustments and everybody else got better and we got tighter.

"It took two or three more (pit) stops to get the car right, but by then we had fallen back outside the top 10 and had to race hard to get back up there."

Kvapil's eighth-place finish -- he was sixth April 27 at Talladega, Ala. -- has him 18th in points, 111 out of the top 12. -- J.U.

Marlin loses his cool

Sterling Marlin's return to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates turned out to be a little more than he bargained for.Marlin, who earned Ganassi's first series win during 2001, returned to drive the organization's No. 40 Dodge in place of Dario Franchitti, who injured an ankle at Talladega.

During Saturday's race, Marlin needed cold rags and oxygen during pit stops after the cooling system of his car developed problems. -- J.U.

Key Moments

Tony Stewart's Toyota gets pinched into the wall by Elliott Sadler's Dodge. Stewart loses two laps before the damage is repaired enough to continue. His car eventually was fast again, but it was way too late.

Lap 145

Kyle Busch restarts 23rd after having to come back to pit road because of a missing lug nut on one of his rear wheels.

Lap 171

Greg Biffle comes to pit road with one, maybe two problems. He thinks there's trouble with the engine in his Ford that has been in or near the lead all night, but this time his crew fixes a flat tire.

Lap 234

Biffle's car comes back to pit road. There's smoke from the exhaust pipes, and the crew goes under the hood and then to the garage. For a while it seemed Biffle might win this race. Instead, he finishes last.

Lap 270

Busch completes his rally, passing Jeff Gordon to take the lead. From that point, the only way Busch was going to lose would be to wreck. He came close a couple of times but kept going all the way to Victory Lane.

Pos	Driver	Pts
1.	Kyle Busch	1,690
2.	Jeff Burton	1,611
3.	D.Ernhrdt Jr.	1,556
4.	D.Hamlin	1,500
5.	Clint Bowyer	1,490
6.	J.Johnson	1,442
7.	Carl Edwards	1,400
8.	Tony Stewart	1,397
9.	K.Harvick	1,396
10.	Jeff Gordon	1,326
11.	Greg Biffle	1,308
12.	David Ragan	1,266
13.	R.Newman	1,264
14.	Kasey Kahne	1,264
15.	M.Truex Jr.	1,230
16.	J.Montoya	1,190
17.	Brian Vickers	1,161
18.	Travis Kvapil	1,155
19.	B.Labonte	1,128
20.	Matt Kenseth	1,113
21.	D.Gilliland	1,088
22.	Kurt Busch	1,072
23.	J.McMurray	1,032
24.	Paul Menard	1,027
25.	Scott Riggs	1,006
26.	Mark Martin	1,003
27.	Casey Mears	1,000
28.	Elliott Sadler	972
29.	D.Reutimann	967
30.	R.Gordon	951
31.	R.Sorenson	872
32.	M.Waltrip	851
33.	Regan Smith	835
34.	S.Hornish Jr.	806
35.	Dave Blaney	793
36.	J.J. Yeley	702
37.	J.Nemechek	543
38.	J.Mayfield	490
39.	Kyle Petty	485
40.	D.Franchitti	483
41.	P.Carpentier	472
42.	Mike Skinner	423
43.	M.McDowell	417
44.	Dale Jarrett	367
45.	Bill Elliott	350
46.	S.Marlin	246
47.	Aric Almirola	243
48.	Ken Schrader	234
49.	A.Allmndingr	211
50.	John Andretti	149
51.	Jo.Sauter	116
52.	D.Stremme	84
53.	Jon Wood	55
54.	K.Wallace	34

Line at Chase for the Championship cutoff.

Next Race

NASCAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE

WHERE: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday

TV: Speed

RADIO: Motor Racing Network

LAST YEAR'S WINNER: Kevin Harvick • You do not have to like Kyle Busch, but what he has done in NASCAR's top three series is remarkable. If you want to boo him until you cough up a lung, that's your right. But I don't care how much you dislike Busch or anybody else; if you believe it's appropriate to throw anything from the grandstand, you need to spend some serious time considering what's wrong with you.

• Remember when everybody was asking how teams were going to beat Roush Fenway Racing this year? Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing might keep up this roll they have going, but history is fairly foursquare against it.

• It takes a special kind of genius to plot traffic flow at a track. Darlington (S.C.) Raceway spent a lot of money to build a tunnel under Turns 3 and 4. It's really nice. But, the track decided it'd be a fine idea to close off pretty much every way in and out of the infield it used to have. This, as you might imagine, caused no small amount of automotive constipation after Saturday's festivities.

Fin	St	Driver	Car	Laps	*	Money	Pts
1	6	Kyle Busch	Toyota	367		313,700	195
2	36	Carl Edwards	Ford	367		241,850	170
3	8	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	367		194,236	170
4	2	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevy	367		138,100	165
5	15	David Ragan	Ford	367		123,375	160
6	34	Matt Kenseth	Ford	367		146,016	155
7	21	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	367		131,941	151
8	24	Travis Kvapil	Ford	367		121,789	147
9	13	Dave Blaney	Toyota	367		111,283	138
10	12	Jeff Burton	Chevy	367		134,858	134
11	25	Jamie McMurray	Ford	367		95,925	135
12	5	Kurt Busch	Dodge	367		87,650	132
13	3	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	367		137,061	124
14	22	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevy	367		116,383	126
15	38	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	367		99,750	118
16	27	Mark Martin	Chevy	367		117,908	115
17	9	Scott Riggs	Chevy	367		99,008	112
18	10	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	367		119,011	109
19	30	David Reutimann	Toyota	367		81,300	106
20	33	David Gilliland	Ford	367		97,333	108
21	4	Tony Stewart	Toyota	366		125,061	100
22	42	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	366		109,091	102
23	19	Juan Montoya	Dodge	366		107,183	94
24	37	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	365		86,008	91
25	28	Brian Vickers	Toyota	365		76,950	88
26	31	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	365		84,675	90
27	26	A.J. Allmendinger	Toyota	364		72,475	82
28	18	Michael McDowell	Toyota	364		85,872	79
29	16	Regan Smith	Chevy	363		82,625	76
30	20	Bill Elliott	Ford	363		92,795	73
31	17	Joe Nemechek	Chevy	363		71,200	70
32	39	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	362		98,239	67
33	40	Robby Gordon	Dodge	361		79,800	64
34	14	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	350		78,725	61
35	29	Casey Mears	Chevy	341		88,475	58
36	41	Paul Menard	Chevy	340		78,325	55
37	32	Ryan Newman	Dodge	295		112,200	52
38	23	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	270		115,475	49
39	11	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	265		116,711	46
40	43	Patrick Carpentier	Dodge	261	{+1}	69,625	48
41	35	Kyle Petty	Dodge	250		69,500	40
42	7	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	247		95,750	37
43	1	Greg Biffle	Ford	234	{+1}	83,164	39

AVERAGE SPEED: 140.350 mph. TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 34 minutes, 19 seconds. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 3.115 seconds. CAUTION FLAGS: Eight for 31 laps. LEAD CHANGES: 35 among 15 drivers. LAP LEADERS: Biffle 1; Earnhardt Jr. 2-16; Ky.Busch 17-39; Biffle 40-59; Ku.Busch 60; Kvapil 61-62; Kenseth 63-64; Kahne 65; Yeley 66; Carpentier 67-69; Gilliland 70; Ky.Busch 71-109; Biffle 110-121; J.Gordon 122; Hamlin 123; Carpentier 124; Ky.Busch 125; Biffle 126-127; Ky.Busch 128-140; Biffle 141; Earnhardt Jr. 142-159; Biffle 160-193; Truex Jr. 194-201; Earnhardt Jr. 202; Kenseth 203; Ragan 204-205; McMurray 206-208; Biffle 209-233; Truex Jr. 234-236; Hamlin 237-250; J.Gordon 251-269; Ky.Busch 270-280; J.Gordon 281-284; Ky.Busch 285-302; Earnhardt Jr. 303; Ky.Busch 304-367. *REASON OUT: 1. Engine.

Observations | DAVID POOLE

Planner | Play Golf America Day

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:48 EDT

WHEN: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Charles T. Myers Golf Course, 7817 Harrisburg Road

ADMISSION: Free

SKINNY: PGA professionals will provide free instruction. ... Leading golf equipment manufacturers and retailers will allow participants to try out the latest technology. ... Trick-shot entertainer Peter Pohncke will perform in two shows, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. ...A putting competition throughout the day for a $25,000 cash prize. ... Prize drawings will be held every hour. ...Call 704-536-1692 or visit www.charlottepublicgolf.com or www.playgolfamericaday.com

Djokovic closes in on No. 2 Nadal

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Novak Djokovic won the 10th title of his career, rallying Sunday to defeat unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rome Masters.

Third-ranked Djokovic won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam title, then captured the Masters Series event in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.

Djokovic's third victory of the year will move him within 310 points of second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.

The Rome tournament is an important clay-court warmup for the French Open, which will begin in two weeks.

• Dina Safina pulled off her third upset of a top-10 player in a week at the German Open in Berlin, winning the title by defeating ninth-ranked Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The 17th-ranked Safina also beat No. 1 Justine Henin and No. 8 Serena Williams at the clay-court event. • Two-time champion Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the Italian Open in Rome because of a rib injury.

Report: Mayo got cash, benefits

LOS ANGELES -- A former associate of O.J. Mayo said the former Southern California basketball star received thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts from an event promoter during the past four years that would violate NCAA rules, ESPN reported.Louis Johnson told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that Rodney Guillory, a Los Angeles-based event promoter, gave Mayo about $30,000 and other benefits while he attended high school and his sole season at USC. Mayo has hired an agent and decided to forgo his sophomore year for the NBA draft. Guillory received monthly payments from Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates, the network reported. A phone message left for the agency was not immediately returned Sunday.

Johnson said the agency provided Guillory with about $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC. Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo, Johnson told ESPN. Mayo then entered into a verbal agreement that allowed the agency to represent him as a professional, Johnson added. -- associated press

In brief

JUDO: A member of Cuba's women's national judo team left the team at some point Sunday after the final day of the Pan American Judo Championships in Miami. As of Sunday evening, her location was still unknown.

MOTORSPORTS: The second day of qualifying at the Indianapolis 500 was rained out.

• Felipe Massa held off Lewis Hamilton to win his third straight Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul and earn Ferrari's fourth consecutive Formula One victory. Massa finished 3.779 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Hamilton on the 58 laps at Istanbul Speed Park.

RUNNING:Kenneth Mburu Mungara won the Prague International Marathon in the Czech Republic. Mungara crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 6 seconds.

SOCCER:Manchester United won its 10th Premier League title in 16 years, getting a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and another goal from Ryan Giggs to beat host Wigan 2-0.

WALKING:Denis Nizhegorodov set a world record in the men's 50-kilometer walk at a World Cup meet in Cheboksary, Russia, shaving 1 minute, 34 seconds off the old mark. The Russian finished in 3 hours, 34 minutes, 13 seconds on a course alongside the Volga River. -- ONS

Race Weeks Schedule

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:32 EDT

Thursday

7 p.m.:NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman (Time Warner Cable Arena)

Friday

9 a.m.: Truck Series practice

10:20 a.m.: Final Truck Series practice

Noon: Final Sprint Showdown practice

1:30 p.m.: Final Sprint All-Star Race practice

3:35 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying (better of two laps)

5:10 p.m.: Sprint Showdown qualifying (better of two laps)

6:15 p.m.: Sprint All-Star Race qualifying (three laps with four-tire pit stop)

8:15 p.m.: N.C. Education Lottery 200 Truck Series race (134 laps/200 miles)

Saturday

3 p.m.: Spectator gates open

6:20 p.m.: Pennzoil Victory Challenge (burnout contest)

7:45 p.m.: Sprint Showdown (two 20-lap segments)

9 p.m.: Sprint All-Star Race (four 25-lap segments)

May 22

1 p.m.: Nationwide Series practice

3 p.m.: Sprint Cup practice

6 p.m.: Final Nationwide Series practice

7:10 p.m.: Coca-Cola 600 qualifying (better of two laps)

May 23 (at The Dirt Track)

5 p.m.: Spectator gates open

7:30 p.m.: Rite Aid Outlaw Showdown (sprint cars and late models)

May 24

2:30 p.m.: Spectator gates open

2:45 p.m.: Sprint Cup practice

3:45 p.m.: Nationwide Series qualifying

6 p.m.: Final Sprint Cup practice

7:45 p.m.: CarQuest 300 Nationwide Series race (200 laps/300 miles)

May 25

Noon: Spectator gates open

2:45 p.m.: Prerace activities begin

5 p.m.: Driver introductions

5:45 p.m.: Coca-Cola 600 (400 laps/600 miles)

Pittsburgh battles back to win Game 2

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Max Talbot, a sometimes overlooked fourth-line forward on a team renowned for its stars, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the host Pittsburgh Penguins took a two-game lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 Sunday night.

Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa also scored and Jordan Staal added an empty-net goal during the final minute as Pittsburgh came back to win after twice squandering one-goal leads.

The Penguins' game-winner came from a player who had missed the previous three games because of a broken right foot.

"It's something special -- I was happy as a kid just to be back out there," Talbot said. "It was extra special to get the game-winner."

Pittsburgh won the first two games at home for the third consecutive series, with Game 3 set for Tuesday night in Philadelphia. The Flyers won each of their first two playoff rounds after losing Game 1, but this is the first time they also lost Game 2 on the road.

Gary Roberts, who will turn 42 this month, carried the puck behind the net, and defenseman Derian Hatcher went with him, leaving Talbot open in front of the net. Roberts put a backhander onto his stick for Talbot's second playoff goal, 8 minutes, 51 seconds into the third.

Philadelphia, desperately trying to avoid going down two games, tied it at 2 when Mike Richards intercepted Evgeni Malkin's risky cross-ice pass, got loose on a breakaway and beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrist shot with 24 seconds remaining in the second period.

Philadelphia, already without top defenseman Kimmo Timonen (blood clot), played most of the game with five defensemen after Braydon Coburn was struck in the face by Hal Gill's shot less than two minutes in. Coburn, struck near the left eye, left the ice bleeding and did not return.

Scoreboard

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:31 EDT

BASEBALL

International League

North Div.	W	L	Pct.	GB
Scrntn-WB (Yk)	26	11	.703	--
Syracuse (BJ)	22	15	.595	4
Pawtucket (RS)	22	16	.579	4 1/2
Buffalo (Ind)	17	20	.459	9
Roches. (Tw)	15	23	.395	11 1/2
Lhigh Vlly (Phil)	8	30	.211	18 1/2
South Div.	W	L	Pct.	GB
Richmond (Bra)	20	15	.571	--
Charlotte (WS)	16	20	.444	4 1/2
Durham (Rays)	15	21	.417	5 1/2
Norfolk (O's)	13	23	.361	7 1/2
West Div.	W	L	Pct.	GB
Toledo (Tig)	25	13	.658	--
Louisv. (Reds)	21	16	.568	3 1/2
Colum. (Ntnls)	20	18	.526	5
Indiana. (Prats)	19	18	.514	5 1/2

SUNDAY'S RESULTSRichmond at Louisville ppd.

Scranton at Indianapolis ppd.

Pawtucket 8 Norfolk 5

Buffalo 4 Rochester 2

Lehigh Valley 6 Columbus 5

Charlotte 10 Toledo 6

Syracuse 3 Durham 2

TODAY'S GAMES

Rich. at Louisville (DH) 11:05 a.m.

Syracuse at Durham 11:05 a.m.

Scranton at Indianapolis (DH) 6

Norfolk at Pawtucket 6:15

Buffalo at Rochester 7:05

Columbus at Lehigh Valley 7:05

Toledo at Charlotte 7:15

South Atlantic League

Northern Div.	W	L	Pct.	GB
Lake Cnty (Ind)	22	14	.611	--
Delmarva (O's)	20	15	.571	1 1/2
Grnsbro (Mar.)	19	17	.528	3
Lkwood (Phil)	19	17	.528	3
Hgrstwn (Ntnl)	16	19	.457	5 1/2
Hickory (Pir)	16	21	.432	6 1/2
W. Virg. (Brwr)	14	21	.400	7 1/2
Lexington (Ast)	11	24	.314	10 1/2
Southern Div.	W	L	Pct.	GB
Asheville (Rck)	26	11	.703	--
Chrlstn (Yanks)	25	11	.694	1/2
Augusta (Gnts)	20	17	.541	6
Greenville (RS)	20	17	.541	6
Colum. (Rays)	16	20	.444	9 1/2
Kannap. (WS)	16	20	.444	9 1/2
Savan. (Mets)	15	21	.417	10 1/2
Rome (Bra)	13	23	.361	12 1/2

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

Delmarva at Lexington ppd.

Hgrstwn at W. Virginia ccd.

Greensboro 8 Lake County 6

Lakewood 11 Kannapolis 2

TODAY'S GAMES

Hickory at Columbus 7

Asheville at Savannah 7

Lakewood at Greensboro 7

Delmarva at Kannapolis 7:05

Augusta at Rome 7:05

Greenville at Charleston 7:05

Hagerstown at Lexington 7:05

Lake County at West Virginia 7:05

BASKETBALL

NBA

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

QUARTERFINALS

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

DETROIT VS. ORLANDO

Detroit 91 Orlando 72

Detroit 100 Orlando 93

Orlando 111 Detroit 86

Sat.: Detroit 90 Orlando 89

Detroit leads 3-1

Tues.: at Detroit 7

May 15: at Orlando TBA *

May 18: at Detroit TBA *

BOSTON VS. CLEVELAND

Boston 76 Cleveland 72

Boston 89 Cleveland 73

Cleveland 108 Boston 84

Boston leads 2-1

Today : at Cleveland 8

Wed.: at Boston 8

May 16: at Cleveland TBA*

May 18: at Boston TBA*

WESTERN CONFERENCE

L.A. LAKERS VS. UTAH

L.A. Lakers 109 Utah 98

L.A. Lakers 120 Utah 110

Utah 104 L.A. Lakers 99

Utah 123 L.A. Lakers 115, OT

Series tied 2-2

Wed.: at L.A. Lakers 10:30

May 16: at Utah TBA

May 19: at L.A. Lakers TBA *

NEW ORLEANS VS. SAN ANTONIO

New Orleans 101 San Ant. 82

New Orleans 102 San Ant. 84

San Ant. 110 New Orleans 99

San Ant. 100 New Orleans 99

Series tied 2-2

Tues.: at New Orleans 9:30

Thur.: at San Antonio TBA

May 19: at New Orleans TBA *

*if necessary

GOLF

Amateur

egolf Tour

At Skybrook

Championship Flight: 72: Chad Frye; 73: Chase Wilson, Joe Jaspers; 74: Michael Bailey, David Schmidt; 75: Tim Crowe, John Sadri, Steve Chuilli; 78: Rick Tomei, Alex Brenner, Zach Beard, Mark Ballew.

A Flight: 79: Greg Ries, Steve French; 81: Mark Cousar, Steve Williams; 82: James Cox, Jon Evans; 83: Toby Tyler; 84: Jake Wright, Chuck Wallace; 85: David Trull.

B Flight: 75: Chad Ballard; 77: Mark Hawkins; 80: Mike Nasekos, Jeff Cayo; 82: Matt Cole, Jimmy Singh, Roy Santonil, Derek Denton; 84: Russ Gamblin, Scott Ide.

C Flight: 89: Tom Patania, Nolan Elenz, Matt Papes; 90: Jeff Gastineau; Ken Burke; 92: John Rinaldi, Jeremy Treadaway; 93: Jim Morhead; 94: Kevin Snyder.

Harris Teeter Senior Tour

At Carolina Lakes Golf Club

Championship Flight: 72: Larry Culler; 73: Bill Beal; 74: John Walters, Ken Powers; 76: Tom Carbone; 78: Leonard McAlister; 79: Steve Romito, Ken Cochran, Brad Kroll, Butch Wise, Sam Kotsokalis, Wayne Godwin.

A Flight: 78: Mike Poteat, Ed Gregor; 79: Mike Harter; 81: Mac Ellerbe, Lee Sargent; 82: Larry Schimel, Mark Gregory; 83: Larry Bouchy, Cletis Dozier; Dongsoo Lee.

B Flight: 77: Conway Powell; 79: Phil Coleman; 81: Lonnie Nichols, Darrell Wilson, Bill Early; 82: Wayne Nixon; 83: George Christensen, Sylvester James, Jim Chapman, Jerry York.

C Flight: 86: William Dunlap; 88: Don Elsass, Sindo Mayor; 89: Bobby Angela; 90: Dwight Miller, Don Jones, Steve Gough; 92: Jimmy Taylor; 93: Matt Papes.

ABWA Charlotte Charter Chapter Tournament

At The Tradition Golf Course

59: Charlie Clark-Salem Worth-Al Dean-Bill Aikens; 60: John Love-Bob Jones-Otis Worthy-Robert Evans; 61: L. Barnette-Pop Woodard-Isaac Murray-George Dunlap; 65: James Brown-Norwood Walker-Mike Jones-Larry Key; 66: Bruce Sheridan-Bryant O'Tuel-David Jones-Greg Jackson; 68: John Patillo-Gus Sudtianto-De Vaughn Williams-Shelma Scales; 69: Andrew Rabuck-Joe Alvaras-Lloyd Watts-Scott Griffiths; 74: Mary Beth Valentine-Ken Valentine-Jesus Ramirez-Jessica Ramirez; 76: David Bell-Denise Sparks-James Sparks-Frank Tally; 77: Pat Ward-Suzie Soucy-George Glover-Brandon Morrison 77.

IGA Match

At Double Oaks Golf Club

Commerce, Ga.

1. Asheville-Shelby-Spartanburg 54; 2. Athens-Anderson 55; 3. Greenville 58; 4. Columbia-Ridgewood 67; 5. Augusta 70; 6. Charlotte-Par Busters 71.

HOCKEY

NHL

CONFERENCE FINALS

(Best-of-7)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

PITTSBURGH VS. PHILADELPHIA

Fri.: Pittsburgh 4 Philadelphia 2

Sun.: Pittsburgh 4 Philadelphia 2

Pittsburgh leads 2-0

Tues.: at Philadelphia 7:30

May 15: at Philadelphia 7:30

May 18: at Pittsburgh 3*

May 20: at Philadelphia 7:30*

May 22: at Pittsburgh 7:30*

WESTERN CONFERENCE

DETROIT VS. DALLAS

Detroit 4 Dallas 1

Detroit 2 Dallas 1

Detroit leads 2-0

Today: at Dallas 8

Wed.: at Dallas 8

May 17: at Detroit 1:30*

May 19: at Dallas 8*

May 21: at Detroit 7:30*

* if necessary

ECHL

CONFERENCE FINALS

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

(Best-of-7)

CINCINNATI VS. S. CAROLINA

Fri.: Cincinnati 6 S. Carolina 2

Sat.: Cincinnati 5 S. Carolina 4, OT

Cincinnati leads series 2-0

Wed.: at South Carolina 7:05

May 16: at South Carolina 7:05

May 17: at South Carolina 7:05*

May 19: at Cincinnati 7:30*

May 21: at Cincinnati 7:30*

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

(Best-of-7)

LAS VEGAS VS. UTAH

Today: at Las Vegas 10:05

Tues.: at Las Vegas 10:05

May 15: at Utah 9:05

May 16: at Utah 9:05

May 18: at Utah Noon*

May 20: at Las Vegas 10:05*

May 21: at Las Vegas 10:05*

* if necessary

MOTORSPORTS

Formula One

Turkish Grand Prix

At Istanbul, Turkey

1. Felipe Massa 1:26:49.451.

2. Lewis Hamilton 1:26:53.230.

3. Kimi Raikkonen 1:26:53.722.

4. Robert Kubica 1:27:11.396.

5. Nick Heidfeld 1:27:28.192.

6. Fernando Alonso 1:27:43.175.

7. Mark Webber 1:27:53.680.

8. Nico Rosberg 1:28:00.857.

9. David Coulthard 1:28:04.721.

10. Jarno Trulli 1:28:05.795.

11. Jenson Button 1:26:50.629.

12. Heikki Kovalainen 1:26:51.412.

13. Timo Glock 1:26:56.703.

14. Rubens Barrchllo 1:27:02.734.

15. Nelson Piquet Jr. 1:27:03.906.

16. Adrian Sutil 1:27:51.473.

17. Sebastian Vettel 1:27:52.085.

Short Tracks

East Lincoln Speedway

Grand American Stock Cars

1. Tracy Tapley, Kannapolis

2. Shawn Penwarden, Maiden

3. Mickey Anderson, Statesville

Late Model Modified Sportsmen

1. Chris Smith, Charlotte

2. Ronnie White, Charlotte

3. Jesse Brannon, Huntersville

Micro-Sprints

1. Brian Roseman, Conover

2. Justin Lineman, Spencer

3. Jonathan Hager, Mooresville

Open Wheel Modifieds

1. Kris Dunlap, Concord

2. Greg Brown, Concord

3. Jamie Kuntz, Statesville

Rookie Fours

1. Justin Moody, Stanley

2. Brett Mundweiler, Statesville

3. Lee Oiler, Mooresville

Stars of Tomorrow

1. Shanan Major, Alexis

2. Jonathan Kinnetz, Newton

3. Tyler Hyatt, Stanley

Stock Fours

1. Tony Paladino, Kannapolis

2. Swain Morris, Mount Holly

3. Brian Nuhfer, Denver, N.C.

Cherokee Speedway

CITY LATE MODELS: 1. Zack Mitchell 2. John Pursley 3. Nick Walker RENEGADE: 1. Brian Kuykendall 2. Terry Seay 3. Joey Paddie SUPER STOCK FOUR: 1. Damon Crump 2. Brian Harris 3. Andy Mattison

LIMITED SPORTSMAN: 1. Mike Messer 2. Adam Yarbrough 3. Bryant Rayfield YOUNG GUNS: 1. Trent Ivey 2. Ashley Harvey 3. Brandon Harrelson STREET STOCK FOUR: 1. Bryan Harrelson 2. Billy West 3. Newman Presnell SUPER LATE MODEL: 1. Petey Ivey 2. Mike Duvall 3. John Pursley

TENNIS

ATP

INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

At Rome

Singles

Championship

Novak Djokovic def. Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles

Championship

Bob and Mike Bryan def. Daniel Nestor, Canada, and Nenad Zimonjic 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 tiebreak.

WTA

QATAR TELECOM GERMAN OPEN

At Berlin

Singles

Championship

Dinara Safina def. Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles

Championship

Cara Black and Liezel Huber def. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 3-6, 6-2, 10-2 tiebreak.

COLLEGES

Baseball

EAST

Canisius 13 Fairfield 7

Cent. Conn. St. 5-5 Wagner 4-2

Cincinnati 7 Seton Hall 1

Delaware 12 Towson 10

George Washing. 8 La Salle 4

Hartford 5-10 Binghamton 1-19

Hofstra 8 Va. Commonwealth 7

LeMoyne 15 Rider 10

Maine 16-1 vermont 5-9

Manhattan 12-11 St. Peter's 4-4

Md.-Balt. Co. 7-5 Stony Brook 4-16

N.Y. Tech 6 Albany, N.Y. 5

Northeastern 6 Boston Coll. 3

Penn St. 11 Iowa 8

Rhode Island 3 Massach. 2

St. Bonaventure 15 St. Joe's 11

Siena 7 Iona 4

S. Florida 9 St. John's 2

Temple 9 Dayton 7

Villanova 2 Rutgers 1

Xavier 11 Fordham 3

SOUTH

Alabama 8 Florida 7

UAB 14 Cent. Florida 3

Appalachian St. 4 Furman 2

Ark. St. 11 Fla. Atlantic 11 (6)

Clemson 16 Georgia Tech 6

Co. Carolina 12 High Point 3

Fla. Gulf Coast 15 ETSU 2

Florida St. 24 Savannah St. 4

Gardner-Webb 14 Norfolk St. 9

Georgia 12 Vanderbilt 10

Georgia St. 5 Old Dominion 4

Jacksnvlle St. 14 Tenn. Tech 12

Kentucky 20 Tennessee 5

Liberty 3 Longwood 3

Long Isl.U. 7 Mt. St. Mary 4 (10)

La.-Monroe 8 Troy 5

LSU 9 Mississippi St. 6

Mississippi 5 Auburn 2

Murray St. 13 Tenn.-Martin 4

UNCA 11 Chas. Southern 7

N.C. State 17 Maryland 8

UNCW 23 Jms Madison 4

N. Florida 6 Knnesaw St. 5 (10)

NW Louisiana 6 Lamar 3

Northwestern St. 6 Lamar 3

Samford 17 Morehead St. 3

SE Louisiana 12 Sam Hou. St. 2

Southern Miss. 13 Memphis 0

Texas State 3 McNeese St. 1

VMI 7 Md.-Eastern Shore 6

Wake Forest 9 Duke 4

W. Virginia 5 Louisville 4 (10)

W. Kentucky 13 La.-Lafayette 4

HIGH SCHOOLS

Baseball

SECOND-ROUND PAIRINGS

Must be played by Tuesday

N.C. 4A West: Greensboro Page (7-14) at Ardrey Kell (23-4); Davie Co. (16-8) at N. Meck (20-4); Boiling Springs Crest (15-7) at N. Davidson (21-3); Watauga (17-10) at E. Forsyth (20-5); Greensboro Grimsley (18-6) at Hopewell (22-4); Providence (18-8) at E. Gaston (15-8); Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor (13-11) at S. Caldwell (22-1); S. Meck (10-15) at Weddington (20-7).

N.C. 3A West: Lake Norman (12-13) at SW Guilford (17-8); Unionville Piedmont (14-11) at E. Rowan (23-2); Jamestown Ragsdale (20-7) at Winston-Salem Glenn (19-5); W. Rowan (15-10) at Mooresville (19-5); Hickory St. Stephens (19-7) at Belmont South Point (16-8); NW Cabarrus (15-10) at Kings Mountain (12-10); Gastonia Forestview (18-6) at Olympic (19-5); Asheville Roberson (15-10) at R-S Central (22-3).

N.C. 2A West: Wilkes Central (17-6) at Thomasville Ledford (21-6); N. Stanly (21-7) at W. Lincoln (16-9); Central Davidson (17-8) at Surry Central (14-9); Salisbury (17-8) at Boonville Starmount (14-9); Mountain Heritage (8-13) at Lenoir Hibriten (18-5); Shelby (6-18) at W. Henderson (22-3); Morganton Patton (15-10) at Black Mountain Owen (14-9); Brevard (18-5) at E. Rutherford (17-8).

N.C. 1A West: Elkin (10-12) at S. Stokes (19-5); Jordan-Matthews (16-7) at N.C. Science & Math (4-11); Albemarle (9-14) at W. Wilkes (23-5); N. Moore (11-14) at Bishop McGuinness (8-13); Hayesville (10-10) at Cherryville (17-7); Hendersonville (10-10) at Swain (20-2); Robbinsville (7-17) at Polk Co. (15-5); E. Montgomery (7-17) at Hiwassee Dam (16-5).

NCISAA 3A: Raleigh Ravenscroft (18-9) at Wesleyan Christian (19-2); Durham Academy (15-9) at Charlotte Country Day (10-14); Forsyth Country Day (14-7) at Providence Day (11-10); Charlotte Latin (6-20) at Charlotte Christian (24-7).

NCISAA 2A: Harrells Christian (11-8) at High Point Christian (20-7); Asheville Christian (18-6) at Metrolina Christian (18-5); Fayetteville Academy (11-6) at Rocky Mount Academy (16-5); Arendell Parrott (13-7) at SouthLake Christian (17-10).

Late Saturday

CHARLOTTE LATIN 6, CARY ACADEMY 5

Latin	201	200	01	--	6	12	2
Cary	400	100	00	--	5	5	0

WP: Lucas 1-0. LP: Bull Leading hitters--CL: Birsin 5-5 HR, Caldwell 2-3; C: Malos 2-3, Wilson 1-3 dbl.

Lacrosse

BOYS

Wednesday, Semifinals: Chapel Hill/Durham Jordan winner vs. E. Chapel Hill (18-4); Apex/Greensboro Grimsley winner vs. Page/Hoggard/Wakefield winner.

May 17, Final: Koskinen Stadium, Duke University, 7 p.m.

N.C. 1A/2A/3A PLAYOFFS

Wednesday, Semifinals: Western Guilford (13-3) at Charlotte Catholic (18-0); Cardinal Gibbons/W. Alamance winner vs. SE Guilford/SW Guilford winner.

May 17, Championship: Koskinen Stadium, Duke University, 4:30 p.m.

GIRLS

N.C. PLAYOFFS

May 15, Semifinals: Green Hope at Apex; E. Chapel Hill vs. Charlotte Catholic

May 17, Final: Durham County Stadium

Soccer

N.C. Western Region

THIRD ROUND

4A: N. Meck (13-3-3) vs. Weddington (18-2-2); Winston-Salem Mt. Tabor (16-4-1) vs. E. Forsyth (19-1-1); Butler (15-4-1) vs. Providence (14-5-1); Asheville Reynolds (18-3-2) vs. Ardrey Kell (15-2-2).

3A: SW Guilford (12-5-5) vs. Lake Norman (23-1); Marvin Ridge (19-0-1) at Pfafftown Reagan (11-4-3); Gastonia Forestview (16-4-2) vs. Asheville Roberson (25-0); Charlotte Catholic (17-2-3) vs. Asheville (16-5-1).

2A: Shelby (13-7-4) vs. E. Davidson (10-9); W. Davidson (20-2) vs. S. Iredell/N. Lincoln winner; Lenoir Hibriten (13-10-1) vs. East Bend Forbush (19-3); E. Lincoln (12-7-1) vs. Wilkes Central (16-8-1).

1A: Hendersonville (17-5) vs. Polk Co. (14-5-2); Bishop McGuinness (11-4-1) vs. Jordan-Matthews (13-4-1).

CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 3, NORTH BUNCOMBE 0

SCORING--CC: Jennifer Burak, Kristin Sadler, Sam McVeigh. SHUTOUT--Kristen Haney, Michelle Lacey. RECORD--CC 17-2-3.

Tennis

All-CISAA

Chris Toussaint (Charlotte Latin), John Banks (Providence Day), Harry Menzies (Charlotte Country Day), Corey Chan (Charlotte Christian), Andrew Gores (Charlotte Country Day)

Gary Scott (Providence Day), Baris Aldamanaz (Charlotte Latin), Angus Menzies (Charlotte Country Day), Bo Rhyne (Charlotte Country Day).

SECOND ROUND

Must be played by Tuesday

4A West: Morganton Freedom (10-4) at Watauga (13-3); Asheville Reynolds (13-4) at Ardrey Kell (14-0); NW Guilford (12-4) at Weddington (13-4); Greensboro Page (16-2) at Greensboro Grimsley (13-5).

3A West: Asheville Roberson (18-1) at Hickory (15-2); N. Buncombe (14-3) at Lake Norman (16-0); Charlotte Catholic (8-4) at Indian Trail Sun Valley (16-1); Marvin Ridge (14-3) at SE Guilford (19-0).

2A West: Starmount (13-1) at Newton-Conover (17-1); N. Wilkes (15-5) at Lenoir Hibriten (12-3); Shelby (8-7) at Lexington (12-3); Thomasville Ledford (12-3) at W. Stanly (11-4).

1A West: Jordan-Matthews (12-5) at Hendersonville (13-4); Gastonia Highland (10-5) at Mt. Airy (13-0).

Track and Field

N.C. 3A WEST REGIONAL

At Asheville Roberson High

BOYS

Team Results: 1. Mooresville 138; 2. Asheville 85; 3. T.C. Roberson 52; 4. NW Cabarrus 28; 5. Franklin 27; 6. N. Buncombe 24; 7. E. Rowan 23; 7. Kings Mountain 23; 9. W. Iredell 22; 10 (tie). W. Rowan, Fred T. Foard 16.

100: McKnight (Asheville) 10.81; Black (Mooresville) 11.04; Teasley (N. Iredell) 11.07; Carson (Asheville) 10.94;

200: Moore (TC Roberson) 22.28; Owens (Fred T. Foard) 22.47; Avery (W. Rowan) 22.70; Edwards (N. Gaston) 23.01;

400: Avery (W. Rowan) 50.67; Belcher (Kings Mtn.) 50.89; Mccollum (NW Cabarrus) 51.85; Laxton (St. Stephens) 52.48;

800: Presson (Asheville) 1:59.37; Williams (Franklin) 2:02.23; Tarleton (Asheville) 2:02.90; West (NW Cabarrus) 2:03.78;

1,600: Campbell (Mooresville) 4:23.65; Presson (Asheville) 4:24.84; Harwell (Asheville) 4:32.67; Newman (Mooresville) 4:38.04;

3,200: Hill (Hickory) 9:29.58; Campbell (Mooresville) 9:42.55; Presson (Asheville) 10:00.53; Harwell (Asheville) 10:00.53;

110 Hurdles: Barber (W. Iredell) 15.14; Ryan (Mooresville) 15.15; Selle (Tuscola) 15.56; Breedlove (Forestview) 16.28;

300 Hurdles: Reardon (N. Buncombe) 41.28; Barber (W. Iredell) 41.45; Selle (Tuscola) 42.19; Rucker (W. Iredell) 42.32;

400 Relay: TC Roberson (Moore, McGlohon, Miller, Gilmore) 42.97; Mooresville 43.42; Asheville 43.86; Hunter Huss 44.05;

800 Relay: TC Roberson (Moore, McGlohon, Miller, Gilmore) 1:29.84; Mooresville 1:30.28; Kings Mtn. 1:32.65; Hunter Huss 1:33.40;

1,600 Relay: NW Cabarrus (House, McCollum, Noreika, Williams) 3:30.28; Mooresville 3:32.63; TC Roberson 3:33.32; N. Buncombe 3:35.86;

3,200 Relay: Mooresville (Brito, Campbell, Martin, Newman) 8:10.26; Asheville 8:14.02; NW Cabarrus 8:15.83; N. Buncombe 8:27.30;

Long Jump: Allison (Mooresville) 22-8.75; Yates (Carson) 21-7.75; Gilmore (TC Roberson) 20-8.5; Sutton (Mooresville) 20-2;

Triple Jump: Allison (Mooresville) 47-0; Gilmore (TC Roberson) 46-7; Clark (Mooresville) 45-1.5; Young (Kings Mtn.) 43-3.5;

High Jump: Morgan (Asheville) 6-4; Allison (Mooresville) 6-4; Martin (R-S Central) 6-4; Grant (S. Rowan) 6-2;

Pole Vault: Miles (S. Rowan) 14-3; Spence (Franklin) 13-6; Parker (E. Rowan) 13-6; McManus (Franklin) 13-0;

Shot Put: Deaton (Mooresville) 54-3; Stehr (E. Rowan) 52-7.5; Smith (Franklin) 51-2.5; Nallenweg (Erwin) 50-4;

Discus: Deaton (Mooresville) 156-0; Lail (Fred T. Foard) 147-7; Robbins (E. Rowan) 138-8; Youngberg (N. Buncombe) 136-1.

GIRLS

Team Results: 1. TC Roberson 115; 2. Asheville 69; 3. NW Cabarrus 52; 4. N. Gaston 42; 5. Mooresville 37; 6. Forestview 31; 7. R-S Central 24; 8. Statesville 23; 9. Franklin 21; 10. N. Iredell 19.

100: Kendrick (Forestview) 11.70; Blake (NW Cabarrus) 12.00; Reid (N. Gaston) 12.17; Parks (Franklin) 12.37;

200: Kendrick (Forestview) 25.13; Parks (Franklin) 26.22; Morris (N. Iredell) 27.34; Matthews (R-S Central) 27.38;

400: Blake (NW Cabarrus) 58.14; Reid (N. Gaston) 1:01.19; Ellis (St. Stephens) 1:01.39; Whitesides (R-S Central) 1:03.22;

800: Hoer (TC Roberson) 2:20.04; Chapman (TC Roberson) 2:20.13; Egelhoff-Whalen (Asheville) 2:20.34; Whitner (Enka) 2:20.40;

1,600: Kirby (TC Roberson) 5:18.26; Smith (TC Roberson) 5:23.67; Hoer (TC Roberson) 5:24.10; Jacobs (S. Rowan) 5:34.99;

3,200: Kirby (TC Roberson) 11:43.03; McLeod (Tuscola) 11:46.61; Schumacher (Tuscola) 11:48.02; Will (S. Point) 12:13.66;

100 Hurdles: Treakle (Asheville) 14.79; Lukacena (Enka) 16.10; Brewton (Forestview) 16.27; Ford (NW Cabarrus) 16.62;

300 Hurdles: Treakle (Asheville) 45.51; Pridgen (Mooresville) 49.38; Smyre (Statesville) 49.76; Loose (Franklin) 49.99;

400 Relay: TC Roberson (Beasley, Chambers, McGlohon, Duff) 49.70; N. Gaston 50.76; Kings Mountain 51.33; Asheville 51.83;

800 Relay: N. Gaston (Ginyard, Barnette, Reid, Hall) 1:45.92; TC Roberson 1:46.02; Asheville 1:49.64; Lake Norman 1:49.88;

1,600 Relay: Asheville (Egelhoff-Whalen, Lee, Logan, Treakle) 4:12.07; TC Roberson 4:12.11; NW Cabarrus 4:16.44; R-S Central 4:21.55;

3,200 Relay: TC Roberson (Bradley, Chapman, Hoer, Smith) 9:43.72; Asheville 10:15.54; Lake Norman 10:26.58; Franklin 10:33.57;

Long Jump: Morris (N. Iredell) 16-6.5; Cannon (Mooresville) 16-0.5; Jeffries (Asheville) 15-5.75; Sturdivant (Mooresville) 15-4.5;

Triple Jump: Cannon (Mooresville) 36-4; Ford (NW Cabarrus) 36-4; Whitesides (R-S Central) 35-5; Jeffries (Asheville) 34-9;

High Jump: Cordone (TC Roberson) 5-2; Erickson (NW Cabarrus) 5-0; Cress (Carson) 4-10; Brewton (Forestview) 4-10;

Pole Vault: Daywalt (Statesville) 10-0; Ledbetter (N. Buncombe) 9-6; Henderson (Statesville) 9-0; Cody (N. Buncombe) 8-0;

Shot Put: Aja (Erwin) 36-1.5; Watkins (TC Roberson) 35-9; Beatty (Carson) 32-11.5; Lattimore (R-S Central) 32-4;

Discus: Ginyard (N. Gaston) 109-11; Pegues (Hickory) 106-11; May (S. Rowan) 105-8; Watkins (TC Roberson) 104-9.

BOXING

Fight Schedule

(National TV in parentheses)

Wednesday: At New York (ESPN2), Francisco Figueroa, Bronx, N.Y., vs. Luis Rodriguez, Mexico, 10, light welterweights.

Friday: At Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas (ESPN), Chris Byrd, Las Vegas, vs. Shaun George, Brooklyn, N.Y., 10, light heavyweights.

Saturday: At Miami (HBO), James Kirkland, Austin, Texas, vs. Eromosele Albert, Miami, 10, junior middleweights; Yuriorkis Gamboa, Miami, vs. Darling Jimenez, Bronx, 10, junior lightweights; Alfredo Angulo, Coachella, Calif., vs. Richard Gutierrez, Miami, 10, junior middleweights.

At Aguascalientes, Mexico (PPV), Jorge Arce, Mexico, vs. Devid Lookmahanak, Thailand, 12, super flyweights.

TRANSACTIONS

BASEBALL

American League

BALTIMORE--Purchased the contract of INF Alex Cintron from Norfolk (IL). Optioned RHP Bob McCroy to Norfolk.

CLEVELAND--Purchased the contract of OF Jason Tyner from Buffalo (IL). Optioned RHP Tom Mastny to Buffalo.

LOS ANGELES--Placed INF Chone Figgins on the 15-day DL. Recalled 1B Kendry Morales from Salt Lake (PCL).

NEW YORK--Placed RHP Jonathan Albaladejo and INF Wilson Betemit on the 15-day DL. Recalled RHP Chris Britton and INF Alberto Gonzalez from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL).

OAKLAND--Activated RHP Rich Harden from the 15-day DL. Activated OF Travis Buck from the 15-day DL and optioned him to Sacramento (PCL). Placed OF Chris Denorfia on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 7.

TEXAS--Placed RHP Kevin Millwood on the 15-day DL. Purchased the contract of RHP Doug Mathis from Oklahoma (PCL). Released RHP Kazuo Fukumori,

TORONTO--Placed OF Vernon Wells and RHP Jeremy Accardo on the 15-day DL. Recalled INF Joe Inglett from Syracuse (IL). Purchased the contract of RHP Armando Benitez from Syracuse. Designated RHP Tracy Thorpe for assignment.

National League

ATLANTA--Placed RHP Buddy Carlyle on the 15-day DL. Recalled LHP Chuck James from Richmond (IL).

COLORADO--Purchased the contract of RHP Greg Reynolds from Colorado Springs (PCL). Optioned LHP Mark Redman to Colorado Springs.

SAN DIEGO--Sent LHP Glendon Rusch outright to Portland (PCL). Acquired RHP Bryan Corey from Boston for a player to be named or cash. Optioned LHP Joe Thatcher to Portland.

SAN FRANCISCO--Activated SS Omar Vizquel from the 15-day DL. Optioned SS Brian Bocock to Fresno (PCL).

WASHINGTON--Optioned LHP Mike O'Connor to Columbus (IL). Recalled RHP Chris Schroder from Columbus.

Midwest League

QUAD CITIES--Released OF Justin Roberson. Announced Palm Beach (FSL) assigned OF Tommy Pham to the team.

Atlantic League

LONG ISLAND--Agreed to terms with RHP Clint Nageotte.

Northern League

FARGO-MOORHEAD--Released RHP Gary Lee, RHP Dustin Lidyard and LHP Jason Beasley.

FOOTBALL

Arena Football League

PHILADELPHIA--Signed QB Glen Gauntt and DL Kevin Carberry.

HOCKEY

NHL

DETROIT--Signed F Ville Leino to a one-year contract.

ECHL

ECHL--Suspended Cincinnati D Chad Starling and South Carolina D Grant McNeill one game for their actions in a May 9 playoff game.

GLANTZ CULVER

Major League Baseball

Favorite

Line

Underdog

Line

National League

Atl. (G1)	-140	at Pittsb.	+130
Atl. (G2)	-170	at Pittsb.	+160
at N. York	-145	Washing.	+135
at Cincin.	-170	Florida	+160
at Chicago	-190	San Diego	+180
St. Louis	-125	at Milwau.	+115
Houston	-135	at S. Fran.	+125

American League

at Clv. (G1)	-135	Toronto	+125
at Clv. (G2)	-160	Toronto	+150
Boston	-130	at Minnes.	+120
New York	-130	at T. Bay	+120
at Texas	-110	Seattle	+100
at Los Ang.	-110	Chicago	+100

NBA Playoffs

FAVORITE	LINE	UNDERDOG
at Cleve.	21/2	Boston

NHL Playoffs

FAVORITE	LINE	UNDERDOG
Detroit	-120	at Dallas

More online

For high school scores, check charlotte.com/preps

5 home runs fuel Knights

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:26 EDT

Charlotte Knights infielder Chris Getz says anyone can look at his career statistics and see he's no big home-run threat -- he has nine in three-plus seasons in the minor leagues.

"But here (in Knights Stadium), there's always a chance," he said after the Knights' 10-6 victory Sunday against the Toledo Mud Hens. "It's nice to play in a ballpark that leans toward the offensive side."

Getz hit the first of five Charlotte home runs on a windy afternoon in front of 2,308 fans. Dewayne Wise hit two more and Brad Eldred and Jeff Liefer each added one for the Knights.

The game's biggest hit also came from Getz, a two-run double off Toledo left-hander Ian Ostlund that highlighted a four-run seventh inning and broke a 4-4 tie.

"I've been struggling a little so I'm just trying to keep it simple," said Getz, 24, who played at Wake Forest for the first year of his college career. "I put a good swing on it and just dropped it in the right spot (in left field)."

Toledo got one run back in the top of the eighth, but Wise and Eldred hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning off Mud Hens reliever Francis Beltran for a 10-5 lead.

"It was a good day to hit, and a tough day to pitch and to field the ball," Charlotte manager Marc Bombard said. "We hit some long balls, and our pitchers battled."

Adam Russell (2-0), the second of four Knights pitchers, picked up the victory, pitching a scoreless seventh.

NOTES: The Knights will face Detroit Tigers left-hander Dontrelle Willis at 7:15 p.m. today as the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year makes his second major-league rehab start for the Mud Hens. Right-hander Tomo Ohka (0-6, 6.03) will start for Charlotte.

South Atlantic

LAKEWOOD 9, KANNAPOLIS 2: The host Intimidators lost their third straight to Lakewood. The rain-shortened game was called with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

KNIGHTS 10, MUD HENS 6

Toledo	ab	r	h	bi	Charlotte	ab	r	h	bi
Guzman cf	4	0	1	0	Owens cf	5	0	1	1
Almonte ss	5	1	1	0	Bourgeois lf	3	0	0	0
Hessman 3b	4	0	0	0	Dawkins ss	2	0	0	0
Larish 1b	5	0	1	1	Wise rf	4	3	3	2
Clevlen rf	3	3	1	1	Eldred 1b	5	2	2	2
TPerez lf	4	1	2	0	Liefer dh	4	2	2	1
Hollimon 2b	4	1	2	3	Huffman 3b	2	2	0	0
Melian dh	3	0	1	0	Getz 2b	3	1	2	3
Trzesniak c	4	0	0	0	Cortez ss-lf	3	0	2	1
					Price c	4	0	0	0
Totals	36	6	9	5	Totals	35	10	12	10

Toledo	011	002	011	--	6	9	1
Charlotte	010	210	42x	--	10	12	1

E--AMartinez (1), Huffman (3). LOB--Toledo 9, Charlotte 7. 2B--Almonte (9), Liefer (5), Eldred (11), Getz (7). HR--Clevlen (5), Hollimon (5), Getz (3), Liefer (2), Wise 2 (7), Eldred (11). SB--TPerez (7), Cortez (2), Wise (12). CS--Getz (3). S--TPerez.

Toledo	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Bazardo	5	7	4	4	3	3
AMartinez L,0-1	11/3	1	4	3	3	1
Ostlund	2/3	2	0	0	0	0
Beltran	1	2	2	2	0	0

Charlotte	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Whisler	6	5	4	4	4	4
Russell W,2-0	1	1	0	0	0	1
Childers	1	1	1	0	1	2
MacDougal	1	2	1	1	0	2

WP--Bazardo. Umpires--HP: Jason Bradley. 1B: Dusty Dellinger. 3B: Christopher Conroy. T--2:42. Att.--2,308.

Deacs close park with ACC sweep

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:04 EDT

Wake Forest closed Gene Hooks Stadium in style, completing a sweep of Duke on a wet Sunday as Mike Murray's three-run home run sparked a 9-4 victory.

The Deacons will move to nearby Ernie Shore Field for next season.

Jonathan Nicolla went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and two RBIs for the Blue Devils.

Wake Forest (22-27, 11-15) has won six straight and will need one win at Boston College next weekend or have Duke (34-17-1, 8-17-1) lose once at Virginia Tech to qualify for the eight-team ACC tournament.

Clemson also is battling for one of the final two spots. The Tigers will make the tournament unless Wake Forest and Duke complete sweeps.

Elsewhere

CLEMSON 16, GEORGIA TECH 6: Jeff Schaus went 5-for-6 with a double and four RBIs, and Wilson Boyd added a home run and four RBIs to help the Tigers (26-25-1, 11-18-1) cruise at Georgia Tech (36-15, 14-13) in their ACC regular-season finale.

Clemson put the game away with six runs on five hits in the ninth. Schaus had a two-run double during the big inning.

VIRGINIA 5, 2 NORTH CAROLINA 4: A two-run single by Jeremy Farrell gave the host Cavaliers (34-17, 14-13 ACC) the lead in the sixth against the Tar Heels (42-9, 20-6) before heavy rains forced the game to be shortened.

Kyle Seager doubled in the sixth, tying the North Carolina season record with 25. The Tar Heels had taken the lead the inning on pinch-hitter Ryan Graepel's RBI single and Garrett Gore's run-scoring double.

19 N.C. STATE 17, MARYLAND 8: Matt Payne went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and Jeremy Synan was 3-for-6 and drove in three for the Wolfpack (35-16, 17-9 ACC), which scored four in the third and six in the fourth to roll at Maryland (29-26, 9-21).

APPALACHIAN STATE 4, FURMAN 2: Pinch-hitter Andrew Franco's two-out, two-run triple in the sixth gave the host Mountaineers (29-23, 13-11 Southern) a series sweep against the Paladins (29-20, 15-9). Furman had a 13-game conference winning streak before the weekend.

MLB Notes | Maddux in elite company with win No. 350

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:31 EDT

Greg Maddux reached another milestone in his long, brilliant career, becoming the ninth pitcher in major-league history to win 350 games, reaching the plateau in his fifth try and leading the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 win against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.

It was just the fifth win in 23 games for the Padres (13-24), who have the worst record in the majors.

Maddux, 42, improved to 350-217 in 23 seasons.

It's another milestone to go along with his four NL Cy Young Awards, one World Series championship and a record 17 Gold Glove Awards.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle called Maddux "a master craftsman." Said Hurdle: "He's going to go into the Hall of Fame. He stayed away from the barrel, changed speeds and got outs. He was very effective." -- Associated Press

Around the leagues

CINCINNATI: David Ross led off the ninth inning of Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Mets and lined out. But the batter who should have been at the plate was outfielder Corey Patterson. After a 10-minute delay, Patterson was charged with the out, and Ross came up again. This time, he singled.

DETROIT: Gary Sheffield is batting .333 in five games since being moved from the No. 3 slot to No. 6 in the order. Sheffield hit .185 while batting third.

MILWAUKEE: Eric Gagne, the 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract before the season, was removed from the closer role.

ST. LOUIS: Albert Pujols has reached base safely in 39 straight games. -- OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES

Active wins leaders

POS.	PITCHER	WINS
1.	Greg Maddux, Padres	350
2.	Tom Glavine, Braves	303
3.	Randy Johnson, D'backs	286
4.	Mike Mussina, Yankees	255
5.	Jamie Moyer, Phillies	232
6.	Curt Schilling, Red Sox	216
7.	Kenny Rogers, Tigers	213
8.	John Smoltz, Braves	210
9.	Pedro Martinez, Mets	209
10.	Andy Pettitte, Yankees	204

Associated Press

Sorenstam rekindles past glory

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:48 EDT

Annika Sorenstam is on her way back, and a performance that harkened memories of her game before an injury-filled 2007 season suggests she's close.

"That's the way I used to play," Sorenstam said Sunday after hitting every fairway and almost every green in a 5-under-par 66 that made her the runaway winner of the Michelob Ultra Open with a tournament-record 19-under 265. She beat four others by a record-tying seven strokes.

Two of them -- Jeong Jang and Christina Kim -- played with her in the final threesome.

"She hit a perfect iron shot every single hole," Jang said. "Annika's back."

Sorenstam was close to flawless coming down the stretch. She had five birdies on the back nine, including three in a row, before a bogey on the final hole.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Hennie Otto won his first European Tour title by shooting a 3-under 69 to hold off Oliver Wilson by one stroke at the Italian Open in Milan. The South African had four birdies and a bogey at Castello di Tolcinasco Golf and Country Club to finish at 25-under 263. John Daly (67) finished 12 shots behind.