MSNBC: Sports

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Tiger Woods was playing his familiar role of frontrunner on Sunday as he eased into a two-stroke lead with nine holes left in the Players Championship.World number one Woods was 13 under par heading into the back nine at the Stadium Course with longtime rival Sergio Garcia, 49-year-old Jeff Maggert, Swedish rookie David Lingmerth and Scotsman Martin Laird bun...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Tiger Woods put his reputation as a closer to the test on Sunday as he set out with a share of the lead in the final round of the 40th Players Championship.World number one Woods, zeroing back into the form that once made other competitors buckle, was tied with longtime rival Sergio Garcia and PGA Tour rookie David Lingmerth of Sweden on 11 under par heading ...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Tiger Woods finally made another birdie and finished off the third round with a 1-under 71, putting him in a three-way tie for the lead with Sergio Garcia and David Lingmerth in The Players Championship.Woods and Garcia will each walk the fairways of the TPC Sawgrass with someone else on Sunday afternoon.Lingmerth bogeyed the 18th for a 69 to finish on 11-under 205. ...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A rift between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia attracted all the attention on a stormy day at Sawgrass. Swedish rookie David Lingmerth quietly went about his business and wound up atop the leaderboard Saturday in The Players Championship.Lingmerth finished a wild day with an 8-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th and a 10-foot birdie on the island-green 17th to reach 12-u...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Swedish rookie David Lingmerth emerged from the storm clouds to take the lead Saturday in The Players Championship.Lingmerth ended a long day at the TPC Sawgrass with an 8-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole and a 10-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th. That put him at 12-under-par when the round was suspended because of darkness. There was a two-hour delay earlie...    

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Down and dominated during most of the first two games at home, the San Antonio Spurs once again showed why nobody should ever count them out.Tony Parker scored 25 of his 32 points in a sizzling first half, Tim Duncan added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs quieted the Golden State Warriors and their rowdy sellout crowd in a 102-92 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 le...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Sergio Garcia roared into the Players Championship lead with Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood close behind early in the second round as star power returned to the top of the leaderboard on Friday.Garcia, Woods and Westwood led a scoring parade as eagles and birdies flew all around TPC Sawgrass on a steamy day in what is widely regarded as golf's unofficial fifth ...    

Famous golf holesGolden BellNo. 12 at Augusta National. Par 3. 155 yards.Why it’s famous: The shortest hole at Augusta National is guarded by Rae’s Creek, backed by pine trees and azaleas, accessed over Hogan’s Bridge, and surrounded by a deceptive and swirling wind that even people who have played the Masters dozens of times struggle to read. Jack Nicklaus calls it the best little par-3 in the wo...    

O.J. Simpson will return next week to the Las Vegas courthouse where he was convicted of leading an armed sports memorabilia heist to ask a judge for a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer botched his case.Simpson will take the witness stand to testify that the Florida lawyer who collected nearly $700,000 is to blame for his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in 2008 and his failed appeal...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Roberto Castro made a debut he won't soon forget in The Players Championship, opening with a 9-under 63 Thursday to tie the course record at the TPC Sawgrass and build a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and other early starters.Facing the infamous island-green on No. 17 for the first time in competition, Castro left a 9-iron within a foot of the hole. On the dauntin...    

“Squeaky-bum time" (n). The tense final stages of a league competition, especially from the point of view of the leaders. Coined by Sir Alex Ferguson.-- Oxford English Dictionary* * *The tempting thing to do whenever some major sporting event happens in another country — especially when it’s something somewhat foreign to many of us — is to try and find an American equivalent that can put it all in...    

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Winning the Masters was the ultimate high for Australian Adam Scott.But after taking a few weeks off to bask in the glow of a cherished accomplishment, the 32-year-old Scott said on Wednesday it was time to come down from cloud nine and build on his legacy at the Players Championship starting on Thursday."I've had a really nice break since the Masters, which ...    

J.A. Happ isn't sure how he'll react when gets on a mound again. One thing he does know is that he's going to try to forget what happened Tuesday night.Toronto's 30-year-old left-hander returned to Tropicana Field on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he was struck on the head by a line drive that sent him to a hospital for an overnight stay.Happ expects to make a full recovery from a skull fract...    

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Titans want to get back to what they used to do best, and that's run the football.Under a mandate from the general manager and head coach, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains has put together a playbook designed to make the most of a revamped offensive line, Chris Johnson and his new backup, Shonn Greene.That should help ease the growing pains for quarterbac...    

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - As evidenced by the proliferating number of pranks he's pulling, Peyton Manning has gotten pretty comfortable in Denver as he enters his second season with the Broncos.His teammates warn that Manning might not want to get too cozy, although none of them have gotten back at the productive prankster."I think a lot of guys are going to jump at that opportunity. So we've just g...    

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee defensive back Daniel Gray is no longer with the football program and intends to transfer.Gray's departure was first reported by InsideTennessee.com and was confirmed Wednesday night by Tennessee athletic department spokesman Jimmy Stanton.Gray made six tackles at cornerback in eight games, including one start, as a freshman last season.    

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Texas Rangers placed catcher A.J. Pierzynski on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday after an MRI exam revealed a strained right abdominal muscle.Pierzynski was a late scratch before the Rangers' game Tuesday in Milwaukee and sat out again Wednesday after the test.The 36-year-old Pierzynski was hitting .263 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 26 games for the Rangers, who signed h...    

(Eds: With AP Photos. Updates stats for Hamilton, Pujols and with Angels' loss.)AP Sports ColumnistDon Mattingly talked about moving furniture around, though the way the Dodgers have played this season there must be a couple of chairs missing in Chavez Ravine. Two six-game losing streaks and sole possession of last place in the National League West isn't exactly what Magic Johnson and company had ...    

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs said they were going to treat the opener of the Western Conference semifinals as a loss rather than the historic victory it was.They don't have to pretend they lost to the Golden State Warriors at home anymore.Klay Thompson had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds, Stephen Curry added 22 points and Golden State withstood another furious rally by the Spur...    

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Family and friends honored the memory of a Utah soccer referee at an emotional funeral service Wednesday evening just hours after the teenager who punched him before he fell into a coma was charged with homicide by assault.After an afternoon wake at a community center, a group of men carried a wooden casket with the remains of Ricardo Portillo in silence about a quarter mile ...