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Sergio Garcia takes early two-stroke lead
Sergio Garcia put together his third straight impressive round at the Players Championship. The first two gave him a runner-up finish last year. The six-under 66 on Thursday was only a great start. With growing confidence in his balky putting stroke and

Massa heads McLarens in practice
Massa is aiming for his third consecutive win in TurkeyFerrari's Felipe Massa narrowly beat McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen to set the pace in Friday's first practice session at the Turkish Grand Prix. The Brazilian's best lap of one minute 27.323 seconds at

Crespi beats Notre Dame in dramatic fashion, 6-5, to win Mission League title
The game goes eight innings, and Zack Wiley wins it for the Celts with a run-scoring single. It was only fitting that on the final day of the regular season, with the Mission League championship at stake, neighborhood rivals Encino Crespi and Sherman

Sources: Knicks ante up for D'Antoni
3:26 AM ET In their latest round of discussions with Mike D'Antoni's camp, the on Thursday outlined the parameters of the lucrative five-year deal they're prepared to give their new No. 1 coaching target, according to NBA coaching sources. The

Pro, scapegoat or hype job?
It's getting harder and harder to talk about Kimbo Slice, though it's not from a lack of trying. It seems like everybody has an opinion on the Internet-brawler-turned-pro-fighter. Either he's the worst thing to happen to the sport of mixed martial arts,

Tustin, Los Alamitos programs stand out in NFL draft
Only seven high schools in the nation produced two players taken in last month's NFL draft. And of these seven, only Tustin and Los Alamitos also produced first-round selections -- USC tackle Sam Baker from Tustin, who was picked by the Atlanta Falcons,

Lim leads Sunny Hills to victory
On a day when it appeared that shooting two-under par would be a great accomplishment, senior Kevin Lim finished with a six-under 64 Thursday, beating his closest competitor by four shots and leading Fullerton Sunny Hills to the Southern Section-Toyota

It's all Kobe Bryant, all the time
The mere mortals in Los Angeles are used to living alongside some high-powered stars, but the hero worship lavished upon the Lakers star, the newly minted NBA MVP, transcends all. It has been two days now since his coronation, and we remain a city in a

Jon Garland has some opinions on precious metals
TAMPA, Fla. What's more prestigious, a World Series ring or an Olympic gold medal? It's more than just an idle question around the house of Angels pitcher Jon Garland, who will start tonight's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's because

Meehan puts the attack back into Bath
Bath have been scoring tries in abundance this season but it is not long ago, when their current head coach, Steve Meehan, was reaching three successive French league finals with Stade Franais, that touchdowns by the home side at the Recreation Ground

New Direction for Skydiving: From Vertical to Horizontal
PALATKA, Fla. - It was a Sunday morning in the South during Lent. As church parking lots filled with cars and pews with people, another group concerned with a different kind of resurrection gathered at a small airport nearby. Canopy piloting, or

Notes: Dynamo winless but still undaunted
A slow start doesn't faze the Houston Dynamo. The two-time defending MLS champions went through the same thing last year. BLOG: The weekend overseas 'And the season before that, and the season before that &,' says midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. BLOG: The

Lakers' Fisher continues his journey
It's been a year since the point guard endured one of the most dramatic days in his life -- playing for Utah in a playoff game just hours after his daughter underwent cancer surgery. SALT LAKE CITY ? A year ago, Derek Fisher's life changed, or would

They're leaving on a jet plane
And since the Lakers had to catch a flight to 'The SLC' (as the kids like to call it), practice more or less concluded the minute doors were open to us media types. Many players bolted quickly after shooting their final baskets, and those who stuck

Cavaliers' Wallace leaves Game 2 with dizziness
BOSTON -- Cleveland forward Ben Wallace left Thursday night's playoff game against Boston in the first quarter, complaining of dizziness, and Boston's Kendrick Perkins and Paul Pierce were also banged up in the first half. Wallace went to the locker room

Benfica confident Eriksson on his way
The Manchester City manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, is not as convinced about taking over at Benfica as the Portuguese club may believe Search Search Go Independent.co.uk Web Bookmark & Share Benfica are privately extremely confident that they have

From Japan, With Genes to Capture the Belmont
By way of Japan, Casino Drive has the breeding to win the Belmont Stakes, and maybe even the talent. No one else seems capable of stopping Big Browns march toward a Triple Crown, but maybe the mystery horse from the Far East can. Casino Drive, a half

For Dodgers' Steinberg, it's all about family
The team's new executive vice president for marketing believes baseball can be an integral part of the lives of fans. Charles Steinberg is a romantic and a pragmatist, a dazzled fan who swept storerooms and compiled statistics for the Baltimore Orioles

Lakers will work on crowd control
So how do you prepare a team to play at EnergySolutions Arena, where the Utah Jazz was 37-4 in the regular season? 'Maybe gas masks for the motorcycle rider,' said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, referring to the bear mascot who rolls around the Salt Lake

Garcia sets early Sawgrass pace
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD (US unless stated) -6 S Garcia (Spa) -4 K Perry, P Goydos -3 H Slocum, S Elkington (Aus), I Poulter (Eng), N Fasth (Swe), T Hamilton Selected others: -2 P Mickelson Level P Harrington (Ire)Garcia was on song in the unofficial

34 games in, and I have some questions
It's been a topsy turvy, whirlwind of an up and down, box of chocolates thrill ride for the Blue over the first 21% of the '08 season. Lots of good, lots of bad, lots of issues still floating over the squad. Thankfully, as we always do when 21% of the

After short wait, Nets promote Vandeweghe to GM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kiki Vandeweghe became the ' general manager Thursday, less than six months after being hired as a special assistant to team president Rod Thorn. Vandeweghe replaces Ed Stefanski, who left in midseason to become the general

Yankees Hit 4 Home Runs in Defeating the Indians
Filed at 4:59 p.m. ET Keep up with the latest news on The Times's baseball blog. NEW YORK (AP) -- Jason Giambi and the sluggish suddenly turned sluggerish. The Yankees played home run derby Thursday, with Giambi, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Wilson

Cuban Defectors Adjust to a New Life
From left, Yenier Bermudez, Jose Manuel Miranda and Yordany Alvarez. The three have tried out for M.L.S. teams, but have yet to land a contract. LOS ANGELES - Under a sunny sky on a manicured soccer field here, the drill was repeated over and over for 15

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Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky are contributing writers to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and co-authored Fishing on the Edge, the autobiography of 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion Mike Iaconelli, bass fishing's bad boy. While both grew up in St. Louis

Bucks' Williams undergoes surgery on right thumb
MILWAUKEE -- Bucks point guard Mo Williams had surgery to repair ligament damage in his right thumb and is expected to be ready for training camp in October. New general manager John Hammond said Thursday that Williams had the surgery on Wednesday. He

Lakers' Kobe Bryant named to All-NBA team
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant added another award to his collection today when he was the only unanimous choice for the All-NBA team, the league announced. Bryant, who won the MVP award earlier this week, also topped the voting for the league's first-team

Kobe only unanimous pick for All-NBA first team
NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant added another honor Thursday to go with his MVP award, becoming the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team. The Lakers star was voted to the first team for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. He led Los

McGowan makes early Milan running
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD (GB & Ire unless stated) -8 R McGowan, M Ruiz (Par) -7 M Foster, H Otto (SA), M Warren -6 G Bourdy (Fra), E Goya (Arg), S Kjeldsen (Den), P-U Johansson (Swe), A Noren (Swe), St Webster, O Wilson, F Zanotti (Par) McGowan fired

Duke is the team to beat in men's NCAA lacrosse tournament
In the race to the Final Four in Foxborough, Mass. there is Duke and then there are the 15 schools chasing the Blue Devils. Senior attack Zack Greer set the NCAA national career record for goals scored (197) last Sunday. Fifth-year midfielder Matt