NORTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Hurricane Earl has prompted PGA Tour officials to bring tee times forward by 40 minutes for the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on Friday.
The first groups will tee off at 7 a.m. local time (1100 GMT) because officials are fearful foul weather will ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva battled her way into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1 7-6 win over Germany's Sabine Lisicki Thursday.
The Russian seventh seed raced through the first set but world number 94 Lisicki served for the second before Zvonareva hit back ...
Francesco, 27, qualified automatically for the European team that will take on the U.S. holders at Celtic Manor in Wales from October 1-3.
Edoardo was one of captain Colin Montgomerie's three wildcard picks, along with Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald, after the 29-year-old Italian won the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick stumbled to a bad-tempered early exit from his home grand slam on Wednesday, the American losing 3-6 7-5 6-3 7-6 to unseeded Serb Janko Tipsarevic in the final match of the day.
The 44th-ranked Tipsarevic served magnificently and peppered ...
Niemi became the Chicago Blackhawks starter midway through the 2009 season and went 26-7-4 in 39 games with a 2.25 goals-against average and seven shutouts.
He then backstopped the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961 with a six-game series win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Andy Murray sent an ominous warning to his U.S. Open rivals when he breezed through his first match at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday before home hope Andy Roddick made an undignified exit in the last match of the day.
In the women's draw, former champions Kim Clijsters and ...
The 50-year-old Couples, who won the Green Jacket at Augusta National in 1992, will join champion Adam Scott of Australia, five-time winner Greg Norman, Geoff Ogilvy and John Daly for the December 2-5 tournament at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney.
"I am very much looking forward to playing in ...
The American world number one, who announced his long-expected divorce from his Swedish wife Elin nine days ago, has yet to win this season but felt he was close to his best at Ridgewood Country Club last week.
"If I would have putted a little bit better in the middle two rounds, then I would ...
TORONTO (Reuters) - Though it is the National Hockey League's (NHL) ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup has been left at the bottom of a swimming pool, used as a flower pot and a popcorn bucket and carried into a Finnish sauna.
As the NHL allows members of every winning team their own day with the ...
The Cardinals did not disclose details of the terms but Dockett told a news conference that he believed he was now up with the best paid players in his position.
Local media reports said the two-times Pro Bowl selection could earn up to $50 million with $31 million guaranteed.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venus Williams kept the flag flying for American tennis' most famous family at the U.S. Open on Wednesday when she beat Canada's Rebecca Marino 7-6 6-3 in the second round.
Marino gave the third seed a brief scare when she pushed the opening set to a tiebreak but Williams was ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Victoria Azarenka's on-court collapse in the scorching heat at the U.S. Open was a result of hitting her head in the gym ahead of the match, the 10th seeded Belarussian said on Wednesday.
Azarenka slumped to the ground while trailing Argentina's Gisela Dulko 5-1 on the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Britain's Andy Murray made a belated start to his U.S. Open with a straight-sets victory over Lukas Lacko Wednesday and said the cramped schedule will not hamper his chances of a first grand slam title.
The Scot was the last of the top four seeds to play in the first round but ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Czech Tomas Berdych became the first big casualty of the U.S. Open after being outclassed 7-6 6-4 6-4 by France's Michael Llodra on Wednesday.
Playing on his favorite surface, the Wimbledon finalist had been expected to dominate the match against Llodra, who is better known as ...
Serbia also reached the knockout rounds with a match to spare after a 94-79 victory over Australia and holders Spain avoided an early exit, overcoming a poor start to demolish Lebanon 91-57.
The eagerly-awaited Group B clash between the U.S. and Iran was played in sporting fashion, with pockets of ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Andre Agassi headlined a list of nominees for the International Tennis Hall of Fame following a sparkling career highlighted by eight grand slam titles and an Olympic gold medal.
Agassi, who shocked the sporting world late last year when he admitted using the highly addictive ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A relaxed Ana Ivanovic stormed into the third round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday and said she finally feels like she is playing top-level tennis again.
The former world number one, who has dropped to 40th in the past year due to injuries and a loss of confidence, produced one ...
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Cheerleaders donned black leggings and white T-shirts for a World Championship basketball match between Iran and the United States in Istanbul on Wednesday to respect cultural sensitivities.
Some Iranian officials still left the arena shortly before their routine began, ...
"The wound would not cause blindness, but would affect his sight, according to his doctor," the CFA said on its website .
"We strongly condemn the hooliganism that brought disgrace on football, troubling and disrupting the sport," it added.
MIAMI (Reuters) - United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati refused on Tuesday to confirm whether he had talked to any other coaches before signing up incumbent Bob Bradley to four more years in the role.
Bradley, who had been linked with the Fulham and Aston Villa vacancies in ...
The plastic horns became a hallmark of the World Cup in South Africa, producing a monotonous droning sound which provided a backdrop for every match.
But they will not be allowed in stadiums in UEFA competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2012 qualifiers after UEFA's ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark made short work of American wildcard Chelsey Gullickson, breezing into the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1 6-1 victory to close out Tuesday's programme.
Wozniacki, who has compiled a 14-1 record since Wimbledon and won four ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal made a smooth start to his bid to capture the one grand slam that has eluded him when he wore down Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-6 7-6 6-3 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Dressed menacingly in an all black outfit, Nadal had to dig deep to see off ...
The Major Leagues' leading home-run scorers notched nine hits and two homers in the sixth where they tallied their highest run total in a single inning since the 2007 season.
Slugger Jose Bautista hit a three-run blast for his league-leading 43rd home run of the season, and added an RBI single in ...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - While happy to give disgraced boxer Antonio Margarito another chance in the ring, Manny Pacquiao refuses to believe the Mexican was ignorant of his illegal hand wraps before a fight in January 2009.
Filipino Pacquiao has requested that two of his own representatives monitor ...
It has been 74 years since a British man last won a grand slam singles title but Murray has raised hopes in his homeland after making the U.S. Open final in 2008 and the Australian Open final this year.
Murray has been the form player leading into the last grand slam of the year, winning the ...
ROVERETO, Italy (Reuters) - Former Olympic 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin continued to improve in his comeback from a doping ban when he ran 10.09 seconds Tuesday but Caster Semenya endured an 800m race to forget.
Gatlin, 28, finished second behind Jamaica's Johan Blake, who won in a time of ...
The Spaniards spilled an 18-point lead in a 76-73 defeat by Lithuania, who also qualified for the knockout rounds to join the U.S. and Argentina after they sealed their berths on Monday.
France, who are without their San Antonio playmaker and triple NBA champion Tony Parker, ground out a 68-63 ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Serbia's Novak Djokovic caught his second wind in the nick of time to overcome Davis Cup team mate Viktor Troicki 6-3 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-3 in the first round on a brutally hot day at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Djokovic, who has struggled in the heat in the past, looked beaten after ...
PARIS (Reuters) - Laurent Fignon died of cancer on Tuesday at the age of 50 with two Tour de France wins to his name -- but the eight seconds that cost him a third triumph will live just as long in the memory.
On July 23 1989, after 21 stages and 3,285-km of grueling cycling, Greg LeMond pipped ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Marcos Baghdatis's U.S. Open curse struck again Tuesday when the Cypriot suffered his third first-round defeat in five visits, losing to seasoned Frenchman Arnaud Clement in a five-set thriller.
The 16th-seeded Baghdatis led by two sets to one and then by 3-1 in the fifth set ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova booked her passage into the second round of the U.S. Open with a steamy 6-2 4-6 6-1 victory over Kimiko Date Krumm Tuesday.
But the 25-year-old Russian, who won the tournament in 2004 and reached the final in 2007, was far from convincing ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia narrowly averted a first-round upset by rallying to beat unseeded Romanian teenager Simona Halep 6-4 4-6 7-5 at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old Halep, ranked 96th in the world, was two points from registering the first major ...
Should a player be late for his pro-am starting time for the remainder of the season, "Such player will be required to participate in the remainder of the pro-am round and may be required to perform additional sponsor activity," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a ...
FIFA delegates started their four-day inspection visit of facilities in Spain and Portugal on Monday to assess their joint bid to host the finals in 2018 or 2022.
"The perfect end to the year, in which the greatest collective feet in Spanish sport was achieved by winning the World Cup finals ...
It will be the third North Carolina course to host the year's final major.
"It is with great pleasure that we bring the PGA Championship back to North Carolina, and to make our first visit to Quail Hollow Club, a venue and a community that has demonstrated its skill in hosting premier ...
Kuroda held the Phillies without a hit into the eighth inning before Shane Victorino reached base on a single. The pitcher received a standing ovation from the crowd and was again shown appreciation when he left in the inning.
"At the beginning of the fifth I began to think about it," ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer served notice he was still a powerhouse at the U.S. Open and punctuated his performance with another sensational shot for the ages in a first-round rout over Argentine Brian Dabul Monday.
Federer, whose run of five successive U.S. titles was snapped last year in ...
Having defeated Cahill in their last meeting on July 6, New York again battered the right-hander for eight runs in four innings.
Marcus Thames blasted a three-run home run in the fifth where the Yankees scored five times to build an 11-4 advantage.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Martina Navratilova returned to the scene of some of her most notorious on-court battles at Flushing Meadows for the opening ceremony of the U.S. Open on Monday.
But it was the four-time U.S. Open champion's battle off the court with breast cancer which took center stage at ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venus Williams showed some effects of a troublesome knee but displayed enough of her trademark power to beat Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-1 in the opening night match of the U.S. Open on Monday.
Twice former champion Williams winced after landing on her left leg while striking ...
In a race sanctioned by the Grand Prix Racers Union, Peter Lenz fell off his bike and landed on the track during a warmup lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The American teenager tried to get up but was then struck by a 12-year-old rider. Lenz was given medical treatment trackside and ...
World number one Nadal will begin his quest to win the one grand slam title that has eluded him when he faces Russia's Teymuraz Gabashvili inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Wozniaki, riding the crest of a wave after reaching the final at Flushing Meadows last year and winning three lead-up events this ...
The 52-year-old, who steered the U.S. to the second round at this year's World Cup finals in South Africa, will retain the job until the end of 2014 after agreeing to a four-year contract extension.
Monday's announcement puts an end to the widespread rumors linking Bradley with the vacant position ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Robin Soderling avoided becoming the first big-name casualty of the U.S. Open as the fifth seed secured a 7-5 6-3 6-7 5-7 6-4 first-round victory over Andreas Haider-Maurer on Monday.
Soderling, a quarter-finalist at Flushing Meadows last year, looked a shadow of the player ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former baseball pitching star Roger Clemens pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he lied and obstructed a congressional investigation into whether he used banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens, 48, standing before Judge Reggie Walton in a federal courtroom in ...
The U.S. team, led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, jumped for joy to celebrate their 70-68 win after the Brazilians, who led 46-43 at halftime, missed two opportunities in the dying seconds to send the game into overtime.
Argentina also notched up their third successive win with a 91-70 rout of Angola, ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Andy Roddick celebrated his 28th birthday by romping past France's Stephane Robert 6-3 6-2 6-2 in his first-round match at the U.S. Open on Monday.
Ninth-seeded Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open winner, made an emphatic start on a hot, sunny day despite struggling with an ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Defending champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium overcame a second-set scare to defeat Greta Arn of Hungary 6-0 7-5 in the first round of the U.S. Open Monday.
Clijsters sailed through an 18-minute opening set on a sun-kissed Arthur Ashe center court but fell behind 4-0 in the ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former world number one Dinara Safina suffered another early exit from a grand-slam event when she was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday.
The Russian, who has slipped 49 places to number 50 in the space of 12 ...
The 12-time All-Star has been replaced on the active roster by right-handed pitcher Ramon Troncoso, who was recalled from Class AAA Albuquerque, the Dodgers said in a statement.
Ramirez, 38, joined the Dodgers in 2008 in a mid-season trade from the Boston Red Sox and gave his new team an immediate ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - American teenager Melanie Oudin, the home crowd darling of last year's U.S. Open, set aside her season's struggles to launch this year's edition of the tournament with a straight sets win on center court.
Oudin, who blazed into the quarter-finals last year riding the support ...
Varallo, who played for the Argentina side that lost 4-2 to Uruguay in the 1930 final in Montevideo, died in his home town of La Plata, 50 km south of Buenos Aires.
He was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit in 1994.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Italy's Francesca Schiavone eased into the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Japan's Ayumi Morita on Monday.
French Open champion Schiavone, who had previously won just three matches since her Roland Garros triumph, wrapped up the first set in 29 ...
Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez was second with compatriot Igor Anton third.
The Tour of Spain finishes on September 19 in Madrid.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Switzerland's Roger Federer and Belgian Kim Clijsters are among five former champions in action on a busy opening day at the U.S. Open on Monday.
The pair will be joined by Americans Venus Williams and Andy Roddick in playing their opening matches on the Arthur Ashe center ...
Cincinnati had agreed a four-year deal worth $28 million with Bryant in March, according to local media, but a knee injury kept him out of the team's pre-season games and the Bengals confirmed his release on their website (bengals.com) on Sunday.
Bryant was initially chosen by the team over Owens ...
Pace was injured in a preseason game against the Washington Redskins on Friday and will undergo surgery on Monday.
"I'll probably definitely miss the first game, it's safe to say that," Pace told the Jets website (newyorkjets.com).
England beat Spain 3-2 with Alex Danson scoring the English team's first goal in her 100th international in the other Group B match of the opening day of the tournament in Rosario, 350 km north of Buenos Aires.
Park Mi-hyun scored a brilliant winner with a reverse-stick flick at the end of a solo ...
The left-hander struck out six batters and allowed just four hits as the Phillies won their third successive game against the National League West-leading Padres (76-53).
San Diego was dominated by the Philadelphia pitchers during the three-game series and scored just three runs.
PARAMUS, New Jersey (Reuters) - American Matt Kuchar hit a spectacular recovery shot to win a playoff against Martin Laird of Britain at the first hole to claim the Barclays title Sunday in the opening leg of the FedExCup playoffs.
After hitting his drive into heavy rough on the left side, Kuchar ...
Tournament favorites the U.S. cruised to a 99-77 rout of Slovenia, holders Spain brushed aside New Zealand 101-84 while 2006 finalists Greece had to dig deep to overcome the unfancied opposition of Puerto Rico.
Hosts Turkey, roared on by their fans, dismissed Russia 65-56 and Argentina, the 2004 ...
PARAMUS, New Jersey (Reuters) - Tiger Woods finished strongly at the Barclays tournament Sunday, a four-under 67 clinching a spot in the second FedExCup series event next week.
The world number one, yet to win this season, had to be in the top 50 to remain in the lucrative playoffs and qualified ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A month of intense competition that has reaped three titles in three countries has given Caroline Wozniacki the confidence she needs to land her first grand slam title at the U.S. Open starting on Monday.
Wozniacki made the final at Flushing Meadows last year, losing to the ...
GLENEAGLES, Scotland (Reuters) - Europe's captain Colin Montgomerie named Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari on Sunday as his three wildcard selections for the Ryder Cup against the U.S. in October.
Molinari got the nod after his blistering finish at Gleneagles where he captured ...
The 21-year-old, who broke the record that had stood for 13 years in Berlin last Sunday when he ran 1:41.09, powered down the home straight at the IAAF World Challenge meeting to easily better that mark.
Denmark's Wilson Kipketer set 1.41.11 in 1997 in Cologne, Germany but Rudisha has suddenly ...
PARIS (Reuters) - China's Chen Jin went one better than last year to lift the men's singles world badminton title Sunday, subduing Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat 21-13 21-15 in the final.
His victory highlighted a brilliant day for China who for the first time since 1987 took all five titles.
The 29-year-old, who won the world title in 2006 with Honda, has raced for Ducati for two years and is sixth in this season's standings.
"Next year I'll be teamed with some guy named Rossi who knows a little something about bikes! We are going to have a strong squad," Hayden said in a ...
The win allowed the Braves to maintain a two-game lead in the National League East over the Philadelphia Phillies, who had earlier defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1.
"We knew Philly won today," Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson told reporters. "We knew we had to go out there and ...
The 26-year-old put his Yamaha on the front row of the grid after lapping the famous "brickyard" circuit in one minute 40.105 seconds.
"This is a great feeling for me to get my first MotoGP pole position and for it to come in front of the American crowd and here at Indianapolis with ...
Serbia were also among the opening day's big winners after demolishing Angola 94-44 while 2006 finalists Greece had to work hard for an 89-81 victory against China.
The preliminary round, featuring 24 teams divided into four groups of six, promises more enthralling battles as some unheralded ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal needs only the U.S. Open title to complete a career set of grand-slam titles but the relaxed Spaniard says he will never allow it to become an obsession.
The 24-year-old world number one goes into the final grand-slam event of 2010 with Wimbledon and the French ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer has agreed to hire Paul Annacone as his new coach after the pair hit it off during a one-month trial.
Federer said Annacone would join forces with Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi in coaching him.
Dutch state broadcaster NOS said Geesink, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member since 1987, died on Friday from a brief illness after spending the past few weeks in hospital.
Geesink shocked the Japanese judo establishment by winning a world championship title in 1961, the first ...
The win allowed the Red Sox to move to within 4 games of the Rays in the tight AL East.
The Rays remain tied with the New York Yankees for the division lead after the Bronx Bombers lost 9-4 to the Chicago White Sox in a late game.
Wozniacki, who will be the top seed at the U.S. Open next week, was late arriving in New Haven after playing a semi-final and final at the rain-hit event in Montreal on Monday and appeared out to struggle in the opening set.
The Dane recovered to win the second set but needed to dig deep in the ...
"After being examined by concussion specialist Dr. Mark Lovell, Paul is not able to play hockey due to post-concussion syndrome," Kariya's agent Don Baizley told reporters.
Kariya, taken with the fourth overall pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the 1993 draft, spent the last three seasons ...
Leake's move is retroactive to Wednesday but the 22-year-old could return for the post-season, the Reds said on Friday.
"It's better for him, and he still may be eligible for the playoffs," manager Dusty Baker told the team's website (http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com). "He's not ...
The "Nigerian Nightmare" has another title shot against Klitschko on September 11 in Frankfurt, Germany, and despite the bout being in the world heavyweight champion's former adopted country, Peter will be packing his own judge and referee.
"He will be down again but this time he ...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World 800 meters champion Caster Semenya finished third on her Diamond League debut in Brussels on Friday after a troubled season and in-form sprinter Tyson Gay notched up another win.
Gay, who had been due to face world-record holder Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell over the 100 ...
PARAMUS, New Jersey (Reuters) - Triple major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland put himself in contention at the Barclays with a second-round 68 on Friday and hopes his play will also pay off in a Ryder Cup berth.
Harrington failed to clinch an automatic berth and finds himself in stiff ...
The men were suing each other for defamation in relation to events in December 2005 when the Phoenix Coyotes' forward received a penalty during a game against the Montreal Canadiens for allegedly making derogatory comments at French-speaking on-ice officials.
Liberal Member of Parliament Denis ...
Gallardo and a Brewers clubhouse attendant were held up in the parking lot of a supermarket in Milwaukee and handed over money and jewelry to the robber, the team said on its website (http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/).
The attendant hit in the head with the butt of the robber's gun but Gallardo ...
Indiana Pacers guard Brandon Rush, a first-round draft pick in 2008 who averaged 9.4 points a game last season, received a five-game suspension for violating terms of the NBA's anti-drug program, the league said in a statement on Friday.
Kenny Hasbrouck of the Miami Heat was suspended two games ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Line judges can relax, Serena Williams will not be gunning for her fourth U.S. Open title when the last grand slam event of the season starts next week in New York.
Her withdrawal after slicing her foot on a piece of broken glass in July will allow match officials to breathe a ...
The fourth seed will not be in such a charitable mood when he begins his latest attempt to get the major monkey off his back when he takes on 22-year-old Slovak Lukas Lacko.
Murray arrived in New York early for the August 30-September 12 tournament after his run in Cincinnati was ended by Mardy ...
The promising right-hander will seek a second opinion before the Nationals make a final decision on whether surgery is needed, the team said on its website (www.washington.nationals.mlb.com).
He could miss at least a year and perhaps the entire 2011 season if he undergoes the surgery to replace ...
The silver-colored venue, next to the striking aquatics center in the south of the Olympic Park, will have a sloping rippling roof, made of air-inflated recycled PVC cushions.
The lightweight roof will provide extra insulation and reduce condensation, organizers said.
Lee was chased after conceding seven hits and five runs over five innings as the AL Central-leading Twins (73-55) built a 6-0 lead going into the seventh and withstood a late fightback.
Delmon Young hit a three-run homer for Minnesota in the second inning, and veteran designated hitter Jim Thome ...
China face a baptism of fire against Greece Saturday in their opening game in Turkey, with American coach Bob Donewald Jr. insisting his goal was the 2012 London Olympics.
"We don't have Yao. We have many young players in this team. We still need to work and improve," Donewald told the ...
Wozniacki, who will be the top seed at the U.S. Open next week, won a semi-final and final at the rain-hit Montreal Cup Monday before racing to New Haven for her final Flushing Meadows tune-up.
Italian Pennetta was reluctant to pull out of the tournament but said she wanted to give herself every ...
