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Feb20
Bill Haas wound up making the biggest putt of them all at Riviera in Los Angeles. On the second extra hole of a three-way playoff Sunday – made possible by clutch birdie putts from Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley on the final hole – Haas rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt across the 10th green to win the Northern Trust Open.
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Feb18
NBA: Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 36 points and rookie Brandon Knight added 23 points and 10 assists as the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-108 Friday at Auburn Hills, Mich. Tayshaun Prince finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Stuckey (Eastern Washington) was 12 for 20 from the floor and 11 for 12 from the free-throw line. Detroit has won six of its last eight games after a 4-20 start.
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Feb13
Whether it was the 38-foot par putt that Phil Mickelson pounded in just after Tiger Woods had gotten everyone revved up with a birdie or Mickelson’s spectacular eagle on the par-five sixth hole, or Mickelson’s sweet hug with wife Amy or her eagerly enthusiastic words, “What a round. Are you kidding me?” all the best moments Sunday belonged to Phil. Mickelson, 40, who had started the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tied for fourth place and six shots out of the lead, surged to a day’s best of 8-under-par 64 to win his fourth Pebble Beach tournament and earn the 40th PGA Tour title of his career.
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Feb10
Tom Stebbins is quick to admit that the Spokane Golf & Travel Show he and his wife, Karen, first put on in 1999 suffered through some “ugly years” during its infancy.
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Feb09
Brad Faxon never missed the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am ( noon today, Golf Channel) when healthy, playing 26 times until he moved over to the 50-and-over Champions Tour. He is in Boca Raton, Fla., this week and missing Pebble in a big way. Faxon said he thought about asking for a sponsor’s exemption, but he had done that the last three years. His hope is to prove himself on the Champions Tour by winning – he already has one title – so that he’s not a “pitiful” exemption. How fond is he of the tournament? “When I’m with friends, I tell more great stories about Pebble Beach than any other place,” he said. – Associated Press
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Feb06
Kyle Stanley knew exactly how Spencer Levin felt. Taking advantage of Levin’s final-round meltdown, Stanley rebounded from a devastating loss to win the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sunday, overcoming an eight-stroke deficit in a comeback as unlikely as his collapse last week at Torrey Pines.
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Feb04
NBA: Dwyane Wade scored 26 points and LeBron James had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12 to help the Heat go on a dominant late run that put away the pesky Sixers.
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Bill Parcells might become an NFL Hall of Famer today. Then again, he might not.
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Yani Tseng has a tradition on Chinese New Year to give her house a thorough cleaning. She decided to start with the trophy cabinet, which was no small project. A photo she posted on Facebook shows a cabinet crowded with crystal. The 23-year-old from Taiwan has won five majors, the most of any golfer that age.
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Jan30
Robert Rock held his nerve Sunday to beat U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Golf Championship for the biggest win of the Englishman’s career. The 117th-ranked Rock shot a 2-under 70 for an overall 13-under 275 to beat the 22-year Northern Irishman by a shot and the 14-major winner by two. Woods finished in a tie for third with Thomas Bjorn (68) and Graeme McDowell (68).
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Jan28
NBA: Ricky Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists to lift the host Minnesota Timberwolves to an 87-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night at Minneapolis. Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 14 points and 10 boards for the Wolves, who have beaten the Spurs two straight times in the same season for the first time since 2000.
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Jan23
Mark Wilson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, Calif., on Sunday, beating Robert Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner by two strokes in a dramatic dusk finish to the wind-delayed tournament. Moments after Garrigus barely missed a 35-foot eagle putt that would have given him the lead, Wilson (in photo) coolly made his birdie try in the disappearing light, calmly celebrating his fifth career PGA Tour victory. Wilson led by three strokes Sunday morning after finishing his third round, which was delayed by ferocious wind Saturday. Wilson quickly gave away the lead on the low-scoring Palmer Private course, but played bogey-free over the final 15 holes while every other competitor dropped back. Associated Press
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Jan21
NBA: Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic survived a tough shooting performance for a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night at Orlando, Fla. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol chipped in 13 for the Lakers.
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Jan14
NBA: Dirk Nowitzki went over 23,000 career points, Vince Carter had his highest-scoring game in Dallas and the Mavericks stretched their winning streak to four with a 102-76 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night. Nowitzki became the 23rd NBA player with 23,000 points, hitting that mark when he made a free throw with 7:17 left in the first half. He finished with 11 points, putting him at 23,008, third among active players behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. The next player in line for Nowitzki is Elgin Baylor (23,149).
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Jan10
Golf: Steve Stricker kicked off the new PGA Tour season Monday with a victory in the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, though he didn’t make it easy on himself. His five-shot lead was reduced to one shot after only six holes before Stricker pulled himself together with back-to-back birdies and closed with a 4-under 69 to win by three.
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Jan09
KAPALUA, Hawaii – The mere mention of the 2002 Ryder Cup made NBC Sports anchor Dan Hicks smile, only it wasn’t anything that happened on the golf course. Nick Faldo was doing some commentary for Sky Sports that week when NBC executive producer Tommy Roy thought it might be interesting to have the six-time major champion from England join Johnny Miller in the broadcast booth. If nothing else, he might offer some European perspective.
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Jan08
KAPALUA, Hawaii – The start of a new season doesn’t feel much different from the old one. Nine players – that’s one-third of the 27-man field at Kapalua – were together only a month ago at the Chevron World Challenge. A week later, eight players were in Florida for the Shark Shootout. They went home for the holidays, then packed their clubs and flew across the Pacific Ocean for the Tournament of Champions for the 2012 season.
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Jan03
Tiger Woods has rediscovered more than just the ability to win again. Having ended 2011 with his first victory in two years, Woods said the joy of being able to play golf with a healthy body has returned as well. He told the AP by email he has fully recovered from leg injuries that ruined much of last season. He also hopes his recent victory at the Chevron World Challenge in California is the “start of another great run. The last couple of months have been really fun and that is mostly because I am feeling healthy again.” Woods is preparing for his first tournament of the year and his first in Abu Dhabi, Jan. 26. It will give a first indication of whether Woods can maintain his level of play at the Chevron in December. That was his first win since a car crash in 2009 led to revelations of extramarital affairs that derailed his marriage and golf game. – Associated Press
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Dec19
Men’s basketball: Oral Roberts doesn’t mind the asterisk that will get attached to this one. Dominique Morrison scored 19 points Sunday in Cincinnati, leading the Golden Eagles (8-4) to a 64-42 victory over previously unbeaten Xavier, which couldn’t do much with three of its starters sitting on the bench because of suspensions.
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Dec02
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The pool of young talent in golf has never looked deeper. Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open at age 22, the second-youngest player to win a major since the Masters began in 1934. Jason Day, the 24-year-old Australian, was a runner-up in two majors this year. Rickie Fowler, 22, won his first pro event in South Korea and is responsible for all those bright Puma hats in just about any gallery.
and Chip Shots