Watson adds three veterans to Ryder Cup
Golf: Tom Watson went with experience and a gut feeling Tuesday night when he filled out his Ryder Cup team with Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson.
Not so valuable was recent success. He left out Chris Kirk, who finished higher in the final Ryder Cup standings than Simpson, and who won the Deutsche Bank Championship a day earlier by going head-to-head with Rory McIlroy the final 36 holes.
“That was a snapshot,” Watson said of his decision not to take Kirk.
The other two choices were not surprising. Even though Bradley has not won a tournament in two years and missed out by three spots qualifying on his own, he has raw power suited for this event and won all three matches in a partnership with Phil Mickelson two years ago at Medinah.
Mahan is the only pick who has been on a winning team, though he is associated more with the wrenching emotion that losing brings. Mahan was in the decisive match four years ago at Wales when Graeme McDowell made all the right shots in another European victory.
Mahan was left off the 2012 team, even though he narrowly missed qualifying.
Europe has won seven of the last nine times, and it will be heavily favored in Scotland.
Earlier Tuesday, at the European Tour headquarters in Wentworth, captain Paul McGinley selected Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher, who will be 39 when he makes his Ryder Cup debut in his home country.
Former PSU player files concussion suit
College football: Former Portland State linebacker Zach Walen has filed a $5 million suit against Portland State, the NCAA and Oregon Health Sciences University claiming he was not treated properly for a concussion.
The lawsuit alleges that Walan suffered a blow to the head in a game on Sept. 1, 2012, but that Portland State failed to recognize the injury. Walan’s family took him to the hospital when they noticed that something was amiss.
• Baylor QB says he’ll play: Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty says he plans to play for the 10th-ranked Bears in Saturday night’s game against Northwestern State despite two cracked small bones in his back.
Petty said he felt “great” Tuesday, a day after an MRI revealed the issue.
Two spots remain in race for the Chase
NASCAR: There are only two spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship up for grabs headed into NASCAR’s regular-season finale at Richmond, where a first-time winner this season could snag a last-minute berth.
Kasey Kahne did it Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where his first win of the season earned him an automatic berth in the 16-driver field. Matt Kenseth, who is winless on the year, also became eligible based on points. They became the 13th and 14th drivers locked into the Chase with only Saturday night’s race in Virginia remaining.
There are 17 drivers who have a win-and-in shot at making the Chase at Richmond. They are: Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Paul Menard, Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Marcos Ambrose, Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Danica Patrick, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett and David Gilliland.
Chelsea takes over lead in global poll
SOCCER: With an emphatic 6-3 win at Everton over the weekend, Chelsea took over at the top of The Associated Press global football poll.
Chelsea has three wins from three matches and leads the Premier League. Real Sociedad is second after coming from two goals down to beat Real Madrid 4-2. Paris Saint-Germain is third after routing Saint-Etienne 5-0.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is at the top of the player poll after scoring his first hat trick of the season against Saint-Etienne.