Surprising Duval looks to end 7-year losing skid
Winless in seven years, laboring at No. 233 on the money list and playing his final PGA Tour event of the year, David Duval put together a strong round of 3-under-par 69 at the Ginn sur Merr Classic in Palm Coast, Fla., that left him only two shots behind Ryan Palmer going into the weekend.
Palmer missed only one green on the back nine for a 71, putting him at 6-under 138.
Robert Allenby, at No. 30 the highest-ranked player at this Fall Series event, had a 71 and was one shot out of the lead along with Peter Lonard (69), rookie Michael Letzig (74) and Ken Duke (69).
Duval has made only four cuts in his 19 starts on the PGA Tour this year.
•Bean leads: Andy Bean made five birdies in six holes through intermittent rain showers, finishing at 10-under 134 to take a one-shot lead over Nick Price after two rounds in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Sonoma, Calif.
Bean rolled to a 6-under 66 at Sonoma Golf Club despite regular lashings from a storm that’s expected to blast Northern California’s wine country today.
College basketball
Heels unanimous No. 1
Not only are the North Carolina Tar Heels No. 1 in the Associated Press’ preseason Top 25, they are the first unanimous No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1981-82.
North Carolina has the top six scorers back, including national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough, from a team that had a school-record 36 wins and reached the Final Four.
The Tar Heels faced their first test Thursday when Tyler Hansbrough was found to have a stress reaction in his right shin. He will be held out of practice indefinitely, and no timetable was set for his return.
Connecticut, which returns four starters, was No. 2, followed by Louisville, UCLA and Pittsburgh.
Auto racing
Gordon gets Texas pole
The sun shined down on NASCAR and Jeff Gordon took full advantage of the chance to qualify for a Sprint Cup race for the first time in a month.
After qualifying was rained out three straight weeks, with NASCAR lining up the cars by points, Gordon won the pole for Sunday’s Dickies 500 on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas. His fast lap of 188.469 mph relegated early leader Martin Truex Jr. to second at 188.003 in the 43-car field.
•Hornaday wins trucks race: Ron Hornaday Jr. won at Texas again, coming from a lap down early for a dominating NASCAR Trucks Series victory that got him within six points of points leader Johnny Benson with two races to go.
NBA
Nuggets rally to win
Allen Iverson scored nine of his 25 points in the final 3:35 of overtime and the Denver Nuggets overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 at Los Angeles.
•Blazers edge Spurs: Michael Finley’s shot at the buzzer for San Antonio rimmed out and the Portland Trail Blazers edged the visiting Spurs 100-99 as Brandon Roy led the way with 26 points.
•Wade, Beasley lead Heat: Dwyane Wade had 20 points and eight assists, Michael Beasley finished with 17 and the Miami Heat scored a whopping 41 points off turnovers to easily beat the Sacramento Kings 103-77.
•Garnett passes Kemp: Kevin Garnett became the youngest player in NBA history to play 1,000 games and scored 18 points to help the Boston Celtics defeat the Chicago Bulls 96-80 at Boston.
Garnett reached the 1,000-game mark at the age of 32 years, 165 days. He broke the record of 33 years, 24 days set by Shawn Kemp in 2002.
•Marbury on inactive list: New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury was placed on the inactive list before their 116-87 loss at Philadelphia.
NHL
Ohlund lifts Canucks
Mattias Ohlund scored in the 13th round of the shootout, and the visiting Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 7-6 after blowing a three-goal lead.
•Ovechkin out again: Alex Ovechkin will miss the Washington Capitals’ game at the Buffalo Sabres today, but he is expected to return to the team at the start of next week.
The NHL’s reigning MVP and its leading scorer last season is visiting his ailing grandfather in Russia.
•Crosby rests: Sidney Crosby has an undisclosed injury, and it’s unclear if the Pittsburgh Penguins star will be able to play tonight against St. Louis. Penguins spokesman Frank Buonomo would not elaborate on the injury Friday.
NFL
Extension for Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers made a long-term commitment to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, signing the first-year starter to a contract extension through 2014.
Terms were not disclosed.
•Moss questionable: Washington Redskins receiver Santana Moss was unable to practice because of a strained hamstring. He is a game-time decision for Monday night’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Moss is questionable on the injury report.
Tennis
Stars lose at Paris Masters
Injuries got the better of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
Nadal retired with a knee injury after losing the first set 6-1 against sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko. Federer pulled out against 11th-seeded James Blake with a sore back.
David Nalbandian and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also advanced.