Sports in brief: Glover wins PGA Grand Slam of Golf

Golf: U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover brought a new set of irons to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf to start getting ready for next year, and it worked out beautifully in Southhampton, Bermuda.

Glover briefly gave up the lead to British Open champion Stewart Cink until running off three straight birdies around the turn at Port Royal GC and closing with a 5-under-par 66 for a five-shot victory.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera also had a 66 and finished second after Cink bogeyed the last hole for a 70. PGA champion Y.E. Yang shot 70 to finish last among the four major champions.

“I brought out new irons this week with the new grooves just to try and see how they work, because I wanted a couple of rounds under my belt with this new model,” Glover said. “So Nike made a good set, and I think I like them.”

A new rule changing the dimensions of grooves in irons starts next year, although it is expected to affect wedges the most, and Glover kept his old wedges in the bag this week because he didn’t want to give up too much of an advantage.

Ultimately, he won with his putter, especially the birdie putts on the ninth, 10th and 11th holes to pull away. Glover finished at 11-under 131 and earned $600,000, pushing his total for the year to more than $4 million.

Goodell memo deals with swine flu

Football: Some swine flu math: A dozen Cleveland Browns missed practice with flulike symptoms, which is more than a quarter of the 45-player roster each team is allowed to use for games.

It’s not yet known whether these players have the H1N1 virus, but the NFL is already prepared for how quickly that illness can spread. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said teams received a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell on Oct. 2 about the new policy, under which they can receive roster exemptions if enough players contract swine flu.

If an NFL team has at least six players unable to play because of the illness, it can promote players from the practice squad to replace them. A club can receive a maximum of eight of these roster exemptions.

•Bradford’s decision on hold: Just when it seemed as if Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was ready to make a decision about his future, the injured Oklahoma quarterback decided he needed more time to think about it.

Bradford called off a news conference scheduled for Wednesday. Coach Bob Stoops said Bradford needed to gather more information before choosing what to do about his injured right shoulder.

•Hatch wants BCS investigated: A senator whose undefeated home state school was bypassed for the college football national championship last season urged President Barack Obama to ask the Justice Department to investigate the Bowl Championship Series, citing Obama’s concerns about the way the top team is crowned in building a case for action.

“Mr. President, as you have publicly stated on multiple occasions, the BCS system is in dire need of reform,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a 10-page letter to Obama calling for an antitrust probe of the BCS.

Grabner nets first goal for Canucks

NHL: Former Spokane Chief Michael Grabner scored the tying goal with 7:44 to play and Mikael Samuelsson followed with the winner 3:02 later as the visiting Vancouver Canucks rallied to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.

Grabner made it 2-2 with a power-play goal from the top of the left circle, his first career goal in his fourth NHL game.

After the Blackhawks killed off another power play, Samuelsson intercepted Brian Campbell’s attempted pass to Patrick Kane in the Chicago zone. Samuelsson skated into the left circle and snapped a wrist shot that beat Niemi low to the far side.

•Wild rally past Avalanche: Mikko Koivu tied the game in regulation and scored on Minnesota’s first shot in the shootout, sending the Wild to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Colorado Avalanche.

•Islanders win first of season: John Tavares scored in the shootout to give the New York Islanders their first victory of the season, 4-3 over the Carolina Hurricanes in Uniondale, N.Y.

•Bruins lose top scorer: Boston Bruins scoring leader Marc Savard will miss four to six weeks with a broken left foot.

The forward has led the team in scoring each of the past three years.

Cards’ Pujols has bone chips removed

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals star Albert Pujols underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, with doctors removing bone chips and trimming bone spurs. He is expected to be ready for spring training.

•Fehr will get severance package: Donald Fehr will receive an $11 million severance package from the Major League Baseball Players Association when he leaves as executive director.

Fehr, who said he will retire, has held his job since December 1983.

Pavlik calls off title fight with Williams

Miscellany: Middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik called off a title defense against Paul Williams set for Dec. 5 because of an infected left hand.

Pavlik was to fight Williams at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall in one of the year’s most anticipated bouts, but promoter Top Rank announced that Pavlik is unable to make a fist or punch with the injured hand.

•Butterfly record falls: Olympic swimming champion Liu Zige trimmed 1.6 seconds off the world record in the women’s 200-meter butterfly at China’s National Games in Jinan.

Liu was timed in 2 minutes, 1.81 seconds. She eclipsed the previous world mark of 2:03.41 set by Australian Jessicah Schipper in July.