WINNIPEG, Manitoba » In some ways, this win may have been more special than the first.
Punahou graduate Michelle Wie closed with a 2-under 70 yesterday for a three-shot win at the CN Canadian Women's Open, her second career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Wie, who was 12 under for the tournament, earned the winner's check of $337,500 in the $2.25 million event at the St. Charles Country Club -- the LPGA's only stop in Canada.
Wie had five birdies, including on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.
"I made a lot of crucial putts today," said Wie, who at 10 years old was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Jiyai Shin of South Korea shot a 73 and tied for second with Kristy McPherson (66), defending champion Suzann Pettersen of Norway (69) and South Korea's Jee Young Lee (69).
Wie led wire-to-wire after an opening 65 and was tied with Shin for the lead entering the final round at 10 under.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
UFC 118
In the co-headliner, UFC hall of famer Randy Couture dominated former professional boxing world champion James Toney, submitting the mixed martial arts novice with a first-round arm-triangle choke. The white flag came 3 minutes, 19 seconds into Round 1.
Couture dropped levels for a single-leg takedown inside the first 30 seconds, put Toney on his back and moved immediately to mount. From there, the finish was academic. Punches from the top softened the boxer for the choke near the cage. After a brief readjustment, Couture locked up the choke, passed to the side and waited for the tapout.
"This is exactly what we trained to do," Couture said. "No one really shoots a low single in MMA. I knew with James' boxing stance a low single would probably be there, and it worked. I've worked on that arm-triangle for over a year now, so to finally get it, it was awesome."
Toney credited Couture and vowed to return.
"I didn't expect him to be so aggressive at first," he said. "He just caught me. He got me on the ground, and I couldn't get out of the triangle choke. But I'll be back. I ain't no quitter."
***
Solidifying himself as the kryptonite to Penn's lightweight Superman, Edgar retained his 155-pound championship with a near flawless performance in the UFC 118 "Edgar vs. Penn 2" headliner on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston. Edgar swept the scorecards from all three judges in a unanimous verdict: 50-45, 50-45 and 50-45.
Edgar scored with two- and three-punch combinations throughout the fight, delivered strong takedowns in the first and second rounds and dominated the revered Hawaiian in virtually every phase of the sport. Penn was visibly frustrated after the first five minutes, and his situation did not improve.
"Frankie fought a great fight. He's the man," Penn said. "I've got nothing bad to say. He fought me twice. He walked away with the decision twice. What can you say? It looked like the same kind of fight as last time. He got off good. Much respect. I've really got to go back and think about things."
Couture dropped levels for a single-leg takedown inside the first 30 seconds, put Toney on his back and moved immediately to mount. From there, the finish was academic. Punches from the top softened the boxer for the choke near the cage. After a brief readjustment, Couture locked up the choke, passed to the side and waited for the tapout.
"This is exactly what we trained to do," Couture said. "No one really shoots a low single in MMA. I knew with James' boxing stance a low single would probably be there, and it worked. I've worked on that arm-triangle for over a year now, so to finally get it, it was awesome."
Toney credited Couture and vowed to return.
"I didn't expect him to be so aggressive at first," he said. "He just caught me. He got me on the ground, and I couldn't get out of the triangle choke. But I'll be back. I ain't no quitter."
***
Solidifying himself as the kryptonite to Penn's lightweight Superman, Edgar retained his 155-pound championship with a near flawless performance in the UFC 118 "Edgar vs. Penn 2" headliner on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston. Edgar swept the scorecards from all three judges in a unanimous verdict: 50-45, 50-45 and 50-45.
Edgar scored with two- and three-punch combinations throughout the fight, delivered strong takedowns in the first and second rounds and dominated the revered Hawaiian in virtually every phase of the sport. Penn was visibly frustrated after the first five minutes, and his situation did not improve.
"Frankie fought a great fight. He's the man," Penn said. "I've got nothing bad to say. He fought me twice. He walked away with the decision twice. What can you say? It looked like the same kind of fight as last time. He got off good. Much respect. I've really got to go back and think about things."
Friday, August 27, 2010
Strasburg to undergo Tommy John surgery
WASHINGTON -- Rookie right-hander Stephen Strasburg has a significant tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and will likely undergo Tommy John surgery, the Nationals announced in a conference call on Friday.
Strasburg, who was originally placed on the disabled list because of a flexor strain in his right forearm, had an arthrogram performed on Thursday to determine if something is seriously wrong, and doctors found ligament damage in the elbow.
"He is going to go out and attack his rehab and get ready to pitch better than he has in the past," general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Strasburg will seek a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Southern California before the Nationals make a final decision on surgery. But the club believes that surgery is necessary. Strasburg is expected to be 100 percent in between 12 and 18 months.
Strasburg, who was originally placed on the disabled list because of a flexor strain in his right forearm, had an arthrogram performed on Thursday to determine if something is seriously wrong, and doctors found ligament damage in the elbow.
"He is going to go out and attack his rehab and get ready to pitch better than he has in the past," general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Strasburg will seek a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Southern California before the Nationals make a final decision on surgery. But the club believes that surgery is necessary. Strasburg is expected to be 100 percent in between 12 and 18 months.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Roger Clemens indicted
Roger Clemens, the larger-than-life pitcher who appeared destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington on Thursday on charges that he lied to Congress when he said he never used performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens became the third high-profile athlete in three years to be charged with lying about the use of banned substances and to have on-the-field accomplishments tarnished.
Marion Jones, who won five track and field medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics, served six months in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to making false statements to federal authorities about her use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Barry Bonds, baseball’s career home run leader, is scheduled for trial in March on charges that he made false statements to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs during the investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative in California.
Clemens became the third high-profile athlete in three years to be charged with lying about the use of banned substances and to have on-the-field accomplishments tarnished.
Marion Jones, who won five track and field medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics, served six months in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to making false statements to federal authorities about her use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Barry Bonds, baseball’s career home run leader, is scheduled for trial in March on charges that he made false statements to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs during the investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative in California.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
For years after the broadcast of Baseball, our 1994 PBS series on the history of our national pastime that charted more than 150 years from the game's invention in 1839 to 1992, we vowed we would not do a sequel to it. We'd been there, done that. But as the past two decades unfolded, it became clear that those years were among the most consequential in the game's history. Change came - expanded playoffs, interleague play, not to mention the devastating strike of 1994 and the lingering shadow cast by the steroid scandal.
But baseball also enjoyed a golden age, and from the ruins of the strike came some of the most positive advances in the game. So we felt we needed to do Baseball: The Tenth Inning, which premieres Sept. 28 and 29 on PBS.
But baseball also enjoyed a golden age, and from the ruins of the strike came some of the most positive advances in the game. So we felt we needed to do Baseball: The Tenth Inning, which premieres Sept. 28 and 29 on PBS.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Anderson Silva pulls out victory over Sonnen
For the better part of five rounds, Chael Sonnen did exactly what he said he was going to do to Anderson Silva, but in a split second, the middleweight king turned the tables.
Stuck underneath the gritty Sonnen, Silva secured a textbook triangle choke and submitted the challenger 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the fifth round of their UFC 117 main event Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Sonnen tapped only once, but it was enough to get the attention of referee Josh Rosenthal, who moved in and halted the bout.
Sonnen clearly won the first four rounds and started with a bang, as he rattled Silva with a straight left hand mere minutes into the match. From there, he controlled the embattled champion with stifling top control and wide-ranging strikes on the ground: punches, hammerfists, elbows and slaps to the ears.
As the two middleweights entered Round 5, the heavily favored champion found himself in an unfamiliar state of desperation, needing a stoppage to retain his title.
With his foe grinding away on top, Silva deftly slid the choke into place. Sonnen tried unsuccessfully to counter the hold but, with no means of escape, surrendered with less than half a round remaining in the fight.
Stuck underneath the gritty Sonnen, Silva secured a textbook triangle choke and submitted the challenger 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the fifth round of their UFC 117 main event Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Sonnen tapped only once, but it was enough to get the attention of referee Josh Rosenthal, who moved in and halted the bout.
Sonnen clearly won the first four rounds and started with a bang, as he rattled Silva with a straight left hand mere minutes into the match. From there, he controlled the embattled champion with stifling top control and wide-ranging strikes on the ground: punches, hammerfists, elbows and slaps to the ears.
As the two middleweights entered Round 5, the heavily favored champion found himself in an unfamiliar state of desperation, needing a stoppage to retain his title.
With his foe grinding away on top, Silva deftly slid the choke into place. Sonnen tried unsuccessfully to counter the hold but, with no means of escape, surrendered with less than half a round remaining in the fight.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Favre to retire again(?)
Near the end of a rambling news conference to discuss his return to the Minnesota Vikings, Brett Favre said something Wednesday that was easy to scoff at: this season will be his last in the N.F.L.
“Twenty years, and I’m done,” he said.
The announcement might have seemed, well, disingenuous coming from Favre, who had retired and unretired twice already, in 2008 and 2009, and appeared undecided this year until three teammates flew to Hattiesburg, Miss., on the owner Zygi Wilf’s jet this week to fetch him. Even Favre, when asked if anyone should believe him, conceded: “Probably not. I do believe it now. I’ve got to fall apart some time.”
***
The latest development in the Brett Favre retirement drama came yesterday, from Favre himself.
In Hattiesburg, Miss., Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder that he would play for the Minnesota Vikings this season if his surgically repaired left ankle was sound, but that the ankle remained problematic. The Vikings' offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, who coached Favre with the Green Bay Packers and speaks with him regularly, said Favre had told him the same thing.
***
The joke going around yesterday after the latest round of will-he-or-won't-he with Brett Favre was that the three-time MVP should open a Waffle House in his hometown of Kiln, Mississippi.
Favre sure has waffled on the decision before, and it's difficult to believe his latest "see ya" will stick.
A source with knowledge of the situation has told the Associated Press that the NFL's most prolific passer is citing his injured left ankle as the reason he won't return for a second season with Minnesota. But the Vikings aren't taking his latest pronouncement as gospel, even after Favre texted some players to explain why he is MIA and won't BRB during a training camp that is in full swing.
Coach Brad Childress, who not only orchestrated the Vikings' acquisition of Favre last year but picked up his new/old quarterback at the airport, wasn't fully swallowing this news.
"I gotta hear it from the horse's mouth," Childress said.
“Twenty years, and I’m done,” he said.
The announcement might have seemed, well, disingenuous coming from Favre, who had retired and unretired twice already, in 2008 and 2009, and appeared undecided this year until three teammates flew to Hattiesburg, Miss., on the owner Zygi Wilf’s jet this week to fetch him. Even Favre, when asked if anyone should believe him, conceded: “Probably not. I do believe it now. I’ve got to fall apart some time.”
***
The latest development in the Brett Favre retirement drama came yesterday, from Favre himself.
In Hattiesburg, Miss., Favre told ESPN's Ed Werder that he would play for the Minnesota Vikings this season if his surgically repaired left ankle was sound, but that the ankle remained problematic. The Vikings' offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, who coached Favre with the Green Bay Packers and speaks with him regularly, said Favre had told him the same thing.
***
The joke going around yesterday after the latest round of will-he-or-won't-he with Brett Favre was that the three-time MVP should open a Waffle House in his hometown of Kiln, Mississippi.
Favre sure has waffled on the decision before, and it's difficult to believe his latest "see ya" will stick.
A source with knowledge of the situation has told the Associated Press that the NFL's most prolific passer is citing his injured left ankle as the reason he won't return for a second season with Minnesota. But the Vikings aren't taking his latest pronouncement as gospel, even after Favre texted some players to explain why he is MIA and won't BRB during a training camp that is in full swing.
Coach Brad Childress, who not only orchestrated the Vikings' acquisition of Favre last year but picked up his new/old quarterback at the airport, wasn't fully swallowing this news.
"I gotta hear it from the horse's mouth," Childress said.
A-Rod hits 600th
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to hit 600 home runs and did it with style, driving a pitch into Yankee Stadium's Monument Park in center field exactly three years to the day after his 500th homer.
A-Rod reached the milestone today after a 12-game drought with a first-inning homer off Toronto's Shaun Marcum. Rodriguez connected with a 2-0 pitch over the middle of the plate for his 17th home run of the season, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
By hitting the homer into Monument Park, a stadium worker could retrieve the ball for him.
A-Rod raised a hand slightly in triumph as he rounded first base, then completed his trot to the roar of the crowd. He was greeted at home plate by Yankees captain Derek Jeter, both of them slapping outstretched hands above their heads.
Rodriguez joined an elite club that includes Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Sammy Sosa (609).
A-Rod reached the milestone today after a 12-game drought with a first-inning homer off Toronto's Shaun Marcum. Rodriguez connected with a 2-0 pitch over the middle of the plate for his 17th home run of the season, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
By hitting the homer into Monument Park, a stadium worker could retrieve the ball for him.
A-Rod raised a hand slightly in triumph as he rounded first base, then completed his trot to the roar of the crowd. He was greeted at home plate by Yankees captain Derek Jeter, both of them slapping outstretched hands above their heads.
Rodriguez joined an elite club that includes Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Sammy Sosa (609).
Sunday, August 01, 2010
UH adopts student athletic fee
Despite what one student decried as "being forced to pay for a steak and champagne dinner and ... getting, maybe, the after-dinner mints," the University of Hawaii Board of Regents overwhelmingly adopted a mandatory athletic fee yesterday as an investment in its financially challenged sports program.
After nearly 2 1/2 hours of often passionate public testimony, presentations and discussion, the Board of Regents voted 11-3 to approve a mandatory $50-per-semester fee for all full- and part-time Manoa students beginning the spring 2011 semester.
The fee is calculated to raise nearly $2 million, about $1.85 million of which will be kept by the athletic department to help fund scholarships and pay for equipment and materials. UH said the money will not be used for coaching or administrative salaries.
In return, students will receive free admission to athletic events, including up to 5,000 seats for home football games, transportation to Aloha Stadium and a say in the use of 5 percent to 8 percent of the fees to "enhance the student experience."
After nearly 2 1/2 hours of often passionate public testimony, presentations and discussion, the Board of Regents voted 11-3 to approve a mandatory $50-per-semester fee for all full- and part-time Manoa students beginning the spring 2011 semester.
The fee is calculated to raise nearly $2 million, about $1.85 million of which will be kept by the athletic department to help fund scholarships and pay for equipment and materials. UH said the money will not be used for coaching or administrative salaries.
In return, students will receive free admission to athletic events, including up to 5,000 seats for home football games, transportation to Aloha Stadium and a say in the use of 5 percent to 8 percent of the fees to "enhance the student experience."
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