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A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
<BR>Associated Press photo
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Woods sidelined with elbow injury
by Doug Ferguson
Associated Press Sports Writer
Jun 20, 2013 | 0 views | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend | print
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
<BR>Associated Press photo
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
In little more than a month, Tiger Woods went from being tough to beat to having a tough time even playing. Woods said Wednesday that soreness in his left elbow would keep him from defending his title next week in the AT&T National at Congressional, and that he would not compete again until the British Open next month at Muirfield. This is the sixth straight year that injury has kept him from either playing a tournament or finishing one. The culprit this time is a strain in his left elbow. The problem first became apparent during the opening round of the U.S. Open last week at Merion, when he was flexing his left wrist or dangling his arm behind his back after shots out of the thick, punishing rough. “I was examined after I returned home from the U.S. Open, and the doctors determined I have a left elbow strain,” Woods said on his website. “I have been advised to take a few weeks off, rest and undergo treatment. I’ll be ready to go for the British Open, and I’m looking forward to playing at Muirfield.” His injury is a blow to the AT&T National, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. This will be the third time since it began in 2007 that Woods has missed the tournament because of injury — knee surgery in 2008, his left Achilles tendon in 2011 and an elbow injury this year. “Any time you have Tiger in the field, it certainly adds to it a lot,” tournament director Greg McLaughlin said. “But we have a very nice field this year and we look forward to a great AT&T National.” Masters champion Adam Scott and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose are among those scheduled to play. McLaughlin said Woods is to be at Congressional at least on Wednesday to take part in the opening ceremonies. Woods was not specific about when or how the latest injury happened. He first showed signs of being hurt after hitting shots in the rough during the rain-delayed opening round at Merion, though he told a USGA official it was “fine” when he left the course Thursday evening. After finishing the first round Friday morning, he said only that the reason he grimaced after shots out of the rough was because of “pain” and that he felt it on a few shots. That afternoon, he revealed that he first hurt his elbow at The Players Championship, but he declined to say which round or on what kind of shot. Woods won The Players Championship on May 12 for the first time in 12 years. It was his fourth PGA Tour win of the season. Woods picked up those four in just eight starts worldwide, and the win at Sawgrass was his third victory in his last four tournaments. The exception was the Masters, where he tied for fourth, four shots out of a playoff. But the last two tournaments have produced a surprising outcome. At the Memorial, where Woods was a five-time winner and the defending champion, he had the worst nine-hole score of his career with a 44 on the back nine that led to a 79 in the third round. He tied for 65th and finished 20 shots behind, his largest deficit for a full-field event. At Merion, he wound up with a 13-over 293, his highest score ever for the U.S. Open and tied for his highest 72-hole score in any major. Even so, the announcement Wednesday was surprising. Woods had said Friday at Merion that he would not have withdrawn even if it were not the U.S. Open. He was not asked about his elbow the rest of the week. It will be the 10th time Woods is unable to defend a title in official PGA Tour events, with six of those related to reconstructive surgery on his left knee after he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. The last time he failed to defend was in 2010 at Bay Hill, when he was returning from the scandal in his personal life. His website said he felt minor discomfort before going to Merion and aggravated the area last week. Woods extended his regrets to AT&T, secondary sponsors and fans in Washington for not being able to play. “The AT&T National means a lot to me and my foundation,” he said. “It’s especially difficult not defending at my own tournament. It’s going to be a great event, and I look forward to being there to provide my support.” AT&T is under contract as title sponsor through 2014. The Dallas-based company recently announced that it would take over as title sponsor for the Byron Nelson Championship starting in 2015. It also is the longtime title sponsor at Pebble Beach. The British Open is July 18-21 at Muirfield, where Woods’ bid for the calendar Grand Slam ended in 2002 when he was caught in nasty weather. Woods shot 81 in the third round — 10 players failed to break 80 — for his highest score as a pro.
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Mia Hamm celebrates with Abby Wambach after a goal in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Ten years later, Wambach is just two goals shy of tying Hamm’s U.S. record.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Mia Hamm celebrates with Abby Wambach after a goal in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Ten years later, Wambach is just two goals shy of tying Hamm’s U.S. record.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Chicago wins latest OT battle
by Howard Ulman
Jun 20, 2013 | 1 views | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
BOSTON — Brent Seabrook’s goal 9:51 into overtime lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to a wild 6-5 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night and tied the Stanley Cup finals through four games. Seabrook fired a 45-foot shot past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to end Game 4 and send the series back to Chicago tied 2-2. Seabrook also scored the overtime goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals to eliminate the Detroit Red Wings. Only 12 total goals were scored in the first three games before the teams combined for 11 on Wednesday night. Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday night. It was the third overtime game of the series. The Blackhawks won the opener 4-3 in three overtimes, and the Bruins won 2-1 in the first overtime period in Game 2. Boston grabbed the series lead Monday night 2-0 behind Rask’s third shutout of the postseason. Seabrook’s shot from the right went to the far side of Rask, who appeared to be screened. Trailing 4-3 after the second period, the Bruins tied it on Patrice Bergeron’s second goal of the game at 2:05 of the third period. Patrick Sharp gave Chicago a 5-4 lead at 11:19 of the third period with the Blackhawks’ first power-play goal in 30 chances, but Boston came right back to tie it 55 seconds later on Johnny Boychuk’s hard 40-foot shot. All five Bruins goals were to the glove side of goalie Corey Crawford. Jonathan Toews broke his scoring slump in Chicago’s three-goal onslaught in the second period against Rask. In an unusually wide-open game, the teams combined for five goals in the second period after the first ended in a 1-1 tie on goals by Chicago’s Michal Handzus and Boston’s Rich Peverley. Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger also scored for Chicago in the second. Milan Lucic and Bergeron countered for Boston. Rask posted his third shutout of the postseason in Game 3 and began Game 4 with a shutout streak of 122 minutes, 26 seconds. That ended at 129:14 when Handzus scored a short-handed goal at 6:48 of the first period. Then Peverley, who had been struggling offensively, scored his second playoff goal during a rare power-play shift for him at 14:43. Toews and Kane led the Blackhawks with 23 goals each this season, and neither had scored a goal in the Cup finals. Toews had gone 10 straight games without one, but now has two goals in 21 playoff games. His fortunes changed when he gave Chicago a 2-1 lead at 6:33 of the second. Michal Rozsival fired a low rising shot from the right point that Toews tipped in near the right post. Just over two minutes later, Kane made it 3-1. Bryan Bickell shot the puck from low in the left circle. Rask deflected it to the other side and then scrambled to get back in position, but Kane converted the rebound at 8:41. The Bruins stayed aggressive, and it paid off when Lucic got his sixth goal of the postseason at 14:43. Zdeno Chara passed the puck from the left boards to Lucic in the slot for a backhand from 10 feet past Crawford. Then it was the Blackhawks’ turn to come back, and it took less than a minute. Kruger put his own rebound past Rask for his third postseason goal this year at 15:32. But that 4-2 lead didn’t hold up for long in the back-and-forth game. At 17:22, Bergeron scored his eighth goal of the playoffs off an odd bounce during a power play. Chara’s shot hit the glass behind Crawford and bounced back off the top of the net. It ended up in the slot, and Bergeron put it in to cut the deficit to 4-3. Handzus had scored the first goal after Brandon Saad stole the puck from Tyler Seguin in the Boston zone and raced up the right side. He crossed the blue line and then passed across the slot to Handzus, who beat Rask from about 5 feet. Then Peverley tied it. Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference kept the puck in the zone when he went to his knees at the left point. He passed it toward Peverley near the right circle. Peverley controlled the puck and took a shot from the inside edge of the circle, beating Crawford to the near side. The Blackhawks, Stanley Cup winners in 2010, dominated the early part of the first period. But the Bruins, the 2011 champions, came on strong in the last 10 minutes and ended the period being outshot by only 10-9. The Blackhawks won the opener 4-3 on Andrew Shaw’s goal at 12:08 of the third overtime and lost 2-1 in Game 2 on Daniel Paille’s goal at 13:48 of the first overtime. Marian Hossa returned to the Blackhawks lineup after being a late scratch in Game 3 because of an upper body injury. He has three game-winning goals in the playoffs and was second on the team with 17 goals during the regular season. Since the best-of-seven format for the Cup finals began in 1939, teams leading 2-1 have won the championship 38 of 47 times. Boston had won its previous seven home playoff games, outscoring opponents 21-10. The Bruins are 11-3 in their last 14 games with all three losses coming in overtime. Rask has allowed one goal or fewer in each of Boston’s last eight wins.
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MDJ Photo Archives
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
<BR>Associated Press photo
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Woods sidelined with elbow injury
by Doug Ferguson
Associated Press Sports Writer
Jun 20, 2013 | 0 views | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend | print
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
<BR>Associated Press photo
A sprained elbow Tiger Woods aggravated at the U.S. Open will keep him sidelined until the British Open takes place next month.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
In little more than a month, Tiger Woods went from being tough to beat to having a tough time even playing. Woods said Wednesday that soreness in his left elbow would keep him from defending his title next week in the AT&T National at Congressional, and that he would not compete again until the British Open next month at Muirfield. This is the sixth straight year that injury has kept him from either playing a tournament or finishing one. The culprit this time is a strain in his left elbow. The problem first became apparent during the opening round of the U.S. Open last week at Merion, when he was flexing his left wrist or dangling his arm behind his back after shots out of the thick, punishing rough. “I was examined after I returned home from the U.S. Open, and the doctors determined I have a left elbow strain,” Woods said on his website. “I have been advised to take a few weeks off, rest and undergo treatment. I’ll be ready to go for the British Open, and I’m looking forward to playing at Muirfield.” His injury is a blow to the AT&T National, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. This will be the third time since it began in 2007 that Woods has missed the tournament because of injury — knee surgery in 2008, his left Achilles tendon in 2011 and an elbow injury this year. “Any time you have Tiger in the field, it certainly adds to it a lot,” tournament director Greg McLaughlin said. “But we have a very nice field this year and we look forward to a great AT&T National.” Masters champion Adam Scott and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose are among those scheduled to play. McLaughlin said Woods is to be at Congressional at least on Wednesday to take part in the opening ceremonies. Woods was not specific about when or how the latest injury happened. He first showed signs of being hurt after hitting shots in the rough during the rain-delayed opening round at Merion, though he told a USGA official it was “fine” when he left the course Thursday evening. After finishing the first round Friday morning, he said only that the reason he grimaced after shots out of the rough was because of “pain” and that he felt it on a few shots. That afternoon, he revealed that he first hurt his elbow at The Players Championship, but he declined to say which round or on what kind of shot. Woods won The Players Championship on May 12 for the first time in 12 years. It was his fourth PGA Tour win of the season. Woods picked up those four in just eight starts worldwide, and the win at Sawgrass was his third victory in his last four tournaments. The exception was the Masters, where he tied for fourth, four shots out of a playoff. But the last two tournaments have produced a surprising outcome. At the Memorial, where Woods was a five-time winner and the defending champion, he had the worst nine-hole score of his career with a 44 on the back nine that led to a 79 in the third round. He tied for 65th and finished 20 shots behind, his largest deficit for a full-field event. At Merion, he wound up with a 13-over 293, his highest score ever for the U.S. Open and tied for his highest 72-hole score in any major. Even so, the announcement Wednesday was surprising. Woods had said Friday at Merion that he would not have withdrawn even if it were not the U.S. Open. He was not asked about his elbow the rest of the week. It will be the 10th time Woods is unable to defend a title in official PGA Tour events, with six of those related to reconstructive surgery on his left knee after he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. The last time he failed to defend was in 2010 at Bay Hill, when he was returning from the scandal in his personal life. His website said he felt minor discomfort before going to Merion and aggravated the area last week. Woods extended his regrets to AT&T, secondary sponsors and fans in Washington for not being able to play. “The AT&T National means a lot to me and my foundation,” he said. “It’s especially difficult not defending at my own tournament. It’s going to be a great event, and I look forward to being there to provide my support.” AT&T is under contract as title sponsor through 2014. The Dallas-based company recently announced that it would take over as title sponsor for the Byron Nelson Championship starting in 2015. It also is the longtime title sponsor at Pebble Beach. The British Open is July 18-21 at Muirfield, where Woods’ bid for the calendar Grand Slam ended in 2002 when he was caught in nasty weather. Woods shot 81 in the third round — 10 players failed to break 80 — for his highest score as a pro.
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Mia Hamm celebrates with Abby Wambach after a goal in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Ten years later, Wambach is just two goals shy of tying Hamm’s U.S. record.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Mia Hamm celebrates with Abby Wambach after a goal in the 2003 Women’s World Cup. Ten years later, Wambach is just two goals shy of tying Hamm’s U.S. record.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
Chicago wins latest OT battle
by Howard Ulman
Jun 20, 2013 | 1 views | 0 0 comments | 0 0 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
<BR>Associated Press photo
Blackhawks players celebrate in front of the Boston fans after their overtime winner in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Associated Press photo
slideshow
BOSTON — Brent Seabrook’s goal 9:51 into overtime lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to a wild 6-5 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night and tied the Stanley Cup finals through four games. Seabrook fired a 45-foot shot past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to end Game 4 and send the series back to Chicago tied 2-2. Seabrook also scored the overtime goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals to eliminate the Detroit Red Wings. Only 12 total goals were scored in the first three games before the teams combined for 11 on Wednesday night. Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday night. It was the third overtime game of the series. The Blackhawks won the opener 4-3 in three overtimes, and the Bruins won 2-1 in the first overtime period in Game 2. Boston grabbed the series lead Monday night 2-0 behind Rask’s third shutout of the postseason. Seabrook’s shot from the right went to the far side of Rask, who appeared to be screened. Trailing 4-3 after the second period, the Bruins tied it on Patrice Bergeron’s second goal of the game at 2:05 of the third period. Patrick Sharp gave Chicago a 5-4 lead at 11:19 of the third period with the Blackhawks’ first power-play goal in 30 chances, but Boston came right back to tie it 55 seconds later on Johnny Boychuk’s hard 40-foot shot. All five Bruins goals were to the glove side of goalie Corey Crawford. Jonathan Toews broke his scoring slump in Chicago’s three-goal onslaught in the second period against Rask. In an unusually wide-open game, the teams combined for five goals in the second period after the first ended in a 1-1 tie on goals by Chicago’s Michal Handzus and Boston’s Rich Peverley. Patrick Kane and Marcus Kruger also scored for Chicago in the second. Milan Lucic and Bergeron countered for Boston. Rask posted his third shutout of the postseason in Game 3 and began Game 4 with a shutout streak of 122 minutes, 26 seconds. That ended at 129:14 when Handzus scored a short-handed goal at 6:48 of the first period. Then Peverley, who had been struggling offensively, scored his second playoff goal during a rare power-play shift for him at 14:43. Toews and Kane led the Blackhawks with 23 goals each this season, and neither had scored a goal in the Cup finals. Toews had gone 10 straight games without one, but now has two goals in 21 playoff games. His fortunes changed when he gave Chicago a 2-1 lead at 6:33 of the second. Michal Rozsival fired a low rising shot from the right point that Toews tipped in near the right post. Just over two minutes later, Kane made it 3-1. Bryan Bickell shot the puck from low in the left circle. Rask deflected it to the other side and then scrambled to get back in position, but Kane converted the rebound at 8:41. The Bruins stayed aggressive, and it paid off when Lucic got his sixth goal of the postseason at 14:43. Zdeno Chara passed the puck from the left boards to Lucic in the slot for a backhand from 10 feet past Crawford. Then it was the Blackhawks’ turn to come back, and it took less than a minute. Kruger put his own rebound past Rask for his third postseason goal this year at 15:32. But that 4-2 lead didn’t hold up for long in the back-and-forth game. At 17:22, Bergeron scored his eighth goal of the playoffs off an odd bounce during a power play. Chara’s shot hit the glass behind Crawford and bounced back off the top of the net. It ended up in the slot, and Bergeron put it in to cut the deficit to 4-3. Handzus had scored the first goal after Brandon Saad stole the puck from Tyler Seguin in the Boston zone and raced up the right side. He crossed the blue line and then passed across the slot to Handzus, who beat Rask from about 5 feet. Then Peverley tied it. Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference kept the puck in the zone when he went to his knees at the left point. He passed it toward Peverley near the right circle. Peverley controlled the puck and took a shot from the inside edge of the circle, beating Crawford to the near side. The Blackhawks, Stanley Cup winners in 2010, dominated the early part of the first period. But the Bruins, the 2011 champions, came on strong in the last 10 minutes and ended the period being outshot by only 10-9. The Blackhawks won the opener 4-3 on Andrew Shaw’s goal at 12:08 of the third overtime and lost 2-1 in Game 2 on Daniel Paille’s goal at 13:48 of the first overtime. Marian Hossa returned to the Blackhawks lineup after being a late scratch in Game 3 because of an upper body injury. He has three game-winning goals in the playoffs and was second on the team with 17 goals during the regular season. Since the best-of-seven format for the Cup finals began in 1939, teams leading 2-1 have won the championship 38 of 47 times. Boston had won its previous seven home playoff games, outscoring opponents 21-10. The Bruins are 11-3 in their last 14 games with all three losses coming in overtime. Rask has allowed one goal or fewer in each of Boston’s last eight wins.
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