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29th Brainerd Men's Invitational SPORTS BRIEFS
Spots remain for the 29th annual Brainerd Men's Softball Tournament held July 12-13 at Memorial Park in Brainerd.
This is a World Softball League qualifier with six bids to either Panama City Beach, Fla. or Reno, Nev. on the line.
Visit www.softballfanatic.net for registration details or call Eryk Haapajoki at 218-824-BALL.
Cink takes PGA lead
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) - Stewart Cink moved to the top of the Travelers Championship leaderboard, making two long eagle putts in a 6-under 64 that left him a stroke ahead of defending champion Hunter Mahan and two others.
Cink, the 1997 winner at TPC River Highlands, is seeking his first victory of the season after six top-10 finishes.
He is at 10-under 130 heading into Saturday's third round.
It didn't look good early Friday for Cink, who began the day at 4 under and promptly bogeyed the first two holes. He got one back with a birdie at the third before knocking in a 26-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 sixth. He bettered that shot by curling in a 49-foot right-to-left eagle putt on the 13th.
Pressel holds LPGA lead
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Morgan Pressel shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Suzann Pettersen midway through the Wegmans LPGA.
Pressel, the youngest major winner in LPGA Tour history, had a second bogey-free round to break open a leaderboard logjam and get to 10-under 134.
Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot 70 to drop into a tie for 17th at 2 under. Annika Sorenstam (72), who is stepping away from the tour at the end of the season, finished her second round at 1 over and narrowly avoided being cut out of weekend play for the first time in 40 events dating to May 2006.
Kite cards 63
CONCORD, Mass. (AP) - Tom Kite matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the Bank of America Championship.
The 57-year-old Kite birdied the first three holes at Nashawtuc Country Club and played the front nine in 6-under 30 in the Champions Tour event. Two strokes ahead of Mark McNulty and David Eger, Kite matched Allen Doyle's tournament record set in 2003.
Wimbeldon draw made
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Roger Federer could face No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals as he bids for a sixth straight Wimbledon title.
Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, was drawn into Federer's half of the bracket for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament opening Monday.
Second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the past two finals, is in the other half of the draw. He could face two-time runner-up Andy Roddick in the semifinals.
Torch paraded through Tibet
LHASA, China (AP) - The Olympic torch was paraded through the streets of Tibet's capital Saturday, the site of bloody riots in March that triggered demonstrations along the flame's international relay stops.
Tight security accompanied the flame over its three-hour journey through the historic city, da day after officials announced more jail sentences related to the deadly riots.
The torch next travels to neighboring Qinghai province before gradually winding its way across northern China toward Beijing. A special Aug. 3-5 stop in Sichuan was added to honor victims of last month's earthquake ahead of the Aug. 8 opening ceremony in Beijing.
Replacement managers fare well
Associated Press
It was a good night Friday for newly promoted managers, none of whom lost in nine innings.
Well, maybe that's stretching the optimism a bit for Toronto. But the slumping Blue Jays hung tough in a 1-0, 12-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets each picked up much-needed victories.
Blue Jays shortstop John McDonald misplayed Jason Michaels' grounder with the bases loaded and none out for a game-ending error in the 12th inning, a disappointing end to an otherwise strong performance in Cito Gaston's return as Toronto manager.
"We haven't been able to get any runs," said Gaston, promoted earlier in the day to replace the fired John Gibbons. "It's the first night, not to make any excuse. We're going to have to get some hitting and, if we don't, you're going to see more nights like that."
Jim Riggleman got much more offense from the Mariners in his first game since taking over for the fired John McLaren, watching Jose Lopez drive in four runs with three hits in a 10-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Jerry Manuel also got plenty of runs while improving to 2-1 since taking over for fired manager Willie Randolph. The Mets used a two-run homer from Carlos Delgado and strong pitching from John Maine to beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2.
Wilkinson, Dumais put together perfect 10s at Olympic trials
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Perfection, thy names are Laura Wilkinson and Troy Dumais - at least at the U.S. Olympic diving trials.
Sure, some other divers got 10s, but most of the perfect marks went to the two veterans, each seeking their third Olympic berths.
Wilkinson, who won a gold medal on the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Olympics, showed she's still a force at age 30.
She received at least one 10 on three of her five dives and finished with 813.20 points in Friday's semifinals. Wilkinson had a 55.65-point advantage over 15-year-old Haley Ishimatsu, who finished with four 10s and the highest-scoring dive of the night but was still only second at 757.55.
Wilkinson can lock up a trip to Beijing for her last Olympics in the finals Sunday.
Benson wins third straight at Milwaukee
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) - After weathering a brief delay for lightning, Johnny Benson bolted away to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series race at the Milwaukee Mile on Friday night.
It was the third straight truck series victory at the track for Benson, who held onto his lead in the series points standings.
Nolan scores franchise-record 44 for Shock in OT win
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Deanna Nolan isn't expecting to be in Beijing in August for the Olympics. Both the United States and Russia might regret that decision.
Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points, including 28 in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Detroit Shock remained unbeaten at home with a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Friday night.
"That was fun to watch, and we needed every point of it," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said. "She carried us on her shoulders tonight."
After not being selected for the U.S. team, Nolan was a candidate to play for Russia, but Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver Stars is expected to beat her out.
"I'm just saying 'Oh well,"' Nolan said. "It's nothing that I can let myself get mad about."
NBA demands $1.4 million
from disgraced referee
NEW YORK (AP) - The NBA wants disgraced referee Tim Donaghy to pay the league $1.4 million, including his wages for games on which he bet or provided inside tips to gamblers.
The written demand, filed Thursday in federal court, asks a judge to force Donaghy to pay the sum as restitution in his gambling case. The league previously indicated it would seek $1 million.
The Donaghy scandal "has harmed the NBA and caused it to spend vast sums to undo that harm," league lawyers wrote.
In an earlier filing, defense attorney John Lauro accused the NBA of trying to extract the money to punish Donaghy for embarrassing the league with allegations of widespread misconduct by executives and employees - including claims that referees rigged games by making bad calls. The league has denied the accusations.
The NBA "provides no support whatsoever for the demand, which appears to be a transparent effort to intimidate Mr. Donaghy," Lauro wrote.
Both sides are expected to argue the issue next week in court in Brooklyn.
Shoulder surgery could end Schilling's career
BOSTON (AP) - Even if he never pitches again, Curt Schilling has left his mark on the Boston Red Sox by helping them win two World Series titles. And that's a distinct possibility now that he faces shoulder surgery.
The 41-year-old right-hander, one of the best postseason pitchers in baseball history, will have the season-ending operation Monday after the rehabilitation program preferred by the club didn't work.
Broadcaster Pat Summerall recovering from surgery
DALLAS (AP) - Sports broadcaster Pat Summerall was recovering Friday from emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding, his wife said.
Cheri Summerall said her 78-year-old husband was resting comfortably Friday in a Dallas-area hospital. Doctors told her that a new medicine he had recently started taking caused a reaction that induced the bleeding.
Report: NFL Network, ESPN discussing a partnership
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL Network and Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN are in talks about forming a partnership, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
A deal could end a long standoff between the league and cable carriers, some of whom said the NFL was asking them to pay too much for its programming.
NCC farewell event planned
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - The small-college league that produced such athletes as Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots, Phil Hansen of the Buffalo Bills, Dave Osborn of the Minnesota Vikings and the NBA's Phil Jackson soon will be only memories.
The North Central Conference, generally considered one of the top NCAA Division II leagues in the country, will cease to exist June 30, ending a run of nearly 90 years.
The NCC is holding an event Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D., where hundreds of league memories will be toasted for the final time.
The conference has seen top teams depart to Division I in recent years, including charter members North Dakota, South Dakota, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
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