Woods stays in contention
LA JOLLA, Calif., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods played 27 holes in 9-under-par Friday and climbed within two strokes of the lead midway through the Buick Invitational.
Forced to play the last half of his first round Friday morning at the rain-soaked Torrey Pines Golf Club, Woods birdied the 18th hole for a 2-under 70. He followed that with a 6-under 66.
Woods is making his 2003 debut after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in December.
Marco Dawson and Brad Faxon reached the 36-hole mark tied for the lead at 10-under 134 while Briny Baird, Fred Funk, Jonathan Kaye, Dennis Paulson and Arron Oberholser were tied for third at 135.
Woods shared eighth place at 136 with Bob Tway, Neal Lancaster and New Zealand's Steven Alker.
"Physically, when the knee is warm, it feels fine," Woods said. "I don't know how it is going to react after a long day like today, if it is going go swell up or not. But it feels really good. I'm pleasantly surprised."
Miller pulls out a win for Pacers
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Reggie Miller sank his seventh three-pointer with 9.9 seconds left in overtime Friday night, giving Indiana a 98-97 win over Atlanta.
Jermaine O'Neal also supplied a huge block late in the contest after the Packers let a 20-point, third-quarter lead slip away.
Miller, who passed Adrian Dantley to move into 16th place on the all-time NBA scoring list, got free on the left wing and hit a three-pointer that gave the Pacers a 98-97 edge.
After a timeout, Atlanta's Jason Terry drove the lane and put up a short floater that was rejected by O'Neal as time expired.
O'Neal had 19 rebounds and four blocks but scored just two of his 16 points in the second half as Atlanta center Theo Ratliff effectively shut down the middle.
Miller finished with 26 points and Brad Miller added 17 and 14 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers, who extended their home winning streak against the Hawks to six games.
Glenn Robinson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim each scored 21 points and Ratliff collected 16, 14 rebounds and nine blocks for Atlanta, which has dropped four straight.
Other NBA results: Golden State 118, Toronto 114 in overtime; New Jersey 90, Chicago 72; Minnesota 114, New Orleans 93; Philadelphia 99, Orlando 98; Dallas 110, Memphis 103; Miami 94, Houston 82; Milwaukee 96, Detroit 86; New York 116, Phoenix 115; Utah 109, Washington 77.
Stars suffer rare loss
DALLAS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Martin Gerber made 26 saves to remain undefeated against Dallas Friday night and helped carry the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to a 4-2 victory.
Rookie Alexei Smirnov and Steve Rucchin scored third-period goals to give the Ducks the win.
After stopping 26 shots in a 1-1 tie against the Stars on Jan. 5, Gerber produced another strong performance, turning aside 10 shots in each of the first two periods before making six saves in the third for just his second NHL victory.
The Ducks, who have won seven of their last eight games, erased a deficit in the second period on tallies by Adam Oates and Petr Sykora. But Ulf Dahlen drew Dallas even early in the third with his 12th goal of the season.
A healthy scratch for three of the previous five contests, Smirnov unleashed a high wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 4:42 of the third that beat goaltender Ron Tugnutt to the glove side to put Anaheim ahead for good.
Rucchin added an insurance goal and Paul Kariya chipped in three assists for the Ducks, who improved to 5-17-1 all-time in Dallas.
Mike Modano scored the other goal and tough guy Aaron Downey collected his first NHL assist for the Stars, who lost for just the second time in their last 21 contests (15-2-4).
Other NHL results: Carolina 3, Washington 1; New York Rangers 1, Pittsburgh 0; Boston 6, Florida 5 in overtime; Atlanta 2, Tampa Bay 2; Phoenix 3, Minnesota 2; San Jose 4, Chicago 2.
New England yacht falls apart
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The Swiss challenger Alinghi captured the first race of the America's Cup Saturday by default.
Defending champion Team New Zealand suffered a series of almost unthinkable breakdowns and finally abandoned the race before reaching the first mark.
In winds of 22 knots, Team New Zealand began to take on water, had an experimental boom snap and then saw two jib sails rip in an astonishing start to what amounts to the World Series of sailing. Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday.
To the horror of a nation full of sailing fans, the New Zealand boat had to be towed back to port while Alinghi completed the six-leg course as was required for it to officially claim a victory in the first battle of the best-of-nine series.
The shocking development came in front of a spectator fleet of almost 2,000 yachts with most of those watching hoping for a one-sided New Zealand victory.
Alinghi is skippered by Russell Coutts, a New Zealander who led the successful defense of the America's Cup three years ago. But he was hired away by the Swiss syndicate and took five members of his crew with him.
That enraged New Zealand yacht fans, which amounts to almost everyone in the country. There were threats made on some members of the Alinghi crew during the nine-boat challenger series, which the Swiss yacht eventually won. Team New Zealand is skippered by Coutts protege Dean Barker.
This marks the second straight America's Cup competition that does not include a boat from the United States. New Zealand defeated the Spanish yacht Prada three years ago in the final.
NFL calls Detroit Lions on the carpet
ALLEN PARK, Mich., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The NFL wants an explanation from the Detroit Lions, who allegedly failed to interview minority candidates before hiring a new coach.
Lions President Matt Millen confirmed Friday that he has been summoned to a special meeting with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and members of the league's committee on workplace diversity early next month.
The Lions has been criticized for their alleged failure to adhere to guidelines put in place Dec. 20 by the committee headed by Pittsburgh Steelers President Dan Rooney.
Detroit targeted Steve Mariucci after he was fired by the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 15 and did not conduct any other in-person interviews. Rooney said their actions "fell short" of committee guidelines requiring a team to interview at least one minority candidate.
However, the Lions contacted a number of minority candidates, including former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, but were turned down for interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired.
Any punishment against the Lions could result in a fine or perhaps the loss of draft choices.
Under criticism by civil rights attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Cyrus Mehri for their practice of hiring minorities, the NFL implemented a comprehensive program to promote diversity in their coaching and front office ranks based upon recommendations of the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity.
Rusty Wallace fined by NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Rusty Wallace was shoved back in the field for Sunday's Daytona 500 because of a carburetor violation.
His team was also fined $10,000 for the violation, which was discovered after Thursday's Twin 125 race.
Wallace, who had qualified in the ninth row for Sunday's race, will start 38th instead.
Wallace drives for Penske Racing, which this year has switched from Ford to Dodge. Wallace had high hopes of winning his first Daytona 500. He said he understood the penalty, but emphasized the mistake was not intentional.
"I just hate it happened," he said. "NASCAR knows there was no intent on our part. We were 12 horsepower off the best car because of the carburetor. We just had one of the wrong carburetors on the truck."
Els keeps lead in Australia
PERTH, Australia, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Ernie Els shredded the back nine Friday to keep the lead after two rounds of the Johnnie Walker Classic.
The South African, who was the first-round leader at 8-under, reached the turn on level par for the day before carding a 29 on the back side to move to 15-under for the tournament. He was four shots in front of Greg Owen and Robert Allenby.
"I wasn't trying to shoot a 29, it just happened. I guess I have to thank the architect," Els said. "I enjoyed it, it all came together for me."
It was a masterful back nine for Els, who is chasing his fifth tournament win in six starts. He birdied the 11th and then landed his tee shot within inches of the cup on the par-3 12th to pick up another stroke. The outstanding nine holes was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 15th. He finished the round with a 33-foot birdie putt.
Jockey superstar Johnny Longden dies
BANNING, Calif., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Longden, who won the Triple Crown in 1943 aboard Count Fleet, died Friday on his 96th birthday.
His career spanned 40 years.
At Santa Anita Park, where Longden rode to some of his greatest victories, plans had already been in place to celebrate Longden's birthday. Video clips of his career highlights were shown throughout the program and the fifth race was named in his honor.
Born in England, Longden won his first race in 1927 in Utah and went on to ride 6,031 more winners during a career that continued through 1966. The record was broken by Bill Shoemaker, whose mark was eclipsed in 1999 by Laffit Pincay Jr.
Nicknamed "The Pumper" for his ability to get the best out of his mounts, Longden was horse racing's winningest jockey in 1938, 1947 and 1948.
Based in California, he won the Santa Anita Derby and Hollywood Derby five times to go with four Santa Anita Handicaps and four Hollywood Gold Cups.
Longden was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1958 but kept riding until 1966, when he retired at the age of 59.
Mark Martin wins IROC race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Mark Martin received an assist Friday and used it to win the opening race of the International Race of Champions (IROC) series.
With defending World of Outlaws Danny Lasoski bearing down on Martin's leading car on the final lap of the race, fellow NASCAR driver Kurt Busch was able to move up from third place to go alongside Lasoski's car.
By pulling from behind, it was enough to slow the second-place driver from having a chance to make a run at Martin for the victory. Busch was able to pass Lasoski for second place at the checkered flag.
The win was Martin's 11th IROC victory and tied him with Al Unser Jr. for most career wins in the series. But, it was Martin's first-IROC win at Daytona International Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson of NASCAR Winston Cup finished fourth followed by last year's Busch Series champion Greg Biffle. Sam Hornish Jr. was the highest finishing driver from the Indy Racing League at eighth.
Kemp's suspension ends
NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The NBA announced Friday that Orlando Magic forward Shawn Kemp's suspension for a third violation of the league's drug program is over.
Kemp, whose career has deteriorated amid battles with weight and drug problems, will be eligible to play in Friday night's contest with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Magic signed the six-time All-Star on Sept. 5. The underachieving Kemp forfeited $25 million of a $46.5 million contract in a buyout agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers earlier in the summmer.
The 33-year-old Kemp's career took a downward spiral starting in August 2000 when the Blazers acquired him from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade.
He entered a substance abuse program near the end of his first season in Portland, then received a five-game suspension from the NBA last February for violating terms of his aftercare program.
With his weight ballooning to as much as 280 pounds, the 6-10 Kemp averaged just 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 75 games for the Blazers last season.
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 17th overall pick in the 1989 draft, Kemp was 19 when he made his NBA debut. After scoring 6.5 points a game as a rookie, he averaged at least 15 points per contest and made six consecutive All-Star appearances.
Lobo traded by Houston
HOUSTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The Houston Comets Friday traded Rebecca Lobo to the Connecticut Sun for a second-round pick.
The trade returns the veteran forward to the state where she was a college star.
The 6-4 Lobo graduated from Connecticut in 1995 after leading the Huskies to a 35-0 season and their first national title. The former All-Star who has battled knee problems, averaged just 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 21 games last season.
One of the WNBA's original players, the 29-year-old Lobo spent her first five seasons with the New York Liberty, averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 boards in 75 contests.
