Woods -- again -- wins McCormack Award
ORLANDO, Fla., March 13 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods has won his 10th consecutive Mark H. McCormack Award, given the golfer rated No. 1 in the world the most weeks in a calendar year.
Woods had no competition for the 2007 award since he was ranked No. 1 each week. Heading into this week's competition, Woods has been No. 1 in the world for 144 consecutive weeks. Overall, he's been on top of the rankings 486 times since he turned pro in 1996.
"Tiger has proven he is one of the all-time greats of the game," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. "Winning the McCormack Award for the 10th consecutive year is a testament to his work ethic and competitiveness to stay at No. 1 for such an extended period of time."
The award was created in 1998 -- Woods has won it every year since -- by the Governing Board of the Official World Golf Ranking to honor Mark H. McCormack for his role in creating a world ranking system for professional golf. McCormack founded IMG, a sports management and marketing firm in the early 1960s. He died in May 2003.
Cuban players reportedly defect to U.S.
TAMPA, Fla., March 13 (UPI) -- Five members of Cuba's Under-23 national soccer team have reportedly defected to the United States.
In addition, ESPN said two other team members also left the Cuban national team.
Cuba, in Florida for an Olympic qualifying tournament, played the United States to a 1-1 tie on Tuesday. It was after that game that the players reportedly left the team.
Cuban officials haven't officially identified which players are involved.
However, if seven players have defected, Cuba would be left with only 10 players available for its game against Honduras because Roberto Linares was given a red card during the U.S. game.
A Cuban men's soccer team last qualified for the Olympics in 1980.
Reichelt grabs super G title
BORMIO, Italy, March 13 (UPI) -- Hannes Reichelt won the World Cup super G title Thursday, winning the day's race and nipping Didier Cuche for the championship by 1 point.
Bode Miller finished 12th in the super G and combined with Cuche's 16th-place finish owns a 191-point lead in the race for the overall World Cup title. He needs only a top-15 finish in races Friday and this weekend to take the championship.
Cuche entered Thursday with a 99-point lead in the super G, but Reichelt was timed in 1 minute, 45 seconds, just ahead of the 1:45.01 clocking by Didier Defago, to win the event.
Miller was timed at 1:46.01 for 12th and Cuche was well back at 1:46.44. That finish shut Cuche out for points on the day and allowed Reichelt to claim the season's super G crown.
Cuche could theoretically catch Miller for the overall title, but would need to win both the remaining races to make up the point difference.
Sutter wins; Vonn nears World Cup title
BORMIO, Italy, March 13 (UPI) -- Fabienne Sutter claimed her second super G victory Thursday in Italy but Lindsey Vonn's second-place finish all-but wrapped up the Audi FIS World Cup title.
Sutter won the super G in 1 minute, 19.48 seconds with Vonn turning in a 1:19.74 for second. That result eliminated defending champion Nicole Hosp from the cup race and left Vonn with a 197-point lead over Maria Riesch with two events remaining.
Should Vonn finish at least 15th in either the slalom Friday or Saturday's giant slalom, or Riesch not win both of those races, Vonn will secure the World Cup title.
"It was definitely a good time to pull through in super G," said Vonn. "I've been working with Rossignol on my skis and it paid off. We did some testing before Crans-Montana and I changed my ski setup around a little bit. And my skis were really fast today!"
Yankee fan Billy Crystal fanned as Yankee
TAMPA, Fla., March 13 (UPI) -- Film and stage star Billy Crystal struck out while batting Thursday for his beloved New York Yankees in an exhibition game in Florida.
Crystal signed a one-day minor league contract, a deal approved by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, so he could participate in Thursday's game. He wore No. 60 -- he turns 60 on Friday.
Crystal was listed as a designated hitter and given the lead-off spot against Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm. He took a ball, fouled a pitch and then ran the count to 3-1.
But Maholm twice got Crystal to swing at inside cut fastballs to record the strikeout.
Crystal, known for his "City Slickers" films in which his character wore a New York Mets cap, is a longtime fan of the Yankees. He played high school baseball for Long Beach, N.Y., and hit .348 as a senior.
