Harrington wins second straight major
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Irishman Padraig Harrington shot a 4-under-par 66 and won the PGA Championship Sunday, his second straight major title.
Harrington, who won the British Open July 20, posted a 3-under 277 for a two-shot victory.
Sergio Garcia closed with a 68 and Ben Curtis with a 71 to share second place at 1-under 279.
Camilo Villegas (68) and Henrik Stenson (72) tied for fourth place at 1-over 281. Steve Flesch (69) was sixth at 282.
Harrington joined Tiger Woods, Nick Price and Walter Hagen as the only players to win the British Open and PGA titles in the same year.
The Irish star is the first European to win consecutive majors.
"Obviously things like that will take time to sink in," Harrington said. "At the moment, I'm just enjoying the PGA win for the PGA win. I really did like the fact that no other European has won two majors consecutively. I hold a lot of European players who I grew up watching in high esteem. To believe that I achieved something they hadn't, is very special to me."
Harrington is the world's third-ranked player, behind Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson, who won the PGA title in 2005, shot a final-round 70 and finished in a seventh-place tie at 4-over 284.
USA defeats China in basketball opener
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade got the United States' quest for an Olympic gold medal started Sunday by pacing their team to a 101-70 victory over China.
After losing three times during the 2004 Olympics and having to settle for the bronze, the American basketball team arrived in Beijing with revenge on its mind and came through with a solid opening performance.
Playing before an emotionally charged crowd that helped invigorate the Chinese early in the game, the United States' defense eventually took charge.
China battled the Americans to a tie midway through the second quarter before the United States went on a 20-8 run for a 47-39 halftime advantage.
President George W. Bush, making a tour of several Olympic venues, was in attendance. He left the game midway through the fourth quarter as the Americans' lead grew to 30 points. Wade finished with 19 points, James had 18 and eight U.S. players were credited with at least one steal. China's Yao Ming scored 13 points.
The Americans are competing in Group B during the preliminary round and elsewhere in that group Sunday Spain produced an 81-66 win over Greece and Germany coasted past Angola 95-66. Angola will be the Americans' next opponent Tuesday.
In Group A, defending champion Argentina was beaten by Lithuania 79-75, Croatia defeated Australia 97-82 and Russia won over Iran 71-49.
Busch speeds to 8th Sprint win of season.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Kyle Busch won Sunday's Sprint Cup Centurion Boats at Watkins Glen, N.Y., over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart.
It was Busch's eighth Sprint Cup victory this season. He took the checkered flag by driving his No. 18 JGR Toyota 2.275 seconds ahead of Stewart and became the first Sprint Cup driver to win three road course races in the same season.
"The more we ran, the better this car was," Busch said.
He swept both road-course events in 2008, including the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, Calif., in June.
Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top-five.
Ambrose won Saturday's Zippo 200 Nationwide race, and his third-place finish on Sunday was accomplished despite his last-place start.
The race was marred by a crash involving nine cars with just eight laps remaining. The crash led to the race's fourth caution flag.
Busch leads the Points' standings with 3,254 points. Carl Edwards (3,012) is second and Jimmie Johnson (3,010) is third.
Steelers sign Byron Leftwich
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers, needing a backup quarterback following an injury to Charlie Batch, signed Byron Leftwich Sunday, Coach Mike Tomlin said.
Leftwich, 28, signed for one year, ESPN said.
Batch broke his right collarbone in a 16-10 Steelers' win over Philadelphia Friday and is scheduled for surgery. Team officials said it has not been determined when Batch will be able to play again.
"We made an agreement with Byron Leftwich to sign and be a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers," Tomlin said. "We have some familiarity there, because Ken Anderson, our quarterbacks coach, worked with him down in Jacksonville."
Leftwich has thrown for 9,321 yards and 52 touchdowns in 49 NFL games with Jacksonville and Atlanta.
The Steelers also signed 36-year-old punter Mitch Berger to a one-year deal. Tomlin said Berger and Paul Ernster will compete for the punter's position.
