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Scott leads Tour Championship

ATLANTA, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Adam Scott birdied seven of the last 12 holes Friday to take the lead at the Tour Championship and move in front in the race for the FedEx Cup.

Scott, a winner at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last month and a Top-10 finisher at the PGA Championship, shot a 5-under-par 65 at the East Lake Golf Club to complete 36 holes at 8-under 132.

He has become one of the world's top players since changing to a long putter and then hiring Steve Williams, the former caddy for Tiger Woods.

Scott entered the Tour Championships in 19th place in the year-long points race that will determine the winner of the FedEx Cup and its top prize of $10 million. If the current standings hold through Sunday, Scott would vault all the way to first place.

K.J. Choi also shot a 65 Friday and was alone in second at 133. Jason Day and Luke Donald, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, were tied for third at 134.

First-round leader Keegan Bradley was among those tied for fifth at 135. Webb Simpson, who came into the tournament leading the FedEx points list, was tied for 19th at 139.

Scott played the first six holes in 2-over, but began a sizzling stretch of golf with a birdie at the par-4 seventh. That was the first of four straight birdies for Scott, who also birdied the final two holes.

"I was pretty annoyed at myself [because of his start], but I'm playing too good to let myself slip away at the moment," Scott said.

Newman wins Sprint Cup pole

LOUDON, N.H., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Ryan Newman, one of the 12 drivers battling for the Sprint Cup championship, won the pole Friday for Sunday's running of the Sylvania 300.

Newman was clocked at 135.002 miles per hour around the 1-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway, giving him his third pole of the season and the 49th of his career. He is tied with Bobby Isaac for ninth place on the all-time list of Sprint Cup pole winners.

Newman was fastest in Friday's practice, which put him last in line to make his qualifying run. Kasey Kahne qualified second, followed by Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch.

A light rain began to fall with five drivers left to make their qualifying attempt, but they got on the track after a lengthy delay.

Kevin Harvick has a seven-point lead in the championship race over Tony Stewart. Carl Edwards is 10 points behind and Busch trails Harvick by 11. Newman is seventh in the points standings.

MLB asks court to order sale of Dodgers

WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball asked a bankruptcy court Friday to order a sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers by owner Frank McCourt.

The motion filed in Delaware by MLB argued that a sale would create the easiest way for the franchise to escape bankruptcy and begin the process of putting the Dodgers back on sound financial footing.

In addition, the motion said McCourt was using the Dodgers' bankruptcy case to solve his own financial problems and that he had acted against the interests of the team and the sport.

McCourt has attempted to sell the team's broadcast rights to Fox Sports, a move he said would improve the financial position of the club. Baseball, however, rejected that move.

The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in June, something that is against the rules of baseball as agreed upon by the owners. A hearing into baseball's motion is set for Oct. 12.

Official: Nunez admits using false name

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Florida reliever Leo Nunez has admitted using a false name while pitching in the major leagues, an election official in the Dominican Republic said Friday.

Dominican Today, an English-language online newspaper, reported Nunez had signed a statement for the Central Electoral Board saying he had used forged documents in order to sign a major league contract. The chief of that board held a news conference Friday outlining the incident.

Nunez, whose real name reportedly is Juan Carlos Oviedo, returned to the Dominican Republic after reports surfaced that he was not who he had claimed to be. A man who allegedly assisted Nunez in obtaining false documents has been arrested.

The Marlins placed Nunez on the restricted list and he will not pitch for the rest of the year.

Nunez has started six games and appeared in relief 311 times over seven years for Kansas City and Florida. He had a 1-4 record with a career-high 36 saves this season.

His salary for 2011 was listed at $3.6 million.