Estes shoots 65, leads Colonial by two
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 17 (UPI) -- Bob Estes, with some of the world's best players floundering in the swirling wind, shot a 5-under-par 65 on Thursday to open a two-shot lead after the first round of the Colonial.
Estes, who won twice and earned $2.8 million last season, had five birdies during a bogey-free day that saw defending champion Sergio Garcia of Spain shoot a 76 and world No. 2 Phil Mickelson card a 73.
Only 34 of the 124 players in the field broke par at the Colonial Country Club, where the wind wreaked havoc.
Nine players are tied for second at 67, including reigning British Open champion David Duval, who has yet to crack the top 10 this season. Vijay Singh of Fiji and Tom Watson shot 68. K.J. Choi of Korea, Jesper Parnevik of Sweden, Hal Sutton, Lee Janzen and Nick Price of Zimbabwe were at 69 and among the 24 others to break par.
This season has been a difficult one for Estes, who has failed to crack the top 20 in each of his last six starts. He began the year with three top-10 finishes in four appearances.
Davies opens two-shot LPGA lead
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C., May 17 (UPI) -- Laura Davies, with a new putting stroke complementing her attacking style, carded a 5-under-par 67 on Thursday to grab the lead after the first round of the LPGA Tour Asahi Championship.
Davies sank an 80-foot eagle putt, missed just one green in regulation and birdied three of her last five holes to open a two-stroke advantage over Grace Park of Korea, who was the only other player in the 143-woman field to break 70.
Carin Koch of Sweden, Janice Moodie of Scotland, Dawn Coe-Jones and Korea's Jeong Jang are tied for third after carding 70s. Swedish star Annika Sorenstam shot a 72.
A 67 normally is a good score in the opening round, but it's even better at Mount Vintage, where severely undulating greens led to 81 scores of 75 or worse.
Davies' putting was outstanding Thursday. She sank an 80-foot eagle at the par-5 16th and had four birdie putts of at least 10 feet, using a new putting style she developed from watching Jose Marie Olazabal, a two-time Masters winner at nearby Augusta National.
Cris Carter planning to retire
CHICAGO, May 17 (UPI) -- Cris Carter, the NFL's second all-time leading receiver with 1,093 catches, may be ready to end his 15-year career.
Sporting News Radio reported Thursday that Carter plans to announce his retirement and has accepted an analyst position with HBO Sports.
"He (Carter) will be going to HBO to work on 'Inside The NFL' with Bob Costas, Dan Marino and Cris Collinsworth," said Sporting News Radio's James Brown after a conversation with Carter. "It looks like this is set in stone, which means his playing career is over."
Carter, 36, caught 73 passes for 871 yards and six touchdowns last season, his 12th with the Minnesota Vikings. He is third all-time in receiving yards with 13,833 and second in receiving touchdowns with 129.
Tarver discharged, basketball career over
FAIRFAX, Va., May 17 (UPI) -- George Mason University junior guard Darren Tarver, who had a heart attack a week ago, was discharged from the hospital Thursday but his playing career is over.
Tarver, 21, experienced cardiac arrest due to heart arrythmia while taking a break during a pick-up game on campus last Thursday. A professor began CPR and Fairfax emergency personnel responded within minutes, resuscitating Tarver before he was taken to INOVA Fairfax Hospital.
The 2001 Junior College Player of the Year, Tarver underwent a battery of tests Monday and Tuesday that determined that he needs a defibrillator--similar to a pacemaker--implanted in his shoulder. The combination of his condition and the defibrillator will prevent him from playing high-level intercollegiate athletics.
The 6-3, 195-pound Tarver averaged 16.7 points in each of his two seasons at Wabash Valley Community College in Illinois, leading the school to the 2001 NJCAA Division I championship. At George Mason, he averaged 18 points in three games before suffering a stress fracture in his left foot and taking a medical redshirt season.
Top seed Hewitt in quarterfinals
HAMBURG, Germany, May 17 (UPI) -- Lleyton Hewitt of Australia has successfully navigated the early-round hazards and reached the quarterfinals of the $2.33 million Tennis Masters Series--Hamburg.
Hewitt became the first top seed to advance to the last eight of the claycourt event in seven years on Thursday by beating No. 14 Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.
Second seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, sixth seed Marat Safin of Russia and 11th seed Roger Federer of Switzerland also reached the quarterfinals. However, No. 7 Tommy Haas of Germany and No. 13 Andy Roddick of the United States were knocked out by unseeded opponents.
Despite having won just one of his 14 career titles on clay, Hewitt managed to become the first top seed to earn a quarterfinal berth here since Andre Agassi accomplished the feat in 1995. The top seed has won the Hamburg title just three times since 1980. Ivan Lendl triumphed in 1987 and 1989, and Stefan Edberg in 1992.
A two-time winner on tour this year, Hewitt battles Safin in the quarterfinals in a meeting of the last two U.S. Open champions. The runner-up here in 2000, Safin outdueled Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.
Kuerten, a two-time Hamburg winner who beat Safin to win the 2000 final, moved into his second quarterfinal of the year, posting a 7-5, 6-2 victory over No. 15 Guillermo Canas of Argentina.
NBA playoffs get two-day break
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 17 (UPI) -- The NBA playoffs get the next two nights off before the Western Conference finals get underway on Saturday. That's when the highly- anticipated matchup between the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and the top-seeded Kings begins in Sacramento.
The No. 1 seed also advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, although the New Jersey Nets will be in uncharted territory when they meet the Boston Celtics.
All four teams advanced in five games in their respective conference semifinal series. No matter which teams meet in the NBA Finals, the representative from the powerhouse Western Conference is sure to be a heavy favorite.
Sacramento center and former Laker Vlade Divac believes the home-court advantage will make the difference for the Kings, who were swept by Los Angeles in the semifinals last season.
The Lakers have set a playoff record with 11 consecutive road victories, and are talking their own smack as well.
The Kings wrapped up their semifinal series against Dallas on Monday night.
The Nets are in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in their 26-year NBA history after closing out the Charlotte Hornets, 103-95, on Wednesday night. The Nets will host the Celtics on Sunday in Game One of the conference finals.
Boston has not reached the NBA Finals since 1987, and won the last of its 16 championships in 1986.
Capriati routs Pierce, Dokic upset
ROME, May 17 (UPI) -- Second seed Jennifer Capriati of the United States displayed her desire to add the $1.22 million Italian Open title to her career resume Thursday after the defending champion was eliminated..
In a clash between the last two French Open champions, Capriati whitewashed Mary Pierce of France, 6-0, 6-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Foro Italico for the first time in nine years.
Meanwhile, defending champion and sixth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia was ousted by Anastasia Myskina of Russia, who rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 triumph.
Capriati made the final eight here in 1990, 1991 and 1993. But in her four visits between 1997-2001, the reigning French Open champion never advanced past the second round. The winner of the Australian Open in January, Capriati reached the quarterfinal of her third straight claycourt event. The 27-year-old was a semifinalist at Charleston and Berlin.
Pierce, the champion here in 1997, returned to the WTA Tour in January after being sidelined for seven months with a back injury.
Capriati faces a tough quarterfinal battle against No. 7 Amelie Mauresmo, the runner-up here a year ago. The French player posted a 6-0, 6-2 rout of Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
Myskina exacted revenge against Dokic, who won her first career WTA title here a year ago. The 20-year-old lost to Dokic in the second round at Berlin last week.
American Serena Williams is Myskina's quarterfinal opponent. The fourth seed dismissed Czech qualifier Denisa Chladkova, 6-1, 6-2.
More ankle surgery for Marbury
PHOENIX, May 17 (UPI) -- Phoenix Suns point guard Stephon Marbury underwent his second ankle surgery in three weeks on Thursday.
The arthroscopic surgery, to remove general inflammation from Marbury's right ankle, was performed by Dr. Gus Armendariz at Good Samaritan Hospital. He also had surgery to remove a bone spur, loose bodies and general inflammation from the front and back of his left ankle on April 24.
Despite the injuries, Marbury was the only Sun to play all 82 games, averaged 20.4 points, 8.1 assists and 38.9 minutes per game. He also shot a career-best .442 from the field.
The 6-2 Marbury was acquired from the New Jersey Nets last July in the blockbuster deal involving point guard Jason Kidd.
Phoenix (36-46) finished 10th in the Western Conference, eight games from the eighth and final playoff spot, while New Jersey (52-30) set a franchise record for wins and advanced to the conference finals for the first time.
Marbury spent parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being sent to New Jersey in a three-team deal. He has averaged 20.1 points and 8.2 assists in 421 career games. He has appeared in eight playoff games, averaging 16.6 points and 7.6 assists.
Stars name Kings assistant as coach
DALLAS, May 17 (UPI) -- The Dallas Stars, who missed the playoffs this year for the first time in six years, have installed former Los Angeles Kings assistant Dave Tippett as their new coach.
Tippett replaces Rick Wilson, who was promoted when the team fired Ken Hitchcock on Jan. 25. Wilson is still under contract with the Stars, although his role with the team is uncertain.
The 40-year-old Tippett played 11 seasons in the NHL and spent the last three as an assistant under Andy Murray in Los Angeles, where he was responsible for coaching special teams. This past season, they led the league on the power play at 20.7 percent, and ranked third in penalty-killing at 86.6 percent.
Tippett also was in the running for the New York Rangers' vacancy. As a left wing with Hartford, Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from 1983-94, he was a defensive and penalty-killing specialist who collected 93 goals and 169 assists in 721 games.
Prior to going to Los Angeles, Tippett served as coach and general manager for the Houston Aeros of the now defunct International Hockey League. He guided the Aeros to consecutive 50-win seasons and was named IHL Coach of the Year in 1999, when his team won the Turner Cup.
Dallas was 23-17-6-4 when it fired Hitchcock. The Stars finished 36-28-13-5 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-96 season. They had won five straight division titles and the franchise's only Stanley Cup in 1999.
War Emblem gets Post 8 at Preakness
BALTIMORE, May 17 (UPI) -- War Emblem, the Kentucky Derby winner, has drawn a favorable eighth post, and Medaglia d'Oro was named the morning-line favorite Wednesday in the draw for Saturday's 127th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby as a 20-1 long shot but now is drawing far more attention and has been installed as the 3-1 second choice for the race, which covers 1 3/16 miles.
Medaglia d'Oro, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby after getting off to a terrible start, drew the fifth post and was installed as the 5-2 favorite.
The field was one short of the 14-horse limit, and just four of the 18 horses that competed in the Kentucky Derby also will race in the second leg of the Triple Crown.
War Emblem led from gate to wire at the Derby to give trainer Bob Baffert his third victory in the last six Kentucky Derbys.
Baffert will seek his fourth Preakness victory in six years Saturday. He won from the outside 11th post last year with Point Given. He also won with Silver Charm in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998.
