Woods heads Skins Game field
INDIO, Calif., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods, winner of the Masters and the U.S. Open and the top-ranked player in the world, heads the field of four golfers selected Monday to play in the annual Skins Game on Thanksgiving weekend.
Phil Mickelson, two-time majors winner Mark O'Meara and former Masters champion Fred Couples also will compete in the lucrative event at the Landmark Golf Club on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Woods will be making his fourth appearance in the Skins Game. His most recent appearance was last season when Greg Norman won all 18 skins and $1 million.
Norman is not competing due to what tournament organizers said was a "previous commitment." Woods was invited to take his place and Mickelson, currently ranked second in the world, received a sponsor exemption.
Mickelson will be making his Skins Game debut.
Couples, the 1992 Masters winner, will be competing in his ninth Skins, tying the record held by Jack Nicklaus. Couples has earned $2.1 million in career skins and won the event in 1995, 1996 and 1999.
O'Meara competed in the Skins Game in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
The Skins Game will return to its original format this year, meaning a player no longer has to validate a skin on the following hole by winning or matching the low score to claim the money he won on the previous hole.
Each of the first six holes will be worth $25,000. Holes 7 through 12 are worth $50,000 and holes 13 through 17 will each be worth $70,000. The 18th hole will be worth $200,000.
All four players have agreed to donate 20 percent of their winnings to charity.
Georgia QB to undergo foot surgery
ATHENS, Ga., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Georgia redshirt freshman quarterback D.J. Shockley will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a broken bone in his left foot, the school announced Monday.
Shockley was injured in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 13-7 victory at South Carolina. Tests over the weekend revealed a fracture of the fifth metatarsal. Team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Hancock will insert a screw during the outpatient procedure at St. Mary's Hospital.
Shockley is expected to miss four to six weeks. As the backup to David Greene, the 6-1 Shockley has completed 3-of-7 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. He also has rushed for 27 yards on nine carries during the Bulldogs' 2-0 start.
Peete named Panthers' permanent QB
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Aging Rodney Peete, who is playing for his third team in as many years, Monday was named the No. 1 quarterback of the rejuvenated Carolina Panthers.
Peete, 36, has led the improved Panthers to wins over Baltimore and Detroit to open the 2002 season, even though his numbers, while good, have been recorded against marginal competition and Carolina has yet to play on the road. He passed for 310 yards Sunday in the Panthers' 31-7 rout of the hapless Lions, and, at 105.5, is No. 2 in the NFC in quarterback ranking.
Peete, who was with the Dallas Cowboys last year and Washington the year before, was signed as a free agent in the offseason to be the backup to Chris Weinke, but assumed the No. 1 spot the week before the regular season opener against the Ravens. Now he's the starter.
Weinke was benched because the Panthers coaching staff thought Peete had a better grip on the team's offensive schemes and because Weinke had been so erratic. The team had almost no offense under his leadership in 2001, and went just 1-15, losing the last 15 games in succession.
Lions lose lineman Blaise for season
ALLEN PARK, Mich., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Detroit Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg Monday said starting right tackle Kerlin Blaise suffered tears in both the anterior and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Blaise will get the knife this week and is done for the 2002 season. He is likely to be placed on the Injured Reserve list as early as Tuesday.
Blaise, who started the first two games at right tackle, sustained the injury in the first quarter. After he played predominately at the guard position during his first four seasons, Blaise was moved to the right tackle position in the preseason after Stockar McDougle was hurt. He played so well that the coaching staff kept him in that role.
Blaise was one of several players who suffered more than minor hurts against Carolina.
Detroit will be without defensive tackle Shaun Rogers for 2-5 weeks after he sustained a dislocated and broken thumb.
Rogers suffered the injury on the first defensive series of the second half. He later returned to the contest and finished the game.
NFC East clash between Eagles, Redskins
LANDOVER, Md., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Steve Spurrier, the much-ballyhooed new coach of Washington, makes his first appearance in prime time Monday night, and Jeremiah Trotter seeks revenge against his former team night as the Redskins host the Philadelphia Eagles in a key NFC East clash at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Landover, Md.
After a successful debut, Spurrier's "Fun n' Gun" offense is likely to get a severe test against one of the league's best defenses. Also, Philadelphia looks to avoid a 0-2 start.
A subplot of the contest will be Trotter, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who spent his first four seasons with the Eagles before leaving the club in a bitter contract dispute in the offseason.
Trrotter was angered by management when he was designated as the club's franchise player. The Eagles effectively kept their best defensive player out of free agency while trying to figure out a long-term solution, but ultimately there was too much bad blood and they rescinded the tag.
He got the long-term deal he was looking for in Washington, signing a seven-year, $35.5 million deal. Trotter said one of the reasons why he signed with the Redskins was to could face the Eagles twice a season.
The Spurrier era in Washington got off to a flying start last in last week's 31-23 win over Arizona. Quarterback Shane Matthews passed for a career-high 327 yards and three touchdowns and earned NFC Player of the Week honors.
Hawks' Johnson moved to spinal center
ATLANTA, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Swingman DerMarr Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks, who suffered a broken bone in his neck in a car accident, has been moved to a spinal center, but will not undergo surgery for now.
Johnson, 22, was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a cervical spine fracture in his neck on Saturday. However, team physician Michael Bernot consulted with specialists at Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, who determined that surgery was not necessary at this time.
Additional tests showed two more fractures in Johnson's neck area. He was moved from Atlanta Medical Center to Shepherd, where he is expected to remain for at least a week. He is listed in stable condition and his neurological signs are normal.
According to Bernot, Johnson's recovery time is the same whether or not he has surgery. His neck needs four months of healing, followed by 4-6 months of rehabilitation.
After taking part in a voluntary workout with other team members on Thursday, Johnson and two other persons not affiliated with the Hawks were injured in a one-car accident early Friday morning in the Cascade section of Atlanta, where the car veered off the road. It is not clear who was driving the vehicle.
The 6-9 Johnson, a 2000 first-round pick out of the University of Cincinnati, averaged 8.4 points per contest in 72 games last season.
Wolkowyski signs with Celtics
BOSTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The Boston Celtics Monday signed forward Ruben Wolkowyski, a native of Argentina.
Wolkowyski was with the Dallas Mavericks during training camp last season before he finished the year with CSKA Moscow in the Russian Superleague. Wolkowyski, 28, averaged 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest overseas in 2001.
The 6-10 Wolkowyski was a member of Argentina's silver medal-winning team at this month's world championships,
Milbury agrees to multi-year deal
New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury confirmed on Monday during a team a scrimmage that he has agreed to a multi-year contract.
Milbury, who was to enter the final year of his contract, had discussions with Islanders co-owner Charles Wang soon after the draft and quickly struck an agreement.
"The fact is, they could pay me day-to-day if they wanted to," Milbury said. "I am forever indebted to Charles and (co-owner) Sanjay (Kumar). I know that 99.9 percent of the people who might have purchased this franchise would have given me my walking papers."
Milbury failed to lead the Islanders to the playoffs in his first six years as general manager, but was retained by Wang and Kumar and made their patience pay off.
Last offseason, Milbury named Peter Laviolette coach, made trades for centers Alexei Yashin and Michael Peca and added veteran goaltender Chris Osgood. The moves spurred the Islanders to a 42-point improvement from the previous season and their first trip to the playoffs since 1994.
However, after a 42-28-8-4 finish in 2001-02, the Islanders lost in the first round of the playoffs to Toronto.
