WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.
.Va. -- Tiger Woods is heading to the hills this summer to play in The
Greenbrier Classic.
Tournament organizers announced Monday that Woods had committed to play
July 5-8 in the event, which began only two years ago. It is played on
The Old White TPC Course, where two years ago Stuart Appleby closed with
a 59 to win.
It will be the third time in the last nine months that Woods plays a
tournament for the first time as a pro. He played the Frys.com Open in
October in San Martin, Calif., and the Honda Classic in March. Woods
last played the Honda Classic as a teenager.
Phil Mickelson already has said he is returning to The Greenbrier,
giving the 3-year-old event two of the biggest names in golf.
The Memorial Tournament also announced Monday that Woods would play
there May 31-June 3.
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The union claims NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell doesnt have the
authority to hand out discipline for player conduct that occurred before
the current collective bargaining agreement was finalized last August.
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David Perron scored twice and Elliott made 28 saves in his
regular-season return to Ottawa as the St. Louis Blues defeated the
Senators 3-1 Tuesday night. . -- Two late-season wins helped take a bit of the sting of the Toronto Argonauts ugly season from defensive end Ricky Foley. .
The eighth-seeded native of Blainville, Que., defeated Australian Samantha Stosur 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
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Johnny Cueto threw 6 1-3 strong innings to lead Cincinnati to a 4-3 win
over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday in a ragged performance by both teams in
tough playing conditions.
NEW YORK -- After a calamitous couple of days for the Yankees pitching
staff, Hiroki Kuroda provided some needed calm.
All he had to do was be himself.
His start Saturday was as good as any hes had since an unimpressive
first two months. The right-hander struck out 11 in seven innings to
help New York end Chicagos winning streak at four games by beating the
White Sox 4-0.
The strikeouts tied a career high for Kuroda, and his teammates backed
him with three home runs. A day after outfielder Dewayne Wise was
perfect in his pro pitching debut during a mop-up role, he was perfect
at the plate. He had three hits and homered, with Curtis Granderson and
Robinson Cano also connecting.
New Yorks pitching situation has been fraught since Wednesday, when the
Yankees placed CC Sabathia on the disabled list with a strained groin,
and lost Andy Pettitte for two months when he was hit in the lower left
fibula by a batted ball, breaking the bone at the ankle.
"These are great pitchers that were missing, and I thought we could have
a really negative effect, but the only thing I can do on the mound is
to pitch my game," Kuroda said through a translator.
Kuroda (8-7) pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and walked one in
the matchup of AL division leaders.
"Sinker, slider, splitter for the most part," Yankees manager
Joe Girardi said. "He just really locked in to the strike zone and
started locating."
Jake Peavy (6-5) struck out 11 without a walk in his fourth complete
game this year.
The Yankees had another homer happy day in the heat, but far more
gratifying to them must have been Kurodas performance.
Since they lost their ace and their key veteran left-hander, Ivan Nova
gave the Yankees a good start in a game the bullpen lost Thursday and
rookie Adam Warren couldnt get out of the third inning on Friday night
in a game that the bullpen made even worse. Wise had to finish off the
14-7 loss by getting the last two outs.
Kuroda began the game by allowing a single to Alejandro De Aza, who was
thrown out trying to steal second. Then he allowed a two-out walk and
single. After that, he retired 15 straight batters after Paul Konerkos
two-out single in the first inning, ending his streak by hitting
Kevin Youkilis with a pitch when there were two outs in the sixth. The
plunkingg came after Derek Jeter had been hit by a pitch in the bottom
of the fifth following Wises homer.dddddddddddd
"I was trying to be too careful, too perfect," Kuroda said. "Now I try
to be as aggressive as possible."
He was talking about Saturday, but he could have been talking about his
acclimation to the American League. In his last seven starts hes 5-1
with 46 strikeouts against 11 walks in his last seven starts and a 1.65
ERA.
"He looked pretty good today for sure," said Chicagos Gordon Beckham,
who went 0 for 3. "He had a lot of movement on his ball."
David Robertson pitched the eighth and left-hander Boone Logan and
closer Rafael Soriano protected the four-run lead in the ninth to finish
the three-hitter.
Chicago has still won six of eight during a run that helped it overtake
Cleveland for the AL Central lead. The White Sox fell to 23-15 on the
road, which still has them only a half-game behind the Yankees for best
in the AL.
Peavy was taken deep to right three times, all by left-handed hitters.
"On the plate, just dont let them pull the ball in this ballpark," Peavy
said. "Youve got to keep the ball out of the air that way. The ball
gets in the air ... youve got no chance.
"Obviously that happened three times."
Granderson hit one out in the first, Wises homer came in the fifth and
Cano led off the sixth with a towering first-pitch drive. The Yankees
began the day with what was already a major league-best 119 home runs.
Wise also hit an RBI double in the second and tied a career high with
three hits.
"Hes swinging the bat real well and we like the way hes swinging the
bat," Girardi said. "He even got two outs last night for us, so hes kind
of doing everything for us."
NOTES: White Sox RHP Gavin Floyd is set to face Yankees righty
Phil Hughes in Sundays game, which will be Old-Timers Day at Yankee
Stadium. ... Gametime temperature was 93 degrees. ... Chicago returns
home after Sundays series finale for an off day before facing Texas and
Toronto for six games going into the All-Star break. The Yankees wrap up
before the break with three games at Tampa Bay and a four-game set in
Boston that includes a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, July 7.
Kuroda also fanned 11 in 2008 vs. the Cubs, when he was with the
Dodgers.
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