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Tiger Woods had the last word against Sergio Garcia by winning The Players Championship on Sunday.

Woods ended a weekend of verbal sparring with Garcia by doing what he does best -- closing out tournaments, even if he let this one turn into a tense duel over the final hour at the TPC Sawgrass. Tied with Garcia with two holes to play, Woods won by finding land on the last two holes for par to close with a 2-under 70.

If only it were that simple for the Spaniard.

Garcia was standing on the 17th tee shot, staring across the water to an island as Woods made his par. He took aim at the flag with his wedge and hung his head when he saw the ball splash down short of the green. Then, Garcia hit another one in the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7. He completed his stunning collapse by hitting his tee shot into the water on the 18th and making double bogey.

Woods was in the scoring trailer when he watched on TV as Swedish rookie David Lingmerth missed a long birdie putt that would have forced a playoff. It raced by the cup, and Lingmerth three-putted for bogey.

"How about that?" Woods said to his caddie, Joe LaCava as he gave him a hug.

Woods won The Players for the first time since 2001 and joined Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Steve Elkington as the only two-time winners at the TPC Sawgrass. It was his 78th career win on the PGA Tour, four short of the record held by Sam Snead.

Lingmerth closed with a 72 and finished two shots behind along with Kevin Streelman (67) and Jeff Maggert, who also was tied for the lead until finding the water on the 17th to make double bogey. The 49-year-old Maggert birdied the 18th for a 70.

Garcia took 13 shots to cover the final two holes -- 6-over par -- and tumbled into a tie for eighth.

Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9...-stumbles-late

Serena Williams kept the No. 1, and added No. 50.

Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title, while Rafael Nadal eased by Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 for his fifth title since returning from a knee injury.

The second-ranked Sharapova would have overtaken the top ranking with a win, but Williams stormed out to an early lead as Sharapova struggled with her serve.

Despite Sharapova briefly recovering her poise in the second set, Williams' form never dipped as she eased to the title.

"It feels good," Williams said about winning her 50th title. "I don't know how many more I can win. Who knows if I will ever win another title? I just want to live the dream. Hopefully, I can keep it going.

"When you first start out everything is so exciting. Now I expect to win."

Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id...le-madrid-open

Kyle Busch figured it'd be easy to run his own program on the Nationwide Series after all the wins he'd racked up for Joe Gibbs Racing.

A year on his own and out of Victory Lane, though, taught Busch a hard lesson. Back with JGR, Busch is back to his dominant ways in Nationwide racing. He won his fifth race of the year, pushing past Joey Logano 18 laps from the end to win at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.

"I thought it can't be hard to upstart an organization and beat JGR," the 28-year-old Busch said. "But, obviously, that's not the case."

It was Busch's 56th Nationwide win, extending his career mark, and the 112th win across Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nat...de-race-season

Matt Kenseth is quickly showing how well he fits in at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kenseth passed JGR teammate Kyle Busch 13 laps from the end to win the Southern 500 on Saturday night, his third victory in his debut season after a successful stint with Roush Fenway Racing.

JGR president J.D. Gibbs knew he was getting a champion in Kenseth. Still, even he's been surprised with how fast the new driver has come up to speed alongside teammates Denny Hamlin and Busch.

"He's a good leader," Gibbs said. "Denny and Kyle really like having him there and hearing what he has to say. And on the track, he's got a gift."

He proved that again at Darlington, where Kenseth patiently sat behind Busch much of the race before the right adjustments to the car clicked. It didn't hurt that Busch, who led 265 of 367 laps, cut a right rear tire down the stretch that cost him.

Once Kenseth cleared his teammate, he had clear sailing toward his 27th career Sprint Cup victory.

"I've got the good job and I've got the easy job," Kenseth said. "When they give me cars this fast, it's a lot of fun.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...n-southern-500

Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Saturday at the weather-delayed NHRA Southern Nationals at the Atlanta Dragway.

Brown earned his second victory of the season and his fifth win at the Georgia dragstrip, powering past Brandon Bernstein in the final round.

Brown covered the distance in 3.801 seconds at 321.25 mph, while Bernstein lost traction at the start and finished in 7.105 at 90.64 mph.

"It's big to win down here at the Southern Nationals," said defending world champion Brown, who also defeated Pat Dakin, Spencer Massey and Doug Kalitta in earlier rounds for his 39th career victory.

"This track's been real special to me," Brown continued. "It reminds me of going to a racetrack in my hometown. It's been around forever, and it has that special atmosphere with great fans that pump you up. You get that aura of the passion for the sport that they have. Everybody was running so strong this weekend that it was monumental for us to get the job done."

Johnny Gray (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Drag Racing Series event.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nhra/story...hern-nationals

Shelby Miller gave up a single to start the game then nothing else. Not a walk or a hit batter. No one even reached on an error.

Nothing.

The St. Louis Cardinals rookie was perfect after that leadoff single by Eric Young Jr., retiring 27 in a row for his first career complete game, 3-0 over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

"I feel really good," Miller said. "It's definitely the best game I've thrown in my life. How it finished was unbelievable. It was a great experience. Yadi (catcher Yadier Molina) was calling a great game and they were making great plays for me. It was a start I'll remember the rest of my life."

Miller (5-2) struck out Young to end it with his 13th K, tying a Cardinals rookie record.

Young felt fortunate just to reach base at all.

"It was a jam shot and I just put it in a good location," Young said. "I was just fortunate enough to find grass.

"He was working both sides of the plate, using his fastball. He had great command," Young added. "His battery mate back there is obviously one of the best game. It was a good combo for them."

Miller agreed with Young's assessment of Molina.

"I say it time and time again, what Yadi calls, I throw," Miller said. "He was calling the right thing all night. He's done a terrific job all year and he's helping me out tremendously. I'm happy he's my catcher, that's for sure."

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?...ouis-cardinals

Jon Lester was inducing Toronto's aggressive batters to make outs by getting them to swing at first pitches -- until Macier Izturis came up in the sixth.

First pitch. Two-out double to left field. End of bid for perfect game and no-hitter.

But Izturis was the only Blue Jay to reach base as the Boston Red Sox broke a three-game losing streak with a 5-0 win on Friday night.

Josh Kroenke will now be keeping just as close a watch on power plays as power forwards.

Already in charge of the Denver Nuggets, Kroenke was announced Friday as the new president of the Colorado Avalanche. He will take over for Pierre Lacroix, who's stepping down after 18 seasons and two Stanley Cup titles. Lacroix will stay with the team as an adviser.

Former team captain Joe Sakic also received a promotion as the Avs overhauled their front office. He's now the executive vice president of hockey operations and will have a big say on just about everything, including the next coach after Joe Sacco was fired last month.

Greg Sherman will remain the team's general manager as the Avalanche try to get back on track after finishing last in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs for a third straight season.

"I like challenges. I've never been one to back down from a challenge in my entire life," Kroenke said. "I don't sleep a lot, because I'm constantly thinking about teams. I'm always paying attention and watching. I'm looking forward to taking these things to new heights."

By many, Kroenke is viewed as primarily a basketball guy, especially since he played at Missouri. The Nuggets won a franchise-record 57 games this season before bowing out to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Avalanche languished in Kroenke's three seasons as the team's governor.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/92...nche-president

The Philadelphia 76ers have hired Houston Rockets executive Sam Hinkie to be their new president of basketball operations and general manager, sources told ESPN.com Friday.

Hinkie, who interviewed with the 76ers for a similar job last year, fits team owner Joshua Harris' desire to use more analytics when it comes to player evaluation. Hinkie spent the past eight seasons with the Rockets, a team that has led the way in developing statistical analysis.

Hinkie is replacing the 76ers' front office of president Rod Thorn and general manager Tony DiLeo. Thorn long had planned to retire after the season. Harris originally said DiLeo, who has been with the 76ers since 1990, would stay on as GM when it was announced three weeks ago that Doug Collins was stepping down as coach.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/92...-sam-hinkie-gm

Selfless and starless. These were the staples of the exhilarating Denver Nuggets' NBA franchise-record 57-win regular season.

George Karl kept with that theme Wednesday, sharing the credit far and wide after being named the league's Coach of the Year for the first time in his quarter century as an NBA head coach.

Karl thanked everyone from his middle school coach who got him into the game to his good friend, the late Rick Majerus, in an emotional news conference at the Pepsi Center.

He credited Nuggets players, assistant coaches, scouts, trainers, front office, ownership and support staff as he eyed the bronze Red Auerbach Trophy in front of him.

"What I hope is everybody understands this is not about me. It's about a lot of people and a lot of people in my past and I am proud to have that trophy," Karl said.

The trophy depicts the architect of the great Boston Celtics teams back in the fledgling days of the NBA, Auerbach sitting at one end of the bench with his trademark cigar in his right hand, a rolled up program in his left.

There's a life-sized statue of it in Boston and Karl said he sat there once, imagining this very day.

"When I was told of the award about a week ago, it was a very humbling, emotional experience, because it made me think about my career," Karl said. "... A lot of times I wanted to win it and never did win it and now I've gotten calloused to winning it. And now I win it because this was probably in my career the most 'oneness' of an organization, a basketball team, a coaching staff, a support staff, administrative staff.

"I get the award in my name but it is totally because of the 'oneness' that we brought to the table this season."

Read more http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/92...nba-coach-year

Undefeated American heavyweight contender Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder (28-0, 28 KO’s) was arrested over the weekend and charged with ‘domestic assault’. He appeared in court on Monday and was released on a $15,000 bond. He is due to appear in court on July the 3rd.

His trainer Jay Deas gave a brief statement on the charges to RingTV:

“The only thing that I can say is that I wasn’t there, and I haven’t had a chance to go over with Deontay what happened, other than I know that he was arrested and know…He’s back here now (Alabama).

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/05/...estic-battery/

Michael Beasly is under investigation by the Scottsdale Police Department for an alleged sexual assault.

The incident reportedly occurred on January 13.

“At this point we can only say the investigation is ongoing,” said David Pubins, Scottsdale police spokesman. “We are interviewing those involved and processing any physical evidence we may have to try and determine if criminal charges are appropriate.”

Read more http://www.abc15.com/dpp/sports/spor...ichael-beasley

The Brooklyn Nets' next head coach will not be Phil Jackson.

Jackson informed the team that he is not interested in their head-coaching vacancy, a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com.

The Nets had made the 11-time NBA coaching champion their No. 1 target to replace P.J. Carlesimo, who was dismissed after serving as interim coach for most of last season.

Although Jackson passed on the Nets' job, a source with knowledge of the Hall of Fame coach's thinking told ESPN.com that he remains open to the possibility of coaching again if he had "influence" over personnel, similar to the arrangement Miami gave to Pat Riley.

The Nets' opening, while intriguing, wouldn't have allowed Jackson to have the kind of say over the overall direction of the franchise that he's seeking, the source said.

Read more http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/stor...n-nets-vacancy

Blue Jays pitcher J.A. Happ was hit in the head by a line drive and taken off the field on a stretcher during Toronto's 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

In a frightening scene at Tropicana Field, Desmond Jennings' second-inning liner caromed squarely off the left side of Happ's head with a loud "thwack!" that could be heard up in the press box.

The ball went all the way into the bullpen in foul territory halfway down the right-field line. Happ dropped face-down at the front of the mound, holding his head with his glove and bare hand.

The Blue Jays said the pitcher was taken to a hospital for tests, but they had no update on his condition immediately after the game, manager John Gibbons said.

"I think the last indication was that he was alert and feeling better and had gone for a CT scan. That's the last I heard," Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey said.

Jennings ended up on third base with a two-run triple. Team trainers, paramedics and medical officials rushed to Happ's aid as Tropicana Field fell into a hush.

"It's devastating. ... I could barely watch it," Dickey said. "You just don't know what to think, really. It paralyzes you a little bit. And when it sounds like two bats, when you hear the sound off the bat and it sounds like it hits another bat, it's scary. It's really, really scary. I just started praying in the spot. That's all I knew to do."

Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?...tampa-bay-rays

The May 25th HBO split site doubleheader with former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) facing former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (27-2-1, 16 KO’s) and IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch vs. WBA champion Mikkel Kessler has taken hard hit today with the news that the 33-year-old Bute suffered an injury to his left hand, according to the Montreal Gazette.

The injury is bad enough to make it necessary for him to postpone his fight with Pascal until a later date. Bute injured his left hand while training for his fight against Pascal at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

There’s no word yet whether the entire card will be scraped or if will go ahead without the Bute-Pascal fight. If the card does go ahead without the Bute-Pascal fight then it’ll likely be the co-feature bout between Eleider Alvarez vs. Allan Green being pushed up to the main event.

I can’t even imagine this being the main event because it’s such a bad fight. I think they’re going to have to cancel the entire card if they don’t want a ghost town on May 25th at the Bell Centre.

Read more http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/05/...cal-postponed/

After picking up his fourth MVP trophy Sunday, Miami Heat star LeBron James gained a new appreciation for the rivalry his team has with the New York Knicks.

James, 28, became the youngest player in NBA history to win four MVPs after receiving 120 of 121 first-place votes by league media members and analysts. The lone other first-place vote went to Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.

"LeBron gets it, I take my hat off to him, he deserves it," said Anthony. "They had a helluva year, to win 27 straight games, a hell of an achievement."

It was the second time a player fell one vote short of an unanimous MVP selection, with Shaquille O'Neal also receiving 120 of 121 first-place votes in 1999-2000.

Read more http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2013...mous-mvp-honor

On the final turn of the final lap, James Hinchcliffe finally saw an opening -- and made sure he squeezed into it.

Hinchcliffe made a last-ditch move on Takuma Sato, going past the Japanese driver on the inside of the last bend to win IndyCar's Sao Paulo 300 on Sunday.

The Canadian was barely even sure that Sato was finally behind him by the time the checkered flag went down in front of him.

"I don't think I was sure until after we crossed the line," said Hinchcliffe, who earned his second victory of the season and his career. "I didn't think we had it. It wasn't really until I crossed the line that I realized, `We got it!"

The Canadian, also the winner in the opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., moved from third to second with three laps to go and then dueled with Sato before finally making the gutsy move as right before the finish at the Anhembi street track.

Sato, coming off his first career victory two weeks ago in Long Beach, drove in too hard for the hairpin at the end of the long back straight and gave just enough space for Hinchcliffe to get past.

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/st...last-turn-pass

A pair of Davids slayed the Goliaths at Talladega Superspeedway.

David Ragan hooked up with teammate David Gilliland in a two-lap overtime sprint, and together they picked off some of the top drivers in NASCAR to drive to the front and push Ragan into Victory Lane.

It was the second career victory for Ragan -- he also won at Daytona in July 2011 -- and Gilliland finished second for a 1-2 finish for Front Row Motorsports.

"I had a great teammate. David Gilliland gave us a great push. I owe him a lot," Ragan said. "I'll definitely buy him lunch this week or something."

The victory came a day after Regan Smith won the Nationwide Series race and Ragan was flooded with misfired congratulatory messages on Twitter.

"All fans- please send all congrats to @ReganSmith. Not this Ragan..... He is the Winner today!! Haha," he tweeted Saturday night.

Now Smith has his own win -- just in time to qualify for the Sprint All-Star race in two weeks.

Gilliland wanted the win but was content settling for second on a day his team earned its first career victory.

"What a great day for Front Row Motorsports, an underfunded team coming in here and being able to finish 1-2 is awesome," Gilliland said. "I'm very proud of David Ragan. I know he would have done the same for me. I had a heck of a run, we were pushing, I was locked to his bumper and I wasn't going to let him go."

Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup...ast-lap-charge

Way back in the pack heading into the final turn, Orb was calm even if his jockey wasn't.

Churning through a sloppy track that resembled creamy peanut butter, the bay colt picked up speed and, one by one, blew past rivals.

By that time, jockey Joel Rosario knew he was aboard the Kentucky Derby winner.

Orb powered to a 2½-length victory Saturday at Churchill Downs, giving trainer Shug McGaughey and Rosario their first Derby wins.

"I was so far behind," Rosario said. "He was very relaxed. It's exactly what I wanted."

Rosario had Orb in the clear on the outside and they forged to the lead in deep stretch, with enough momentum to hold off 34-1 shot Golden Soul.

It was a popular victory before a crowd of 151,616, which poured enough late money on Orb to make him the 5-1 favorite, a position Revolutionary had owned most of the day.

McGaughey, a 62-year-old native of Lexington, finally got the Derby win he had long sought. Orb was just his second starter since 1989, when he settled for second after Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer on a muddy track.

"It means everything to me," the Hall of Famer said. "I've always dreamed of this day and it finally came."

Read more http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/trip...kentucky-derby