PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (AP) ― Tiger Woods was long gone from PGA National when Jack Nicklaus settled into his seat in the NBC Sports tower.Woods’ week at the Honda Classic included two lost balls, four shots in the water and 15 shots out of the bunkers. He made four double bogeys, was never better than 3-under par at any point and was under par for only 26 out of the 72 holes he played.None of this was enough to alarm Nicklaus.In what now sounds like a broken record, Nicklaus maintains that

GolfMarch 5, 2013

OWINGS MILLS, Maryland (AP) ― Joe Flacco knows his stature as the highest-paid player in NFL history may not last for long, and he’s OK with it.What matters most to the Super Bowl MVP is that the Baltimore Ravens were willing to pay him that kind of money in the first place.Flacco signed his new contract Monday worth $120.6 million over six years. He will receive a $29 million signing bonus, $52 million in guaranteed money and $51 million over the first two years of the deal.The former first-rou

More SportsMarch 5, 2013

South Korea defeated Australia 6-0 in the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Monday, staying alive in the tournament after the devastating loss to the Netherlands last week.In the Pool B contest at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, South Korea built an early lead and held on for its first win at this year's WBC.Starter Song Seung-jun held the Australians scoreless over four innings and Lee Seung-yeop and Lee Dae-ho, batting third and fourth, each had three hits for Sout

BaseballMarch 4, 2013

DELRAY BEACH, Florida (AP) ― Qualifier Ernests Gulbis beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Sunday for his second title at the Delray Beach International Championships.The 109th-ranked Gulbis, who also won the tournament in 2010, is the first qualifier to reach a final this season. The previous qualifier to win an ATP World Tour title was Jarkko Nieminen last year in Sydney.Gulbis also became the third qualifier to win the title at Delray Beach, joining Kei Nishikori (2008) and Andrew Ilie

More SportsMarch 4, 2013

SAN ANTONIO (AP) ― Tim Duncan insists the San Antonio Spurs are still trying to find their way on offense without All-Star point guard Tony Parker.They sure looked smooth Sunday night.San Antonio had one of its most efficient games this season, routing the Detroit Pistons 114-75 in its first game since Parker was injured.Manu Ginobili scored 17 points, Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs rolled to their most lopsided victory of the year. Danny Green added 16 points and Kawhi Leon

More SportsMarch 4, 2013

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (AP) ― On a long, hard day at the Honda Classic, Michael Thompson relied on a superb short game to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.Thompson seized control early with a 50-foot eagle putt on the third hole, then kept his distance with clutch par saves and closed with a birdie from the bunker. It gave him a 1-under 69 ― one of only five rounds under par at PGA National ― and a two-shot win over Geoff Ogilvy. “This week was magical,” Thompson said. “Just had a gro

GolfMarch 4, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon scored in a three-minute span late in the first half, giving Tottenham a 2-1 win over visiting Arsenal on Sunday in a North London derby that could prove to be pivotal in the race for Champions League qualification.Bale put Tottenham ahead in the 37th minute when he beat an offside trap on a pass from Gylfi Sigurdsson and sent a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for his 10th goal in eight games and 20th this season.Just 140 seconds late

SoccerMarch 4, 2013

Spain-based football striker Park Chu-young on Monday was left off of the national team roster for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier, as South Korea tries to make its eighth consecutive appearance at the quadrennial tournament.Head coach Choi Kang-hee unveiled a team of 23 players, with 11 of them playing professionally overseas. Park, of Celta Vigo in Spain, wasn’t one of the 11.He hasn’t scored in Spain since November last year and remains stuck on three goals for the season. South Korea i

SoccerMarch 4, 2013

DUBAI (AP) ― Novak Djokovic rallied from a breakdown in the first set to win his fourth Dubai Championships title in five years on Saturday, downing third-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-3.The top-ranked Djokovic extended his unbeaten streak this year to 13 matches, which included his third straight Australian Open title. He’s won 13 of their last 14 meetings en route to his 36th career title.“It was never going to be an easy final for either one of us,” Djokovic said. “Tomas is a fantastic player.

More SportsMarch 3, 2013

South Korea was stunned by the Netherlands 5-0 on Saturday in its first game at the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) here in Taiwan.In the first-round action at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, the Netherlands got timely hits from the heart of their lineup and took advantage of South Korean errors for the upset over the runner-up from the 2009 WBC.Andruw Jones, with 434 career homers in Major League Baseball (MLB), went 2-for-4 with a run, while Roger Bernadina, an outfielder for the

BaseballMarch 3, 2013

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (AP) ― This is not the rivalry anyone had in mind when Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy began the year.They made their debut in Abu Dhabi last month and both missed the cut. The next time they played in the same tournament was last week in the Match Play Championship, and both were eliminated in the first round.The difference is that Woods returned to Torrey Pines the week after missing the cut. He left little reason for anyone to doubt his game when he built a lead that

GolfFeb. 28, 2013