Roddick out injured, Murray hurries into final

By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Roddick's hopes of a fifth Queen's Club title ended painfully on Saturday when the American limped out midway through the first set of his all-American semi-final against James Blake with a right ankle injury.
Roddick's retirement threw his Wimbledon hopes into disarray, with that tournament only nine days away, and handed Blake a final showdown with British top seed Andy Murray.
The world number three stood one match away from his first grasscourt title after hustling past Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2 6-4.
Second seed Roddick had high hopes of facing Murray on Sunday but it all went wrong in the final point of the third game against Blake.
Stranded at the net, Roddick quickly turned around to chase down a Blake lob and hit the ball between his legs.
He even laughed when his effort failed to win him the point but absent-mindedly continued to walk toward the back of the court and sprained his ankle between the raised border of the grass surface and the concrete surround.
The American winced and then opted to test his ankle by applying pressure to it before resuming the contest.
After Blake held for a 4-3 lead, Roddick took a medical time out to have the ankle strapped but he continued to shake his head as he put his shoes back on.
The 26-year-old held his serve in the next game before informing the umpire that he was unable to continue.
MAJOR SETBACK
Roddick had looked to be in good form heading into Wimbledon, which starts on June 22.
"I saw him pull up a little goofy on one shot at the end of the third game. It's a little slippery and I think he went over on it and it's really unfortunate," Blake said courtside.
"The way he's playing he's got a chance to win Wimbledon so... he wouldn't want to endanger that any more."
Murray's only drama was when he bashed his knuckles against his racket to leave a trail of blood streaking down his shorts.
But that did not stop the top seed from outwitting former world number one Ferrero with an assortment of angles, spins and power. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Tiger to defend Open on happy hunting ground

By Mark Lamport-Stokes
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All the signs point toward another Tiger Woods victory at next week's U.S. Open in New York where the American world number one will be the overwhelming favorite in pursuit of his 15th major title.
The greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, Woods builds his entire schedule around the grand slam events where his focus and motivation are second to none.
When he tees off in Thursday's opening round at Bethpage State Park's Black Course, he will be defending the title he won last year in a thrilling 19-hole playoff with compatriot Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines outside San Diego.
Defying stabbing pain in his left knee and a double stress fracture of his tibia, he gritted his way to a third U.S. Open victory before shutting down his campaign for the rest of 2008 to have reconstructive surgery on his left knee.
Woods, now fully recovered, is also the defending champion at Bethpage, having clinched the U.S. Open when it was staged there for the first time in 2002.
As for bringing form into the second major championship of the season, he has that totally sewn up after winning the Memorial tournament on Sunday in his most recent PGA Tour start.
"It was nice to play this well going into the U.S. Open," Woods said after recording his 67th Tour victory by one shot in Dublin, Ohio.
"This is how you have to hit it in order to win U.S. Opens, especially Bethpage. That golf course is as big as they come. You have to hit the ball well all week. I did that in 2002."
The brutal par-70 Bethpage Black layout became the longest U.S. Open course of all time for the 2002 edition, playing 7,214 yards off the back tees.
It has since been lengthened to 7,426 yards and will feature a 525-yard par-four seventh hole for the June 18-21 championship.
GRINDING OUT PARS
Length has never been a problem for Woods, who also relishes the U.S. Open emphasis on grinding out pars at the most relentless of the four majors.
"Bethpage is more than 7,400 yards long and I don't know if he can totally put that thing away," American Kenny Perry said of Woods. "But he could probably still play a three-wood off the tee and be just fine."
Phil Mickelson, who finished second three strokes behind Woods at the 2002 U.S. Open, believes the Bethpage Black will present a tough but fair test next week.
"The golf course is awesome," the American world number two said after practicing at Bethpage on Tuesday. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Pittsburgh's Malkin reappears to claim MVP award

By David Bailey
DETROIT (Reuters) - Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin gave the best possible response to those who questioned his whereabouts during last year's Stanley Cup finals by becoming the first Russian to win the Conn Smythe trophy on Friday.
Largely silenced during the defeat to the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, Malkin's contribution to the Penguins' gaining their revenge and a third NHL championship on Friday was recognized when he was named most valuable player in the playoffs.
The powerful 22-year-old led the playoffs in scoring with 36 points on 14 goals and 22 assists to deny the Red Wings their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997. He also led all scorers in the final series with two goals and six assists.
He also became just the second Penguin to win playoff MVP honors after team owner Mario Lemieux took back-to-back playoff MVP honors in 1991 and 1992 when Pittsburgh won their other two championships.
Malkin, captain Sidney Crosby and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, have faced high expectations as the young core of the Penguins team.
"There's a lot of scrutiny about these guys and a lot of question marks ...," Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hopefully this erases some of those questions for a lot of people, because these kids earned it."
Malkin assisted on the first of Maxime Talbot's two goals in the Penguin's series clinching 2-1 victory, forcing a key turnover behind the Red Wings net early in the second period.
He also logged nearly 20 minutes in the game, shouldering much of the load after Crosby was stung by a hard check early in the second period and played little afterward.
Friday's gutsy performance was a world different from last Saturday in Detroit, when Malkin lost composure and took bad penalties in a 5-0 Pittsburgh loss. He dominated on most shifts on Friday night in the Cup-clinching game.
(Editing by Nick Mulvenney)

Source: Reuters

Rangers shut down MLB-best Dodgers for 6-0 win

ARLINGTON, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas Rangers blanked the Major League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers on the back of a strong pitching effort to clinch a 6-0 inter-league victory on Friday.
Starter Vicente Padilla (5-3) pitched five scoreless innings while Jason Jennings and Jason Grilli combined on the final three as the Rangers (35-25) recorded a shutout win for the second straight night.
Padilla needed 44 pitches to get through the first two innings as the Dodgers ground out at-bats but could not capitalize by putting any runs on the board.
"They worked him pretty good, but he was a warrior out there," Texas manager Ron Washington told reporters. "It all starts with pitching and defense. "We made more great plays out there. They had a lot of opportunities."
After holding off the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Thursday, the Rangers got off to a good start against the Dodgers, scoring two runs in the third inning where Michael Young had an RBI single.
Texas catcher Taylor Teagarden finished 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double in the sixth, when the Rangers scored three times to chase Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda.
Kuroda, who spent two months out with an abdomen injury earlier this year, struck out six but gave up eight hits and five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers, who are 40-22 for the year and have a seven-game advantage in the NL West Division, are now 6-13 against American League competition since the start of last season.
Juan Pierre and Casey Blake had two hits apiece for Los Angeles, while Andre Ethier went 0-for-2 to snap a nine-game hitting streak.
"They played well. There's going to be times where you go through little spells," Ethier said. "It's sometimes just how it is. We'll put this one behind us."
Hank Blalock added a solo home run for Texas, his 13th of the season, to help the AL West-leading Rangers win their second straight.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Ian Ransom/Nick Mulvenney)

Source: Reuters

Penguins in seventh heaven with Cup win over Wings

By Steve Keating
DETROIT (Reuters) - The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed their revenge and a Stanley Cup with a nervy 2-1 Game Seven win over the Detroit Red Wings Friday.
The Penguins, who lost the Cup to the Red Wings in six games a year ago, join the 1971 Montreal Canadiens as the only team to drop the opening two games of a final on the road and then claw their way back to win the title.
Maxime Talbot, a grinder with a knack for scoring big goals, tallied twice in the second period while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury answered his critics with a solid 23-save effort as the Penguins celebrated their third Stanley Cup and first since 1992.
"You score big goals through your career, it feels like it stays with you and people talk about it," Talbot told reporters.
"Now you start believing it and you just say to yourself you're that type of player."
Outside a playoff spot in February, the march of the Penguins began with an 18-3-4 run to close out the regular season and then four grueling best-of-seven playoff series to clasp the Cup that slipped through their fingers last season.
The humbled Penguins watched the Red Wings raise the Cup last year and parade it around the Joe Louis Arena, but on Friday it was Pittsburgh's turn to celebrate.
Captain Sidney Crosby accepted the Stanley Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and hoisted it high above his head while his team mates embraced each other and cheered.
"It's a dream come true, everything you imagine and more," said Crosby, who did not play most of the third period after a crunching hit sent him to the dressing room late in the second.
"It means so much, all the sacrifices that people make so you can get to this point, my parents, the coaches who helped me along the way."
After winning the Cup last year, the Red Wings had made Joe Louis Arena a virtual fortress, and had lost only once in 12 home playoff games prior to Friday's Game Seven.
Home teams had also prevailed in 12 out of 14 times the Cup finals were decided in the winner-take-all Game Seven.
But while history favored the Red Wings, destiny was riding with the Penguins.
With Pittsburgh clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Red Wings Niklas Kronwall rattled a shot off the crossbar with two minutes to play.
Nicklas Lidstrom was then denied a last-gasp equalizer when Fleury dived across the crease in the final seconds to make a spectacular save. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Rookie Nordqvist grabs lead at LPGA Championship

By Larry Fine
HAVRE DE GRACE, Maryland (Reuters) - Swedish rookie Anna Nordqvist rolled in a 36-foot birdie putt on her last hole to grab a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock on Friday.
The tall Swede began the sunny day one shot behind overnight leader Nicole Castrale, but leapfrogged the American by posting two-under-par 70 for an eight-under 136 total.
Castrale climbed back from a stumbling start for even-par 72. Starting from the 10th, she double-bogeyed the par-three 12th and bogeyed 14 before rallying with three birdies.
Australians Lindsey Wright and Katherine Hull were tied for third at six-under 138 after shooting 68 and 69, respectively.
"It feels great," Nordqvist told reporters. "I'm having a lot of fun so far."
The Swede, who also began at 10, charged to a three-shot lead after her third birdie of the round at the 17th but a pair of bogeys dropped her into a tie before her stunning birdie at the ninth.
Nordqvist, who turned 22 on the eve of the tournament, is playing in her first major championship as a professional.
"I'm just going to go out there and have fun," said Nordqvist, a former Arizona State University player, who has been hitting it long off the tee and putting like a dream at Bulle Rock. "I'm here to learn, that's what I'm out here for."
Castrale said the wind was a little trickier and the pin placements were tougher on Friday.
"I didn't quite have it today but I was able to grind it out and get back to even par for the round," said Castrale.
The South Korean trio of Bae Kyeong, Han Hee-won and Choi Na-yeon were tied for fifth at five-under-par 139.
GRAND SLAM QUEST
World number one Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, seeking to add a third crown to her quest for a career grand slam, pushed her way onto the leaderboard by posting a three-under 69 for 141.
"I am very happy with my round today, and I feel very good," said Ochoa, who stood five shots off the pace.
"I gave myself a lot of birdie chances. A few putts didn't drop, but I'm happy. I am right where I want to be." Continued...
Source: Reuters

Gay leads the way at stormy Memphis

MEMPHIS (Reuters) - American Brian Gay shot a four under-par 66 to lead by two shots on 10-under overall in the second round of the St Jude Classic on Friday.
Stormy weather ended play early at TPC Southwind and over half the field need to complete the round early on Saturday.
Gay, the overnight leader after an opening six-under 64, continued his impressive showing with a string of five birdies in the first eight holes.
Although he finished with bogeys on the par four 17th and 18th, Gay still has the advantage over compatriot Bryce Molder and Australian Robert Allenby on eight-under.
But Allenby only managed to complete 15 holes before a premature end to the day's play with thunder clouds closing in.
"I'll come out tomorrow and do the same stuff," said Gay. Hopefully, I'll get off to another good start."
He won the Heritage Classic in April and is looking for his third career win on the PGA Tour.
Molder finished his bogey-free round in real style with birdies on the final three holes.
"It was about as clean a round as I could have had," he said. "I think I missed a couple fairways and maybe one or two greens and just happened to be 10 to 20 feet all day long, and I was just rolling long really."
Woody Austin, Guy Boros and David Tomas were all tied for fourth on seven-under after Austin and Boros shot 66s on Friday, while Tomas stood at four-under after 14 holes.
World number two Phil Mickelson, returning after a five-week absence due to his wife being diagnosed with cancer, was two-under for the day and four-under overall although he still has three holes of his second round to complete.
Colombian Camilo Villegas, producing his trademark 'Spiderman' routine of lowering himself down on all fours to view the lay of the green, was four-under after 12 holes on Friday, taking him to within four shots of the lead.
Fourth-ranked Sergio Garcia will almost certainly not make the cut after he shot three over par with a double-bogey on the 17th hole (his eighth) to follow his even-par on Thursday.
With the projected cut set at evens, Swede Henrik Stenson, winner of the Players Championship in May, will miss out after another poor round, five over-par, left him on eight-over.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington, winner of the British Open and PGA Championship last year, must produce something special on his remaining three holes to avoid missing the cut.
He was still on two-over par for the tournament after shooting an even par round through 15 holes on Friday.
(Reporting by Simon Evans; editing by Justin Palmer and Ken Ferris)

Source: Reuters

Faldo knighted in Queen's birthday honors list

By Ken Ferris
LONDON (Reuters) - Nick Faldo, the most successful British golfer of the modern era, will receive a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honors List.
Former world number one Faldo, 51, won six majors, including three Opens, during an illustrious career and was captain of the European Ryder Cup team that lost to the Americans last year.
"I am more than a little bit humbled and delighted to have been afforded this great honor," Faldo was quoted as saying by British media on Saturday.
"It has come as a real surprise and the reaction from my children, family and friends has made this a very special moment for me.
"I believe I join Sir Henry Cotton as the only other professional British golfer to receive a knighthood, so to stand alongside such esteemed company is incredible."
The twice-yearly Queen's list recognizes achievements in all walks of British life, from the rich and famous to community workers.
VERY HONOURED
There are also MBEs for England's World Cup-winning women's cricket captain Charlotte Edwards, badminton player Gail Emms and former England cricketer Graeme Hick, regarded by many as one of the most naturally gifted batsmen of his generation.
"This is an accolade -- you just feel very honored," the 43-year-old Zimbabwean-born Hick told Sky Sports News.
"It's not like going out to bat and getting 100 and feeling good about it. This has come out of the blue."
Hick, who featured in 65 Test matches and 120 one-day internationals for England, retired from playing for Worcestershire at the end of last season.
He averaged 52.23 with the bat and became the 16th player to pile up more than 40,000 first-class runs. He was named by Wisden as one of their cricketers of the year in 1987.
The hard-hitting batsman averaged 31.32 in 65 tests for England after making his debut against West Indies at Headingley, Leeds in 1991.
The 31-year-old Emms, one of Britain's most successful badminton players, retired after last year's Beijing Olympics. She won a silver medal in the mixed doubles at the 2004 Athens Games and bronze, silver and gold at the 2006 Commonwealths.
(Additional reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by Ian Ransom)

Source: Reuters

Magic's narrow losses "heart wrenching", says Van Gundy

By Steve Ginsburg
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Orlando Magic have played the Los Angeles Lakers so close in the NBA Finals to be down 3-1 and facing elimination is heart wrenching, coach Stan Van Gundy said Friday.
Two of the games have gone into overtime, both won by the Lakers, including Thursday's bitterly disappointing 99-91 affair on the Magic's home floor.
"There's always a lot of ifs," Van Gundy told reporters. "You have to deal with reality. We're down 3-1.
"I don't think there's anyone who plays, coaches or watches, commentates, or writes in this league that doesn't understand the fine line between winning and losing."
Orlando was blown out in the series opener 100-75 but lost game two in overtime, 101-96, despite nearly winning at the end of regulation when Courtney Lee's alley-oop lay-in glanced off the rim.
Following a 108-104 triumph in game three, the Magic suffered the most excruciating loss Thursday when 34-year-old Lakers guard Derek Fisher nailed a three-pointer with four seconds to go to send the game into overtime.
"Obviously game one was not a fine line, but every other game, it's been a very fine line between winning and losing and it's what makes the games exciting," said Van Gundy.
"It's also what makes them, when you lose them, so heart wrenching because it's not a huge difference in a game. It's all right there.
"Our guys put everything they could into that game last night, and my number one feeling after the game was I just felt badly for our guys."
Orlando will attempt to become the first team to win the NBA Finals after facing a 3-1 deficit while the Lakers can claim their 15th championship and first since 2002 with a victory Sunday in Orlando.
"It's not like we're in a situation where we feel like we can't play with the Lakers and don't have a chance to win," said Van Gundy. "Our confidence level will be high.
"Our guys have demonstrated incredible resiliency all year."
(Editing by Alison Wildey)

Source: Reuters

Woods grouped with Cabrera and Harrington at U.S. Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World number one Tiger Woods will launch his title defense at next week's U.S. Open in high-profile company with 2007 winner Angel Cabrera and British Open champion Padraig Harrington.
American Woods, U.S. Masters champion Cabrera of Argentina and Irishman Harrington are scheduled to tee off on the first hole at 0806 (1206 GMT) in Thursday's opening round at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
The heavyweight trio will start from the 10th tee at 1336 (1736 GMT) in Friday's second round.
Woods, who clinched last year's U.S. Open in a gripping 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines outside San Diego, is heavy favorite to win the second major championship of the year.
Although he was sidelined for eight months after his Torrey Pines victory while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, he has triumphed twice in seven PGA Tour starts this season, including the Memorial tournament on Sunday.
Woods won the U.S. Open when it was first held at Bethpage in 2002 and will be bidding for his fourth success in the tournament next week.
"It was nice to play this well going into the U.S. Open," the 33-year-old told reporters after winning the Memorial tournament by a shot in Dublin, Ohio.
"This is how you have to hit it in order to win U.S. Opens, especially Bethpage. That golf course is as big as they come. You have to hit the ball well all week. I did that in 2002, and that was one of the reasons why I was up there."
American world number two Phil Mickelson, who finished second behind Woods at the 2002 U.S. Open, has been grouped with twice champions Ernie Els and Retief Goosen of South Africa for the first two rounds.
Other notable threesomes include British world number three Paul Casey, Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and American Jim Furyk; Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Colombian Camilo Villegas and Australia's Adam Scott; and Fijian Vijay Singh, Indian Jeev Milkha Singh and South Korea's KJ Choi.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Justin Palmer)

Source: Reuters