Off the wire

Friday, March 14, 2014

GOLF Four tied at Valspar

Matt Every made the best of the worst conditions Thursday and wound up in a four-way tie for the lead in the Valspar Championship at Palm Harbor, Fla. The Copperhead course at Innisbrook is tough even in good weather. Throw in chilly temperatures and gusts over 20 mph, and it was even harder in the opening round. Pat Perez, Greg Chalmers and Danny Lee played in warmer weather in the afternoon and joined Every atop the leaderboard at 3-under 68. Only three players broke 70 in the morning. Eight others broke 70 in the afternoon. Among those at 69 were Matteo Manassero of Italy, Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium and Bill Haas.Justin Rose, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7, opened with a 71. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had two birdies and two bogeys for an even-par 71. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had two birdies and four bogeys for a 2-over 73. Bryce Molder (Conway) had a birdie and three bogeys for a 2-over 73. John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) had two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey for a 2-over 74.

Alejandro Canizares of Spain had 11 birdies in a 10-under round of 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Seve Benson of England after the first round of the Trophee Hassan II at Agadir, Morocco, on Thursday. Canizares mastered the windy conditions at the Golf du Palais Royal course for the lowest round of his European Tour career, and it would have been even better if not for a bogey on the third hole. Benson, who was named after the late Seve Ballesteros, had nine birdies to stay two shots clear of American Connor Arendell and Sweden’s Magnus Carlsson, who were tied at 7 under.

U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Emma Talley and NCAA winner Annie Park top the eight-player U.S. Curtis Cup team selected for the June 6-8 matches against Britain and Ireland at St. Louis Country Club. Talley, of Princeton, Ky., is a sophomore at Alabama, and Park, of Levittown, N.Y., is a sophomore at Southern California. They were selected Thursday by the U.S. Golf Association along with Kyung Kim of Southern California, Alison Lee and Erynne Lee of UCLA, Mariah Stackhouse of Stanford, Ally McDonald of Mississippi State and Ashlan Ramsey of Clemson. Britain and Ireland won the 2012 matches at Nairn in Scotland. The U.S. leads the series 27-7-3.

BASEBALL Giambi has broken rib

Cleveland’s Jason Giambi will be sidelined for three to four weeks with a broken rib in his right side.Giambi was hit by a pitch thrown by Edwin Jackson of the Chicago Cubs in the third inning of a March 7 game. X-rays at the time were negative, but Cleveland said Thursday that Giambi, 43, had felt increased discomfort over the previous five days. “As he continued to show tenderness, we got him an MRI yesterday,” Manager Terry Francona said. “We treat the symptoms. He will be down for a number of days without activity, just getting treatment. Then when the symptoms are better, we can start getting him into activities. Then we can get him into baseball activities.” The 2000 AL MVP, Giambi is a non-roster invitee to the Indians camp. The designated hitter is hoping to play in his 20th major-league season and second with the Indians. Giambi has been hit by 179 pitches during the regular season, 11th on the career list. “I kind of knew,” said Giambi, who picked the ball up and flipped it to Jackson. “I didn’t want him to think it hurt.”

Dan Warthen and the Mets have apologized after the team’s pitching coach used a racial slur in describing the translator for NewYork pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Warthen approached translator Jeff Cutler, a Japanese-American, on Monday and apologized for jokingly calling him a “Chinaman” the previous day, The Wall Street Journal reported. Warthen’s conversation with Cutler occurred in front of Journal reporter Stu Woo, who is Chinese-American. Woo spoke with Cutler on Tuesday and asked the Mets to respond, and Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Woo should meet with Warthen and Horwitz on Wednesday. Horwitz told Woo on Wednesday that Warthen would not comment. The Mets released apologies from Warthen and General Manager Sandy Alderson shortly after the Journal posted its story Wednesday.

Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena reported to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, nearly three weeks after agreeing to a $25 million, five-year contract. The shortstop said he arrived in Arizona on Wednesday night from Miami, where he had been for a few days after leaving Haiti, where he lived after defecting from Cuba in November. He needed to acquire a work visa before he could join the Dodgers, who reached agreement with him Feb. 22 and completed the deal at their complex in the Dominican Republic. Arruebarrena was welcomed by fellow Cubans Yasiel Puig and Alex Guerrero. He played with Guerrero on Cuba’s national team and with Puig on their hometown club, Cienfuegos. Arruebarrena said he has not played since December and was eager to begin batting practice and fielding drills.

Asked Feb. 23 if he intended to make the longest spring training trip the Yankees have scheduled in some time, Derek Jeter smiled. “What do you think?” said the shortstop who, like most veterans, make few lengthy road excursions in the spring. The question was rhetorical, of course. If one player was going to travel to Panama City for this weekend’s two game Legends Series against the Marlins, being played to pay tribute to Panama native Mariano Rivera, it would be Jeter, the closer’s friend and Yankees teammate for nearly 20 years. “It will be fun,” Jeter said Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to it. It will mean a lot to him to have us go there and play. We get a chance to honor him. I think pretty much everyone is well aware that’s the reason why we’re going so it’s good for him.” Jeter was hardly alone in his desire to be a part of the club’s traveling party, which included about 30 players, scheduled to depart Tampa about 7 p.m. Thursday for Panama City. Among those booked for the trip: CC Sabathia, David Robertson, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Alfonso Soriano.

Despite another snowstorm that hit the region Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers expect their new field at Comerica Park to be ready for the season opener against the Kansas City Royals on March 31. Metro Detroit has been hit by near-record snowfall, which means the grounds crew at Comerica Park has had some snow-removal duties while preparing for next week’s shipment of Kentucky bluegrass. Heather Nabozny, the Tigers’ head groundskeeper, was not made available for comment. This is the first complete resodding of the field since 2007.

MOTOR SPORTS

Team gets 2nd Indy entry

Alex Tagliani will drive a second entry in the Indianapolis 500 for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. The 2011 pole sitter will join Fisher’s full-time IndyCar driver, Josef Newgarden, in a two-car lineup announced Thursday. Tagliani will drive the No. 68 Honda. Tagliani was the 2009 Indy 500 top rookie with an 11th-place finish. Two years later, he became the only Canadian driver to win the pole. Tagliani has five career starts in the 500. His best finish was 10th in 2010. He has started in the first two rows twice, on the pole in 2011 and fifth in 2010, and has led 23 total laps.

Sports, Pages 20 on 03/14/2014