IN BRIEF

GOLF

Late eagle gives Gal LPGA Tour event lead

Sandra Gal eagled the 18th hole to take a one-shot lead after Friday's first round of the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers, Ark.

Gal shot 7-under 64 in the LPGA Tour event, and her uphill putt from about 15 feet on the final hole moved her past Song-Hee Kim and into the lead. Kim was alone in second place.

Brittany Lang, Pat Hurst and Angela Stanford were tied for third, another stroke back.

Also: Scott Strange shot 4-under 68, and Chris Wood had a 69 to share a one-stroke lead at 9-under 135 after the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne, Germany.

Soren Hansen (71) had a one-shot lead until a double bogey on the 18th hole. Ross Fisher and James Kingston each shot 69 to also trail the leaders by a stroke.

The United States takes a 33-7-1 series lead into today's opening play of the biennial Walker Cup at Merion East in Ardmore, Pa.

The Americans have won the past two competitions against their European counterparts.

This year's U.S. team has only two players with Walker Cup experience: Brian Harman of the University of Georgia, who played in 2005; and Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State, who played in 2007.

The competition consists of four alternate-shot and eight singles matches today, followed by four alternate-shot and 10 singles matches Sunday.

HORSE RACING

Rachel Alexandra will not run Breeders' Cup

The wooing of Rachel Alexandra ended a few hours after it began.

Despite the lure of an extra $1 million by the Breeders' Cup, Rachel Alexandra's co-owner said his sensational 3-year-old filly won't run in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 7.

Jess Jackson said he was humbled by the interest Rachel Alexandra has generated, but "Rachel already has completed a brilliant, long campaign."

Earlier in the day, in an effort to lure Rachel Alexandra to the Breeders' Cup to run against undefeated Zenyatta, the Breeders' Cup said it would add $1 million to the winner's share of the Classic if both horses ran in America's richest race.

Also: Steve Asmussen became the fifth trainer to win 5,000 races.

The trainer of Preakness-winning filly Rachel Alexandra reached the milestone at Woodbine in Toronto when Passion Rules won the seventh race. The Texas-based trainer had 14 scheduled starters at five tracks.

Dale Baird has 9,445 victories, followed by Jack Van Berg, King Leatherbury and Jerry Hollendorfer.

MOTOR SPORTS

Petty departure won't alter Dodge race plans

The head of Dodge Motorsports called Richard Petty's defection a "business decision" that won't affect the manufacturer's participation in NASCAR.

Richard Petty Motorsports signed a letter-of-intent to merge with Yates Racing and field a four-car Ford team next season. It leaves Dodge with just three Roger Penske-owned cars in its 2010 lineup.

But president and CEO Mike Accavitti said that's enough for Dodge, which has had to continuously reinforce its commitment to NASCAR because of the cash problems that forced parent-company Chrysler into Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization earlier this year.

Also: Kurt Busch said his crew chief will leave Penske Racing at the end of the season.

Busch said Pat Tryson told him this week he would move to a different team in 2010.

Tryson has declined to discuss his future plans, but he's believed to be going to Michael Waltrip Racing to crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. The decision was apparently made several weeks ago, but not publicized so the team could focus on the Chase for the championship.

UNLV

Men's golf team leads New Mexico tourney

The UNLV men's golf team held a seven-shot lead over San Diego State when lightning halted second-round play of the 17-team William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Rebels were at 16 under, led by Derek Ernst, who was in a two-way tie for second at 7 under through 15 holes of the second round.

Ernst trailed individual leader Tom Whitney of Air Force by three strokes.

Also: The men's soccer team held a 16-10 edge in shots but could not score in a 0-0 double-overtime tie with host Oral Roberts in the ORU Tournament in Tulsa, Okla.

Goalkeeper Roland Swanson had two saves for the Rebels (2-1-1).

The women's soccer team traded early goals with UC Irvine and settled for a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

Amanda Forrester scored in the sixth minute for the Rebels (2-2-3), one minute after the Anteaters (5-1-1) had taken a 1-0 lead.

MISCELLANEOUS

ESPN's Andrews felt video would kill career

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews said she thought her career was over after secretly taped nude footage of her began circulating on the Internet.

Andrews appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in a segment taped Aug. 27. It was her first interview on the topic, and it was part of the show's 24th-season opener.

Andrews was composed in talking about the "nightmare" of knowing the blurry five-minute video was on the Internet and being harassed by paparazzi after the story became news in July.

Andrews learned about the video from a friend, but initially laughed off the possibility it could be of her. After she watched it at his urging, the first thing she did was call her parents.

"I kept screaming: 'I'm done. My career is over. I'm done. Get it off. Get it off the Internet,' " said Andrews, her eyes watering as she remembered talking to her father. "They thought I was physically injured, (that's) how bad I was screaming."

Also: Asia Muhammad's run at the U.S. Open ended with a third-round loss to Beatrice Capra in the junior girls singles. The 18-year-old Henderson resident fell 6-3, 1-6, 1-6 on Thursday.

Muhammad had beaten top-ranked Kristina Mladenovic of France in the first round, then defeated fellow American Gail Brodsky in the second round.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed guard Ramon Sessions, after the Milwaukee Bucks declined to match their $16 million, four-year offer to the restricted free agent.

The 6-foot-3-inch Sessions averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 assists and 27.5 minutes last season for the Bucks.

A North Carolina businessman who was a co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats died in a single-engine plane crash in South Carolina.

Authorities say 49-year-old William "Skipper" Beck of Charlotte, N.C., died in the crash around 7:15 a.m. EDT at a local airport in South Carolina, just across the state line from Charlotte.

Former NHL player Mike Danton said his father, not his agent, was the intended victim of a failed murder-for-hire plot that sent him to prison five years ago.

Danton made the admission on the day he was granted parole by Canada's National Parole Board.

The native of Brampton, Ont., pleaded guilty in 2004 in the United States in a plot that prosecutors said targeted David Frost, Danton's former junior coach who went on to become his mentor and agent.

Bill Snyder agreed to a five-year contract as Kansas State's football coach.

The 69-year-old coach is in his second stint leading the Wildcats, a program he rescued from the brink of failure.