In Brief

GOLF

Scott unfazed by strong wind,
shoots 66 to share Doral lead

Playing only his sixth round of the year, Adam Scott faced a strong test Thursday at Doral and never looked better.

In fierce and relentless wind on the TPC Blue Monster, Scott kept the ball in play and then hung on for dear life for a 6-under-par 66 that gave him a share of the lead with Jason Dufner in the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Fla.

It was a battle all day for Rory McIlroy in his first event at No. 1 in the world. He twice flirted with the water, had a three-putt bogey and wound up with a 73.

Tiger Woods wasn't much better. He began his round with a tap-in eagle on the par-5 first hole, but narrowly missed the fairways and had a tough time figuring out the wind and whether the ball would jump out of the rough. Woods badly misjudged the line of his chip on the 18th hole and closed with a bogey for a 72.

The trick on a windy day at Doral was not to drop too many shots. Sergio Garcia was one shot out of the lead through 12 holes. He played the last six holes in 8 over, hitting two balls in the water for a triple bogey on the 18th.

Also: Matt Jones and George McNeill topped the leaderboard at 6-under 66 in strong wind in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande.

Jones, from Australia, eagled the par-5 second hole and had five birdies and a bogey on the Trump International course. McNeill, the former Florida State player who won the 2007 Frys.com Open at TPC Summerlin for his lone PGA Tour title, had a bogey-free round.

Jarrod Lyle has had a recurrence of leukemia at home in Australia, just as the 30-year-old PGA player is preparing to become a father for the first time, friend Robert Allenby said.

pro football

Marino to Manning: Call me,
and let me sell you on Miami

If Peyton Manning wants to talk about playing quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, Dan Marino would be thrilled to take his call.

And just in case, Marino has his sales pitch ready.

"There's great tradition there. We've had a couple off years but, believe me, they'll be back," said Marino, the Hall of Famer who threw for 420 touchdowns and more than 61,000 yards in his Dolphins career. "It's a great franchise, and they'll get it turned around."

Manning would almost certainly help in that quest, which largely started when Marino retired more than a decade ago.

From the moment the four-time Most Valuable Player parted with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday, buzz about Manning has been growing in Miami -- much of it fueled by the quarterback's arrival in South Florida shortly after becoming an NFL free agent for the first time. Manning insists he doesn't know what his next move will be, and Marino believes him.

"I think he fits with anybody," Marino said at a charity golf tournament. "He's one of the best to ever play the game at that position. So wherever he ends up playing, if he's healthy, which is going to be important to Peyton, I'm sure he wants to go out there and play at a high level. Wherever he plays, he'll be a huge impact for that team."

Also: Quarterback Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, has restructured his contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

Under terms of the restructuring, the Giants will guarantee $9 million of Manning's $10.75 million salary in 2012. The move allows the Giants to divide the guarantee over the final four years of the contract, reduces his base salary to $1.75 million and clears roughly $6.75 million in cap space, the source said.

Manning had a career season in 2011, leading the Giants to their second Super Bowl title in five seasons.

Retired NFL safety Coy Wire said he was part of a small group of Buffalo Bills players who pooled money and rewarded themselves for hurting opponents during his rookie season in 2002.

Though the Bills were coached by Gregg Williams then, Wire told The Associated Press the "pay-for-play pool" was solely player-driven. Wire said he was wrong and crossed the line.

In a story published by The Buffalo News on Sunday, Wire said there was an environment of "malicious intent" in place when he arrived, and players were commended and encouraged for making a big hit that hurt an opponent.

In other Bills' news, the team retained another key member of its receiving attack before the start of free agency after tight end Scott Chandler agreed to a two-year contract.

With six touchdowns, Chandler and Stevie Johnson, who re-signed a five-year contract Monday, combined for 13 scores in helping the Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense make strides in finishing 13th in the NFL in yards passing. That was a major step for an offense that had finished 22nd or worse in each of the previous eight seasons.

Rashean Mathis avoided free agency by signing a one-year, incentive-laden contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The deal could be worth $5 million if he plays all 16 games this season. Mathis has missed 17 games over the last four seasons because of injuries.

The cornerback has 538 tackles and a franchise-record 30 interceptions in 125 games.

The Atlanta Falcons re-signed backup running back Jason Snelling.

Snelling had 44 carries for 151 yards and 26 catches for 179 yards and one touchdown in 2011, when his versatility proved valuable.

The San Diego Chargers agreed to terms on a one-year deal with linebacker Demorrio Williams, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs this week.

Williams, 31, played in 12 games last season for Kansas City as a reserve linebacker and on special teams.

The San Francisco 49ers signed defensive tackle Will Tukuafu to a two-year contract extension through the 2013 season.

Tukuafu made his NFL debut last season and recovered a fumble on his first career play from scrimmage against Seattle. He played in five games before suffering a season-ending wrist injury against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 2.

MISCELLANEOUS

Yankees setup man Robertson
sprains foot in fall down stairs

The New York Yankees took their first misstep of 2012 when All-Star setup man David Robertson sprained his right foot when he fell down stairs while moving boxes in his spring training home.

An initial X-ray was negative, and the reliever was taken to a hospital for an MRI. The accident occurred Wednesday night, and his foot started throbbing an hour or two later.

He was put in a walking boot to make the foot more comfortable. Manager Joe Girardi said Robertson was limping from what he described as a midfoot sprain that caused the pitcher to walk gingerly.

Also: Left-handed pitcher Glen Perkins signed a three-year extension with the Minnesota Twins. The deal is worth a guaranteed $10.3 million through the 2015 season.

Perkins emerged as a reliable late-inning reliever last season, going 4-4 with a 2.48 ERA. He struck out 65 and walked 21 in 61 2/3 innings.

Washington outfielder Bryce Harper, a former Las Vegas High and College of Southern Nevada standout, was a last-minute scratch from the Nationals' game against the Houston Astros because of left calf tightness.

Harper, who is batting .455 (5 for 11) -- all singles -- through his first five games, is listed as day to day.

Zenyatta, the former Horse of the Year who won 19 of 20 races during her stellar career, gave birth for the first time.

A post on her website said Zenyatta had a dark bay colt at Lane End's Farm in Versailles, Ky., where she lives. The yet unnamed colt weighed 130 pounds and has a white star on his forehead and some white on his feet, the website said.

A photo posted on the site shows Zenyatta and her offspring laying on bedding in her stall.

According to the post, written in Zenyatta's words, "I'm doing great. MY BABY is doing great ..."

Rene Ruegamer, Alex Bull, Tamas Batyi and Charlie Alvarado won singles matches, and UNLV swept all three doubles matches for a point as the Rebels beat Ball State 5-2 in a men's tennis match at Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Centennial High School girls basketball player Jada Brown was named the Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year.

Brown averaged 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in leading the Bulldogs to the Sunset Region title. The 6-foot junior forward helped Centennial to a 29-3 record and was named Northwest League Most Valuable Player.