In Brief

golf

Woods' new caddie LaCava
says decision was 'no-brainer'

Tiger Woods offered Joe LaCava the job as his caddie, and it wasn't a difficult decision for him.

"Why? Because he's Tiger Woods," LaCava said Wednesday in San Martin, Calif., offering little by way of elaboration. "Enough said. It's a no-brainer, isn't it? That's my thought. It's Tiger Woods."

LaCava is among the top caddies on the PGA Tour, having spent most of his 25 years with Fred Couples, a former Masters champion and No. 1 player in the world who was the biggest draw during the peak of his career. He left Dustin Johnson to work for Woods.

LaCava will be caddying for Woods for the first time this week in the Frys.com Open, Woods' first tournament in seven weeks and his last PGA Tour appearance this year. The event starts today.

Also: Tiger Woods has his first major endorsement since his downfall two years ago, announcing a deal with Rolex. Terms were not disclosed, but it is believed to be longer than five years.

Woods had lost five major endorsements in the two years since he was exposed for serial adultery and eventually divorced.

basketball

Augustus scores 36 as Lynx
take 2-0 lead in WNBA finals

Seimone Augustus scored 36 points to lead Minnesota's second-half surge, and the Lynx moved within one win of their first WNBA title by beating the Atlanta Dream 101-95 in Game 2 of the league championship series in Minneapolis.

Reserve Jessica Adair had 13 points in 18 minutes for the Lynx, who took a 2-0 lead by overcoming 38 points from the Dream's Angel McCoughtry. She scored 24 points in the first half but shot 2-for-13 after halftime.

Augustus finished 11-for-14 from the floor and 13-for-16 at the line to help the Lynx rally from two 10-point deficits in the second quarter.

Also: Prosecutors filed a felony weapons charge against former NBA player Darius Miles for allegedly trying to take a loaded handgun through security at a St. Louis airport two months ago. The charge carries a maximum four-year prison term.

miscellaneous

SEC-hopeful Missouri preferred
offer from Big Ten, official says

Missouri is hoping to join the Southeastern Conference but would have preferred an offer from the Big Ten that never came, a university official said.

Missouri hoped to join the Big Ten last year, but the league instead chose Nebraska. The official said the Big Ten remains Missouri's top choice but that conference "has no interest."

"That's what's left," the official said, referring to the SEC.

Missouri curators agreed unanimously Tuesday to give Chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to look elsewhere rather than immediately commit to the reeling Big 12.

Also: Researchers studying the brain of seven-time All-Star Rick Martin found damage consistent with the trauma they found in other former NHL players. The difference is Martin wasn't a fighter.

Martin, who played 13 NHL seasons, is the first nonenforcer who has been diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy by researchers at a Boston University brain bank.

Martin died of a heart attack at age 59 in March. All three former NHL players who have donated their brains for research have been diagnosed with CTE, a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated brain trauma.

Two of Boise State's three football players with Dutch ties were suspended at the start of the season because of recruiting violations and for taking illegal benefits, including one player who received a car and payments to cover auto insurance, NCAA officials said.

The statement provided the first explanation for the one-game suspension handed down to senior safety Cedric Febis and the four-game suspension served by sophomore receiver Geraldo Boldewijn. Officials say the investigation into sophomore defensive tackle Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe is still pending.

Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who lost his starting job after two games, then had season-ending shoulder surgery, plans to transfer.

Gilbert did not say where he planned to transfer, but indicated he has visited several schools and will visit more while finishing this semester at Texas. He has two years of eligibility left.

The UNLV women's golf team finished ninth in the Edean Ihlandfeldt Invitational at Seattle, shooting 69-over-par 933 in the three-round tournament, won by Colorado. The Rebels' Dana Finkelstein and Mayko Chwen Wang tied for 12th, each shooting 12-over 228.

UNLV's Lucia Batta and Aleksandra Josifoska had their doubles tennis match postponed by rain in the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships at Pacific Palisades, Calif.