In Brief

golf

Begay says Woods will play in benefit for Native Americans

Tiger Woods is apparently planning to play some golf before the end of summer.

Fellow golfer Notah Begay III scooped Woods on Thursday by announcing his former Stanford teammate would be playing Aug. 31 in a mixed-team charity event, the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge.

Woods has not confirmed his participation. The event originally was scheduled for July 5 but postponed to allow Woods more time to recover.

Begay said others playing in the event at Turning Stone Resort near Verona, N.Y., include Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan. They will play with LPGA golfers Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen, Natalie Gulbis and Annika Sorenstam.

The event raises money for charities aiding Native American youth.

Also: A rivalry between quarterbacks and pitchers resumes today when Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, John Smoltz and Rick Rhoden are among those set to tee off in the 22nd American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Stateline.

"It's our Masters, our U.S. Open, our British Open," said Billy Joe Tolliver, a former NFL quarterback who won his third celebrity title last year.

Tolliver is among 16 past and present quarterbacks in the field of 85 sports stars and entertainers.

Rhoden, who pitched 14 seasons, mostly for the Pirates, Dodgers and Yankees, has won the celebrity title a record eight times from 1991 to 2008.

Tim Petrovic shot a 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the PGA Tour's Viking Classic, joining John Mallinger, Brendon de Jonge, Peter Lonard, Sunghoon Kang and Bobby Gates in a six-way tie atop the leaderboard at Madison, Miss.

NFL

Apologetic Harrison explains comments taken out of context

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison apologized for using an anti-gay slur to refer to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in an interview with "Men's Journal," and said his critical statements about teammates were taken out of context.

Harrison posted a statement on his Twitter account, with the message: "This statement will be my only response to the Men's Journal article."

In the article, the Steelers star criticized Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Rashard Mendenhall for their play in last season's Super Bowl loss to Green Bay.

"I did make comments about my teammates when I was talking about the emotional Super Bowl loss, but the handful of words that were used and heavily publicized (Wednesday) were pulled out of a long conversation and the context was lost," Harrison said in his statement.

Harrison's harshest words in the article were aimed at Goodell, whom he also called a "crook" and a "devil."

Also: Standing on a makeshift football field atop a soundstage in the middle of flashing lights, dancing cheerleaders and screaming fans, Hank Williams Jr. lifted his cowboy hat and belted out the words that for more than 20 years have become synonymous with the start of the NFL season.

Williams, the 62-year-old who popularized the lyrics "Are you ready for some football?" was in Florida recording the opening promo for an upcoming season that, right now at least, is still in limbo, with owners and players trying to strike a new labor deal.

Miscellaneous

Buckeyes fan rests in peace as permanent 'I' in O-H-I-O cheer

An Ohio State fan has received a Buckeyes-themed send-off, filling in as the 'I' of the O-H-I-O cheer from his open casket.

Juli Miracle of Newark, Ohio, said she staged the photo for her 80-year-old father, Roy Miracle, before his funeral because he was fun loving and revered Ohio State.

Miracle said, "I didn't do it for anybody but Dad and I. To me, it was the best honor and tribute to do for him and OSU."

She submitted the photo to an Ohio State website for O-H-I-O shots, noting "Now Dad is the permanent 'I.' "

Also: The NCAA put Georgia Tech on four years' probation, fined the school $100,000 and stripped its Atlantic Coast Conference title game win from the 2009 football season for violations that included problems in the men's basketball program.

Georgia Tech did not lose scholarships and was not ruled ineligible for postseason games in either sport, but the basketball team had the number of recruiting days and official visits reduced for the next two seasons.

The NBA has laid off 114 people in the past two days, planned cost-cutting moves that a league spokesman said are "not a direct result of the lockout."

The laid-off employees represent about 11 percent of the league office in New York, New Jersey and internationally.

Iowa guard Anthony Hubbard, 26, who spent nearly four years in prison before earning a scholarship, has left the basketball program without ever suiting up for the Hawkeyes.