In Brief
GOLF
Former UNLV standout Scott
tied with Haas for AT&T lead
Former UNLV standout Adam Scott is making his late decision to play the AT&T National look like a good one.
The Australian made a couple of long birdie putts and hit a 5-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the 14th hole on his way to a 4-under-par 66 on Thursday and a share of the first-round lead with Hunter Haas.
Only 28 of the 120 players managed to break par at Aronimink, a course in Newtown Square, Pa., that most players said felt like a U.S. Open -- only compared to this year, even tougher.
Dean Wilson, Joe Ogilvie, Jhonattan Vegas and Kyle Stanley were at 67, and Pat Perez, Justin Leonard and Robert Garrigus were in a group at 68.
Erik Compton, twice a heart transplant recipient who won the Mexico Open last week on the Nationwide Tour, opened with a 76 while playing his fifth week in a row.
Also: UNLV's Derek Ernst advanced to the final 16 of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Bandon, Ore., by beating Chris Mory of Haslett, Mich., 5 and 3.
Las Vegas' Max Marsico, a graduate of The Meadows, squandered a two-hole lead with two to play and lost on the first playoff hole to T.J. Howe of Osceola, Fla.
England's Graeme Storm and Australia's Richard Green shot 6-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the French Open in Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines.
South Africa's George Coetzee, England's James Morrison and Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen were a stroke back. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and German star Martin Kaymer were in contention at 71. American Bubba Watson opened with a 74.
The PGA Tour's Bob Hope Classic has a new title sponsor and a new format.
Organizers said the tournament will be called the Humana Challenge after Louisville, Ky.-based Humana agreed to an eight-year deal as title sponsor, along with the William J. Clinton Foundation. It will be played Jan. 16 to 22.
The tournament will change its format from five days to four, with the first three rounds played as a pro-am. The previous format had been seen as one of the problems the Hope had in attracting a stronger field.
PRO BASKETBALL
After drafting Thompson, Cavs
swap Hickson for Kings' Casspi
Clearing out a logjam at power forward, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for forward Omri Casspi and a future first-round pick.
Hickson's days in Cleveland were numbered when the club took Texas forward Tristan Thompson, a Findlay Prep product, with the No. 4 overall pick in last week's NBA Draft.
Casspi averaged 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, his second in the NBA. The Cavaliers were in need of a small forward and Casspi probably will step right into the starting lineup.
Also: Lou Amundson, a former UNLV standout, told the Golden State Warriors he is exercising the player option on his contract for next season.
Amundson appeared in 46 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. Overall during his five-year NBA career, he has averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 228 regular-season games with Utah, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Golden State.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Shannon Brown opted out of his contract, becoming an unrestricted free agent.
He has averaged 7.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists since being acquired by the Lakers from Charlotte in February 2009.
Former NBA player Jose Ortiz was arrested in Puerto Rico after federal agents seized 218 marijuana plants at his house along with 40 rounds of assault-rifle ammunition, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
The 47-year-old Ortiz, who played two seasons with the Utah Jazz, the last in 1990, is accused of possession with intent to distribute marijuana plants and faces a minimum of five years in prison if found guilty.
MISCELLANEOUS
BCS leader, justice department officials discuss title format
Called in by the Department of Justice to explain how major college football crowns a champion, the head of the Bowl Championship Series spent 1½ hours making a case for the much-criticized system.
BCS executive director Bill Hancock met with 10 officials from the department's antitrust division in Washington, D.C.
Hancock said the tone of the meeting was friendly and that justice officials asked about how the BCS operates, how teams qualify to play in college football's five most lucrative bowl games, and its finances and history.
"I went into the meeting very confident that the BCS does not break the law and I came out of it confident that we explained what we do and why the BCS doesn't pose any antitrust concerns," he told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
Also: Running back Zach Brown will transfer from Wisconsin to Pittsburgh and will be immediately eligible because he has earned his bachelor's degree and played only three seasons for the Badgers.
A native of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., the 5-foot-10-inch, 220-pound Brown rushed for 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns on 240 carries at Wisconsin.
Former Sen. George Mitchell said he thinks Roger Clemens will call him to testify at the trial on charges the former All-Star pitcher lied about drug use.
Mitchell was hired by Major League Baseball to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the league. His 2007 report accused Clemens and 85 other former or current players of using those drugs.
Clemens maintains the allegations are false. He is scheduled to go on trial next week in Washington, D.C., federal court on charges he lied about using drugs during a 2008 congressional investigation into the Mitchell report.
Bishop Gorman High's Joey Gallo was named to USA Today's 2011 All-USA baseball second team.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 205-pound junior outfielder batted .471 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs in helping lead the Gaels to a 35-4 record and their sixth straight Class 4A state title in May.
Asafa Powell ran the fastest 100 meters in the world this year, winning in 9.78 seconds at the Athletissima track meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Powell's sprint was 0.01 faster than the time of American Tyson Gay, who set the record June 4 in Florida. Powell was aided by a tailwind.
Former World Boxing Council light welterweight champion Billy Costello, winner of his first 30 professional fights, has died of lung cancer. He was 55.
Costello, who was 40-2 in a 20-year career that began in 1979, died Wednesday at a hospital in his hometown of Kingston, N.Y.
A St. Petersburg, Fla., medical examiner said something went wrong with professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage's heart before he crashed his car and he declared the cause of death as heart disease.
The autopsy revealed that 58-year-old Randy Poffo, known professionally as Randy Savage, had an enlarged heart with severe blocking of his coronary arteries.
Hall of Famer Leanne Hulsenberg won the U.S. Women's Open bowling title at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, beating 2003 and 2010 winner Kelly Kulick 218-183 in the championship match. The championship round was contested on lanes constructed on the 50-yard-line of the football stadium.
Hulsenberg won $50,000 for her 27th professional victory and first since the Three Rivers Open in Pittsburgh in September 2002. Kulick received $25,000.
