In Brief
GOLF
McIlroy sizzles at Dubai, grabs lead over world's top players
Rory McIlroy upstaged the world's top three golfers with a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Dubai Desert Classic, four shots better than No. 1 Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer and six ahead of an inconsistent Tiger Woods at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
McIlroy, whose only European Tour win came in Dubai two years ago, had eight birdies to go with one bogey at the Emirates Golf Club. The seventh-ranked McIlroy took the early lead and held it. Sergio Garcia (67) and Thomas Aiken (67) trailed by two shots in windy conditions.
"I really had a lot of iron shots and got away with a couple of drives that I was quite fortunate to make birdies from," McIlroy said. "I had a putt for a 64 on the last that didn't quite go in. But I'll take 65 in these conditions any day."
Woods shot 71 and had problems early in the day, twice going to 2 over. But he eagled the 18th hole after hitting a 3-wood about 250 yards to the green.
"I struggled with ball flight," he said. "My trajectory wasn't what I wanted on a lot of shots, and consequently I could never get a ball pin high especially when the wind is blowing this hard."
Also: D.A. Points knew it was going to be a great week at the Pebble Beach (Calif.) National Pro-Am when he found out Bill Murray was his amateur partner.
Points found Murray's antics to be more amusing than annoying, and it showed in his play. With eight birdies on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula, he opened with a 7-under 63 and shared the lead with Steve Marino.
Some might think he shot a 63 despite having Murray in his ear all day. Points said he shot 63 because of him.
"I know people talk about his antics, or he's a showman while he's out there, making lots of comments and talking while people are getting ready to hit shots," Points said. "To be honest, it really loosens me up and makes me between shots not be grinding so hard on what I'm doing. It helps me take a little bit of a breather between shots and joke around with him."
Local Colleges
UNLV to honor Padres' Ludwick by retiring jersey on Saturday
Former UNLV baseball All-American and major league All-Star Ryan Ludwick will have his jersey retired before the start of the Rebels' basketball game against No. 6 San Diego State on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"It's an unbelievable honor," said Ludwick, who plays for the San Diego Padres. "Definitely one of the top two highlights of my baseball career. Matt Williams and Fred Dallimore are the only two other guys there, and for the long tradition and history behind the Rebel baseball program, to be one of only three is pretty special."
Ludwick enjoyed a stellar three-year career at UNLV from 1997 to 1999. After leading the Rebels in at-bats, hits, RBIs, home runs and total bases in his freshman season, he was named a first-team freshman All-American.
The Oakland Athletics drafted Ludwick in the second round of the 1999 amateur draft. He made his professional debut in 2002 with the Texas Rangers.
He enters his ninth season in the majors.
Also: The UNLV men's tennis team improved to 6-3 with a 6-1 win over Utah State at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
Miscellaneous
Former U.S. Open champion Del Potro shows winning form
Juan Martin Del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since returning from right wrist surgery, beating Lukas Lacko at the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif.
Del Potro's 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory was his biggest yet after the procedure in May, which derailed the 2009 U.S. Open champion's rapid rise. He missed most of last year with injuries and is only now starting to regain his form.
The hard-hitting Argentine smacked his way past Lacko with punishing, penetrating forehands that pushed his opponent behind the baseline most of the match. Del Potro held off two set points in the second, forced the tiebreaker and finished the match with a strong serve that he lost once.
He will face two-time Grand Slam singles champion Lleyton Hewitt today for a spot in the semifinals. Hewitt eliminated Brian Dabul, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Also: Australian qualifier Jelena Dokic upset fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the second round of the Open Gaz de France in Paris, setting up a quarterfinal against Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters.
If Clijsters wins today and reaches the semifinals, she will overtake Caroline Wozniacki at the top of the rankings. The Belgian last held No. 1 in January 2006.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said he expects to play this season after suffering a concussion, but there are no guarantees he'll be able to make a comeback.
"I hope I'm back and I hope I play this year," Crosby said. "That's the thing with (concussions), you don't know."
The Predators have acquired forward Mike Fisher, who will be reunited in Nashville with his wife, country music star Carrie Underwood.
The Ottawa Senators traded Fisher to the Predators for a first-round draft pick and a future conditional pick.
Lindsey Vonn's condition has improved after a relapse of concussion symptoms, but the American still isn't sure whether she'll compete in today's super-combined race in the world championships at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
Former Centennial High School basketball standout Italee Lucas scored 15 points as No. 13 North Carolina overcame a sloppy effort to win its 16th straight against Clemson, 60-47 at Clemson, S.C.
Findlay Prep senior point guard Myck Kabongo was named a McDonald's All-American. Kabongo, who has signed with Texas, will play for the West team in the McDonald's All-American Game on March 30 at the United Center in Chicago.
The Toronto area native has helped the Pilots (24-2) to a No. 7 national ranking in USA Today's poll.
Tuff-N-Uff amateur mixed martial arts organization will debut a cage for its card tonight at The Orleans.
The organization has traditionally used a ring. The card features a rematch of the challenge between Xtreme Couture from Las Vegas and Team Quest from Temecula, Calif.
The 15-fight card will begin at 7 p.m.
