National Sports Briefs

Associated Press

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — On a day when sunshine gave way to a light rain, two things stayed the same Friday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Charlie Wi was still atop the leaderboard, and Tiger Woods didn't hole enough putts to make up ground.

Wi escaped most of the rain at Pebble Beach, where he holed a wedge from the 13th fairway for eagle and limited the damage to a bogey on his final hole for a 3-under 69 that allowed him to open a three-shot lead.

Woods, meanwhile, again looked poised to make a move over at Monterey Peninsula. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and failed to make birdie on the par-5 10th when he pulled his second shot into the gallery. He had to settle for a 2-under 68, leaving him six behind.

Along the way, he stung his wrist hitting out of a divot and said he had to pop it back into the joint.

"No big deal," he said.

The bigger deal was putting. Woods took 33 putts on the Shore Course, which he attributed to leaving the ball in the wrong spot — mostly above the hole — and struggling with greens he felt were getting slightly more bumpy as a mist turned into a light rain.

"It's very close," said Woods, playing this event for the first time in 10 years. "I got my ball-striking to where I feel very comfortable hitting the shots. I just need to make a couple of putts to get on a roll."

Phil Mickelson struggled in sunshine. In rain, he ran off five birdies for a 65 at Monterey Peninsula that put him five shots behind.

• BOCA RATON, Fla. — Corey Pavin shot an 8-under 64 on Friday to take a two-shot lead over Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer and Peter Senior after the first round of the Allianz Championship.

BASEBALL

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Bobby Valentine has learned a lot of things across his many years as a manager.

Among them? How to work the media.

So it was hardly a surprise inside the Mohegan Sun casino on Friday — at the Connecticut Sports Foundation's annual charity dinner to benefit cancer research — that the new manager of the Boston Red Sox offered very little, especially when it comes to who is now his biggest rival.

In fact, Valentine said he's not sure what it will be like to manage Boston against the New York Yankees, and Don Zimmer says he's not giving him any advice.

Valentine and Zimmer, a former Red Sox skipper and Yankees coach, were among a group of baseball stars who showed up at the casino for the charity and spoke with reporters beforehand.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was expected, but didn't meet with the media.

"Is (Girardi) in this building now?" Valentine joked. "I still hate 'em."

PENN STATE

BELLEFONTE, Pa. — A dispute about whether people from the State College area will be allowed to sit as jurors in Jerry Sandusky’s child sex-abuse case is the subject of a hearing in a Pennsylvania courtroom.

The proceeding Friday at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte is also expected to address Sandusky’s request to have contact with his grandchildren and others while he awaits trial on 52 criminal counts.

NASCAR

CHARLOTTE — Landon Cassill has a job for the Daytona 500 for the first time.

Cassill said he's been hired to drive for a team that purchased assets and last year's points from the now defunct Red Bull Racing team. Cassill will drive the No. 83 Toyota, he said, and the points Brian Vickers earned in that car last year guarantee Cassill a spot in the first five races of the season.

Cassill said he has a deal with the new team to drive all year.

HOW OLD ARE YOU, REALLY?

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky coach John Calipari says he's a couple of years younger than he feels on his 53rd birthday.

"Two years got vacated, so I'm 51," he deadpanned.

Calipari, along with former Kentucky and current Louisville coach Rick Pitino, are the only two men to lead three different programs to the Final Four.

WINTER CLASSIC

DETROIT — Next year’s Winter Classic could set an attendance record.

The Detroit Red Wings will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium, the iconic college football facility that drew more than 104,000 fans for a college hockey game in 2010.

NHL: FRIDAY’S ROUNDUP

DETROIT — Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi scored shootout goals to give the Detroit Red Wings their 19th consecutive home victory, 2-1 over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Detroit tied the 1970-71 Boston Bruins for the second-longest home streak in NHL history. The 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers and the 1929-30 Bruins won 20 consecutive games at home.

Jakub Kindl scored for Detroit. Joey MacDonald made 29 saves.

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom played in his 1,549th game to tie former Detroit star Alex Delvecchio's NHL record for games with one team. It's also the second-most games played in Detroit franchise history, behind Gordie Howe at 1,687.

SABRES 3, STARS 2, SO

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Nathan Gerbe scored the decisive shootout goal in the fifth round after Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period against Dallas.

Derek Roy forced overtime by scoring with 39 seconds left, and Thomas Vanek also scored to help the Sabres improve to 5-0-1 in their last six games. Ryan Miller made 24 saves in helping the Sabres jump ahead of three teams and into 11th place in the Eastern Conference.