Briefs

Tired Tiger 'needs a break,' will skip PGA Tour opener

By wire services
Published December 13, 2005

Tiger Woods will skip the PGA Tour's season-opening event in Hawaii next month to relax and spend time with his family.

Woods said on his Web site that he won't compete in the Mercedes Championships, an event he won in 1997 and 2000: "I just need some time away from the game. It's been a long season and I have played a lot of golf. I need a break."

Woods, who won a tour-best six tournaments in 21 starts in 2005, didn't say when he will make his 2006 debut.

CLEARWATER MAN WINS: Frank Saxon birdied the fourth and 10th holes en route to 4-over 76 and a 36-hole total of 148 to win the open division of the 28th annual County Golf Association Championship at Countryside Country Club in Clearwater. The 56-year-old Clearwater resident finished two ahead of Ken Palladino of Dunedin and Jeff Neugebauer of Odessa. In the senior division, Dennis Williams of Tarpon Springs shot 2-over 74 to tie first-round leader John King of Tampa (75-84-154) and force a playoff. They remained tied after one extra hole but darkness halted play. The playoff continues today.

WINTER SPORTS

Italy's Rocca wins slalom

Italy's Giorgio Rocca won his second straight World Cup slalom, boosting his status as a top medal contender for the host country at the 2006 Olympics. Bode Miller straddled a gate in his second run after finishing sixth in the opening leg in Madonna Di Campiglio, Italy, but the American still leads the overall standings.

SPEED SKATING: Apolo Anton Ohno had the fastest time in the 1,000-meter trial at the U.S. short-track championships in Marquette, Mich., the first step toward making the Olympic team.

FIGURE SKATING: Brian Joubert of France, the 2004 men's European champion, withdrew from this week's Grand Prix finals in Tokyo because of a back injury.

TENNIS

Williams dad countered

A woman who wanted to promote a "Battle of the Sexes" match in 2001 starring Venus and Serena Williams testified in West Palm Beach that their father claimed repeatedly he had full authority to negotiate the proposed event.

Carol Clarke contends in a lawsuit the Williams family broke a contract for the deal. She contradicted earlier testimony by father Richard Williams . He insisted he never said he had the legal right to commit his daughters to play in the match, which never took place.

The suit's outcome could hinge on the jury's assessment of a 2001 document signed by Clarke and Williams that describes the proposal for a Williams sisters match against unidentified male stars.

ET CETERA

SOCCER: An Italian player appeared to give a fascist salute to his fans during a league game for the second time this season. Italian papers ran photos showing Lazio forward Paolo Di Canio with his arm outstretched as he was being substituted during the second half of his team's 2-1 loss to Livorno on Sunday. He could face disciplinary action. The arm gesture is associated in Italy with the salute used under the rule of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini . "I will always salute as I did because it gives me a sense of belonging to my people," Di Canio said. The game featured teams whose fans have opposing political allegiances: Lazio fans waved swastika flags, and Livorno fans had red Communist flags.

TRACK: British sprinter Dwain Chambers , preparing to make a comeback after a two-year doping ban, could be stripped of his 2003 European 100-meter title after admitting he was using performance-enhancing drugs 18 months before he was caught.

WRESTLING: U.S. Olympic coach and four-time world champion Tricia Saunders became the first woman to be selected for induction into the sport's Hall of Fame.

[Last modified December 13, 2005, 01:31:15]