Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Brendan Steele and Byeong Hun An shared the lead Friday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, while Justin Thomas cooled off in the desert.
An made a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th for a 5-under 66, matching Steele at 10-under 132 at TPC Scottsdale. Steele had a 67.
Thomas had a 73 to miss the cut by a stroke. He was coming off a two-week break after sweeping the Hawaii events – and shooting 59 at Waialae – for his second and third victories of the season.
The crowd was estimated at 169,004, breaking the Friday record of 160,415 set last year.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Shortly after Tiger Woods withdrew Friday, the Dubai Desert Classic was hit by strong winds that brought down some trees and forced the second round to be suspended.
Martin Kaymer and Rafael Cabrera-Bello, tied at 4 under after both shooting 69s, had the lowest scores after two full rounds. But George Coetzee was at 9 under after eight holes at the Emirates Golf Club and overnight leader Sergio Garcia was at 8 under.
Woods withdrew before his second round with back spasms.
MLB
ST. LOUIS – Baseball players with big wads of chewing tobacco in their cheek are now a thing from the past at Busch Stadium.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted Friday to prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco products like chewing tobacco, dip and snuff at all sports venues, including Cardinals games at Busch Stadium. The measure provides no exemption for players or anyone else on the field or in the dugouts.
Busch Stadium becomes the 14th venue in Major League Baseball where smokeless tobacco is banned. Last month the city council in St. Petersburg, Florida, banned smokeless tobacco products at all organized sporting events, including Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The St. Louis law applies to all facilities hosting professional, collegiate, high school or organized amateur sporting events.
NHL
A key meeting has begun on the topic of whether NHL players will participate in the Winter Olympics in South Korea a year from now.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach joined International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Director Don Fehr in New York on Friday for the first time.
The league is reluctant to shut down for three weeks, though many of its players want to participate in what would be a sixth consecutive Olympics.
Soccer
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Jordan Morris scored in the 59th minute, and the United States beat Jamaica 1-0 Friday night to give Bruce Arena the first win of his second stint as national team coach.
With the U.S. scoreless streak at 280 minutes, Benny Feilhaber took a 20-yard pass from Dax McCarty and played the ball to Morris with a back-heel pass. Morris returned the ball to Feilhaber, who was making his first start in five years. The 22-year-old forward, last season’s Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year, took a touch and beat goalkeeper Ryan Thompson inside the near post with a right-footed shot from 8 yards.
Arena replaced Jurgen Klinsmann in November and changed nine starters from his return match, a 0-0 tie against Serbia last weekend.
Associated Press
