Woods, Stricker rally U.S. team

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were perfect as Presidents Cup partners, and they got enough help from everyone else Saturday to put the Americans in position to stay perfect on home soil.

With an improbable rally by Woods in the morning and pure putting by Stricker in the afternoon, they became the first partnership in the Presidents Cup -- and the first in 30 years of any team competition -- to go 4-0.

Phil Mickelson had a chance to join them with an undefeated record using different partners. Mickelson and Sean O'Hair each had a birdie putt inside 15 feet on the final hole to scratch out another win but had to settle for a halve.

The International team walked away from San Francisco's Harding Park the last two days with momentum from keeping close. But as darkness fell across from Lake Merced, the deficit looked daunting with only 12 singles matches remaining today.

The Americans had a 121/2-91/2 lead. No team has rallied from three points behind on the final day to win the cup outright, and the Americans have lost only one singles session in the seven previous Presidents Cup matches.

Madrid Masters: Ross McGowan took the biggest 54-hole lead on the European PGA Tour this year after a 12-under 60 gave him a seven-stroke advantage at Madrid. The Englishman was at 24-under 192 after a third round that included two eagles and 10 birdies at the Centro Nacional course.

Nadal falls in China semifinals

Rafael Nadal lost 6-1, 6-3 to Marin Cilic in the semifinals Saturday of the China Open in Beijing.

The eighth-seeded Croat cruised past the Spaniard, setting up a final against Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-3.

In women's play, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova, 6-1, 6-3, to move into the final against 12th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who downed France's Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-3.

Japan Open: Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France coasted into the final in Tokyo with a 6-3, 6-3 win over compatriot Gael Monfils.

Tsonga will face Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in today's final at Ariake Colosseum. The unseeded Youzhny had 10 aces on his way to a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 over Lleyton Hewitt in Saturday's other semifinal.

Davis Cup final set: The Davis Cup final between defending champion Spain and the Czech Republic will be played in Barcelona on Dec. 4-6 on the clay courts at Palau Sant Jordi.

Memphis appeals to NCAA

The Commercial Appeal reported that the University of Memphis has filed its appeal to the NCAA, criticizing the reasoning behind sanctions that stripped the Tigers of their 38 wins in the 2007-2008 season.

The Memphis newspaper reported the 45-page brief argues that the penalties and its reasoning are unprecedented and improper.

The school particularly targets the so-called "strict liability" standard imposed after the NCAA ruled that Derrick Rose was retroactively ineligible because of an SAT score that was invalidated by the Educational Testing Service in May 2008.

Phoenix wins 2nd WNBA title

The Phoenix Mercury is the WNBA champion for the second time in three seasons, using its "big three" to pull out a 94-86 win over the tenacious Indiana Fever in the deciding Game 5 Friday night in Phoenix.

Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter and Penny Taylor -- the trio that led the team to its 2007 title -- did it again in 2009.

League and finals MVP Taurasi scored 26 points, Pondexter had 24, and Taylor sank two crucial free throws with 37.7 seconds left as the Mercury held off a late rally to win the intense series 3-2.

Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 22 points, and Jessica Davenport had a career-high 18 for Indiana in its first finals appearance. Tamika Catchings added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Fever.

Hornets 88, Thunder 79: Chris Paul scored 23 points, and the New Orleans Hornets closed the game with a 13-0 run to beat the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 88-79 on Saturday. Byron Mullen's two free throws with 5:05 left gave the Thunder a 79-75 lead. But Paul, who came in with 3:45 left after sitting out much of the fourth quarter, scored five points down the stretch.

Michigan State widens lead

Michigan State carded a 5-under-par 283 for a two-day total of 8-under 568 to take an 11-shot lead after the second round of the Tar Heel Invitational at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill.

Alabama (579) was second, followed by Auburn and Vanderbilt (both 582). Wake Forest and Virginia were tied for fifth (584), with Duke seventh (588), host UNC 13th (592) and N.C. State 14th (594).

Louisville's Sara-Maude Juneau leads at 6-under 138 after a 68, with Vanderbilt's Marina Alex at 68-139.

From college news release

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