Morning Briefing March 19, 2010
Garrett Willis made the most of a sponsor exemption to his hometown event Thursday, birdieing five holes on the back nine for a 6-under 65 and the first-round lead in the Transitions Championship at Palm Harbor, Fla.
Defending champion Retief Goosen was two strokes back at 67 along with Jeff Maggert, Jim Furyk, Carl Pettersson, Jonathan Byrd and PGA Tour rookie Rickie Fowler.
Jeff Quinney, J.B. Holmes, Steve Elkington and Ross Fisher opened with 68s, and Padraig Harrington and Lucas Glover topped a group at 69.
Magic 108, Heat 102, OT: Vince Carter scored 27, leading Orlando at Miami.
Nuggets 93, Hornets 80: Carmelo Anthony’s 26 points and 18 rebounds lifted Denver past visiting New Orleans.
Blues 4, Rangers 3: Paul Kariya’s goal in the third period lifted St. Louis at New York.
Penguins 3, Bruins 0: Marc-Andre Fleury’s 17 saves lifted Pittsburgh at Boston.
Flyers 3, Stars 2: Scott Hartnell’s goal in the third lifted Philadelphia at Dallas.
Predators 5, Wild 0: Pekka Rinne made 17 saves, leading host Nashville past Minnesota.
Blackhawks 3, Kings 0: Tomas Kopecky scored twice, leading Chicago at Los Angeles.
Coyotes 4, Panthers 3, SO: At Sunrise, Fla., Radim Vrbata scored in regulation and in a shootout, leading Phoenix past Florida.
Sabres 6, Lightning 2: At Tampa, Fla., Jason Pominville scored three goals and Buffalo beat Tampa Bay.
Maple Leafs 2, Devils 1, SO: Phil Kessel scored in regulation and in a shootout to help host Toronto beat New Jersey.
Thrashers 6, Senators 3: Nik Antropov and Colby Armstrong scored two goals apiece, leading Atlanta past visiting Ottawa.
Canucks 3, Sharks 2: Roberto Luongo made 32 saves as Vancouver beat visiting San Jose.
Hurricanes 4, Capitals 3, OT: At Raleigh, N.C., Ray Whitney’s overtime goal lifted Carolina past Washington.
Football
The San Diego Chargers traded third-string quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to the Seattle Seahawks.
Whitehurst has never thrown a pass in the NFL and has played in only two games, both as a rookie in 2006. Yet Seattle swapped its second-round pick in next month’s draft, allowing the Chargers to move up 20 spots to No. 40 overall, to take San Diego’s 60th choice.
The Seahawks also gave San Diego a 2011 pick, believed to be a third-rounder.
Whitehurst was a 2006 third-round draft choice by San Diego. After serving as the backup in 2006, he has been inactive each of the last three years as the third quarterback.
Baseball
Carlos Gonzalez had two hits and two RBIs and Colorado starter Jason Hammel tossed five strong innings to lead the Rockies past the Seattle Mariners 9-2 in preseason play at Peoria, Ariz.
The Mariners managed only four hits over the first eight innings. Mike Sweeney tripled off the right field wall in the fourth inning and scored on a wild pitch, and Mark Tuiasosopo added an RBI single in the ninth for Seattle.
The Mariners completed their January trade for first baseman Casey Kotchman, sending right-handed pitcher Miguel Celestino to the Boston Red Sox.
Boston had earlier received outfielder Bill Hall as part of the deal, which also included a player to be named and cash.
— The Associated Press