Tiger Woods is wrong. That's what more than 56,000 people say. Or maybe they just wanted an all-expenses-paid summer trip to San Diego. Late last year, Golf Digest asked readers to write an essay about why they thought they could break 100 on the Torrey Pines South Course a week before this June's U.S. Open. It was Woods who made an off-the-cuff comment last year at Oakmont that the average golfer couldn't best three figures ... [full story]

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. - Cross country skiing has been one of those outdoor endeavors I've always wanted to do, but somehow never took the time to pursue.   MAMMOTH SKIING - Ski instructor Dana Taussig shows off California's Mammoth Mountain to students Susie Christensen (middle) and Franny Perez. CNS Photo by Ed Zieralski.  One of my favorite Winter Olympic sports has always been the biathlon. Skiing, carrying a rifle, doing some plinking, what could be better than ... [full story]

On Dec. 14, 2005, Chuck Long answered the phone at his home in Norman, Okla. A reporter was calling that night from San Diego and asked if Long had received any contact related to the vacant head football coach's position at San Diego State. "No," Long said. He repeated his answer twice more for clarity. Less than three days later, he was introduced as the Aztecs' new coach. In other words, he told a fib ... [full story]

  If you find that your chipping is inconsistent, in most cases it means the arms, wrists and hands are too active throughout your swing. It can also mean that …  [full story]

Q: I am going to start playing $1,000 tournaments on a regular basis. How big should my bankroll be so that I don't go broke before I find out how good I really am?   LEE WATKINSON - Lee Watkinson is a seasoned pro who added to his impressive poker resume last year with an eighth-place finish at the WSOP Main Event, raking in $585,699 to push his lifetime winnings close to $4 million. CNS Photo.  - ... [full story]

During a recent trip to China, I visited a sports school in Beijing where specially selected children, some as young as 5 or 6, live and train away from their families. At the end of each dormitory hallway is a large board with room numbers and colored flags next to them - the results of weekly checks for cleanliness, a teacher informed me. "This must be a pretty messy room," I joked, pointing to a ... [full story]

EUGENE, Ore. — Wayne Holm of North Plains, Oregon, placed the winning $15,500 bid for a statewide elk tag auctioned at the Emerald Valley Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association annual fundraising banquet held in Eugene. The special auction tag was provided by ODFW’s Access and Habitat Program and awards the winning bidder an extended hunting season from Sept. 1 – Nov. 30, 2008 anywhere in Oregon where there is an authorized elk season. Ten ... [full story]

The Central Oregon Hotshots announced the addition of athletic big man Shawn Hampton to the team’s “most talented roster yet”, scheduled to play in the upcoming 2008 season.  Hampton, 6’10”, played at Rutgers University and Bowie State State before kicking off his pro career last year with the Baltimore Pearls (ABA), where he averaged 13.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Hampton should provide the perfect complement to the Hotshots' outstanding stable of perimeter players.  ... [full story]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - He's seen worse, written worse, filled out daily lineup cards that should've been scribbled with the eraser end of his pencil. He was, after all, the manager of the San Diego Padres through some of their darkest days. Of course, Bruce Bochy will not draw that sort of comparison, will not decry the San Francisco lineup that's been left him for the spring and summer of 2008. Life without Barry Bonds will ... [full story]

TUCSON, Ariz. - The clubhouse is empty, save for the most accomplished player in Arizona Diamondbacks history, not to mention the tallest. Just sitting still on a stool, Randy Johnson occasionally punctuates his sentences with a grimace, followed by a gentle twist at the waist that's designed to chase away the pain near the base of his spine. All the other Diamondbacks are across the street in the grass, doing preworkout stretches that seem fairly ... [full story]

A college soccer prospect was visiting the University of Washington in 2004 when she was offered some free candy inside a nearby hospitality tent. She accepted and took about $2 worth of treats. Big mistake.   SIMPLY COMPLEX - In 1952, the NCAA rules were spelled out in a 25-page pamphlet. Today, it takes three books and 1,105 pages to contain the rules. CNS Photo illustration.  Some violations come topped with pepperoni What happens when a fight ... [full story]

Some final thoughts from the West Coast Swing as the PGA Tour packs up and heads for those flat, flat courses and all of that sand and water in Florida ... One of the greatest rewards for fans of the Tiger Woods era is that it gives us all reason to dream. To think big. Really big. We have already seen Woods hold all four major championship trophies at one time, so we know it's ... [full story]

Open-wheel racing in America finally became a unified sport Wednesday, although the official announcement of the Indy Racing League-Champ Car World Series merger left many unanswered questions. The new IndyCar Series, however, will be an expansion of the current Indy Racing League with the Champ Car World Series disappearing as an entity - although not until after the Long Beach Grand Prix. Long Beach will be run on April 18-20, the same weekend as the ... [full story]