Crane leads TPC; Woods shoots 71
golf
Ben Crane should have known what was coming when he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the day. He kept right on pouring them in until he had a 7-under-par 65 and a one-shot lead in The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Crane made four birdie putts longer than 20 feet, kept his ball on land throughout another wild opening round Thursday on the TPC Sawgrass and wound up atop a leader board devoid of the PGA Tour's biggest stars. Tiger Woods couldn't make a putt outside 4 feet and wound up with a 71. Phil Mickelson ran off three straight birdies early in his round, then couldn't keep the ball in play, finishing with a 73.
LPGA Michelob Ultra Open: : Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright after the first round at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, Va.
LOCAL: : Chris Rockwell shot a 1-under 70 at Winter's Run Golf Course in Bel Air to lead all players, as qualifying for the MSGA's Amateur and Open Championships by 456 players was held at three soggy sites this week.
Cavs continue roll, win by 20, go up 2-0
nba playoffs
LeBron James scored 27 points, ending the first and second quarters with last-second baskets, and Mo Williams added 15 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers overpowered the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 105-85, to open a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals. Now 6-0 in the postseason, the Cavaliers tied a league record by winning their sixth consecutive playoff game by double digits. The only other team to do it was the 2004 Indiana Pacers. Maurice Evans scored 16 points and Mike Bibby had 11 for the Hawks, who were missing center Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams because of injuries. Leading scorer Joe Johnson rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return.
Report: D-backs fire manager Melvin
baseball
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin has been fired, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press. The Diamondbacks entered Thursday 8 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Melvin, 47, a former Orioles catcher, had one year left on his contract. He is the winningest manager in the team's brief history, going 337-340 after a 156-168 mark with the Seattle Mariners.
OBITUARY: : Danny Ozark, who managed the Philadelphia Phillies to National League East titles from 1976 to 1978 but fell short of the World Series each time, died Thursday at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 85.
