Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM ó Andy Roddick has joined the list of commitments to play in the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University Aug. 20-27.
Roddick, a former World No. 1 who is currently No. 12 in the ATP rankings, will receive one of the tournamentís four wildcard entries.
Roddick joins fellow Americans Mardy Fish, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Donald Young in the 48-player singles draw.
GOLF
AKRON, Ohio ó Add another list of numbers to show how much has changed in the world of Tiger Woods.
Geoff Ogilvy ran across a bookmaker’s odds for the Bridgestone Invitational when he noticed Woods at 20-to-1. This would only be startling because Woods hasn’t competed in three months while letting injuries to his left leg fully heal. In this case, however, Ogilvy considered that Woods has won a record seven times at Firestone, and until last year and never finished worse than fifth.
“Did you think you could ever get Tiger at Firestone at 20-1? Ever?” Ogilvy said to one of the caddies. “He was on 2-to-1 for a while.”
Then he paused on the putting green, which was filled with players getting ready for a World Golf Championship that starts on Thursday.
“It’s been an odd year,” Ogilvy said.
COLLEGE HOOPS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Vanderbilt will play North Carolina State and Texas will Oregon State in the semifinals of the TicketCity Legends Classic.
The 12-team event will have its third home in five years, all in New Jersey. The semifinals will be Nov. 19 at the Izod Center, and the third-place and championship games will be Nov. 21.
The tournament was held in Newark its first two years and moved to Atlantic City for 2009 and 2010.
NEW YORK ó Texas A&M will face Mississippi State and Arizona will play St. John’s in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
LOCKOUT VIDEO
ATLANTA ó Video game makers are bracing for an extended NBA lockout by focusing on former players who made the league popular in hopes of taking the attention away from the impact labor strife will have on their product.
In the upcoming “NBA 2K12,” which goes on sale Oct. 4 despite the lockout, 2K Sports plans to introduce a new mode called, NBA’s Greatest, that will feature the league’s top 15 players of all-time and some of the most famous rivalries.
Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving will be featured on the latest installment of the best-selling basketball video game franchise. Jordan, Johnson and Bird will appear on three separate covers on the front of the game.
BASEBALL
CHICAGO ó Yankees star Alex Rodriguez will be interviewed by Major League Baseball as part of its investigation of his involvement in illegal poker games.
Rodriguez also faced questions about his gambling habits in 2005, when the Daily News reported he attended games at an underground poker club in New York. The slugging third baseman later acknowledged “it wasn’t the right thing to do,” and checked with MLB before holding a charity poker tournament the following year.
SWIMMING
STANFORD, Calif. ó Brendan Hansen won the 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. nationals, adding a title to a comeback summer that he hopes carries him back to the Olympics next year.
NHL
VANCOUVER, British Columbia ó Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler had hip surgery, the team said on Tuesday. The Selke Trophy winner is expected to make a full recovery in 10 to 12 weeks.