Donald out, Woods survives at Match Play

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02/22/2012 - Marana, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top overall seed and defending champion Luke Donald was eliminated Wednesday in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Donald drew no ordinary No. 64 seed.

Ernie Els, who only made the field thanks to withdrawals by Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey, trounced Donald, 5 & 4, at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club.

"Obviously playing against Luke, I needed to be on," Els said in a televised interview. "I knew had to play really well and I did. I kept it in play and made some big putts in the end."

Donald never trailed en route to victory last year and he never reached the 18th green. He didn't get there on Wednesday, either, but that was due to the play of his Hall of Fame opponent.

Donald never led in the match and Els built a 2-up lead at the turn. Donald fought gamely, but never won another hole. Els took the 11th, 12th and 14th holes to knock off the No. 1 player in the Bobby Jones bracket.

Donald was the only No. 1 seed to lose. Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and last year's runner-up, Martin Kaymer, were victorious.

Tiger Woods, a three-time champion, holed a gutsy 12-foot par putt to beat Gonzalo-Fernandez Castano. Woods, seeded No. 5 in the Sam Snead bracket, didn't have his best game, but hung tough and did better than last year when he was eliminated in the first round.

"We both made our share of mistakes; there's no doubt about that," said Woods. "But somehow I was able to move on."

Woods fell 2-down right out of the gate, but built a 1-up lead with wins at five, seven and eight. Woods stumbled badly with losses at 10 and 11, then made a tough par save just to halve the 12th and stay 1-down.

Woods squared the match with a birdie at 15 and Fernandez-Castano let one get away at 16. He had six feet to halve the hole, but missed to give Woods a 1-up lead.

After pars at 17, Woods' second flew into the back bunker at the last. He had a tough shot from the trap with little green to work with and did well to get it 12 feet past the flag.

Fernandez-Castano had a decent look at birdie, but missed and was conceded par. Woods needed to make his putt to avoid extra holes and did just that.

Woods will meet the fourth seed in the Snead bracket, Nick Watney, who advanced with a resounding 5 & 4 victory over reigning British Open champion Darren Clarke.

The top seeds moved on in Woods' part of the Snead bracket. Westwood defeated Nicolas Colsaerts, 3 & 1, while eighth-ranked Robert Karlsson trounced fellow Swede Fredrik Jacobson, 6 & 5.

The bottom portion of that bracket featured all upsets. Matteo Manassero, No. 15, eliminated the second seed, Webb Simpson, 3 & 2. Martin Laird knocked off Alvaro Quiros, 1-up, while Ryo Ishikawa won the 18th to upend last week's Northern Trust Open winner and third seed, Bill Haas, 1-up. Paul Lawrie, the 11th seed, beat Justin Rose, 1-up.

Kaymer, the highest seed in the Ben Hogan bracket, was steady in his win and drew David Toms in the second round after Toms, the 2005 winner and eighth seed this year, topped Rickie Fowler, 1-up.

The rest of that bracket almost totally went in form with higher seeds Steve Stricker, Louis Oosthuizen, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan winning. The only major upset was 14th-seeded Y.E. Yang knocking off No. 3 Graeme McDowell, 2 & 1.

McIlroy, tops in the Gary Player bracket, earned a hard-fought victory over George Coetzee, 2-up. McIlroy will next meet Anders Hansen, who dusted Kyung-tae Kim, 5 & 3.

"I felt like I played pretty good," McIlroy said in his televised interview. "Thankfully I'm through to the second round."

Miguel Angel Jimenez upset fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia, 2 & 1, and "The Mechanic" next has Keegan Bradley, a playoff loser last week but a 4 & 3 victor over two-time Accenture winner Geoff Ogilvy.

The No. 2 seed in the Player bracket, Jason Day, won the last three holes in regulation, then the first playoff hole to beat Rafael Cabrera-Bello. Day's opponent Thursday will be John Senden, the 10th seed, who beat Simon Dyson, 4 & 3.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel advanced on Wednesday and has a tilt with Sang-Moon Bae on Thursday after Bae handled 2010 winner Ian Poulter, 4 & 3.

Els will meet Peter Hanson on Thursday after Hanson topped Jason Dufner, 2 & 1.

Brandt Snedeker needed three extra holes to fend off Retief Goosen, setting up a re-match of the Farmers Insurance Open playoff against Kyle Stanley, who outlasted K.J. Choi, 2 & 1.

The other winners in the Jones bracket were No. 3 Dustin Johnson, No. 11 Francesco Molinari, 10th seed Mark Wilson and Robert Rock, the 15th seed, who beat No. 2 Adam Scott.

NOTES: It was the third time the No. 1 overall seed lost in the first round...There were 15 upsets in the first round, the second-most in tournament history...The second round is on tap for Thursday, and the third round will be played Friday. The quarterfinals are Saturday, then the semifinals Sunday morning, followed by the final and consolation match in the afternoon.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

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Problem with Bears?

Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.

"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."

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Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.

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