Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored on a putback with 5.8 seconds left and Virginia Tech spoiled No. 2 Virginia’s opportunity to climb to No. 1 with a 61-60 overtime victory Saturday night.
Virginia suffered a surprising home loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday — another sign that even the best teams have issues this season.
Clay Millican had a Top Fuel national time record of 3.628 seconds at 322.04 mph to take the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday in the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.
The Detroit Red Wings travel to Washington on Sunday hoping to put Friday night’s debacle behind them. The Red Wings led the New York Islanders 5-2 when Tyler Bertuzzi got a major game misconduct penalty for slashing New York’s Cal Clutterbuck and the Islanders scored four goals during the ensuing
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Dustin Johnson is only the co-leader entering the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. But given his track record at this event, it’s easy to tag him as Sunday’s heavy favorite. After all, he’s won twice at Pebble Beach. Since then, he’s finished top-5 on four occasions. In his 2009 win, he was the 54-hole leader and never had to play another hole due to weather issues that wiped out the final round. A year later, he was the 54-hole co-leader with Paul Goydos by four strokes and won despite shooting a 2-over 74. Of course, he led after 54 holes at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and you may recall what happened that Sunday – a collapse of epic proportions. That’s really a moot point, though. Johnson’s different now, a more well-rounded player, significantly improved in all facets of the game. Consequently, he’s become the world’s best player. So while he’s tied with Ted Potter Jr. at 14 under, DJ will carry the biggest target at Pebble Beach. He also knows the vibe will change from the first three days of fun during the three-course pro-am rotation. It’s now all business on Sunday. Fewer celebrity amateurs, more grinding. “Sunday you start focusing just a little bit more,� said Johnson, who unfortunately won’t have his amateur partner by his side. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky had to withdraw, taking the duo out of team contention. “Probably should have had a little bit more focus today maybe, but I still got it around OK.� Indeed, Johnson was threatening to put away this tournament early on Saturday. Fueled by three birdies and an eagle, he was 16 under through seven holes and leading by three shots. But the tricky windy conditions at Pebble Beach caught up to him, as did the red-hot Potter, who was on 59 watch for most of his round at Monterey Peninsula. Potter dropped back with two late bogeys, and so did Johnson, who bogeyed three of his first eight holes after the turn before tying Potter with a birdie at the 18th. DJ eventually settled for a 2-under 70. Consequently, the rest of the field breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they have less ground to make up Sunday. Jason Day and Troy Merritt are the closest pursuers at 12 under, with Jon Rahm, Steve Stricker and Patrick Rodgers another shot back. Plus, warned four-time AT&T Pebble Beach winner Phil Mickelson, Pebble Beach doesn’t always favor the front-runner (although it has lately, with the leader/co-leader winning four times in the last five years). “A lot of times the winner has come from the group or two ahead of the leaders,� Mickelson said after his even-par 72 left him at 9 under and within striking distance. “With the conditions being as tough as they are, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens again.� The key likely will come down to which player best negotiates the winds that are once again expected to make an impact Sunday. From that standpoint, Johnson probably has an advantage over Potter, who played Pebble Beach in the first round and shot 68 in benign conditions. By playing Pebble on Saturday, Johnson saw the course as it will likely play on Sunday. While Potter can’t match DJ’s track record at Pebble Beach, he does have some unfinished business here. He was the co-leader with Brandt Snedeker after 36 holes in 2013 before finishing T-16. Potter’s lone TOUR win is the 2012 The Greenbrier Classic, coming in the 16th start of his TOUR career. Since then, he’s made 63 starts with two top-10s, both coming in 2013. “I haven’t been in contention too much, really,� said the lefthander. “I’ve had some good tournaments, but I need to get there more often to get comfortable there. “But tomorrow will be a good test for me and to see how it goes. I’ve been working on my swing and trying to get everything right there, and the swing’s getting to the point where I feel good about it. Now it’s just getting comfortable playing at a high level.� DJ, of course, already has that comfort level, especially at Pebble Beach. In his last nine rounds on this iconic course, he’s a combined 32 under, posting sub-par scores each time. On Sunday, he’ll seek his 18th TOUR win while hoping to put more distance between himself and everybody else in the world rankings. “All in all, the game’s pretty sharp,� Johnson said. “I feel like it’s in really good form going into tomorrow.� Sounds like he’s ready to win again at Pebble Beach.
On a night when Robert Parish declared him the “greatest offensive Celtic ever,” Paul Pierce — the newest name to join the rafters at TD Garden — said his “burning desire” to be among the franchise’s greats drove his career in Boston.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Dustin Johnson overcame a sloppy back nine by making a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach for a 2-under 70 that gave him a share of the lead going into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Ted Potter Jr. needed to birdie one of his final three holes for a 59 at Monterey Peninsula. He finished par-bogey-bogey for a 62 and was tied with Johnson. They were at 14-under 201. Johnson is going for his second straight PGA Tour win as he closes in on a full year at No. 1 in the world.
Two multi-car crashes highlighted the end of the ARCA Series season-opening race at Daytona, and Michael Self managed to stay out front after pulling away to capture the win after more than three hours.
Here are nine tidbits from the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Door Ajar Co-54-hole leader Dustin Johnson was 16-under-par for the event and four-under for the day after seven holes on Saturday. His three bogeys on his next 11 holes saw him fall out of the lead. With that, a nice chunk of players were also let back into the tournament. Johnson righted the ship with a birdie on the last at Pebble Beach for 70 (-2) but after that beginning, it almost felt like a round over par. He’ll play in the final group tomorrow with Ted Potter, Jr. #59Watch Potter needed to play the final three holes at Monterrey Peninsula Country Club one-under-par to add his name to the famous list. Instead of a birdie, he made two bogeys instead and now finds himself tied with Johnson entering Sunday. The lefty does own a T16 from three attempts at this event but backing up his career-best 62 playing with Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky would truly be something. He’s cashed three top-10 finishes in 83 TOUR events, two at Greenbrier, including his only win and the other at Riviera, site of next week’s Genesis Open. Noted. SaturDay The last Saturday Jason Day was in the mix he was three back of Alex Noren at Torrey Pines and we all know how that worked out. Tomorrow he’ll begin the day T3, two shots back as he looks to win in back-to-back events for the third time in his career. That’s an impressive number considering he has 11 TOUR wins. His last four Sundays at Pebble Beach are 67, 71, 67 and 67.  Familiar Faces Gamers wondering where popular picks Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson are in the PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf and One & Done presented by SERVPRO don’t have to look very far. Rahm held his T5 position with 70 (-2) at Spyglass Hill while Mickelson made nothing but still resides inside the top 10 (T9) after an even-par round at Pebble Beach. Mickelson suggested that anything in the mid to upper 60’s tomorrow will be premium due to the difficult conditions. Of the top five selections in One & Done, four are T14 or better. Never Daunted Chez Reavie is clearly not a history major. He battled Gary Woodland into a playoff last week on a course where he NEVER had any success. He’s clearly riding that wave of confidence this week as well as his 66 at MPCC today moved him up 15 spots to eighth place and was the low round of the day on that track. Reavie’s largest direct deposit from this event was two years ago and it was good for T26. Not even an opening round 63 at MPCC that year could spring him forward. He’s played Pebble Beach on three Sundays and has signed for 74,76 and 77. He fired 67 there Thursday with seven birdies and a double so we’ll see which trend is bucked. Moving Day William McGirt had the low round of the day at Pebble Beach with 66. He moved up 71 spots to T16 after his bogey-free loop. Now, do it again! … Ben Martin’s set the low one at Spyglass Hill, also with 66, but he only moved up 70 spots to T29. This is the first time he will make the cut in four tries. … Russell Knox was one short of McGirt but his 67 advance him 54 spots to T16. Knox will be looking to improve on his best finish of T27. Moving Day Wrong Way Robert Garrigus has been sniffing around recently but his 75 at MPCC today dropped him 62 spots from T23 to T85 (MC). … Matt Kuchar fell right on the line after his 75 at Pebble Beach dropped him from T18 to T60. His reward is he gets another crack at Pebble Beach tomorrow. … Gamers noticed J.B. Holmes’ course history the last three weeks. After taking his time on the final hole at Farmers Insurance Open, he’s MC/MC in his last two. His 73 on Saturday dropped him 37 spots to the wrong side of the cut line. Here’s how tight the field is entering the final day: Vaughn Taylor carded 70 (-1) and dropped 12 spots from T8 to 20th. … Last year’s 54-hole leader Byeong Hun An posted 72 and dropped from T8 to T26. Don’t Sleep On… Each Saturday when I’m not dying from Flu I’ll check in on a few of Rob Bolton’s Sleepers. This week, Kevin Streelman shared the first round lead and is still in the top 10 (T9) after 54 holes. Streelman and Larry Fitzgerald are leading the Pro-Am so he’ll be locked in tomorrow. Nick Watney and Sam Saunders are also teeing it tomorrow and will look to sneak in the back door. Study Hall Don’t be surprised tomorrow if the rookies and newbies aren’t hanging around. Pebble Beach is notorious for chewing them up and spitting ’em out on the weekend so if you’re having lineup issues, lean veteran I say. … K.J. Choi is T16 heading into the final round but I’ll point out he’s 17-for-17 at Riviera and is in the field next week. … Rory McIlroy suggested after his round that the Poa annua might have gotten stuck in his mind after a rough Friday. He’ll get another dose of it at Riviera next week. I might just stick him in the closet until he returns to a more familiar South Florida. … Corey Connors streak of weekends is over at eight. I see you, rookie! … Charley Hoffman WD during the round citing a back issue. As of today he was in the field at the Genesis Open next week. Eyes open.
World no. 1 Dustin Johnson continues to share the lead at Pebble Beach after overcoming some missteps on the back nine.
