WASHINGTON - Andy Roddick won’t be going for gold this summer. The highest-ranked American tennis player is skipping the Beijing Olympics, choosing instead to focus on preparing for the U.S. Open by playing at the hard-court Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

“My goal every summer is to win the U.S. Open,” Roddick said in a statement released by Legg Mason organizers. “I have won the Legg Mason Tennis Classic three times and feel defending my title in Washington best prepares me for another Grand Slam title.”

The Washington tournament runs Aug. 11-17, the same dates as the Olympic tennis event. The U.S. Open begins Aug. 25.

Roddick, ranked No. 6, won his lone major championship at the 2003 U.S. Open. He won Legg Mason titles in 2001, 2005 and 2007.

Roddick has been a regular on the U.S. Davis Cup team, which won the championship last year.

He lost in the third round at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and said at the time: “Some guys really don’t care that much. I cared a lot. It’s not the biggest thing in our sport, but it’s the biggest thing in sports.”

[Source: Yahoo News]

WELLINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Wellington Hurricanes withstood a ferocious late fightback from the Otago Highlanders to win their Super 14 clash 10-6 at Dunedin on Friday.
The Hurricanes spent most of the second half camped in their own quarter but defended superbly against waves of attacks from the Highlanders.
Otago threw everything they had at the visitors to snatch the try they needed for victory but could not find a way through their New Zealand rivals.
“We tried our guts out there and I reckon we were the better side,” Otago captain Craig Newby said in a televised interview.
“It was very frustrating but they’re a good side, they’re not just going to give up tries. We created a lot of opportunities but we just couldn’t finish them off.”
Wellington grabbed the lead when All Blacks flanker Jerry Collins scored the only try of the match in the 10th minute.
Jimmy Gopperth landed the conversion and added a penalty for the Hurricanes, who led 10-6 at halftime and held on to win their third match of the season.
“We were expecting a tough game and that’s exactly what we got,” Wellington skipper Rodney So’oialo said.
“The Highlanders came back at us and really put a lot of pressure on us.
James Wilson kicked two penalties for Otago, who remain winless after four rounds but have four bonus points for losing each of their games by less than seven points.
The Hurricanes travel to Australia next week to play the ACT Brumbies in Canberra while the Highlanders have a bye. (Reporting by Julian Linden in Sydney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

The Associated Press
Here are some memorable moments from Brett Favre’s career:

Sept. 13, 1992, at Tampa Bay. Favre completes his first NFL pass — to himself. A deflected pass lands in Favre’s hands, and he is tackled for a 7-yard loss. Favre completes eight of 14 passes for 73 yards.

Sept. 20, 1992, vs. Cincinnati at Lambeau Field. Replaces injured starter Don Majkowski in the first quarter, and never looks back. Favre leads two scoring drives in the final eight minutes of the game. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining gives the Packers a come-from-behind 24-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Nov. 15, 1992, vs. Philadelphia in Milwaukee. Despite sustaining a first-degree separation of his left shoulder early in the game, Favre leads the Packers to a come-from-behind 27-24 victory. Reggie White, then a defensive end for the Eagles, would later say the toughness Favre showed was a factor in his decision to sign with Green Bay as a free agent in the offseason.

Jan. 8, 1994, at Detroit. With the Packers trailing 24-21 in the final minute of a Wild Card playoff game, Favre rolls to his left and throws across his body, completing a 40-yard pass to Sterling Sharpe on the other side of the field with 55 seconds remaining to give the Packers a 28-24 victory.

Oct. 31, 1994, at Chicago. Playing with a severely bruised hip in a driving rainstorm at Soldier Field, Favre rushes for a career-high

By The Green Bay Press-Gazette
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Brett Favre era is over.
The man who has been the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback for all but three games of the last 16 seasons, the only quarterback an entire generation of Packers fans has known is retiring.

The Packers officially announced Favre’s retirement Tuesday morning.

“Brett Favre has informed us of his intention to retire from the Green Bay Packers and the NFL,” general manager Ted Thompson said in a statement. “He has had one of the greatest careers in the history of the National Football League, and he is able to walk away from the game on his own terms — not many players are able to do that.

“The Packers owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. He has given Packers fans 16 years of wonderful memories, a Super Bowl championship among them, that will live on forever. Brett’s many accomplishments on the field are legendary. He leaves the game holding virtually every career passing record, plus his consecutive starts streak, which may never be duplicated.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC as we know it. It’s a bloody battle between men in the Octagon. It’s the Championship between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson. Now who won the Championship?
The beginning of the fight totally sucked, since they