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2B – Daily News – Friday, March 5, 2010 MLB Spring Training Glance AMERICAN LEAGUE W L Pct Boston 1 0 1.000 Texas 1 0 1.000 Baltimore 1 1 .500 Detroit 1 1 .500 New York 1 1 .500 Seattle 1 1 .500 Tampa Bay 1 1 .500 Toronto 1 1 .500 Chicago 0 0 .000 Cleveland 0 0 .000 Angels 0 0 .000 Kansas City 0 1 .000 Minnesota 0 1 .000 A's 0 1 .000 NATIONAL LEAGUE W L Pct Chicago 1 0 1.000 Colorado 1 0 1.000 Florida 1 0 1.000 Houston 1 0 1.000 Philadelphia 1 0 1.000 GIANTS 2 0 1.000 Atlanta 2 1 .667 New York 2 1 .667 Cincinnati 0 0 .000 Los Angeles 0 0 .000 Arizona 0 1 .000 Milwaukee 0 1 .000 San Diego 0 1 .000 St. Louis 0 1 .000 Pittsburgh 0 2 .000 Washington 0 2 .000 NOTE: Split-squad games count in the stand- ings; games against non-major league teams do not. ——— Thursday's results Chicago Cubs 9, Oakland 3 San Francisco 5, Milwaukee 3 Atlanta 4, Pittsburgh 2 Boston 2, Minnesota 1 Chicago White Sox 4, L.A. Angels 4, tie Colorado 11, Arizona 1 Florida 10, Washington (ss) 4 Houston 15, Washington (ss) 5 N.Y. Mets 17, St. Louis 11 Philadelphia 3, N.Y.Yankees 2 Seattle 9, San Diego 3 Tampa Bay 6, Baltimore 5 Texas 13, Kansas City 3 Toronto 9, Detroit 7 Today's Grapefruit League games Boston vs Minnesota, 10:05 a.m. Florida vs N.Y. Mets (ss), 10:05 a.m. Houston vs Detroit, 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets (ss) vs St. Louis, 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia vs Toronto, 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay vs N.Y.Yankees, 10:05 a.m. Washington vs Atlanta, 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh vs Baltimore, 4:05 p.m. Today's Cactus League games Colorado (ss) vs San Francisco, 12:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs Oakland, 12:05 p.m. Arizona vs Chicago Cubs, 12:05 p.m. Cleveland vs Cincinnati, 12:05 p.m. Colorado (ss) vs L.A. Angels, 12:05 p.m. L.A. Dodgers vs Chicago White Sox, 12:05 p.m. San Diego vs Seattle, 12:05 p.m. Texas vs Kansas City, 12:05 p.m. NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 41 21 .661 — San Antonio 34 24 .586 5 Memphis 32 30 .516 9 New Orleans 31 31 .500 10 Houston 30 30 .500 10 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 40 21 .656 — Utah 38 22 .633 1.5 Okla. City 36 24 .600 3.5 Portland 37 27 .578 4.5 Minnesota 14 48 .226 26.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 38 21 .644 — Toronto 31 28 .525 7 Philadelphia 22 38 .367 16.5 New York 21 39 .350 17.5 New Jersey 6 54 .100 32.5 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Orlando 42 20 .677 — Atlanta 39 21 .650 2 Miami 31 31 .500 11 Charlotte 28 31 .475 12.5 Washington 21 37 .362 19 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 48 14 .774 — Milwaukee 31 29 .517 16 Chicago 31 30 .508 16.5 Detroit 21 40 .344 26.5 Indiana 20 41 .328 27.5 ——— Thursday's results Memphis 105, Chicago 96 Miami 114, L.A. Lakers 111, OT Utah at Phoenix, late Today's games Golden State at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m., CSNBA Sacramento at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., CSNCA Boston at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Detroit at Cleveland, 4 p.m., ESPN L.A. Lakers at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Washington, 4 p.m. New York at Toronto, 4 p.m. Orlando at New Jersey, 5 p.m. Indiana at Denver, 6 p.m. New Orleans at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m., ESPN Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday's late results Phoenix 127, L.A. Clippers 101 Portland 102, Indiana 79 NCAA Thursday's Top 25 games No. 11 Michigan State 67, Penn State 65 No. 17 Pittsburgh 73, Providence 71 Today's Top 25 games No games scheduled Conference Tournaments America East Conference At Chase Family Arena, West Hartford, Conn. First Round — Saturday 1)Stony Brook vs. Albany, N.Y.., 9 a.m. 2)Boston University vs. Hartford, 11:15 a.m. 3)Vermont vs. UMBC, 3 p.m. 4)Maine vs. New Hampshire, 5:15 p.m. Semifinals — Sunday Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 2 p.m. Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 4:30 p.m. Atlantic Sun Conference At the University Center, Macon, Ga. First Round — Wednesday Kennesaw St. vs. East Tennessee St., 3:30 p.m. Jacksonville vs. Mercer , 6 p.m. Championship —Saturday Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. Big Sky Conference First Round — Saturday Portland State at Montana State, 6 p.m. Northern Arizona at Montana, 6 p.m. Big South Conference At Kimbel Arena Semifinals — Thursday Winthrop 61, Radford 46 Coastal Carolina 92, UN Asheville 73 Championship —Saturday At higher seed Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina, 4 p.m. Colonial Athletic Association At Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Va. First Round — Friday 1)Towson vs. UNC Wilmington, 9 a.m. 2)Va. Commonwealth vs. Delaware, 11:30 a.m. 3)Hofstra vs. Georgia State, 3 p.m. 4)Drexel vs. James Madison, 5:30 p.m. Quarterfinals — Saturday 5)Old Dominion vs. Winner 1, 9 a.m. 6)George Mason vs. Winner 2, 11:30 a.m. 7)Northeastern vs. Winner 3, 3 p.m. 7)William & Mary vs. Winner 4, 5:30 p.m. Semifinals — Sunday Winner 5 vs Winner 6, Noon Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, 2:30 p.m. Championship — Monday Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. Horizon League At Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis Second Round — Friday 1)Wisconsin-Green Bay vs. Detroit, 3 p.m. 2)Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Cleveland St., 5 p.m. Semifinals — Saturday Wright State vs Winner 1, 2:15 p.m. Butler vs. Winner 2, 5:05 p.m. Metro Atlantic Athletic At The Times Union Center, Albany N.Y. First Round — Friday 1)Loyola, Md. vs. Manhattan, 4:30 p.m. 2)Canisius vs. Marist, 6:30 p.m. Quarterfinals — Saturday Saint Peter's vs. Rider, 11:30 a.m. 5)Siena vs. Winner 1, 2 p.m. 6)Fairfield vs. Winner 2, 4:30 p.m. Iona vs. Niagara, 7 p.m. Semifinals — Sunday Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 1 p.m. Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, 3:30 p.m. Championship — Monday Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. Metro Atlantic Athletic At The Times Union Center, Albany N.Y. First Round — Friday 1)Loyola, Md. vs. Manhattan, 4:30 p.m. Missouri Valley Conference At Scottrade Center, St. Louis First Round — Thursday Drake 63, Southern Illinois 61 Missouri State 52, Evansville 46 Quarterfinals — Friday 1)Northern Iowa vs. Drake, 10 a.m. 2)Creighton vs. Bradley, 12:30 a.m. 3)Wichita State vs. Missouri State, 4 p.m. 4)Illinois State vs. Indiana State, 6:30 p.m. Semifinals — Saturday Winner 1 vs Winner 2, 11:30 a.m. Winner 3 vs Winner 4, 2 p.m. Championship — Sunday Semifinal winner, 11 a.m. Northeast Conference Semifinals — Sunday Long Island University at Quinnipiac, 11 a.m. Mount St. Mary's, Md. at Robert Morris, TBA Ohio Valley Conference At Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn. Semifinals — Friday Murray State vs. Eastern Illinois, 4 p.m. Morehead State vs.Tennessee Tech, 6:30 p.m. Championship — Saturday Semifinal winners, 5 p.m. Patriot League Semifinals — Sunday Holy Cross at Lafayette, 10 a.m. American at Lehigh, 5 p.m. Southern Conference At Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, N.C. First Round — Friday 1)Davidson vs. Elon, 11 a.m. 2)UNC Greensboro vs. Furman, 1:30 p.m. 3)The Citadel vs. Samford, 4 p.m. 4)Chattanooga vs. Georgia Southern, 6:30 p.m. Quarterfinals — Saturday 5)Western Carolina vs. Winner 1, 11 a.m. 6)Wofford vs. Winner 2, 1:30 p.m. 7)Appalachian State vs. Winner 3, 4 p.m. 8)College of Charleston vs.Winner 4, 6:30 p.m. Semifinals — Sunday At Time Warner Cable Arena Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, 3 p.m. Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, 5:30 p.m. Championship — Monday Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. Summit League At Sioux Falls Arena, Sioux Falls, S.D. First Round — Saturday 1)Oakland, Mich. vs. UMKC, 4 p.m. 2)IUPUI vs. Western Illinois, 6:30 p.m. First Round — Sunday 3)South Dakota State, vs. IPFW, 4 p.m. 4)Oral Roberts vs. North Dakota State, 6:30 p.m. Semifinals — Monday Winner 1 vs. Winner 3, 4 p.m. Winner 2 vs. Winner 4, 6:30 p.m. Sun Belt Conference At Hot Springs, Ark. First Round — Saturday Summit Arena 1)Florida Atlantic vs. South Alabama, 12:15 p.m. 2)Western Kentucky vs. New Orleans, 4:30 p.m. 3)Denver vs. Florida International, 6:45 p.m. Convention Center Court 4)Arkansas St.vs. Ark-Little Rock, 4:45 p.m. 5)LA Lafayette vs. LA-Monroe, 7 p.m. Quarterfinals — Sunday Summit Arena 6)Troy vs Winner 1, 4:30 p.m. 7)North Texas vs. Winner 5, 6:45 p.m. Convention Center Court 8)Winner 2 vs. Winner 4, 4:30 p.m. 9)Middle Tennessee vs. Winner 3, 6:45 p.m. Semifinals — Monday Winner 6 vs. Winner 8, 4:30 p.m. Winner 7 vs. Winner 9, 6:45 p.m. West Coast Conference At Orleans Arena, Las Vegas First Round — Friday 1)Loyola Marymount vs. Pepperdine, 6 p.m. 2)San Diego vs. Santa Clara, 8:30 p.m. Second Round — Saturday 3)San Francisco vs. Winner 1, 6 p.m. 4)Portland vs. Winner 2, 8:30 p.m. Semifinals — Sunday Gonzaga vs. Winner 3, 5:30 p.m. Saint Mary's Calif. vs Winner 4, 8 p.m. Championship — Monday Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. NHL SHARKS 40 14 9 89 207 157 Phoenix 38 22 5 81 172 164 Kings 38 21 4 80 192 171 Dallas 28 23 12 68 177 197 Ducks 30 26 7 67 180 193 Central Division W L OT Pts GF GA Chicago 42 16 5 89 207 153 Nashville 35 23 5 75 178 178 Detroit 29 22 12 70 165 172 St. Louis 30 25 9 69 174 175 Columbus 25 28 11 61 169 207 Northwest Division W L OT Pts GF GA Vancouver 39 22 2 80 204 158 Colorado 36 22 6 78 185 167 Calgary 30 24 9 69 156 160 Minnesota 31 27 4 66 175 178 Edmonton 19 38 6 44 158 220 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L OT Pts GF GA Pittsburgh 38 22 4 80 203 185 New Jersey 38 21 3 79 166 147 Philadelphia 33 26 3 69 190 169 N.Y. Rangers 29 27 8 66 169 175 N.Y. Islanders 26 30 8 60 167 203 Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Ottawa 36 25 4 76 180 187 Buffalo 33 20 9 75 169 158 Boston 28 23 11 67 153 160 Montreal 30 28 6 66 168 177 Toronto 19 32 12 50 165 216 Southeast Division W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 43 13 8 94 255 182 Atlanta 28 24 10 66 192 199 Tampa Bay 26 26 11 63 166 194 Florida 25 28 10 60 164 185 Carolina 26 30 7 59 177 196 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Thursday's results Montreal at San Jose, late Atlanta 6, N.Y. Islanders 3 Boston 3, Toronto 2, SO Carolina 4, Ottawa 1 Nashville 4, Los Angeles 2 Phoenix 3, Colorado 1 Pittsburgh 5, N.Y. Rangers 4, OT St. Louis 6, Dallas 1 Washington 5, Tampa Bay 4 Today's games Nashville at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Buffalo, 4:30 p.m. Vancouver at Chicago, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Edmonton, 6 p.m. New Jersey at Calgary, 6 p.m. Wednesday's late results Minnesota 4, Calgary 0 Colorado 4, Anaheim 3 PGA The Honda Classic At PGA National Champion Course At Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Purse: $5.2 million Yardage: 7,158; Par 70 (35-35) First Round Leaderboard Nathan Green 32-33 — 65 -5 Michael Connell 32-33 — 65 -5 Alexandre Rocha 32-34 — 66 -4 Oliver Wilson 33-33 — 66 -4 Camilo Villegas 34-32 — 66 -4 D.J. Trahan 31-36 — 67 -3 Bubba Watson 35-32 — 67 -3 Vijay Singh 33-34 — 67 -3 Ted Purdy 32-36 — 68 -2 George McNeill 33-35 — 68 -2 Tom Gillis 31-37 — 68 -2 Henrik Bjornstad 35-33 — 68 -2 Fredrik Jacobson 35-34 — 69 -1 Lee Westwood 36-33 — 69 -1 Matt Bettencourt 35-34 — 69 -1 Jerry Kelly 33-36 — 69 -1 Will MacKenzie 32-37 — 69 -1 Sam Saunders 35-34 — 69 -1 Charles Howell III 34-35 — 69 -1 Vaughn Taylor 32-37 — 69 -1 Michael Bradley 35-34 — 69 -1 Steve Lowery 34-35 — 69 -1 Richard S. Johnson 34-35 — 69 -1 Brad Faxon 35-34 — 69 -1 Angel Cabrera 35-34 — 69 -1 Matt Jones 36-33 — 69 -1 Matt Every 36-33 — 69 -1 DEALS National Hockey League BOSTON—Placed G Dany Sabourin on re- entry waivers for the purpose of recall. Recalled G Matt Dalton from Reading (ECHL) on an emergency basis. DALLAS—Activated D Mark Fistric off injured reserve. Major League Baseball American League KANSAS CITY—Agreed to terms with 1B Billy Butler and INF Alberto Callaspo on one- year contracts. TEXAS—Agreed to terms with OF Nelson Cruz, SS Elvis Andrus, C Jarrod Saltalamac- chia, C Taylor Teagarden, INF Joaquin Arias, 1B Chris Davis, LHP Matt Harrison, RHP Eric Hurley, RHP Warner Madrigal, RHP Guiller- mo Moscoso, RHP Darren O'Day, RHP Alexi Ogando, RHP Pedro Strop and C Max Ramirez on one-year contracts. TORONTO—Claimed RHP Casey Fien off waivers from Boston. Placed RHP Scott Rich- mond on the 60-day DL. National League MILWAUKEE—Renewed the contract of RHP Yovani Gallardo. NEW YORK—Agreed to terms with RHP Kiko Calero on a minor league contract. ST. LOUIS—Signed RHP Mitchell Boggs, LHP Jaime Garcia, RHP Blake Hawksworth, LHP Ben Jukich, RHP Josh Kinney, RHP Kyle McClellan, RHP Jason Motte, LHP Tyler Norrick, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP Francisco Samuel, RHP P.J. Walters, C Bryan Ander- son, C Matt Pagnozzi, INF David Freese, INF Tyler Greene, INF Mark Hamilton, INF Bren- dan Ryan, OF Allen Craig, OF Jon Jay, OF Daryl Jones, OF Joe Mather, OF Colby Ras- mus, OF Shane Robinson and OF Nick Stavi- noha. National Football League ARIZONA—Released S Antrel Rolle. ATLANTA —Re-signed CB Brian Williams to a one-year contract. Announced the retire- ment of LS Mike Schneck. CAROLINA—Released DT Damione Lewis, CINCINNATI—Released WR Laveranues Coles. JACKSONVILLE—Signed DL Atiyyah Elli- son and G Kynan Forney. KANSAS CITY—Signed LB Mike Vrabel to a contract extension. NEW ENGLAND—Released TE Chris Baker. N.Y. JETS—Released CB Lito Sheppard. WASHINGTON—Announced the retirement of OT Chris Samuels. Major League Soccer SAN JOSE—Placed D Aaron Pitchkolan on waivers. SEATTLE—Signed F Blaise Nkufo. College PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE—Named Glo- ria Nevarez senior associate commissioner Scoreboard Scoreboard surprisingly went 12-10 with the NL's 10th-best ERA (3.05). Wells flunked the eye- chart test early in camp and ordered tinted glasses to wear during games, but the specs didn't arrive in time for Thursday's out- ing. ''I'm not going to wear them until I throw a cou- ple of bullpen (sessions) and see if it helps,'' he said. ''It's not that I could- n't see the strike zone. It's just something I'm going to try.'' Sean Marshall, bidding for one of the two open- ings in the Cubs' rotation, followed with two hitless innings, and Esmailin Caridad also pitched well. But the game was more about an offense trying to rebound after scoring 148 fewer runs last season than the year before, when the Cubs won 97 games and the NL Central title. Tyler Colvin hit a homer and two doubles. Fellow outfield candidates Sam Fuld and Brad Sny- der also homered. ''We're going to let these guys compete and we'll see how it shakes out,'' Piniella said. ''There's some jobs to be won here.'' The same is true on the Oakland side, and Trevor Cahill didn't exactly show he deserves to be the No. 5 starter. He gave up two runs on three hits in two innings and was tagged for Lee's long homer after shaking off catcher Lan- don Powell. ''He wanted me to throw a fastball but ... I just really felt like throw- ing a changeup,'' said Cahill, who went 10-13 as a rookie last season. ''(Lee had taken) two aggressive swings, so I figured if I could keep the same arm speed and slow the pitch down, he'd swing right over it. But I hung it right down the middle, belt high.'' NOTES: RHP Ben Sheets, signed to a $10 million contract after missing all of last season with an elbow injury that required surgery, is sched- uled to make his A's debut Friday against Milwaukee, his former team. ... Piniel- la said he would use Xavier Nady at DH either Saturday or Sunday. Nady, recovering from a second career Tommy John surgery, isn't ready to play the outfield yet. In a mild upset, Piniella got Nady's name right Thursday. The manager had been calling him ''Nagy'' — as in for- mer Indians pitcher Charles. (Continued from page 1B) A's LOS ANGELES (AP) — Floyd Mayweather Jr. has known he was inside Sugar Shane Mosley's head from the moment Mayweather's last fight ended. That's when Mosley jumped into the ring last September to challenge Mayweather, who had just demol- ished Juan Manuel Marquez in his comeback bout from a 19-month lay- off. After Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao couldn't make a deal, May- weather accepted a deal to fight Mosley, already confident he had a mental edge. ''Shane is out of character in this whole thing,'' Mayweather said. ''He doesn't talk trash. That's not like him to call out somebody. I think Bernard Hopkins (Mosley's business partner) put a battery in his back and pumped him up to say those things.'' With a whole lot more civility, Mayweather and Mosley wrapped up a publicity tour in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday before several hundred fans mostly cheering for Mosley, a native of nearby Pomona. Mayweather, a Michigan native, has long called Las Vegas home. This stop had a definite West Coast flavor: The crowd stood in a packed grandstand in picture-perfect sunshine while a deejay bumped Tupac, Snoop and Dr. Dre over the loudspeakers at a downtown plaza. Both fighters emerged from behind curtains and smoke for a brief jaw-to- jaw trash-talking session, followed by civilized speeches to the crowd. ''This fight is going to be on May 1st, but it's also going to be May's first (loss),'' said a grinning Mosley, who showed up in a tailored green suit while Mayweather wore a quilt- ed brown jacket and jeans. Except for the fainting Tecate Girl, everything about the event sug- gested a smooth, professional fight when Mayweather and Mosley meet at the MGM Grand Garden. A scantily-dressed woman repre- senting the fight's sponsoring beer company swooned in the mild sun, falling down in front of the podium and prompting promoter Oscar De La Hoya to call for help before she recovered and walked away. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schae- fer is setting a formidable standard for the fight, proclaiming HBO can sell 3 million pay-per-view buys to make it the biggest fight in boxing history. Mayweather has sold about 4.5 million buys for his last three fights against De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Marquez, making him the sport's top pay-per-view draw. Schaefer also is putting the fight in movie theaters and making a litany of sponsorship tie-ins for the bout, further promoting boxing to the interest of mainstream advertisers. But none of it will work without a solid fight, and Mosley trainer Naaz- im Richardson believes this bout will catch every fan's interest. ''Shane Mosley can knock out anything that weighs 147 pounds,'' said the affable Richardson, Hop- kins' longtime trainer. ''If a farm ani- mal weighed that, Shane could knock him out. We're going to have to con- vince this man that he has to learn how to lose. He can forget it after us, but he's going to have to learn.'' The fighters' comments were remarkably civilized after the con- tentious start to the tour in New York, where they shoved each other and had fewer positive things to say about each other. Mayweather practi- cally fawned over Mosley and the fight's organizers in his comments, praising everybody on the stage. ''We didn't put him down because he's a good fighter,'' said Roger Mayweather, Floyd's uncle and train- er. ''Everybody knows what Floyd can do. We don't have to remind them. Boxing is won by skill, and Floyd is the most skilled fighter in the sport.'' Although Floyd Mayweather sees an uneasiness in Mosley's eyes, Mosley claims it's all for show, not- ing the two have been acquaintances for years. Mosley and Richardson have watched most of Mayweather's fights, searching for weaknesses. ''We'll dislike each other before May 1 — and actually, I'm not even sure I dislike him now,'' Mosley said. ''But after May 1, we won't dislike each other unless we have to fight again.'' Richardson agrees with the criti- cism that Mosley only fights to his potential in his biggest bouts — but Richardson sees it as a positive. ''You've got to keep him at his level,'' Richardson said. ''You can't ask Baryshnikov to come dance down the street and then ask him why he didn't win the contest. That's not his level. With Floyd, you've got a guy who's worthy of fighting the best like Shane, and that has got Shane's attention.'' Mayweather thinks he's in Mosley's head Green, Connell lead, upstart Rocha chases at Honda PALM BEACH GAR- DENS, Fla. (AP) — Alexandre Rocha nearly stopped playing golf last year, until two moves by the International Olympic Committee changed his mind. And that's just one tiny part of his unbelievable story. The world's 711th- ranked player — who need- ed to survive a pre-qualifier, then a Monday qualifier, then a playoff, just to get into the field at PGA National this week — shot a 4-under 66 on Thursday, one shot back of Nathan Green and Michael Connell after the first round on a windy and unseasonably cool first day at the Honda Classic. ''I needed a day like today like, you have no idea,'' Rocha said. ''And it was for nobody. It's for myself.'' The Honda is only his fourth PGA Tour event; the last was in 2003, and he's never made a cut. He lost his European Tour card last year and got status earlier this year on the Asian Tour, only after deciding that he wanted to continue playing golf for a living. The IOC had much to do with that. First, they award- ed the 2016 Summer Olympics to his native Brazil, then added golf to that program. Rocha — who didn't know a word of English when he arrived at Mississippi State — took those moves as signs of what he was supposed to do, so he recommitted to the game with hopes of finally making something happen. After three straight birdies to open Thursday's round, something was hap- pening. And plenty of luck was on his side, too. He pulled his drive into a row of hous- es on the seventh hole, got a fortunate bounce off some- thing and made par. He knocked in 30-foot par-sav- ing putts that he was just trying to get close, saying bogey was a good score. Somehow, he never lost composure. ''I am surprised at how calm, how relaxed and how confident I felt all day,'' Rocha said. ''That surprises me. I am not surprised about the fact that I can play proper golf. I've been work- ing at it, and hard. And it has come out of me in the past before. I'm very satis- fied with it, yes. Am I sur- prised to be in a good posi- tion on the leaderboard? Yes. But I wasn't shocked, you know, to see myself playing well.'' Only two men did any better. Green's card was mis- take-free, five birdies, no bogeys, and a mere 25 putts. Not bad, considering he was the other guy in a group with major champions Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington. ''You don't like embar- rassing yourself in front of a crowd,'' Green said. ''It can also help you, and I think that's sort of what it did today, playing with those guys. You definitely feed off them a little bit I think, just how calm they keep themselves.'' It was a day of redemp- tion for former Mississippi State players. Connell — like Rocha, a former Bulldog — was a PGA Tour rookie in 2006, making the cut in four of 22 events. He never got back on the tour until this year, got a kickstart with an eagle on the par-5 third hole, and caught Green for the lead with a birdie at the par-3 17th.