Tiger Tackles the Past by Sharing Early Lead

Tiger Woods wasn’t interested in revenge at Royal Montreal Golf Club, only a chance to win another Canadian Open. He took care of both matters Thursday with a five-under-par 65 that gave him a share of the first-round lead.

Returning to the course where in 1997 he missed his only cut as a professional, Woods was rarely in trouble and capped off a nearly flawless round by hitting a five-iron within six feet on the final hole.

He was joined at 65 by Jim McGovern, Matt Gogel and rookie Michael Muehr, none of whom has finished better than fifth on the PGA Tour this year. They tied the course record at Royal Montreal, set in 1997 by Robert Damron and Davis Love III.

One stroke back was John Daly, riding the confidence of having won the BMW International Open in Germany last week to end a six-year drought.

Yoko Inoue shot a five-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Japan LPGA Championship in Shioya, Japan.

Celeste Troche shot a final-round four-under 68 to lead Auburn to victory in the women’s competition at the U.S.-Japan Intercollegiate golf championship in Tanagura, Japan.

Hockey

Montreal Canadien captain Saku Koivu learned he has abdominal cancer after having been hospitalized for pain.

Surgery has been ruled out and the 26-year-old center will begin chemotherapy as soon as the type of cancer is determined, a process that could take up to two weeks.

The Mighty Ducks are among several a group of teams discussing a trade for Boston Bruin center Jason Allison , a hockey source said. Thursday.

Allison, 26, is a restricted free agent who had 36 goals and was tied for fourth in the NHL with 95 points last season. The Ducks, who need an impact player at center, have talked with the Bruins about Allison, 6 feet 3 and 218 pounds. The price, however, would be high and the only area where in which the Ducks have depth is on defense.

The Bruins need an offensive defenseman. Whether the Ducks would part with a top defenseman, such as Oleg Tverdovsky, is questionable. remains to be seen.

The Ducks would also have to sign Allison, who made $3.5 million last season and turned to arbitration this summer. He initially asked the Bruins for a three-year deal worth $26.5 million. The Bruins countered with a three-year, $18-million offer. The two sides broke off Negotiations broke off in May.

Steve Rucchin, the Ducks’ top center, missed 66 games because of injuries last season, including the final 50. Matt Cullen had only two goals and 12 points after December. Free agent German Titov had nine goals and 20 points.

Goodwill Games

Russian Irina Slutskaya renewed her rivalry with American Michelle Kwan, skating a near-flawless short program to take the lead after the opening women’s figure skating competition at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.

Slutskaya, the silver medalist behind Kwan at the World Championships at Vancouver, Canada, in March, set up a gold-medal showdown with Kwan in Saturday’s closing long program.

Miscellany

A representative for Spark Coach Michael Cooper met with team President Johnny Buss Thursday, the first step in negotiations to bring Cooper back as the Sparks’ coach.

Marni Colbert, Cooper’s agent, classified it as a ‘good meeting’ but said no agreement is imminent. Buss leaves for Italy on Monday, although Colbert said the two sides will continue to talk on the phone. Final authorization on the contract will have to come from owner Jerry Buss, Johnny’s father, who is also in Europe. It’s doubtful that anything will be signed before Johnny Buss returns on Aug. 24, although a verbal agreement could be reached before then. Cooper’s two-year contract expired after the Sparks won the WNBA championship last Saturday.

NBA free-agent forward Carlos Rogers, who spent the last two seasons with the Houston Rockets, signed with the Indiana Pacers.

The 6-foot-11 forward was limited to 39 games last season because of a hand injury ....

First-round draft pick Vladimir Radmanovic, a 6-10 forward, signed with the Seattle SuperSonics.