Perry Sees His Way Clear to Set a Colonial Record

Golfer Kenny Perry is having vision problems that make it difficult for him to read greens or see clearly from long distances and shady spots.

Yet, he is so comfortable playing at the Colonial in Fort Worth that he’s leading by three strokes with a tournament-record score after two rounds.

Perry shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 63 on Friday for his best round of the year, moving to 12-under 128. That is the 36-hole scoring record at Colonial, where Perry also holds the overall scoring record of 19 under for his 2003 victory.

D.J. Trahan (67) and Ted Purdy (65), who claimed his first PGA Tour victory last week at the Byron Nelson Championship, were tied for second at nine under. Kirk Triplett was another stroke back in fourth after his second consecutive 66.

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Paula Creamer and Joo Mi Kim, the leading rookies on the LPGA Tour, were among four players tied for the lead after two rounds of the Sybase Classic at New Rochelle, N.Y.

First-round leader Christina Kim and Gloria Park were also at five-under 137. Creamer, 18, made a nine-foot birdie putt on her final hole to cap a three-under 68.

Joo Mi Kim had a 65, breaking 70 for the first time on tour. Christina Kim shot 72 and Park had a 70.

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Dana Quigley tied a Champions Tour record with eight consecutive birdies during a seven-under 65, and held the lead in the rain-delayed Bruno’s Memorial Classic at Hoover, Ala.

Shortly after Quigley completed his round, thunderstorms moved into the area, ending play. The rest of the round and the second round will be played today.

Tennis

Top-seeded Venus Williams defeated Tszvetana Pironkova, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the Istanbul Cup final. She will play for the title today against second-seeded Nicole Vaidisova, who beat third-seeded Anna Smashnova, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Anabel Medina Garrigues upset top-seeded Nathalie Dechy, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Strasbourg International in France. Medina Garrigues will play Marta Domachowska for the title today. Domachowska defeated Dally Randriantefy, 6-3, 6-3.

Motor Racing

Aided by a 13-second pit stop, Dodge driver Ryan Newman won the pole for tonight’s NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge at Concord, N.C., edging Mark Martin in a Ford and teammate Rusty Wallace for the top spot with an average speed of 132.306 mph.

The qualifying format included three laps and a pit stop, and although Kasey Kahne’s Dodge had a faster speed on the track, the combination of the quick work from the crew and a smooth entry onto pit road gave Newman the edge.

Nextel Cup rookie Kyle Busch, 20, became the youngest winner in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history, holding off Terry Cook and Ted Musgrave in a three-lap closing sprint at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The youngest winner had been Ricky Hendrick, who was 21 when he won in 2001.

Soccer

Juventus of Turin clinched its record 28th Italian Serie A title when nearest challenger AC Milan and Palermo played to a 3-3 tie at Milan. The draw gave Juventus an insurmountable four-point lead over defending champion AC Milan.

The San Jose Earthquakes acquired five-time Major League Soccer all-star midfielder Mark Chung from the Colorado Rapids, who received the right to acquire a major transfer from outside the league.

Miscellany

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Assn. said they made progress during four days of meetings this week but separately said much work remains before they can agree on a new economic system and a collective bargaining agreement. They alsosaid they expect to reconvene next week.

A source familiar with the talks said Commissioner Gary Bettman, fearful that advertisers will shun the league, told union negotiators that if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t in place by June 15, he will end talks and leave on the table an offer that would contain a $31-million hard cap and limit payrolls to a maximum of 54% of league revenues. However, an NHL source said no ultimatum had been issued.

A third congressional committee opened an investigation into steroids in U.S. sports, asking Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL, NHL and their unions to turn over documents about their drug programs.

House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, and ranking Democrat John Conyers of Michigan sent 13 letters asking for “any and all policies, protocols, guidance, instructions, standards, methods, e-mail messages, and memoranda explaining or describing [your] anti-doping efforts.”

The committee plans to have the information analyzed by an arm of the Library of Congress.

The House Government Reform Committee and a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee already were carrying out inquiries into steroid use.

Peter Ueberroth, U.S. Olympic Committee chairman, said that New York would lose its chance to land the 2012 Summer Games if a plan for a Manhattan stadium was not approved, according to a letter released Friday.

In a May 5 letter to the leaders of the two houses of the state Legislature, Ueberroth said failure to approve the stadium “would grievously damage New York’s Olympic bid and America’s Olympic movement.”

The California Assembly passed a drug-testing bill that allows the California Horse Racing Board to conduct carbon dioxide testing and designate UC Davis as the primary testing laboratory. The assembly approved the legislation by a vote of 73-2. The bill will become law if the Senate also approves it.

Shotputter Reese Hoffa has withdrawn from Sunday’s Adidas Track Classic at the Home Depot Center because of a gallbladder ailment.

Mike Penner is on vacation.