Ace, 66 Keep Baird in Lead at Las Vegas

Briny Baird shot a five-under-par 66 that included a hole in one Friday and has a two-shot lead midway through the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas.

Two courses, the par-72 TPC at Summerlin, and the par-71 TPC at The Canyons, were used the first two days. The final two rounds will be played at Summerlin.

Baird, one stroke in front beginning his day at The Canyons, was 15 under through two rounds. He made his ace on the 145-yard 12th hole with a nine-iron.

Tour rookie Ryan Moore birdied six of his first nine holes at The Canyons and finished with an eight-under 63 that pulled him into a five-way tie for second. PGA champion Phil Mickelson failed to make the cut.

Jay Haas shot a seven-under 65 for a share of the first-round lead with Des Smyth and Morris Hatalsky in the Champions Tour Administaff Small Business Classic at Spring, Texas.

TENNIS

Sharapova Is Upset

in the Kremlin Cup

Maria Sharapova’s homeland pro tournament debut ended when she lost in the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup to Dinara Safina, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, at Moscow.

Olivier Rochus rallied from a set down to beat Jonas Bjorkman, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, and James Blake defeated Alberto Martin, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Stockholm Open.

Top-seeded David Nalbandian and defending champion Feliciano Lopez were ousted from the quarterfinals in the BA-CA Trophy at Vienna. Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated Nalbandian, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Radek Stepanek topped Lopez, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5).

Top-seeded Nadia Petrova improved her chances to win a WTA tournament for the first time with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Stephanie Foretz in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

Justine Henin-Hardenne will skip two tournaments because of a hamstring injury, putting in doubt her participation in the season-ending Tour Championships.

MOTOR RACING

Newman Sets Record

With Fifth Busch Win

Ryan Newman set a NASCAR record by winning his fifth consecutive Busch Series race, avoiding a track-record 14 cautions en route to the victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Newman led 133 of the 200 laps.

Twenty-two drivers will be competing for the pole today in qualifying for the Indy Racing League’s Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway in Fontana.

NBC won’t extend its contract with NASCAR beyond the 2006 season, Associated Press reported. ABC/ESPN are expected to replace NBC as one of NASCAR’s television partners, according to a television executive who declined to be identified.

Jimmie Johnson changed the engine in his Chevrolet, a move that forfeited his third-place starting spot for tonight’s UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

PRO BASKETBALL

Clippers Can’t Recover

Against Kings in Loss

Mike Bibby and Brad Miller each scored 14 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 90-84 exhibition victory over the Clippers at Staples Center.

The Clippers, who twice trailed by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, closed to 77-73 on Corey Maggette’s free throw at the 9:19 mark of the fourth quarter. Rookie swingman Francisco Garcia scored the Kings’ next five points, giving Sacramento an 82-73 lead.

Maggette and Cuttino Mobley led the Clippers with 17 points. James Singleton had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

-- Jason Reid

Cleveland forward LeBron James was released from the hospital after a two-night stay because of pleurisy, a virus that caused an inflammation of the thin layers of tissue covering his lungs and chest cavity.

Rookie forward Ike Diogu will miss the rest of the Golden State Warriors’ exhibition schedule because of a broken left hand.

SOCCER

Keane Says He’s Done

Playing Internationally

Manchester United captain Roy Keane retired from international play after the Irish national team failed to qualify for next year’s World Cup.... Guatemala Coach Ramon Maradiaga was fired after the team failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Palmer, Texas El Paso Defeat Displaced Tulane

Jordan Palmer threw three touchdown passes, and Texas El Paso (4-1, 2-1) scored the final 21 points of a 45-21 victory in a Conference USA game in Ruston, La. Tulane (2-3, 1-2) played its fourth home game at its fourth stadium.

Clemson running back James Davis had surgery on his fractured left wrist and could be sidelined for a month.

MISCELLANY

Illinois Will Take

Fight to the NCAA

Illinois has appealed an NCAA ruling that could bar the university from playing host to championship events at its Urbana-Champaign campus because the school’s nickname and mascot is “hostile and abusive.”

TRACK

Eugene Will Be Site

of 2008 Olympic Trials

Eugene, Ore., was chosen to play host to the 2008 U.S. Olympic track and field trials leading up to the Beijing Games, beating out bids by Carson and two other cities.

The Home Depot Center in Carson had hosted the 2005 U.S. championships.

Former Olympic medalists Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou appeared before sport’s highest court to contest possible two-year bans for missing drug tests on the eve of the Athens Games.