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Toms Shoots 67 Again for Honda Classic Lead

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

David Toms shot his second consecutive 67 Friday and had a one-stroke lead on Billy Mayfair after two rounds of the Honda Classic golf tournament at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Mayfair shot a bogey-free round of 67, with four birdies in his last five holes, taking advantage of the less perilous front side of the course to climb the leaderboard.

And the front side continued to be kind to Toms, who made six birdies on that half -- including a run of four straight, for the second day in a row. He has 11 birdies on his two trips across the first nine holes.

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Toms is at 10-under-par 134.

Defending champion Padraig Harrington (67), Daniel Chopra (65), Mathias Gronberg (71) and Geoff Ogilvy (71) are all four strokes behind Toms.

Annika Sorenstam shot a five-under 67 in her first competitive LPGA round of the year and tied for the lead with Silvia Cavalleri in the MasterCard Classic at Huixquilucan, Mexico.

Sorenstam, ranked No. 1 in the world, stayed consistent, hitting fairways and reaching greens easily before sinking a seven-foot putt on the par-five 18th for her fifth birdie.

Cavalleri began on the back nine and made a nearly 40-foot putt for birdie on No. 17.

PRO FOOTBALL

Rams Bring Back Bruce With Three-Year Deal

The St. Louis Rams agreed to a three-year, $15-million deal with Isaac Bruce, five days after releasing the wide receiver.

Bruce, 33, was approached by other NFL teams but now will return for a 13th season in a career that began when the team played in Anaheim.

The New York Giants have agreed to a four-year deal with former Miami Dolphin cornerback Sam Madison, according to Madison’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

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Quarterback Brian Griese and two other players were released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in cost-saving moves that freed more than $7 million in salary-cap space. The club waived Griese rather than pay a $2.6-million roster bonus but was hopeful of re-signing him.

The Washington Redskins cut five players and re-signed running back Rock Cartwright.

Punter Tom Tupa, safety Matt Bowen, cornerback Walt Harris, defensive tackle Brandon Noble and center Cory Raymer were released as the team met the midnight deadline to get under the NFL’s new $102-million salary cap.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UCLA to Hold Scrimmage Today

UCLA, which has completed three weeks of spring football drills, will hold its annual Drake Stadium scrimmage today at 10 a.m.

The Bruins are scheduled to go through an 80-play workout, with sophomore quarterback Ben Olson expected to get a lot of work.

In last week’s abbreviated scrimmage on Junior Day, Olson had his moments, highlighted by a 19-yard completion to junior receiver Brandon Breazell. But Olson also missed some throws, completing six of 12 passes for 59 yards, with two passes dropped.

UCLA’s injury-plagued defense will be without linemen Kevin Brown (ankle), Chase Moline (ankle) and Nikola Dragovic (knee). Justin Hickman (ribs) and Brigham Harwell (ankle) may play some after sitting out most of spring practice, which will end Thursday.

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Lonnie White

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MISCELLANY

Irwindale Speedway Delays Opening Night

Irwindale Speedway has postponed its season-opening event tonight because of inclement weather forecast for the area.

Tickets for tonight’s event will be honored March 18, when the program will include a ceremony for recently retired Times motorsports writer Shav Glick.

Olympic silver medalists Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto head the U.S. team for this month’s World Figure Skating Championships at Calgary, Canada, March 20-25.

Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa of Japan has withdrawn, and bronze medalist Irina Slutskaya of Russia says she won’t compete either.

Joining Cohen in the women’s field will be Kimmie Meissner, who was sixth in Turin, and Emily Hughes, who finished seventh at the Olympics.

All three U.S. men from the Turin Olympics will be in Calgary: Evan Lysacek, who was fourth; Johnny Weir, the three-time U.S. champion who finished fifth in the Olympics; and Matt Savoie, who was seventh.

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Janica Kostelic of Croatia won a World Cup slalom at Levi, Finland, finishing ahead of Olympic champion Anja Paerson of Sweden to close in on the overall title.

Racing on an illuminated course in driving snow, Kostelic skied two nearly flawless runs for her seventh victory of the season. She had a combined time of 1 minute 37.52 seconds. Kathrin Zettel of Austria was third and Lindsey Kildow of the United States fourth.

Leonard Scott ran the fastest time this year to complete a sweep of the 60-meter sprints for the United States in the World Indoor Championship at Moscow. Scott won in 6.50 seconds.

Me’Lisa Barber also ran the fastest time of the season (7.01) to win the women’s 60 ahead of teammate Lauryn Williams.

Reese Hoffa of the U.S. won the men’s shotput with a personal-best throw of 72 feet 6 1/2 inches.

In honor of team President and General Manager Doug Hamilton, who died Thursday during a flight from Costa Rica, the Galaxy and AEG announced they have established the Aedan Hamilton Fund to benefit Hamilton’s 5-year-old son.

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Checks should be made payable and sent to: The Home Depot Center Foundation, 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson, CA 90706. Please write “Aedan Hamilton Fund” on the memo line. Details: (310) 630-2053.

PASSINGS

Former Marshall Coach Huckabay Dies at 60

Rick Huckabay, who coached the Marshall men’s basketball team to three NCAA tournament appearances and led it to a 129-59 record from 1983 to 1990, died of lung cancer in Shreveport, La. He was 60.

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