ABCDE SPORTS friday, august 13, 2010 OLYMPICS
The next hurdle Former gold medalist Allen Johnson plans to stay in the sport as a coach and agent now that his athletic career is over. D6
HOCKEY
Back for more Free agent center Eric Belanger has agreed in principle to return to the Washington Capitals. D2
Whenwe’re running hard and everyone is working hard—it’s hard to stop a team when they have that many options.” Lindsey Harding, on the Mystics. D3
PGACHAMPIONSHIP FIRSTROUND Will the real Tiger Woods please stand up? T sheboygan,wis.
igerWoods isn’tmakingRyder CupcaptainCoreyPavin’s job any easier.Lifewouldbe somuch
simpler ifWoodswoulddefinitivelyplay hisway onto, or off of, theRyderCup team.But judging byhis first-round performance inthePGAChampionship atWhistling Straits, it’s going to be an agonizingdecision, because every swing is apotentialmindchanger. WhichversionofWoodswill showup
inWalesnextmonthifPavinmakeshim a “captain’spick” for the teamthatwill take onEurope?The onewho shot the worst scores ofhispro career and
Drive for the prize SALLY JENKINS
seemedso bewilderedatBridgestone just aweek ago?Or the suddenly sharper onewho showedupfor the first roundof thePGAChampionship,negotiating the precarious bluffs ofWhistling Straits for a 1-under-par 71?The onewho birdied three ofhis first fourholes?Or the one
who gave it backwitha scattered performance over the rest of the round, pinwheelinghis clubs inthe air, and screaming into a towel infrustration? For a fewearlyholesWoods seemed
likehis olddominant self: teeing off on the 10thafter a fogdelay,he charged acrossWhistling’smist-wreathed hillocks andonto the leader boardwith a series ofprecise irons andfirmbirdie putts. “Got off to a quick start andall of a suddenI felt like I couldshoot something inthe 60s,”he said. But thenthe erraticWoods
reappeared.Onthepar-5 secondhole (his 11th), a 593-yardmonsterwithsteep
mounds coveredinfescue, andbluffs that crumbledlike cakedownto the blue-greenLakeMichigan,Woodsdrove left andlandedunder the lipof a fairway bunker.He gougedit out, onehand coming offhis club, amidyells of “fore!” Next,he smackeda low, sickly,weird- sounding slice into a greenside bunker. He staredinto thedistance, andasked his caddie SteveWilliams incredulously, “What thehellhappened?”Bogey, is whathappened. Onthe fifthhole, a snakingpar-5
dogleg of 593 yards,hedrove left again. jenkins continued on D8
Redskins offense poised for first look
Coaches, players eager to put new boss’s teaching to the test vs. Bills
BY BARRY SVRLUGA Throughout his first training camp in
charge of the Washington Redskins, Mike Shanahan has stood behind his offensive unit as it runs plays against his own defense, sporting a white T-shirt over black athletic shorts, a single sheet of paper in his hands. In each of his last dozen seasons as a head coach, at least some of the players Shanahan watched would have had complete grasps of how the plays on that sheet should translate to the field — even in August, even with the season amonth away. This week, though, as the Redskins
prepared for Friday night’s opening pre- season game against the Buffalo Bills, Shanahan could offer only the following assessment of his offense: “We’remaking some strides, typical of the first year.” The coach and his systemare new to the players, and vice versa. Collectively, they’re starting over. Though the first offensive unit — led,
for the first time, by quarterback Dono- van McNabb — is expected to play just 15-18 plays against the Bills, conclusions will begin to be formed about Shanah- an’s offense and its fit for Washington’s personnel. In the previous two seasons, just five teams scored fewer points than the Redskins, who averaged 16.6 per game under former coach JimZorn. The Redskins’ 56 touchdowns during that period tied the franchise’s lowest output in any consecutive seasons since theNFL schedule expanded to 16 games in 1978. Thus, the offensive system employed
by Shanahan, which was outscored by redskins continued on D7
Redskins vs. Bills When: 7:30 p.m. Where: FedEx Field. TV:WRC-4, Comcast SportsNet, NFL Network.
CHRIS GRAYTHEN/ GETTY IMAGES M
toward respectability and perhaps beyond, you can’t afford to slip. The trek has been too hard, the bad memories too debilitating and the cost of a tumble too great. TheNationals are on that slippery
W
slope again. “We’ve come too far,” said Ryan Zimmerman, whose team has passed eight clubs in the standings so far this season. “No steps backward.” That’s why the rest of this month, not
on the field, but in contract negotiations with vital players, is so important. OnMonday, theNats must sign Bryce
Harper. This is as clean a shot as any team ever has at signing a hitter, for less than Stephen Strasburg money, who has a better-than-even chance of becoming an all-star.
att Kuchar tees off during the first round of the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wis. Kuchar was at 4 under par after 14 holes when his round was suspended because of darkness. Bubba Watson and Francesco Molinari, also at 4 under, held the clubhouse lead while world No. 1 player Tiger Woods, coming off the worst four-round tournament of his career,
shot 1-under 71. Phil Mickelson also was 1 under through 11 holes when play was suspended. The first round will conclude this morning with second-round action scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. TV coverage begins at 1 p.m. on TNT. D8
Moreno’s run with United is set to end
BY STEVEN GOFF JaimeMoreno,whojoinedD.C.United of a couple of good signs
hen you’re climbing the mountain from being the worst team in baseball all the way up
THOMAS BOSWELL As soon as theNats recover from
their migraines after negotiating with agent Scott Boras, they better turn their attention—in a hurry—to a three-year extension with Adam Dunn, a deal that, according to sources close to the slugger, can be done for about $40 million, much less than has been rumored. The first crisis comesMonday at
midnight, the deadline to signHarper. Last year, Boras and GeneralManager
boswell continued on D3 MARLENE KARAS/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
BryceHarper, theNationals’ first pick in the draft, figures to go right up to Monday’s midnight deadline before signing. After that, it’s Adam Dunn’s turn.
Nationals in need
in its inaugural season 14 years ago and became MLS’s career scoring leader, will not return to the club in 2011, the veteran forwardandteamofficials saidThursday. Moreno, 36, will remain on D.C.’s ac-
tive roster the rest of the season and might try to extend his career this winter in his native Bolivia with Club Blooming, his first pro team.United has offered him a job in the organization, one that would probably involve coaching in the youth program. “It’s a very difficult decision to make
but the day had to come,”Moreno wrote on his Facebook page. The club con- firmed the authenticity of the message, which was posted in Spanish. In a statement released byUnited late
Thursday, Moreno thanked the club, coaches teammates and fans.He plans to address the situation further Friday. In a season in which Moreno has
played sparingly and United (3-13-3) has sunk to the bottom of the 16-team league, the announcement was not a surprise. Theforwardhadbeenhinting formonths about leaving MLS or retiring. In antici- pation of such an occurrence, the league included him on the all-star team last month as a special commissioner’s pick.
united continued on D3
BLOGS,MULTIMEDIAANDCHATS
washingtonpost.com/sports First Things First Today, 9:30 a.m. Tracee Hamilton talks PGA, Redskins, Nats and the storm. The Early Lead Cindy Boren keeps you up to date on all things blog-worthy and tweet-worthy. Redskins Insider Live Former linebacker LaVar Arrington makes his Washington Post debut.
BASEBALL
Nationals-Marlins late For coverage of last night’s game between Washington and Florida, see
washingtonpost.com.
D EZ SU
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