Augusta Chronicle, The

Nicklaus, Player Will Return to Settle Score

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player will return as captains for the Presidents Cup in 2005, giving them a chance to settle a tie they negotiated last year in South Africa. "I know Gary and I both feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of from last time," Nicklaus said Tuesday after being selected as Presidents Cup captain for the third time.

Ioc Gets ; Olympics\ Insured

For the first time, the IOC has taken out cancellation insurance on the Olympics: a $170 million policy to cover the risk of the Athens Games being called off because of war, terrorism, earthquakes or flooding. The policy is not to compensate individual victims of any disaster, but to guarantee that the IOC and national committees and sports federations have enough money to continue operations.

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Baseball

USC Aiken 15, West virginia tech 0

Braves Thump Giants

J.D. Drew and Johnny Estrada each homered, and Marcus Giles had three doubles among his four hits and scored three times in the Atlanta Braves' 12-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. The Braves snapped a four-game losing streak in San Francisco - and they did it in part by keeping Barry Bonds without a hit or a home run again.

Racing's 'Mad Genius' has First Derby Starter

Far from Churchill Downs, racing's "Mad Genius" has been working in his laboratory, hoping to concoct a winning formula for the Kentucky Derby. After 17 years of tinkering, toying and toiling, trainer Michael Dickinson has his first Derby starter in Tapit, a snowy gray colt with a good chance to win if he improves off his recent victory in the Wood Memorial.

Limehouse Update

Limehouse got familiar with the starting gate at Churchill Downs on Tuesday as preparations for the Kentucky Derby continued for the Aiken-trained colt. All Derby entries work with the gate early in the week so they are familiar with it on race day. Limehouse, Dogwood Stable's representative, did the obligatory training before galloping 1 1/2 miles.

Kearns Is Fitted for Cast

Reds outfielder Austin Kearns got a small cast on his left forearm Tuesday after breaking a bone when he was hit by a pitch. Ryan Vogelsong's pitch hit Kearns just above the wrist in the first inning Monday night in Pittsburgh. X-rays detected a break in a forearm bone.

Williams' Deliberations Begin

Jurors began deliberating Tuesday in the case of Jayson Williams, the retired NBA star accused of manslaughter in the shotgun death of a hired driver. After getting instructions from the judge, the jury began work at late morning. The 12 panelists were chosen at random Tuesday from the 15 jurors who heard the case; the three remaining became alternates. A 16th juror had been excused because of a death in the family. The 12 jurors empaneled Tues-day include eight women, two of whom are black.

Overtime

College Softball Reports says coach knew about problem

Consistent Singh Closing On Woods

With two victories and six top 10s, Vijay Singh's record is virtually the same as it was a year ago. But there is something vastly different about the way he is perceived.

Prior's Simulated Session Goes Well

Chicago Cubs ace Mark Prior threw about 50 pitches off a bullpen mound at Bank One Ballpark on Tuesday and came away optimistic. "It's as good as I've felt since I started rehab," he said.

Spring Sports

Baseball Gafney 10, North Augusta 9

On Deck

WHEN: Wednesday-Friday at 7:15 p.m. WHERE: Lake Olmstead Stadium

Greenjackets Are Set to Win Three in a Row

When the GreenJackets play Charleston tonight, they will be trying to achieve something they haven't done all season: Win three games in a row. The GreenJackets took the final two of their four-game series against the Kannapolis Intimidators to improve to 5-14 on the season. The GreenJackets and the RiverDogs face off at 7:15 p.m. at Lake Olmstead Stadium for a three-game series. The Savannah Sand Gnats come to town Saturday for four games.

Coach 'Tool' Looks to Fix Another Program

Gary Tuell's name fits his coaching mission. Coach "Tool" is the man to call when you need something fixed. After seven years of fixing Augusta State basketball into a winning program, Tuell is taking off to fix a little Florida college called Nova Southeastern.

Lightning's Win Shocks Canadiens

Brad Richards and the Tampa Bay Lightning stole the thunder from the Montreal Canadiens and all but knocked them out of the playoffs. Richards scored his second goal of the game 1:05 into overtime to give Tampa Bay a 4-3 win Tuesday night over Montreal and lift the Lightning to a 3-0 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Balco Documents Turned Over to Senate Committee

The Justice Department gave a Senate committee documents that could help U.S. Olympic officials keep drug cheaters out of the Athens Games. John McCain's Senate Com-merce Committee subpoenaed materials from the grand jury probe of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the nutritional supplements lab at the center of an investigation into the alleged distribution of steroids to top athletes.

Deng Leaves Options Open

Duke freshman Luol Deng will make himself available for the 2004 NBA Draft but won't hire an agent to keep open his option of returning to school, a published report said Tuesday. Aldo Deng told The News & Observer of Raleigh that his son would attend school and train at Duke during the summer in preparation for the June 24 draft in New York City.

Tennis

Open Seat Godo Barcelona, Spain