GOLF
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tiger Woods is not sure whether his ailing back will allow him to play in the Masters, which is two weeks away.
“For Augusta, it’s actually still a little too soon, to be honest with you,” Woods said Monday at a news conference to announce that Quicken Loans is the new title sponsor of his golf tournament. “That’s kind of the frustrating thing about this.”
The Masters is the only major tournament the 38-year-old Woods has never missed. Four of his 14 major championships came at Augusta National, including his first in 1997. He last won the green jacket in 2005.
This year’s Masters is April 10-13.
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NFL
WASHINGTON (AP) - Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder says it’s time to put some money behind his claim that his team’s nickname honors Native Americans.
Snyder said Monday he’s creating a foundation to assist American Indian tribes, even as some in that community continue to assert that the name “Redskins” is offensive.
“It’s not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans,” Snyder said in a letter to the team’s fans. “We must do more.”
The letter states the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation will “provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities” for Native Americans. The announcement did not state whether Snyder will personally donate any money to the foundation and gave no other financial details.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL will meet on April 8 with the players union to discuss improving the workplace environment.
In the wake of the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal, league representatives have met with some 40 players in the last three months, as well as with the Dolphins and outside organizations, Goodell said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. The league is trying to get “as much input as possible. It’s more about people understanding the importance of a proper workplace.”
Goodell added the focus is on medical evaluations of the players involved, including tackle Jonathan Martin, who left the Dolphins in the middle of last season, saying he was harassed by guard Richie Incognito. Martin was traded to the 49ers earlier this month.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge in Los Angeles has again refused to release former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper from jail.
Sharper is awaiting trial in Los Angeles after pleading not guilty to charges that he raped and drugged two women last year. He was previously released on $1 million bail before being charged in Arizona with similar counts.
Now, his lawyers say he should be freed again and kept under house arrest because authorities in Arizona have said they won’t seek his extradition.
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TENNIS
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) - Maria Sharapova was happy to play an 11 a.m. match Monday, especially when her work day was already done by the time a mid-afternoon shower interrupted play.
Sharapova started early but didn’t start well. She won only five points in the first four games before settling down to reach the quarterfinals at the Sony Open by beating Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The world’s top-ranked players had an easier time. Serena Williams eliminated fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-1. Rafael Nadal received a warning for slow play and still won in 59 minutes against Denis Istomin, 6-1, 6-0.
No. 10 seed John Isner, the only American to reach the men’s third round, hit 17 aces and beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3. No. 29 Venus Williams lost her serve eight times and was beaten by No. 10 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
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OLYMPICS
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - The IOC will oppose a reported bid by a Russian businessman to trademark the four-ring Olympic symbol displayed at the opening ceremony of the Sochi Games.
Dmitry Medvedev, the owner of a company that builds luxury country homes, has told the Russian RBC news outlet that he filed a patent application for the defective logo.
Sochi’s opening ceremony experienced a glitch when one of the five Olympic rings - represented by snowflakes - failed to open.
Medvedev, who has no relation to the Russian prime minister of the same name, says his company has used the image in its ads. He says he filed the trademark application to the state patent agency in Moscow to fend off any complaints from the IOC.
The International Olympic Committee says it “is aware of this matter and is opposed to the trademark application because of its similarity with the Olympic Symbol.”
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PISTORIUS TRIAL
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) - The police cell phone expert who accessed messages from Oscar Pistorius’ girlfriend saying she was sometimes scared of him is presenting more data in the champion runner’s murder trial.
Capt. Francois Moller says he obtained more than 1,000 exchanges between Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. Moller said he received as evidence two BlackBerry phones, two iPhones, two iPads and a Mac computer from Pistorius’ house the day after Steenkamp was shot to death. He began to discuss Tuesday how he pulled data from the phones.
He said the data on Steenkamp’s phone would print to more than 35,000 pages. It gives insight into the couple’s relationship before Feb. 14, 2013. Prosecutors allege Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp after a Valentine’s Day argument. Pistorius says he killed her by accident.
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FIGURE SKATING
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean sports officials said they are preparing to file a formal complaint with the International Skating Union over the judging of the women’s figure skating competitions at the Sochi Olympics.
South Korean fans were outraged when Yuna Kim was denied a second straight Olympic figure skating gold medal at that the Sochi Games and blamed questionable judging. Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion, settled for silver behind Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova.
Officials at the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Skating Union said their complaint will be filed with the International Skating Union’s disciplinary committee calling for an investigation into the judging. Korea Skating Union officials said they are gathering necessary documents and materials.
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