♪ >> coming up on espnews. the old saying is let nature take its course. but no one said anything about nature taking over the course. if getting shut out by the worst team in baseball wasn't bad enough, the yankees add injury to insult. north carolina has already won the national title in basketball. the tar heels trying to keep the dream alive in baseball. and, why team u.s.a. has its work cut out in the confed cup and the world cup. this is espnews.

>> hi, and welcome to espnews. along with will selva, i'm j.w. stewart. normally, bethpage black only has one hole with a water hazard. thursday, the whole course was a water hazard. >> they're not wearing life vests, but scott van pelt and andy north are anchoring our coverage from a very soggy bethpage black. >> they told us it was coming, but i'm not sure anyone was prepared for what fell from the skies here thursday on long island -- bethpage black absolutely inundated. it's difficult to describe how miserable conditions were unless you experienced them firsthand. around 10:16, horns blew, play suspended and finally called for the day short of 2:00.

>> tiger woods among them. out just after 8:00. roars of approval as he and stevie headed to the first tee and then, andy, is it the mist? is it wet? >> a very difficult tee shot, sharp dogleg left to right, sharp dogleg left to right, he struggled swinging in his rain jacket all day long, he was able to figure out a way to get the ball in the greenside bunker, played a nice shot leaving himself a five-footer to save par after the horrible tee shot. >> is wet sand easier to hit out of than dry by a factor of 100? >> absolutely. to make a four, what a great way to get started. >> to get your legs back beneath you, in spite of that wicked miss he makes par. on two. maybe gives themselves a chance at a birdie. >> uphill approach shot, hits a beautiful shot, expecting it to spin back, it does somewhat, this green is maybe the wettest green of them early in the day.

they were squeegeeing this early in the morning. >> an option for the players to clear a path to the hole. as you will see -- when tiger putts he reacts, dragging his putter across. you can see how wet it was. >> parring two and three. second shot at the par 5 fourth plays dramatically uphill. ball coming up 20 yards short. it didn't get into the bunker. it got caught in the grass on the upslope. he pitched it to this point, and ended up having to settle for yet another par. he's off with four straight pars. >> four is a hole with, all things being equal on a dry day, ought to be a birdie opportunity. we had the miss left off one. got fortunate. >> five a very tough par 4, hits a tree, comes back into the longer grass, all he can do is pitch the ball down the fairway, leaving himself a short-iron third shot into the green, another dramatically uphill approach shot. >> was this the bigger mistake than the tee shot? >> this is the shot that led to the double bogey.

the double bogey came from hitting the bunker, taking it out to this point and hitting a good putt, didn't make it -- he's two over par, but he comes back at the par 4 sixth. giving himself this 12-footer. he knocked it in. that gets him back to where he wants to be. >> important to bounce back quickly. the double bogey, get one right back, they blow the horn, but because there is no dangerous electricity in the air, it's the right of the player to play out. was that smart? >> i think that's a good idea. he had played a couple bunker shots, he knows the firmness of the sand, then he decides that's enough, there is so much water on the green, we'll come back and finish that later on. >> so we take a look at tiger's scorecard, it's clean through the first four holes though it was an adventurous first four holes, then in the fifth it went wrong, the errant tee shot leaving the third in the bunker leading to the double bogey, immediately bouncing back to put a circle on the scorecard with a birdie. with andy, i'm scott. andy, you're out there this

morning. it's miserable. we see them miss left, we see them miss right. what did you notice in terms of his level of comfort with swing, gear, what? >> everything was bothering the player. it wasn't just tiger. you're dealing with the wind, you're dealing with the rain, he took his rain jacket on and off, on and off, hard to get a rhythm started, he didn't get into the round as he says quite often, he's been driving the ball beautifully. if a player loses his rhythm a little bit, that's where it shows up, in the tee shot. >> it had to be insanely difficult to find any rhythm on such a miserable day. we look at others who got out and played on this basically wash-out thursday, angel cabrera, his third to that uphill par 4 you're talking about, pulls the string nicely. >> playing with tiger woods, he made a huge putt for bogey at the first hole to keep from starting with a double. >> rough around the green, bluegrass gets tacky, then it's wet. >> he's trying to hit a shot where he goes underneath and pops it straight up in the air because it's straight downhill to the hole location.

didn't work out for him. >> led to double. justin leonard. he's got the straight ball going. is he long enough to contend here? if he hits irons like this, i think so. >> a 4-iron from 186 yards. you see how soft the greens are, the ball stops dead with a 4-iron. >> beautiful shot from justin leonard. on eight. that pond had company by the end of the day, nearly a lake that inundated the green. >> they moved the tee way up, 163 yards instead of the normal 220. >> ian poulter a pick a lot of folks like, a gritty player, here for a par, you've got to do this in the u.s. open. >> you've got to save some pars with big putts. that's nice. any par on a day like thursday is a good one. speaking of par, how about andrew parr. >> old man parr is a great score in the u.s. open, insert your favorite cliche, parr begins with a birdie. he would make it. jebrehaut. one of those who completed a bunch of holes out early on.

on 17, right hole location on this par 3. you see the lens inundated with water. gorgeous shot there. >> finished one under par through 11. >> ryan spears. recently playing on the tar heels tour. hit the stick and drops. that might have rolled forever. >> one under par leading the u.s. open. >> he can say whatever comes from mr. spears, he can say "i slept on the lead at the u.s. open." he doesn't need to add "it was only after three holes and half the field didn't start." brehaut, edfors, parr and spears your leaders, nobody finished and nobody started in the afternoon -- all these big players, els, garcia, goosen, kim, mcilroy, mickelson, mediate, perry, scott and villegas, none had a chance to put a peg in the ground. andy, because this is the u.s.

open, maybe we make this out to be worse than it really is. you were out there in it. how bad was it? >> it was miserable, absolutely miserable, one of the reasons is because it was 60 degrees and there was enough wind that there was wind chill going on but it was a struggle. i truly believe the players that didn't get started, that's going to be an advantage for them throughout the rest of the week. >> the fact they didn't have to get out and stop and start and deal with this at all. fingers crossed and hoping for friday's schedule -- the first round resumes at 7:30 a.m. by 10:00 a.m. those andy just spoke of who didn't play in the afternoon will begin their first round hoping there are no weather interruptions. second round will begin by 4:00 p.m. does that seem a tad ambitious given how much water has fallen on this golf course? >> so much depends what happens over the next few hours. if we get more rain later in the evening, that's going to make the superintendent and the grounds people's jobs more difficult. >> salute to them.

they worked so hard to get this course ready and mother nature does this. a chance of rain -- and then frankly, folks, it gets worse as we move forward, but move forward we will. >> all right, guys, thanks a lot. coming up on espnews, rain was also a factor in baseball. plus, the phillies lose something more important than a ballgame. >> also on the way, joe torre can make his own personal history with a win over the a's. donte' stallworth received a jail sentence, and now the nfl has weighed in with the punishment handed down. and the u.s.a. plays brazil. in six minutes what may be a sign of things to come for next

( theme from a summer place plays ) ♪

with greasy fast food, what are you really getting? try a tempting new subway tuscan chicken melt instead. seasoned chicken and melted cheese with 9 grams of fat, part of a subway fresh fit meal. it's a simple way to enjoy eating better. subway. eat fresh.

>> updating you on the a's and the dodgers. the dodgers have just taken a 2-1 lead, in the top of the sixth, juan pierre an r.b.i. single in the fifth, the o dog, orlando hudson with a solo jack in the third. kurt suzuki had an r.b.i. double in the third for the a's. joe torre has managed five teams over his 28-year career and has four world series titles. currently tied with sparky anderson for fifth most coaching victories all time. bobby cox and tony la russa are two of the four managers ahead of him. both are still actively managing. >> jon lester and the a.l.-leading red sox going for a three-game sweep of the marlins, top of the second, dan uggla off lester and into the monster seats.

1-1 game. two batters later ronny paulino takes lester deep off the volvo sign for his 14th of the year, marlins win 2-1 in a rain-shortened game to avoid the sweep, ricky nolasco pitches a one-hitter for his first win since may 8. he entered the game 0-3 with a 9.64 e.r.a. in his previous four starts. >> the rain didn't just disrupt the u.s. open on thursday, it also kept the yankees and nationals from starting on time. scheduled to begin at 1:05 o'clock p.m. eastern, it didn't start until 6:31 p.m. eastern. what can you do in n.y.c.? you can run 2 1/2 new york city marathons. there is no record of the longest rain delay in mlb history but it ranks up there -- last season, game five of the world series was held up nearly two days after rain forced a suspension in the sixth. brewers and reds waited 5:45 in 1999.

this was the final meeting firefighter yanks and nats. the teams have only one common day off the rest of the season so they had to play this one. ryan zimmerman, top of the fifth lining one off joba chamberlain. zimmerman had three hits and an r.b.i. he was 1-8 in his first two games of this series. a-rod lines one to left. willie harris with the gift of grab. a-rod 0-4, batting .212 on the season. bottom seven, bases juiced, julian taveras gets derek jeter to ground to short. cristian guzman, nice glove work. jeter was 0-1. top eighth, 3-0 nats, one on with no outs, austin kearns to left center. brett gardner. nice grab. but he hits the wall hard. down on the ground for several moments. writhing in pain. he would be carted off. the nationals go on to win it 3-0. joba chamberlain ends up taking the loss. his nine decisions are the fewest for any pitcher in his

first 25 starts in mlb history. this was the first homerless game at the new yankee stadium. the yankees have lost back-to-back games against the nats, 18-46, with the win the nationals become the worst team to defeat the yankees in a series in new york and the third worst team ever to defeat the yankees in any series. thursday was a shutout win for the nats. washington has the second worst record of any team to shut out the yankees. >> the phillies have put left fielder raul ibanez on the d.l. with a groin injury. in his first season in philadelphia, the 37-year-old ibanez began the day second in the national league with 22 home runs and 59 r.b.i.'s. john mayberry jr. will take his place on the roster. blue jays go for the three-game sweep of the phils, top nine, 7-7 game. here is pinch-hitter rod barajas off ryan madson.

center field. gone. solo home run and the jays win it 8-7. jays finish off the sweep. the phils are a major league best 23-9 on the road but only 13-19 at home. "i'm tired of hearing about it," said ryan howard, i'm done talking about losing at home. >> fifa confederations cup, group b action, united states and brazil, americans 1-12 vs. the brazilians. seventh minute, no score, free kick for brazil. give me espn axis. felipe melo. with the corner kick. damarcus beasley loses the ball and turns it over, brazil sets up the counterattack. robinho. worst loss since 1993.

alexi lalas looks ahead for the u.s. >> the u.s. needed egypt to beat italy to stay alive. 40th minute, egypt with the corner kick and the cross goes to mohammad homos. he scores with a header and egypt strikes first. later on check out gennaro gattuso. vincenso jaquinta here. denied again by el hadari. the u.s. avoids elimination for now. >> the nfl suspending donte' stallworth indefinitely without pay. stallworth pleaded guilty to killing a man while driving intoxicated. he began serving a 30-day

sentence tuesday for manslaughter. he reached a monetary settlement with the family of the 59-year-old construction worker. >> in 2 1/2 minutes on espnews, it's elimination time in the college world series. how one team responded in grand fashion. and in six minutes, why rafael nadal may not be able to defend his title at wimbledon. stay current with espnews. you can't even tell me anything about this wine. ah, it tastes like sonoma valley... no, my friend, these grapes are very... sierra foothills... foothills, ha. idaho.

with fields of the finest hops known to man. harvested at just the right moment, to produce the perfect balance of flavor... and refreshment. i'm sorry, you guys were saying... uh, budweisers all around. ♪ dude, you feeling the hops? i'm so feeling the hops. yeah!

>> elimination game at the college world series between arizona state and north carolina, roy williams in carolina, roy williams in omaha. jacob stalling lays down the safety squeeze scoring levi michael, 1-0 tar heels. top four, bases loaded with one out, two strikes, stalling, again, lays down the safety squeeze. that scores a run. next batter. would we see another safety squeeze? no, not this time. mike cavasinni going the other way. that scores michael.

bases juiced for cole calhoun. goodnight -- a grand slam. calhoun's second home run off brian moran. game tied at 4-4. bottom seventh, tied at 4-4, calhoun fakes the bunt, pulls back and rips a two-r.b.i. double, a.s.u. scoring four runs after falling behind 4-0 -- they face texas next. mike patrick and robin ventura with more. >> i think most people had to have favored north carolina in this ballgame but arizona state pulled it off -- the number five national seed knocks off the heels. they win it 12-5 here at the college world series. and i say that most people believed that north carolina would win it because of the superior pitching that they have, robin, and certainly they had a 4-0 lead and it looked like they had everything going their way early. >> everything was going their way. you had harvey on the mound, everything looked good, you're number three, up 4-0, cruising

through into the fifth inning and everything took a turn for the worst. >> the babe is so important in baseball history, and now he is at the college world series -- cole calhoun was the guy who got arizona state there, but it started with small ball and some really unusual plays. >> we haven't seen a whole lot of this coming into the tournament of this magnitude. you had a couple safety squeezes that came in there, all of a sudden it's 4-0 north carolina and then the big bat comes in with cole calhoun coming in against moran with a home run. then he does the old fake bunt double into the gap that we see every night, i guess -- i don't know, it's just one of those things that he just came through big for them, the big story for me was josh spence -- creative, making stuff up on the mound, really giving them a shot-in-the-arm going that seven innings. >> two games in a row, he has

pitched so well against north carolina -- a no decision the first time out but he gets the win tonight and they are off to play undefeated texas tomorrow. >> i feel like we just did this a couple days ago, but nice work again, three days' rest to go out and do what you did tonight. what was key? >> hitting, put us ahead. i was happy to keep us in the game and keep battling, and cole came up with the big hit, positive emotions went through us and a lot of energy went our way, and just left with the w. >> what does that do for you? you hadn't thrown the ball bad, down 4-0, then boom, it's 4-4. what's that do when you go back out in the fifth pg? >> it's hard when you're out there and you keep telling yourself, "i've got these guys, they're not hitting it that hard" you look at the scoreboard and you're four down, but to go out in the fifth inning and know

we have a good shot, it was a good feeling. thank you. >> good luck. >> thank you. >> that keeps arizona state alive. their reward facing undefeated l.s.u. what do you see there? >> these are tough games to call. you see these teams score runs and they come back with 10 unanswered, tonight 11 unanswered. flip a coin. bring some lunch, though, because you're going to need it. >> we will flip a coin for you, or with you, and we will see you tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night as we continue from the college world series. >> cubs and white sox. cubs down 5-1 heading into the eighth. here we are in the ninth. one on, two out and alfonso soriano gets all of this one. brings home reed johnson. cubs win 6-5 on soriano's ninth career walk-off hit and second this season.

>> rangers go for the season sweep of the astros. before the game the rangers honoring former president george bush with his own suite. he used to own the rangers. 3-3 game, hunter pence with a home run, stros win 5-3 and avoid the season sweep. >> mets and o's concluding their series at camden yards. drama in the bottom of the ninth, o's down 4-3, francisco rodriguez walks adam jones. felix pie -- come on in. k-rod entered the game with a .56 e.r.a. ends up blowing the save. aubrey huff, second straight game, deciding hit, o's end up winning it 5-4. >> still to come, mother nature washes out the open's first round. what this means for tiger and the rest of the field. the rest of the field. stay current with espnews. - ( cheerful tune playing ) - learned how to change my own oil.

think i did something wrong! but you know how pricey these german cars are to maintain. right? max: actually, volkswagen has no-charge scheduled carefree maintenance. even the cc.

( chuckles ) ...no charge. even on the cc. bus: you know what they say about the best things in life, amigo. that's awesome... for volkswagen owners. ( cheerful tune playing )

>> the nhl awards show was in las vegas, thursday night. for the second straight year, alexander ovechkin is the hart trophy winner as the league's m.v.p. ovechkin who led the nhl with 56 goals is the first non-goalie to repeat since wayne gretzky won eight in a row from 1980-1987. ovechkin also won the lester pearson award as the most outstanding player as voted on by his peers.