AP - J.B. Holmes and his monster length turned out to be a good fit for Oakland Hills. With a black glove on his hand and a scowl on his face, Holmes hammered one tee shot after another Friday and kept most of them in the short grass, leading to a 2-under 68 for a one-shot lead going into the weekend at the PGA Championship.

AP - China didn't just walk onto the world stage. It soared over it. At last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, China opened the Summer Games in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power.

AFP - John McEnroe says Pete Sampras is surely breathing a sigh of relief with Roger Federer's impending drop from the world number one spot after four and a half years of domination.

AFP - Lionel Messi was on Friday tipped to be the driving force behind Argentina's bid for back-to-back Olympic gold after the superstar striker shrugged off a damaging club-or-country controversy.

AP - J.B. Holmes hung on to shoot a 2-under 68 and take a one-stroke lead into the clubhouse midway through the second round of the PGA Championship on Friday.

AP - Brett the Jet left the cheeseheads behind and got a few cheesecakes from the mayor in a big New York welcome.

AP - China didn't just walk onto the world stage. It soared over it. At last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, China opened the Summer Games in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power.

AFP - Andy Roddick stepped up his US Open preparation while his rivals got in final training for the Olympics as the Beijing absentee advanced at the Los Angeles Classic late Thursday.

AFP - Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will be looking to put speculation about the club's future behind him with a confidence-boosting friendly victory over AC Milan this weekend.

AP - David Wright has always been the one of the players who run from the dugout, hop around anxiously behind home plate, then pile on a teammate after he's come through with a winning hit.

Reuters - Brett Favre described the whirlwind developments that took him to New York from the Green Bay Packers as "crazy" on Thursday, yet proclaimed himself excited about joining the Jets.