GIRLS' SOCCER: Mansfield edges Rocketeers

NORTH ATTLEBORO - Having surrendered the first goal of the match and having created merely a half-dozen shots through the first 40 minutes of play, the Mansfield High girls' soccer team took appropriate measures to regain some esteem and create some offense in its season debut Thursday.

BOYS' SOCCER: Lancers nip Millis

NORTON - Keegan Campbell scored the lone goal of the Tri-Valley League match, with four minutes left until intermission, as the Norton boys' soccer team Millis, 1-0, in a night match at Adams Field.

FIELD HOCKEY: Wolfe, Mansfield put bite on Rocketeers

NORTH ATTLEBORO - Hailey Wolfe netted a pair of second-half goals and assisted on another as the Mansfield High field hockey team began its Hockomock League season in very impressive fashion by taking a 4-0 victory at North Attleboro.

GOLF: DeGiorgio sets mark in Mansfield victory

NORTON - Sophomore Matt DeGiorgio carded a single-season "home course" record round of 2-under-par 34 at the Norton Country Club Thursday as the unbeaten Mansfield High golf team scored a 152-194 victory over Canton in a Hockomock League match.

Welker rusty, but ready

FOXBORO - Wes Welker doesn't seem to believe that his goals for the upcoming NFL season should be complicated.

GOBIS: Hunt will be chasing amateur title

North Attleboro's Roberta Hunt, the reigning women's club champion at the Wannamoisett CC in nearby Rumford, R.I., will be heading to the U.S. Women's National Amateur Championship Tournament over the Sept. 20-21 weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hunt, also the reigning AAGA Women's Tournament champion, has had to limit her days out on the links now that she is back to school, a kindergarten teacher at the Olive Day School in Norfolk.

GOLF: Mansfield tops FHS

NORTON - Sophomore Matt DeGiorgio carded an even par round of 36 at the Norton Country Club Wednesday to guide the Mansfield High golf team to a 158-168 victory over Foxboro in a Hockomock League match.

O'Neal shocked, but very happy, to be a Patriot

FOXBORO - For those who believe the life of a professional football player is all glory, we submit the case of Deltha O'Neal, the newest member of the New England Patriots.

Players feeling excitement, nerves as season opener nears

FOXBORO - The realization is starting to dawn upon them. The rehearsals are over. It's time for the real thing.

H.S. VOLLEYBALL: North tops AHS

NORTH ATTLEBORO - Taking its cue from a crew of underclassmen, the North Attleboro High girls' volleyball team dealt arch-rival Attleboro High a 3-0 defeat Wednesday in the season opener for both squads, the Rocketeers prevailing 25-15, 25-12 and 25-20.

Wheaton continues dominance over BSC

BRIDGEWATER - The Wheaton College men's soccer team knocked off host Bridgewater State College for the 15th straight time since 1992 on Wednesday afternoon, as the Lyons posted a 2-1 victory in a battle of regionally-ranked squads at Swenson Field.

North Flyers blank Hopkinton

NORTH ATTLEBORO - The North Attleboro Flyers, playing in the Junior Midget division of the Hockomock League, served notice to the rest of the league with a dominating, 12-0 victory over the Hopkinton Raiders in a game played at North's Community field.

PawSox drop Game 1

PAWTUCKET - The first round of the International League playoffs got off to an inauspicious start for the Pawtucket Red Sox Wednesday night at McCoy Stadium as they fell to the Scranton Yankees in Game 1 of their best-of-five series, 7-1.

Revs smoked by Joe Public

FOXBORO - So now the New England Revolution can concentrate on winning the MLS Cup.

FARINELLA: Forecasting the 2008 NFL season

The NFL season is practically upon us - in fact, it opens Thursday night for all of you fans of the defending world champion New York Giants (and I'm sure that still pains most New Englanders to read that). The game against the Washington Native Americans kicks off on your TV sets sometime after 7 p.m., with Mr. Do-You-Believe-In-Miracles and the video game guy handling the broadcasting duties on NBC.

H.S. SOCCER: Elliott leads Norton girls

NORTON - Freshman striker Megan Elliott made an impressive debut up top for the Norton High School girls' soccer team, scoring twice within a six-minute span midway through the second half to guide the Lancers to a 2-0 victory over Ashland in a Tri-Valley League match Tuesday.

H.S. GOLF: Mansfield wins opener

NORTON - Playing the first of four matches in four days, the Mansfield High golf team began its Hockomock League season with a 165-193 rout of King Philip Tuesday at the Norton Country Club.

Lyons turn to youngsters

NORTON - With 14 sophomores and nine freshmen on the roster, Wheaton College men's soccer coach Matt Cushing will be challenged to come up with a winning season in his 15th season at the helm.

Wheaton women will be in the mix

NORTON - The Wheaton College women's soccer program enters the 2008 season in a familiar place, fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance and the NEWMAC regular season and tournament championships.

Singh wins DBC

NORTON (AP) - Vijay Singh kept pouring in birdie putts, 35 feet on one hole and 60 feet on the next, as cheers turned from disbelief to sheer amazement.

TPC Boston plays much harder for final round

NORTON - On Friday and Saturday, it seemed like the TPC Boston was too easy for the PGA Tour, especially for a host of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Brady will be ready for KC

FOXBORO - The smile is still boyish at age 31, and there's still a touch of playfulness in the tone Tom Brady takes to deflect questions about his health or playing status.

Pats continue to retool roster

FOXBORO - The tweaking of the Patriots' roster continued Monday morning, as they added a veteran cornerback (and past Patriot-killer), a tight end and an offensive tackle.

GOBIS: Sights and sounds of summer

Ponderous thoughts while ridding my shoes of leftover sand and summer musings.

PawSox finish strong

PAWTUCKET - The Pawtucket Red Sox set single-season franchise marks for wins and winning percentage as they capped the regular season Monday afternoon with a 9-2 victory over Lehigh Valley at McCoy Stadium.

Weir leads DBC by stroke

NORTON(AP) - Sunshine began to bake the greens, the wind kept players guessing and the birdie cheers kept right on coming Sunday in the Deutsche Bank Championship, the final one for Mike Weir.

Bittersweet round for Pettersson

NORTON - Carl Pettersson had to feel pretty good walking off the 18th green at the Deutsche Bank Championship Sunday.

Lefty left defenseless

NORTON - After straddling the cut line all day Friday, Phil Mickelson was unable to dodge bullets again Sunday at the Tournament Players' Club in Norton, shooting a 1-over-par 72 to put him at 2-under for the tourney and in a tie for 73rd place.

Pats make couple of surprise cuts

FOXBORO - When the Patriots tinker with their 53-man regular-season roster, they do it with a sledgehammer.

WR Moss ready to go

FOXBORO - Randy Moss put into words Sunday what much of New England has been thinking the past month.

Bye, bye birdie ...

NORTON - Tim Clark matched his best score on the PGA Tour with a 62. He made two eagles in a span of three holes, nearly driving a par 4. And he wound up with a one-shot lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Kim making a name for himself

NORTON - For a second-year player on the PGA Tour, Anthony Kim keeps pretty good company.

A lot 'Ryding' on this week's showing

NORTON - As birdies were flying and scores were shrinking at the Tournament Players' Club in Boston for the Deutsche Bank Championship, everyone seemed to have a different tournament on their minds.

Donovan, Revs tie up Beckham, Galaxy

FOXBORO - Even the presence of David Beckham cannot assure victory for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

FARINELLA: Trouble in paradise?

Four troublesome things that I need to get off my chest about the 2008 New England Patriots, things that hopefully will be addressed before John Rooke tells us on the stadium P.A. system that it's time to pre-order the "Three Games to Glory 2008" Blu-Ray gift set:

Faulk's opener goes up in smoke

FOXBORO - Doobies in the pocket got Kevin Faulk an unpaid vacation to start the 2008 NFL regular season.

Cassel survives cutdown

FOXBORO - Bill Belichick proved once again Saturday that even though he appears on a radio talk show every Monday, he never listens to what's said during it.

Streelman not playing like a PGA Tour rookie

NORTON - He's made the cut in 11 consecutive tournaments and is on the verge of advancing to the third round of the FedEx Cup playoffs, pretty much just needing to make the cut at this weekend's Deutsche Bank Championship.

Cleaning up nice

NORTON - Mike Weir shaved his "playoff beard" when his wife and children flew into town this week, but that had no bearing on his golf Friday. This was a round to enjoy, not explain.

Axley hacking way up standings, money list

NORTON - For Eric Axley, it might be a case of peaking at the right time.

Golf a boon to Massachusetts' economy

NORTON - The golf industry is a growing and vibrant part of the Massachusetts economy according to a new study, "The Massachusetts Golf Economy," that was released today by the Alliance of Massachusetts Golf Organizations (AMGO). The report, produced by the research firm SRI International, analyzed various sectors of the golf industry in the Commonwealth for the 2006 calendar year. It found that the industry grew by 13.9 percent generating a total economic impact of $2.8 billion since the last report commissioned in 2000. The industry accounted for 29,630 jobs in the state, an additional 770 jobs over 2000, with a 19 percent increase in average salary over the six-year time period.

Anxious time for players on the bubble

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Have they done enough?

Veterans Fifita, Martin, Shoate among Patriots first cuts

FOXBORO - The first four victims have been sent on their way, with 18 more soon to follow.

Falcons defeat ORR

Taylor Bowen (7-2) and Ben LeChance (61/2-21/2) both won their matches for the Falcons while Kyle Harper and Kyle Garcia both halved theirs. Dighton-Rehoboth (1-0) travels play Seekonk next Tuesday.

Lefty feeling all right in Norton

NORTON - Phil Mickelson was all smiles on Thursday.

No 'Big Three' to kick things off this year

NORTON - A year ago, the Deutsche Bank Championship was energized because the first two rounds featured the pairing of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, unquestionably the top three golfers of the past decade.

Patriots get nothing out of preseason

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Even "the wave" was dreadful.

Izzo sings praises for his charities

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Larry Izzo loves movies, traveling and karaoke, and one of those passions recently made him the Patriots' latest recipient of the Ron Burton Community Service Award.

Harrington a major player in 2007

NORTON - A year ago, Padraig Harrington came to the TPC Boston, failed to make the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship and quietly left Norton.