Magnolia, fog can't make Rose wilt

Golf

Neither a fog delay nor a tougher course threw Justin Rose off course yesterday. Rose, coming off a 12-under-par 60 Thursday on the Palm Course, was 17 under through 16 holes on the much tougher Magnolia Course and ahead by four strokes when the second round in the Funai Classic at Disney in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., was suspended because of darkness. Clubhouse leader Tag Ridings was second after a 66. Rose also had a four-shot lead when the round started following a 70-minute delay. Ridings was at 13-under 131 . . . Americans Heather Young and Nicole Castrale shot 7-under 65s in hot conditions to share the first-round lead in the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi . . . Fred Funk shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Scott Simpson, Dan Pohl, and R.W. Eaks after the first round of the AT&T Championship in San Antonio . . . Niclas Fasth and Gary Murphy each shot 1-over 71 to share the lead at 3-under 137 after the second round of the Mallorca Classic.

Football

A sore left ankle, the same one that caused Byron Leftwich to miss five games last season, kept the Jaguars quarterback out of practice. Leftwich is questionable for tomorrow's game at Houston . . . The NFL Players Association filed a grievance with the league on behalf of Corey Simon, the Colts' defensive tackle sidelined the rest of the season because of an undisclosed illness, The Indianapolis Star reported. The team said the illness was not football-related and that Simon would not be paid the rest of his 2006 salary, about $2 million . . . A virus and Graves' disease caused Seahawks receiver Bobby Engram's hyperactive thyroid, Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. Engram will miss his second consecutive game tomorrow against Minnesota, but might return to practice next week . . . Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Perry, who sat out the first five games of the season with ankle and knee injuries, was activated . . . Mitchell Cozad, a former University of Northern Colorado backup punter charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of his rival, has until Monday to surrender to authorities, prosecutors said.

Tennis

Thomas Berdych overcame a partisan crowd and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters, beating the second-ranked Spaniard, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). Berdych will face Fernando Gonzalez. Roger Federer moved a step closer to winning his 10th title of 2006 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) win over Robby Ginepri. Federer will face David Nalbandian . . . Maria Sharapova defeated Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the Zurich Open semifinals. Sharapova will play Katarina Srebotnik. Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Martina Hingis, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, and will face Daniela Hantuchova.

Miscellany

Lawyers for Major League Baseball and the players' union met into last night as they pushed to reach a labor deal. The contract expires Dec. 19, and the negotiations have been held without public acrimony for the first time in more than three decades . . . Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire agreed to a two-year contract extension with the team that will keep him in the dugout through 2009 . . . The task got more difficult for the struggling Philadelphia Flyers, who will be without center Peter Forsberg for at least a week after he sprained his left wrist in a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay Thursday . . . Kurt Busch won the pole for the Subway 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, circling the tight 0.526-mile oval at 97.568 miles per hour for his Nextel Cup Series-high sixth pole position of the season . . . Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw signed a five-year, $45 million contract extension.