NEWS » iled to post more than 83. New York has won six of ei

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Rory McIlroy hit wedge into 5 feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 2-under 70 to regain the outright lead in the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. Vans Old Skool Cheap . The chief challenge for McIlroy came from an American -- but it wasnt Tiger Woods. Brooks Koepka, who earned his European Tour card last year by winning three times on the Challenge Tour, made seven birdies against no bogeys for a 65 that left him one shot behind McIlroy going into the weekend. Woods, meanwhile, hit only four fairways and had to rely on some key putts to salvage a 73. He was in a tie for 44th, eight shots out of the lead. McIlroy was at 11-under 133. He appeared to be in control at Emirates Golf Club, leading by three shots after his birdie at No. 10. But he drove wildly into the waste area on the par-5 13th and the par-4 16th holes, both leading to bogeys, before recovering on the 18th. "It was nice to birdie the last and at least give myself a one-shot lead going into tomorrow," McIlroy said. "I will just go back tonight and sort of regroup and realize I am still leading the tournament. I was more frustrated on the back nine, as the back nine is where you want to build your score after playing the harder front nine." Danny Willett of England, who began his week by jumping out of a plane at 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), had a 65 and shared third place with Damien McGrane of Ireland (70) and Julien Quesne of France (70). Henrik Stenson, who won the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup last year, had a 67 and was four shots behind. Woods, trying to join Ernie Els as the only three-time winners of the Dubai Desert Classic, opened with a birdie on his third hole and the highlights were few after that. His only other birdie was on the par-3 11th, with a shot into 2 feet. Instead of going to the practice range after his round, he conducted a clinic with Mark OMeara. "I was on so many parts of the golf course today that I got to meet so many people, signed so many autographs out there and gave a lot of balls away," Woods joked with the crowd. "Seriously, I was just hitting it sideways." He even joked about the 79 he shot last week at Torrey Pines to miss the 54-hole cut on a course where he had won eight times previously, including a U.S. Open. "I have to tell everyone here I never made a 10-footer for not shooting 80," Woods said. As for his round on Friday, he said he putted well, but had too many putts from 40 and 50 feet, which is "not exactly the best thing." "I just didnt hit it close enough and didnt hit it well," Woods said. "I struggled with it and had a bad warm-up, as well. Just one of those days." Koepka is in his first full season on the European Tour. He came close to winning the Frys.com Open last autumn in America before struggling on the back nine. He is roommates in Florida with another American on the European Tour, Peter Uihlein, who bogeyed his last hole to miss the cut. "Winning is winning," said Koepka, who has four Challenge Tour wins. "Ive been able to do it on the Challenge Tour, so hopefully I can get it done with week." It should be more difficult with McIlroy, a two-time major champion, starting to regain his form. McIlroy ended a year without winning in December when he edged Adam Scott at the Australian Open. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. "Im leading the golf tournament. Ive been in this position before and Ive went on to win," McIlroy said. "Ive led from the front quite well in tournaments that I have won. I feel like I am still playing well and I know the course just as well as anyone else. Im now expecting to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend and hopefully lift the trophy." Willett, along with his wife and caddie, began the week with an assisted sky dive on Monday in a charity event. He feels it might have helped with his golf. "If you stand on the first tee, trying to hit a drive into the fairway seemed a little bit less nerve-racking than jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet," Willett said. "You never know, might have prepared us quite well." Vans Old Skool Black . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Vans Old Skool Sale . He insists hes not counting. "If youre thinking hits, youre not paying attention to wins," Altuve said Sunday after leading the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 3-2. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale/white.html . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Brooklyn Nets try to secure the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings and close a three-game homestand on a positive note when they host the rival New York Knicks Tuesday. You can catch all the action live on TSN2 at 8pm et/5pm pt. The Nets are 1 1/2 games ahead of Washington for the No. 5 spot with two games remaining, while the Wizards have just one game left. The Wizards hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-0 mark against the Nets this season. After having a franchise-record 15-game home winning streak come to an end versus Atlanta on Friday, the Nets responded with Sundays 97-88 victory over Orlando at Barclays Center. Mirza Teletovic came off the bench and scored a game-high 20 points and added six rebounds, while Joe Johnson and Mason Plumlee netted 17 apiece. Plumlee also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nets, winners in four of six games and owners of a 34-15 record since the start of January. "Weve got to try to fine-tune and keep this chemistry that we have going into the postseason," Johnson said. Deron Williams tallied 16 points in the win to help Brooklyn to a 28-12 record as the host. The Nets are 23-3 in their last 26 home games and 35-11 when holding teams under 100 points. In injury news for the Nets, guard Shaun Livingston (toe) is questionable Tuesday. Nets veteran forward Paul Pierce, the newest member of the 25,000-point club, had 10 points versus the Magic and is three shy of reaching 1,000 for a 15th straight season. He would become the only active player in the NBA and just thee sixth player in league history to score 1,000 points in 15 or more consecutive seasons. Vans Sk8 Hi Leather. The others were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, John Havlicek, Elvin Hayes and Robert Parish. Brooklyn will close the regular season at Cleveland on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Knicks were hoping to reach the playoffs for a fourth straight season, but missed out on that chance. The Atlanta Hawks were able to sew up the eighth and final postseason spot in the East. New York has won two straight and five of seven games, and pulled off a 100-89 victory Sunday versus the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and both Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith netted 17 in a losing cause. "We didnt get it done and being the coach, I just apologize to the fans because they paid their hard-earned money to come see us play and we didnt come into this season expecting this," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. The Knicks will try to improve their 17-23 road record Tuesday and have won eight of the last 11 games as the visitor. New York will close the season Wednesday at home versus Toronto and recently defeated Brooklyn 110-81 on April 2 at MSG. Smith buried 6-of-12 3-pointers for 24 points and Anthony added 23 and 10 rebounds to lead the Knicks, who are 2-1 in the season series and have won 10 of the past 14 meetings with the Nets. The winner in this seasons series has scored 100-plus points, while the loser has failed to post more than 83. New York has won six of eight and nine of its last 12 at the Nets. ' ' '