• Pats raid Oakland, 30-20 • Celtics’ Red Auerbach in hospital • LPGA adds Fields Open to schedule Pats raid Oakland, 30-20 By ASSOCIATED PRESS FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England’s quest for an unprecedented three straight Super Bowl victories is
• Pats raid Oakland, 30-20
• Celtics’ Red Auerbach in hospital
• LPGA adds Fields Open to schedule
Pats raid Oakland, 30-20
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England’s quest for an unprecedented three straight Super Bowl victories is in good hands with two stars the Patriots didn’t lose: Tom Brady and Richard Seymour.
Brady threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns and Seymour made a game-turning defensive play as the Patriots beat Oakland 30-20 Thursday night, holding Randy Moss, the Raiders’ new star, to one big play, a 73-yard touchdown catch.
New England’s 35th win in 39 games since the start of the 2003 season was an odd one — all offense at the start, mostly defense after intermission. One key early adjustment was made by the Patriots, switching from their traditional 3-4 defense to a 4-3 to help fill the gap caused by the loss of inside linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Ted Johnson.
The Patriots, who also lost coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel to head coaching jobs, led 17-14 at halftime on touchdown passes by Brady of 29 yards to Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch and 5 yards to newcomer Tim Dwight. That offset a 2-yard TD pass by Kerry Collins to tight end Courtney Anderson on the game’s first series and the bomb to Moss, who at 6-foot-4 simply went over 5-8 Tyrone Poole.
Celtics’ Red Auerbach in hospital
BOSTON — Red Auerbach, the president and former coach of the Boston Celtics, has been hospitalized in Washington with an undisclosed health problem.
The 87-year-old coaching great has been in and out of the hospital the past month for tests and a successful surgical procedure, Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Thursday. Twiss would not identify the procedure or the hospital and said Auerbach was readmitted for an unspecified problem within the last 10 days.
A statement posted on the Celtics’ Web site said: “The Auerbach family expresses their deepest appreciation for the concern pertaining to the health of their father. Red has been under the weather at times recently and he has taken steps with his doctor to return to feeling better. The family asks that you please respect their privacy during this time.”
Auerbach, who turns 88 on Sept. 20, has two daughters, Nancy and Randy. Auerbach’s wife, Dorothy, died in 2000. A woman who answered the phone at Auerbach’s home in Washington referred all questions to Twiss.
LPGA adds Fields Open to schedule
HONOLULU — The LPGA Tour has another tournament in the islands.
Commissioner Ty Votaw said the Fields Open in Hawai’i will be played Feb. 23-25 at Ko Olina Golf Club on O’ahu.
The 54-hole event will be televised by The Golf Channel in the United States and TV Asahi in Japan. The purse will be $1.1 million.
Ko Olina was home to the Hawaiian Ladies Open from 1990-95.
