Nationwide

Football

SAN FRANCISCO – Hall of Fame football coach Bill Walsh, who built an NFL dynasty with the San Francisco 49ers and revolutionized the sport with his West Coast offense, disclosed that he has leukemia.

Stanford officials confirmed that Walsh, who served as the school’s interim athletic director until July, has told friends and colleagues there that he has cancer.

Walsh said the cancer first was diagnosed in 2004, but he feels better since a series of blood transfusions in the past month.

Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning three Super Bowls. He was named the NFL’s coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.

Baseball

NEW YORK – Gary Sheffield was traded from the New York Yankees to the Detroit Tigers for three pitching prospects.

Sheffield played for Tigers manager Jim Leyland and team president Dave Dombrowski in 1997, when Leyland managed the Marlins to the World Series title and Dombrowski was Florida’s general manager.

Sheffield and the AL champions agreed Thursday night to a two-year extension through 2009. Sheffield will be primarily a designated hitter but will see some time in the outfield, Leyland said.

Golf

SHANGHAI, China – Tiger Woods had an eagle and seven birdies in a course record-tying 8-under 64 to move within two shots of the lead in the HSBC Champions.

Woods trails India’s Jyoti Randhawa by two and is one shot behind Retief Goosen after starting the second round seven shots back.

Randhawa, the overnight leader, had a 69 for a 10-under 134 total. Goosen birdied three of his first four holes and finished with three straight for a 67.

Woods was tied for third with 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell (70), and one ahead of Padraig Harrington (70), Marc Warren (71) and Chawalit Plaphol (70).

MOBILE, Ala. – Hall of Famer Juli Inkster birdied two of her last three holes for a 3-under 69 and a share of the second-round lead with Moira Dunn in the LPGA Tournament of Champions.

The 46-year-old Inkster made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and closed with a par to match Dunn (67) at 8-under 136 on Magnolia Grove’s Crossings Course.

Cristie Kerr had the best round of the day, a 6-under 66 that left her at 7 under. First-round leader Paula Creamer followed her opening 64 with a 74 to drop two strokes back at 6 under.

NAPLES, Fla. – Long-hitters John Daly and J.B. Holmes and the distance-challenged duo of Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank shot 9-under 63s to share the first-round lead in the Merrill Lynch Shootout.

The 12 teams opened with a modified alternate shot round. They’ll play a best-ball round Saturday and finish the Greg Norman-hosted event Sunday with a scramble.

Jerry Kelly and Rod Pampling opened with a 64. Brad Faxon-J.J. Henry, Mark O’Meara-Jeff Sluman and Trevor Immelman-Rory Sabbatini shot 66s.

RICHMOND, Texas – PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar shot a 7-under 65 for a share of the second-round lead in the Nationwide Tour Championship.

Kuchar, the former Georgia Tech star who won the 2002 Honda Classic for his lone PGA Tour title, joined Cliff Kresge (69), Andrew Buckle (69), Chris Baryla (67 ) and Brandt Snedecker (68) at 8-under 136 on The Houstonian course

Craig Kanada (64), Johnson Wagner (67) and Jim O’Neal (68) were a shot back.

Tennis

MADRID, Spain – U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova will face French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals of the WTA Championships, with the No. 1 world ranking on the line.

Sharapova defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 in the final match of round-robin play in the Red Group. Henin-Hardenne lost 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to defending champion Amelie Mauresmo in a Yellow Group match, but both reached the semis.

Mauresmo will play two-time winner Kim Clijsters in the other semifinal. The Belgian beat Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-0 in a Red Group match.

Auto Racing

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Johnny Benson spun on the first lap, then came from the back of the field to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

His fifth victory of the season allowed Benson to keep points leader Todd Bodine in sight with one race to go before the championship is decided. Bodine, who finished fourth, has a 112-point lead over Benson heading into next week’s finale in Homestead, Fla.

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Jeff Gordon earned the 56th pole of his career at Phoenix International Raceway.

Gordon, who married Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch in Mexico on Tuesday, turned a lap of 134.464 mph to take the top starting spot for Sunday’s race.

Kevin Harvick, who won the race here in April, qualified second after posting a lap of 133.973 mph.

Jimmie Johnson holds a 17-point lead in the standings and will start 29th. Matt Kenseth, who is second in the standings, will start 10th.