Sports in Brief

Pitt

Stacie Safritt, a senior on the Pitt swimming team, qualified for the 2008 U.S…. Pitt

Stacie Safritt, a senior on the Pitt swimming team, qualified for the 2008 U.S. Swimming Olympic trials that will take place in Omaha, Nev., from June 29 through July 6.

Safritt recorded a time of 26.19 seconds in the 50-meter freestyle at the Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational.

Joining Safritt at the trials is former Pitt swimmer Kristin Brown, who graduated in 2007. Brown qualified in the 100, 200 and 400 free events.

Golf

Tiger Woods survived five days, 91 holes and a sore knee to defeat Rocco Mediate, a Greensburg native, and take home the 108th U.S. Open Golf Championship Monday afternoon in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Trailing by one stroke heading to the 18th hole on Sunday, Woods made a 12-foot putt to make birdie and force an 18-hole playoff Monday.

Woods and Mediate were even after Monday’s first 18 holes, forcing a sudden-death playoff.

Woods made par on the additional hole, winning the Open and notching his 14th major championship. Mediate bogied the hole and finished at plus-one.

Baseball

The New York Mets sent manager Willie Randolph packing early Tuesday morning, releasing a statement just after 3 a.m. announcing his firing, according to a report from espn.com.

Randolph, whose job security had been questioned since the Mets’ end-of-the-season collapse last year, becomes the first manager of this season to be fired.

Randolph will be replaced by bench coach Jerry Manuel until a replacement is hired.

Pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Nieto were also fired by New York.

After partially tearing a tendon and spraining his right foot Sunday in a matchup against the Houston Astros, New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is expected to be out until at least September, according to an Associated Press report.

Wang, who is 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 starts, has 46 wins since 2006 – the most in the major leagues.

Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, both starters at the beginning of the season, are also currently on the disabled list.

Yankees’ co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner criticized the National League for not using a designated hitter, which keeps pitchers from hitting and running the bases.

Football

The Associated Press reported that Javon Walker, a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders, was found unconscious Monday on a Las Vegas street after being beaten and robbed.

Walker was then taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center with what were described as “significant injuries.”

Walker, who recently signed a six-year, $55 million deal with Oakland, had played with the Denver Broncos since 2006.

-Compiled by Mike Gladysz