Tiger Woods will end his self-imposed “indefinite break” from golf April 8 by making his long-awaited return to the game on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, home of The Masters.

“The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect,” Woods said Tuesday in a statement. “After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta. The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played.”

Roars are expected to echo through the Georgia pines and above the multihued azaleas that frame the revered course when the world No. 1 plays for the first time this year. The tournament in Augusta, Ga., is the first major championship of the season and will be Woods’ first since he ran his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree in the wee hours of Nov. 27 in front of his suburban Orlando estate. The single-car accident turned his private life into public property as revelations of his extramarital affairs splashed across front pages of newspapers and tabloids around the world.

But there could be critics, too. One thing Woods has not faced through most of his career has been heckling on the course. That could change.

“I hope they boo him off the course,” Alice Kohn of Miami said last week. “He should be booed for the same amount of time he spent cheating on his wife. I used to love Tiger but now I can’t stand him. I still love golf. I still watch it on TV. But I won’t be happy to see Tiger on the golf course. Not anymore.”

Woods occasionally has heard mild criticism for his on-course demeanor: throwing clubs; profanity; aloofness from fans. Continued incidents along those lines could bring more and harsher commentary now.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation about Woods and his return to professional golf. Woods last played in November when he won the Australian Masters, and his last competitive appearance in the U.S. came at the Presidents Cup in October in San Francisco.

“We were pleased to learn that Tiger Woods will be playing The Masters in a few weeks,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement. “He has invested a lot of time taking steps, both in his personal and professional life, in order to prepare for his return. We all wish him and his family the best as he rejoins the Tour.”

Gilbert Arenas says he deserves to be punished for bringing guns to the locker room. The suspended Washington Wizards guard told Esquire magazine that he wasn’t using “longevity thinking” when he took out four guns in what he says was an attempt to play a prank on teammate Javaris Crittenton in December.

Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge in January and will be sentenced next week. He has been suspended until the end of the season by the NBA. In the Esquire interview, which hits newsstands next week and was obtained by The Associated Press in advance, Arenas says he has “messed up” the legacy of Wizards owner Abe Pollin, who died in November.

“I have a painting of him in my garage. I just walk by it with my head down,” Arenas said. “I called Mrs. Pollin and said, ‘If Abe was still with us, I would’ve had to talk to him, so I’m gonna give you the same respect. I want to say sorry to you. I deserve to be punished. I’ll do everything it takes to get back your husband’s respect.”‘

Arenas has kept a low profile since his guilty plea. He told the AP this month that he would have “no problems” playing for the Wizards again and that he’s not nervous about his sentencing date as long as the judge “goes off the actual real story” of what happened. Last week, he submitted paperwork to change his jersey from No. 0 to No. 6 next season.Arenas told Esquire that he used to have as many as 500 firearms in his home, having bought many of them from an elderly man’s World War I collection. He says he put all but four of them in storage when he started having children.

Arenas also said that he and Crittenton returned to good terms almost immediately after their confrontation, which stemmed from a card game on the team plane. Crittenton also displayed a gun during the spat and was sentenced to unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor gun charge.”He goes into the Jacuzzi,” Arenas told the magazine. “You know what? I gotta warm my knee up anyway. I go in and sit with him. We’re just sitting in there talking. We didn’t have no problem. It was just some fun that got out of control.”

Arenas also gave his perspective on another fallen star, Tiger Woods, separating the golfer’s infidelity from the sport. “Say it’s all true,” Arenas said. “At the end of the day, that’s not the reason I love Tiger. I got three Tiger Woods games for my Xbox just in case one gets scratched. On the cover, it doesn’t have him walking next to his wife. It just has Tiger Woods, hitting shots.”

United States star Lindsey Vonn and Swiss Carlo Janka claimed the overall World Cup titles after dominant performances in Garmisch. Olympic downhill gold medallist Vonn, eased to super-G victory to take her third straight overall World Cup title. The American was assured of the overall triumph when rival and friend Maria Riesch of Germany dropped out of the top two. Riesch finished fourth, giving Vonn an unassailable lead of 215 points in the standings before the last race of the season, Saturday’s slalom.

“I was so nervous because the overall World Cup title was on the line,” Vonn said. “An overall title is one of the biggest things you can win in our sport.”Vonn also picked up titles in the downhill, the super-G and the combined events and is now the American with most World Cup wins at 33. Bode Miller, who skipped the final week of racing, has 32.“I gave it all I had. I have nothing more (left in me),” Vonn said. “I am the most successful American ever and I am very, very happy.”

Meanwhile, Janka, who won giant slalom gold in Vancouver, won the same event in Germany to take an unassailable lead in the men’s standings. The men’s and women’s slalom titles will both be decided on Sunday. As the last skier to race, Vonn was already assured of the crown after German rival Maria Riesch, who needed a top-two finish to challenge, was pushed into third place.”I was so nervous because the title was on the line,” said Vonn, who also won the super-G and downhill categories.

Vonn led from the front and brought down her Super-G season in style after her downhill gold and Super-G bronze medal from last month’s Vancouver Winter Games. Despite bruising her knee after a crash in Thursday’s giant slalom, she set the fastest time down the Kadahar course, which plays host to next year’s world championships, with a time of 1 minute 19.30 seconds.

Austria’s Elisabeth Goergl was second with Swiss Nadia Styger third.”An overall title is one of the biggest things you can win in our sport,” said Vonn, who is now the American with most World Cup wins with 33.”I gave it all I had. I have nothing more left in me,” she added.

Janka, who became the first Swiss man to win the overall title since Paul Accola in 1992, is now 106 points ahead of Benjamin Raich of Austria, who will finish second for the fourth straight year. On the other hand, Ted Ligety of the United States secured the giant slalom crystal globe after finishing in third place on Friday. Janka led after the first run and took no risks in the second heat to win in a combined time of two minutes, 20.87 seconds for his sixth victory of the season.

LeBron James is expected to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, while Antawn Jamison will be a game-time decision. They were just two of six players to miss practice Wednesday for the Cavaliers, who took advantage of a break in the schedule to rest all five of their regular starters.

James missed two games after twisting his right ankle last Friday against Detroit, but is likely to play at Philadelphia, Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. James has played the sixth-most minutes in the league this season, averaging 39 per game.

Jamison won’t practice the rest of the week after revealing Wednesday he has a cyst behind his left knee that is filled with fluid. Shaquille O’Neal continues to rehab following surgery on his right thumb, while Anthony Parker and Mo Williams also took Wednesday off to rest nagging injuries. Key sub Anderson Varejao also missed practice, but it wasn’t clear if he had an injury or just took the day off.

All are expected to play Friday except for O’Neal and perhaps Jamison. An MRI earlier this week showed no damage to the knee and Jamison said it’s the same injury that hampered him early in the season when he was with Washington. “Perfect timing for something like this to happen,” Jamison said, referring to the three days off between games. “This organization is looking at the overall picture to make sure guys are healthy when it counts.”

Even if Jamison doesn’t play Friday, he insists he’ll be back on the floor Sunday when Cleveland hosts Atlantic Division leader Boston. He said the cyst is a product of his mechanics and the way he runs. There are certain exercises he must do to keep the knee flexible, but admitted he hadn’t done as much maintenance on it lately because of the trade to Cleveland and trying to get settled in a new city.

“They want me to relax and let it calm down this week,” Jamison said. “It feels pretty good. It’s something that occurred earlier in the season. With proper treatment, it went away, so I don’t see this lingering any longer than it has the last couple of days.”

On the other hand centers Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood returned to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Nets. Dampier missed the previous 12 games with a dislocated right middle finger. Haywood sat out two games with lower back tightness.Dallas played long stretches of zone defense and used small forward Shawn Marion at center while its two big men were sidelined.

The Mavericks ruled guard Jose Juan Barea out with an injured left ankle sustained in Monday night’s 113-93 victory at Minnesota. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t expect Barea’s injury to be long-term.Dallas remains without No. 2 scorer Jason Terry, who missed his fourth consecutive game after undergoing surgery to repair facial injuries.

Lindsey Vonn finished second to Maria Riesch of Germany in the final downhill of the season Wednesday, failing to clinch the World Cup overall title but maintaining a huge lead with three races to go. Vonn finished nearly a half-second behind Riesch, but the Olympic downhill champion holds a commanding 225-point lead over her friend and rival. Vonn would have clinched the title with a win, which is worth 100 points.

“I haven’t won it yet,” said Vonn, who already clinched the downhill title. “It’s not finished yet. It’s still possible (for Riesch to win), it’s unlikely but it’s not finished.”Riesch claimed the win over her home course with a dominating performance.

“When I crossed the line I did not look at the board immediately but when I saw that I was more than a second ahead, I thought I could win this race,” Riesch said after her 14th career victory and fourth downhill win. “If Lindsey is half a second behind, I must have had a really good race.”

Riesch won slalom and combined gold medals at the Vancouver Olympics. Anja Paerson of Sweden was third, more than a second behind Riesch. Although Riesch cut Vonn’s overall lead by 20 points, the German said she had given up hope of collecting that title.

“I am still 200 points behind, I don’t think it’s possible,” Riesch said. “The pressure is off. I am proud of today’s win, this is the course for next year’s World Championship and it’s good to know that I can be fast on it.”Riesch came down the sun-drenched 2,920-meter Kandahar course in 1 minute, 34.82 seconds. Vonn was .48 seconds behind and Paerson 1.13 seconds back.

Olympic silver medalist Julia Mancuso finished fifth, while bronze medalist Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was the only racer to crash but appeared unhurt. Vonn clinched the downhill title last Saturday in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, which was her sixth downhill win of the season. She won all but two races. The American is also sure of the super-G title .

Vonn is still nursing a sore right shin and a broken little finger on her right hand. She bruised the shin before the Olympics and broke the finger in a spill in the Olympic giant slalom. Vonn can become the American with the most World Cup wins this weekend. She is tied with Bode Miller with 32.Miller ended his season early to rest a sore right ankle and is not competing at the World Cup finals.The next women’s race is Thursday’s giant slalom.

Marty Turco made 49 saves, Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, and the Dallas Stars scored three times in six shots early in the third period en route to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Capitals on Monday night, ending Washington’s club-record home winning streak at 13 games. Washington’s Alex Ovechkin snapped a season-high, six-game goal drought by scoring twice to match Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby for the league lead with 44. Ovechkin’s second goal came with 3:16 left in the third period and tied the game.

But Turco stopped Ovechkin in the opening round of the shootout, and the Stars went on to take it 2-1, with Richards and Loui Eriksson beating Semyon Varlamov. It was a topsy-turvy game: The Capitals took a 2-0 lead after two periods thanks in part to Ovechkin’s first goal. Then the Stars went ahead 3-2 before 8 minutes were gone in the third period.

And then Ovechkin – who else? – faked out defenseman Stephane Robidas and sent a shot under the crossbar, eliciting loud “M-V-P!” chants from the stands. Entering the third period, the hosts were dominating play, holding a 42-16 edge in shots, and had yet to be called for a penalty. But things changed quickly as Richards, Trevor Daley and James Neal all scored.

First, with Mike Green off for hooking, Richards connected on a slap shot from the right circle for his 18th goal of the season, 1:33 into the period. Then, with Matt Bradley in the penalty box for holding, Richards helped set up Daley’s fourth goal at the 4:46 mark. And then, a little more than 3 minutes later, Neal netted his 25th. All in all, it was quite a quick turnaround. Consider: The Capitals last lost in Washington on Dec. 28, against Carolina.

Varlamov entered the night 8-0-0 at home this season, and there were other measures of how unlikely a result this was. Since the break for the Vancouver Olympics, Washington was 3-0, Dallas was 0-3. Plus, the Stars had been outscored 17-5 in those games. But Turco hung in there after a rough start and through a game-long shotfest. Washington finished with 52 shots, twice as many as Dallas.

Things sure seemed to be going Washington’s way, especially after Ovechkin watched his second-period wrist shot rip through traffic and into the net. He raised his stick, threw his head back and pumped both fists. It had been a month since he scored in an NHL game. The drought ate up so much of the calendar because of the break for the Olympics. His last goal for the Capitals was Feb. 7 against Pittsburgh. Defenseman Tom Poti scored in the first period for Washington.

Vince Carter had 25 points, Dwight Howard finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Lakers 96-94 on Sunday to hand Los Angeles its first three-game losing streak of the Pau Gasol-Kobe Bryant Era. Carter made his first 13 free throws and kept the Magic in control, showing signs of why Orlando made the move for the eight-time All-Star after losing to the Lakers in last year’s finals.

But Carter’s lone miss gave the Lakers a chance at the end, with Bryant’s 20-foot jumper falling short. Bryant had 34 points and Gasol added 20 points for the Lakers, walking to the locker room distraught and dejected after their latest loss. And with quite a different feeling than that champagne-soaked championship celebration last June.

But this one had all the drama of that series. Matt Barnes made a 3-pointer to push the Magic’s lead to six with 1:10 remaining. A missed free throw by Jameer Nelson gave the Lakers a chance to tie, and Bryant delivered with a 3-pointer – if only for a second – with 12.9 seconds remaining.

Bryant jumped into his teammates pouring out from the bench in what would be a premature celebration. Officials reviewed the play and ruled that it was only a two-pointer. And just like that, the Lakers are in the first three-game skid since they acquired Gasol from Memphis in February 2008.

The rematch had the physical feel of a finals. Bryant and Barnes continuously traded elbows and were each hit with a technical foul in the third quarter after going chest-to-chest in a verbal spat. Barnes had a put-back dunk a few plays later and dangled his legs on Bryant, who extended his right arm slightly into his opponent’s chest, leading to another confrontation.

Howard interjected and was called for a technical after muttering a few words at Bryant. The two All-Stars and Olympic teammates kept the verbal jabs going, showing no similar love when their NBA teams meet. All the rough and tough play gave way to a foul fest.

The teams combined to shoot 29 free throws – with Orlando going 17 for 18 – in the opening quarter alone. Howard and Andrew Bynum were sidelined in foul trouble for most of the first three quarters, but a strong effort from Carter and the Magic bench put Orlando ahead by 12 points late in the third.

Then the Lakers provided a reminder of the finals. They came back just like they did in Games 4 and 5 last year in Orlando, scoring 10 straight points – including the first eight to start the fourth – to cut the Magic’s lead to 74-72.

Howard answered with a thunderous dunk over Gasol, who was called for a flagrant-one foul on the play about halfway through the fourth. Then like Game 4 – when Howard missed a pair of crucial free throws – he again missed badly on both, but still put Orlando ahead 81-74 in what would be a back-and-forth finish.

Lakers F Ron Artest reached for his inner Dennis Rodman on Sunday. His hair was dyed blonde with letters in three different languages in Lakers purple. He didn’t want to talk about his hair before the game, but he posted on his Twitter page that the letters spelled “Defense” in Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Yankees pitchers CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte were sitting in the first row on the baseline.

Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard has been suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a kneeing incident during NHL game #954 against the Edmonton Oilers,  the National Hockey League announced today. Boogaard, who was suspended for five games on Feb. 28, 2009, now is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Accordingly, he forfeits $21,341.46 in salary, based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (193).  The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 7:29 of the first period, Boogaard delivered a knee hit on Edmonton forward Ryan Jones. Boogaard was assessed a minor penalty for kneeing on the play. Boogaard will miss games on Mar. 7 vs. Calgary and Mar. 9 vs. Florida.  He will be eligible to return Mar. 11 at Detroit. Meanwhile One of the best rivalries in the NHL will take center stage on Sunday afternoon, as the Detroit Red Wings visit the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the League’s nine-game schedule.

The Original Six matchup gets under way at 12:30 p.m. ET and can be seen across the United States on NBC. Both teams are in a dogfight — Chicago (43-16-5) is battling for the top seed in the Western Conference, while Detroit (30-22-12) is one point ahead of Calgary for the conference’s final playoff spot. Fans who watch the game are in for a special treat; there will be isolated cameras on Chicago forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

Three games get under way at 3 p.m. ET. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won five in a row after Saturday’s 6-3 win over Dallas, return to the ice to face the Boston Bruins at Mellon Arena. Boston is coming off a 3-2 win on Long Island on Saturday afternoon. Also, the Minnesota Wild battle the Calgary Flames at Xcel Energy Center in a rematch of the Wild’s 4-0 win at Calgary on Wednesday, while the Nashville Predators host the Vancouver Canucks.

The Atlanta Thrashers, who lost 6-2 at Tampa Bay on Saturday, get back into the swing of things at 5 p.m. ET against the Carolina Hurricanes at Phillips Arena. Carolina had its seven-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss at Florida on Saturday.

A pair of games will begin at 7 p.m. ET — the New York Rangers, who lost 2-0 in Washington on Saturday, host the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden, while the Philadelphia Flyers face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Wachovia Center. The Leafs won 2-1 in a shootout at Ottawa on Saturday.

In the final games of the night, the New Jersey Devils battle the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place, while the Anaheim Ducks host the Montreal Canadiens at the Honda Center. Both have 8 p.m. ET start times. The Ducks lost 4-0 at Phoenix on Saturday, while the Canadiens won 3-2 at Los Angeles.

The Denver Nuggets will be without forward Kenyon Martin and guard Ty Lawson for Friday’s game against Indiana. Martin is out with left knee patella tendonitis. He injured his knee in Denver’s win over Golden State on Feb. 25 and missed one game but has played in the last three games. Martin, who leads the Nuggets in rebounding at 9.6 per game, is listed as day to day. Lawson suffered a left shoulder contusion against the Lakers last Sunday and sat out Wednesday’s win over Oklahoma City. His shoulder was heavily wrapped Friday and he said he is doubtful for Sunday night’s game against Portland.

On the other hand Michael Finley will celebrate his 37th birthday Saturday as a member of the Boston Celtics.The veteran swingman asked for and was granted his release from the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week. He will earn a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum of $1.1 million.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said after practice in Philadelphia on Friday that he expects Finley to join the team in Boston on Saturday and debut the next day against the Washington Wizards.”He’s got high character,” Rivers said. “He’s another shooter. We don’t know where we’re going to fit him in, but adding a veteran can never hurt. Adding a guy who can make open shots can never hurt. Adding a guy who’s been through the wars can never hurt. That’s how we looked at it.”

Finley sprained his left ankle early this season and appeared in just 25 games for San Antonio. He had fallen out of the Spurs’ rotation, prompting him to request to be waived. Finley has scored more than 17,000 points since joining the league with Phoenix in 1995. He also played for Dallas. A career 37 percent shooter from 3-point range, Finley’s percentage dipped to 31.7 percent this season. He’s averaging 3.7 points in 15.8 minutes.

“I think he has basketball left in him,” Rivers said. “What he can give us and how it fits, we’ll figure it out as we go.”He brings 111 games of playoff experience and was part of the Spurs’ championship in 2007. The two-time All-Star will play behind Paul Pierce and Marquis Daniels at the small forward position. The Celtics entered play Friday leading the Atlantic Division at 38-21.

“He’s a veteran who can spread the floor and shoot pretty well,” Pierce said. “He brings a lot of experience. He’s a veteran who has been around the block a few times. I’m sure he’ll find his way, and he’s played in a lot of big games during his career. He knows how to approach them and play in them. Experience can always help in tight situations.”

As part of the NBA’s first fully-integrated Hispanic marketing campaign,  the NBA today announced the schedule of this season’s Noche Latina (Latin Night) program, which celebrates the league’s Hispanic heritage with special telecasts and in-arena festivities, including distinctive NBA team uniforms.

This year, Noche Latina celebrations will begin on March 3 and take place in Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Orlando, and highlight the impact of the league’s Hispanic players — including 18 players from six Latin American countries — while paying tribute to the more than 16 million Hispanic NBA fans across the country.

“With Hispanics comprising 15 percent of our fan base, we have a responsibility to connect with them in meaningful ways,” said Saskia Sorrosa, NBA Senior Director of Hispanic Marketing. “Noche Latina is an opportunity for us to thank the Hispanic community for their support and showcase how their pride and passion impact our teams and players.”Noche Latina, first launched during the 2006-07 NBA season, features uniforms that display the team name as spoken by the Latin population. The Miami Heat, for example, is called “El Heat”; the San Antonio Spurs are referred to as “Los Spurs.”

To further honor Hispanic fans and players during Noche Latina games, participating teams will host in-arena Latin-themed activities, including music, performances, and giveaways. Noche Latina events will be supported with television and radio advertising on both English- and Spanish-language media across the country as well as on the league’s Spanish-language Web site. Noche Latina merchandise, including the special game jerseys produced by adidas, will be available at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Champs Sports retail stores, online at NBAStore, and at in-arena stores for participating teams.

The NBA brings initiatives focused exclusively towards Hispanic fans under a platform that includes media, events, grassroots, and merchandising programs. Fifteen percent of the NBA’s total fanbase is Hispanic. Five U.S.-born Latino players and 18 players from Spain and Latin America are on 2009-10 season rosters. The NBA has played 25 preseason games and one regular-season game in Latin America.

On the other hand Detroit center Ben Wallace missed a game for the first time this season Wednesday, sitting out the Pistons’ game against the New York Knicks with a sore right knee. Wallace was hurt in Tuesday’s home loss to Boston. Coach John Kuester said he would be “very surprised” if the 35-year-old veteran played through the weekend.

The former Defensive Player of the Year has been one of the most durable players on an injury-plagued Detroit team, joining guard Rodney Stuckey as the only Pistons to appear in every game. Knicks swingman Wilson Chandler missed his second straight game for personal reasons.