g runs and was hooked.The variety is the appeal. You have three sports instead of just running, which had gotten boring, Brow

Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf next week official on Friday by committing to the PGA Tours season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, California.It is the first tournament of the 2016-17 season and Woods first event since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, where he tied for 10th more than a year ago. Since then Woods had endured a slow recovery and rehabilitation from two back surgeries in September and again in October of 2015.The PGA Tour announced the commitment.On Sept. 7, Woods announced it was his hope to return at the Safeway Open, the Turkish Airlines Open next month and the Hero World Challenge, an 18-player tournament his foundation runs in December.But Woods never formally committed to the Safeway, a procedural move that is required by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to the tournament week. Such commitments are not binding -- players can withdraw at any time.When Woods tees off in the first round on Thursday, it will have been 417 days between official tournament rounds. Woods, who was ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 683 weeks, is now 767th. He was 257th following the Wyndham.My rehabilitation is to the point where Im comfortable making plans, but I still have work to do, Woods said in a statement on Sept. 7. Whether I can play depends on my continued progress and recovery. My hope is to have my game ready to go.Im looking forward to going to California for my foundation event (at Pebble Beach from Sunday-Tuesday) and Safeway. Im also excited to return to Turkey and Albany (in the Bahamas). It could be a fun fall. It was difficult missing tournaments that are important to me, but this time I was smart about my recovery and didnt rush it.Woods was at Hazeltine National last week as a vice captain to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III. Although he was visible and spoke afterward about being honored to one day be considered to be captain, he did not address his health or whether or not he would play next week.The Safeway tournament has nonetheless been advertising Woods participation, along with that of Phil Mickelson, who welcomed Woods return and said he hoped to be grouped with him doing the first two rounds.The Turkish Airlines Open, Nov. 3-6, is the first of three European Tour events known as the Final Series. Woods played the tournament in 2013 and tied for third. He is likely getting an appearance fee to compete.The Hero World Challenge, Dec. 1-4, is an 18-player event that invites players based on the world rankings and major championships. Woods has an exemption as tournament host.Juan Lagares Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Travis dArnaud Mets Jersey .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. http://www.metssale.com/mets-gary-carter-jersey/ . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Jason Vargas Mets Jersey . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Keith Hernandez Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods.RIO DE JANEIRO -- The reasons for triathlons burgeoning appeal are as varied as the sport itself.-Fitness freaks looking for a new challenge.-Millennials wanting something to hold both their interest and youthful physique.-Gen Xers coaxed in by NBCs annual Ironman competition in Hawaii.The biggest factor, according to USA Triathlon, is the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic program.Looking at the causes for this growth, one must first turn their attention to the 2000 Olympic Games, triathlons first appearance at this international event, the sports national governing body said in its most recent demographics report . This elevated the publicity of the sport on the national level.Triathlon could get another big boost from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where two British brothers crushed the course on Copacabana Beach and where American Gwen Jorgensen, the two-time defending ITU world champion, is the gold medal favorite in the womens race Saturday.When the races are being played in every bar in America, its impossible for it not to help, suggested Patrick Lemieux, Jorgensens husband and operations manager, who added that hes seen a giant leap in the sports awareness in the U.S. just since the 2012 London Games.USA Triathlon touts itself as the worlds largest multisport organization, sanctioning more than 4,300 races and connecting with a half million members annually. Its also the national governing body for duathlon, aqua-thon, aqua-bike, winter triathlon, off-road triathlon and para-triathlon. In addition to working on the grassroots level, it supports elite athletes competing in international events such as the International Triathlon Union world championships and the Olympics.The 30-year-old Jorgensen was a late-comer to triathlon, recruited to the sport after an All-American track career at the University of Wisconsin, where she also was on the swim team.Others start as soon as they can.Ive been around the sport two-thirds of my life, since I was about 8 years old, said Ben Kanute, a 23-year-old Olympian from Geneva, Illinois, whose father was a triathlete and helped organize the first kids triathlon at a health and wellness center near their home about the time the sport debuted at the Sydney Olympics.Kanute said he started out swimming a couple of hundred meters, followed by a five-mile bike ride and a mile-long run, and he felt like those Ironmen he loved to watch on TV.I fell in love with the sport, said Kanute, who hung with Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee on Thursday until the brothers broke free midway through the 6.dddddddddddd.2-mile run that followed a one-loop ocean swim and a steep 24-mile bike ride at Copacabana.It might just be that parents put them in there to blow off some steam, buts its kind of the wow factor with triathlon, Kanute said. You get to swim, bike and run all in the same day. Its pretty kid friendly.As they graduate to adulthood, triathletes typically start with the shorter sprints and move up to the Olympic-length races. Some move up to Ironman, which is 140.6 miles: a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mike ride and a marathon. Theres also half of that, the Ironman 70.3.The Olympic races are over in an appealing two hours.And I think thats the beauty of it, Lemieux said. In triathlon, you can do a sprint thats one hour long, you can do an Ironman, which are eight hours for the fastest, 14 or 15 for others. So, the nature of the sport is that it can cater to anyone and I think thats something thats really appealing to people.Jay Brown, a 31-year-old counselor and track coach at Vista Peak Preparatory School in Aurora, Colorado, is a typical triathlete: he got into the sport in his mid-20s after souring on long runs and was hooked.The variety is the appeal. You have three sports instead of just running, which had gotten boring, Brown said. I was looking for something else to do and a friend suggested I try triathlon. I said I can do that. I just started swimming 50 meters in the pool and I didnt even own my own bike. I used an old road bike.Soon, it was his passion. His training got more intense, his diet changed accordingly and as he gained the requisite energy and expertise, he also acquired his desired equipment, an aerodynamic bicycle. He even has a coach and a sponsor, Tabata Songs.A 23-year-old right out of college might not have the means to buy a triathlon bike, hire a coach and pay for travel and Ironman entry fees, Brown said. So, a lot of people get into it a little later.No matter their age or the discipline, triathletes find a close-knit community.Every triathlon that I go to just has a very cool vibe, Kanute said. Theres camaraderie because everyone knows how hard each person has trained to get there.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '