Pebble Beach Golf;Knicks Win;Northeast Blizzard

At the AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am,celebrities and PGA Tour members played rounds together Thursday and Friday.Notables ranging from Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren and comedian Bill Murray,to NFL star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and actor Josh Duhamel,navigated three different Monterey Peninsula golf courses on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Bill Murray joked with armed forces personnel attending the tournament.
At the end of the second round along the sweeping Pacific vistas,the leader board was as follows:
Ted Potter,Jr. USA -8
Brandt Snedeker USA -8
Patrick Reed USA -7
Frederick Jacobsen SWE -7
John Merrick USA -7
Hunter Mahan USA -7
Jason Day AUS -6
Patrick Cantlay AUS -6
Nick O'Hern AUS -6
James Hahn USA -6
In NBA action,the New York Knicks edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-94 at Target Center in Minneapolis.Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 36 points and 9 rebounds,while Ricky Rubio contributed 18 points and 2 rebounds to the Wolves' effort.The Knicks are now 32-16,in second place behind the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference;the Wolves are well back in 12th place in the Western Conference at 18-29.
A major winter storm lashed the Northeast with snow and hurricane force winds Friday.Topping snow totals as of midnight were:
Mt.Sinai,NY 19.0 inches
Manchester,CT 18.5
Boston,MA 14.0
Blizzard warnings were posted from coastal Maine to New York City.
On the Maryland-Pennsylvania border,there were just a trace of snow,some light rain and blustery winds-the fringes of the storm.

Euro Powers Stocks

The market made modest gains this week,bolstered by a stable Euro as debt crisis fears receded.The S&P rose 2.5,while the Dow notched 2.8 and the NASDAQ garnered 1.1.The VIX volatility index closed down 23.7.The market has been moving in tandem with the Euro recently,and this week was no exception.With earnings season some weeks off,the market is event-driven,and the European debt crisis is the main event on traders' minds.The S&P futures signaled a cautious Monday opening with a drop of 1.50,and bond futures rose.
In golf,Graeme McDowell,a British golfer best known for his wins in Europe,led the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on California's Monterrey Peninsula.Phil Mickelson had an outstanding second round,scoring six birdies for a -1,while McDowell was at -3.Mickelson shared second place with Dustin Johnson,Ryo Ishikawa and Ernie Els.Tiger Woods was buried in the field at +4.Several golfers said the remarkable ocean side scenery was a distraction.