Mickelson's Great Start;Lakers End Road Woes

Phil Mickelson continued his dominance at the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Friday,pretty much coasting to a 17 under par 65.His superlative performance was only marred when he botched the 18th hole,where he double-bogeyed,derailed by a water hazard.Nonetheless,Mickelson,42,had a magnificent day overall,and felt that he was playing really well.
Also playing well before the huge,raucous Arizona crowd of more than 100,000 golf fans at Scottsdale were Bill Haas,with his 13 under par 64;and Keegan Bradley,who shot a 12 under par 63.
The atmosphere was more like that of an NFL football game than a typically polite golf tournament.TPC Scottsdale is singularly boisterous among PGA Tour venues.Weekend attendance will surely top that of the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
In NBA action Friday night,the Los Angeles Lakers ended an eight game road slump by besting the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis 111-100.The crowd of 18,547 saw the Lakers nearly drop another away game when the Timberwolves drew within 4 points of the Lakers in the fourth period.A strong showing by Pau Gasol,however,helped save the night for Los Angeles,as he refurbished their lead with several baskets.
Gasol led the Lakers with 22 points,12 rebounds,2 assists and 3 blocks.Koby Bryant added 17 points,7 rebounds and 8 assists;and Steve Nash contributed 17 points,7 rebounds and 7 assists.Bryant said we're playing pretty well.All in all,we're pretty pleased with the performance,playing for each other.I like where we're at right now.
For the Timberwolves,Alexey Shved led with 18 points,4 rebounds and 6 assists;followed by Derrick Williams with 15 points and 9 rebounds;and Nikola Pekovic with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
It was 3 degrees F outside Target Center,while much further south the Mid-Atlantic region felt their own bitter winds and low wind chills on Friday as the seesaw temperature regimen of this winter continued.

Market Disses Jobs Report,Egypt

The stock market was seemingly little concerned about a disappointing employment report,as well as an unfolding crisis of global import,as it logged modest gains for the week that was.The Dow added 2.27,while the NASDAQ gained 3.07 and the S&P 2.7 respectively.The paltry jobs growth of only 36,000 in January,when what is needed is well into six figures,and the struggle of Egyptians against authoritarian rule were set aside in favor of strong manufacturing and service sector data from the Institute for Supply Management,as well as a stable European situation.
Winter weather could not be dismissed at the Dallas Super Bowl site,where six people were injured by ice falling off the roof of Cowboys Stadium;nor in Scottsdale,where the Phoenix Open was delayed by yesterday's frost and subfreezing temperatures.Americans Tommy Gainey and Mark Wilson led the portion of the second round completed on Friday at -11,while Australian Geoff Ogilvy notched a third place with a -9.Phil Mickelson will play his second round Saturday.
The S&P futures warmed up 3.90 Friday evening,and the ten year Treasury futures tacked on more interest.Next week,Kraft Foods and Disney will be among those reporting earnings.
Kraft Foods(KFT),Disney(DIS)