Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — GOLF Johnson leads by 3

The PGA Tour season finally got under way Monday, and Dustin Johnson wasted no time taking control in the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii. Johnson had not played the Plantation Course since Thursday. Once he got started, he hardly missed a shot. Johnson had seven putts at eagle over 36 holes, four on the back ninealone in the second round. He missed only three greens in regulation. And when his marathon day ended, he had rounds of 69-66 for a three-shot lead at 11-under-par 135 over defending champion Steve Stricker. Bubba Watson, playing with Johnson and frustrated by the wind and slow greens, birdied his last hole for a 69 and was four shots out of the lead. Keegan Bradley (69) and Brandt Snedeker (70) were another shot behind. They were the only players within five shots of Johnson.

BASKETBALL LA big men out

Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill will miss the Los Angeles Lakers’ road trip with injuries, leaving the struggling club without its top three big men indefinitely. Howard has a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and Gasol has a concussion after taking an elbow in the face late in Sunday night’s loss to Denver. Hill, a key backup to both starting big men, has a right hip injury. Howard hurt his shoulder in last Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and aggravated it in Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets while grabbing a career high-tying 26 rebounds. The six time All-Star center said he won’t need surgery, but he’ll sit out for at least a week before his injury is re-evaluated.

The 11th-ranked Florida Gators likely will be without forward Erik Murphy for Wednesday’s game against Georgia, maybe longer. Murphy, the team’s second-leading scorer, has a fractured rib that kept him out of Sunday’s victory at Yale and prevented him from practicing Monday. The 6-10 senior is averaging 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds this season. He’s shooting 57.3 percent from the field and a team-best 45.2 percent (19 of 42) from three-point range. Murphy got hit in the side during practice Friday, causing more damage to an injury he first suffered against Air Force on Dec. 29. X-rays on Monday revealed the extent of the injury.

Atlanta Hawks General Manager Danny Ferry has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for inappropriate interaction with game officials following Saturday night’s game against Boston. Atlanta led the Celtics by 19 points before losing 89-81. Ferry and the Hawks had no comment Monday. A person familiar with the incident says Ferry handed the officials a DVD recording of the game. Team officials are supposed to send such materials to the league for review. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the incident had not been publically released.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love met with doctors in the Twin Cities on Monday to evaluate his right hand, which is broken for the second time this season. Love also will consult with a hand specialist in New York this week before determining a course of action, president of basketball operations David Kahn said. There is no timetable for his return, but the All-Star forward and Olympic gold medalist is expected to be sidelined for an extended period. Love missed the first three weeks of the season after breaking his hand during the preseason. He didn’t need surgery for that injury. He broke the hand again while jockeying for position under the basket against Denver last week.

The Indiana Pacers have signed Coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension. The team did not provide details Monday about the length or terms of the new deal. Vogel replaced Jim O’Brien as the Pacers coach Jan. 30, 2011, and has led them to the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Last year under Vogel, the Pacers won their first playoff series since 2005. They also led the Miami Heat 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing the next three games. Vogel is 82-56 in his three seasons as a head coach, all in Indy.

BASEBALL

Berkman passes physical

The Texas Rangers completed a $10 million, one-year deal Monday after 36-year-old Lance Berkman, who played only 32 games last season for St. Louis, passed a physical. The deal includes a $12 million club option for 2014 that becomes a guaranteed $13 million deal if he has 550 plate appearances this season. There is also a $1 million buyout for the second year. Berkman is coming off an injury plagued season in St. Louis, where the six-time All-Star spent nearly a month on the disabled list early because of a strained left calf. Only a week after returning, he went back on the DL for nearly two months after tearing a meniscus in his right knee that required surgery. His season ended with a second surgery in September, when the meniscus was removed. It was the fourth operation on his right knee. Berkman, who turns 37 next month, was considering retirement but the Rangers’ offer kept him in the game. Berkman is a .296 career hitter with 360 home runs and 1,200 RBI in 1,806 regular-season games, all but 214 of those with the Houston Astros.

Reliever Mike Gonzalez and the Milwaukee Brewers have finalized a $2.25 million, one-year contract. The deal with the 34-year-old left hander, which had been agreed to on Dec. 28, allows him to earn an additional $400,000 in performances. Gonzalez had a 3.03 ERA and no record in 47 games last year with Washington, holding left-handed hitters to a .179 batting average. He has a 17-21 record with a 2.94 ERA and 56 saves with Pittsburgh (2003-06), Atlanta (2007-09), Baltimore (2010-11), Texas (2011) and Washington (2012).

SOCCER Messi first 4-time winner

Lionel Messi became the first four-time winner of the FIFA Player of the Year award after shattering the world record with 91 goals last year for Barcelona and Argentina. The 25-year-old won for the fourth consecutive time, beating Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta in voting announced Monday. Abby Wambach became the first American to win FIFA Women’s Player of the Year since Mia Hamm in 2001 and 2002. Pia Sundhage was voted top women’s coach after leading Wambach and the U.S. team to the gold medal at last summer’s London Olympics. Vicente del Bosque was voted top men’s coach after leading Spain to its third consecutive title in a major tournament, the 2012 European Championship.

BOXING Ward postpones fight

Super middleweight champion Andre Ward has had surgery on his injured right shoulder that will postpone his title bout against Kelly Pavlik for a second time. The fight had originally been scheduled for Jan. 26 in Los Angeles but was postponed until March when Ward hit his shoulder while sparring. After rest did not heal the injury, Ward got a second opinion from San Francisco Giants orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Dillingham, who discovered a small tear in Ward’s shoulder capsule. Dillingham operated on Ward on Friday and says the surgery went well. Ward is expected to begin rehab within a week.

HOCKEY NHL says 48-game season ‘most likely’

The NHL appears headed toward a 48-game season for the second time in two decades.

“I think 48 is most likely at this point, unless the players can expedite their ratification process,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an e-mail Monday to The Associated Press.

The NHL shortened its 82-game slate to 48 games for the 1994-95 season after a 103-day lockout. A 301-day lockout in 2004-05 made the NHL the first major North American professional sports league to lose an entire season.

When the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to Sunday morning - after 16 hours of negotiations - there was some talk of having a 50-game season start later this month.

The NHL and the players’ association are working on a memorandum of understanding, which could be completed soon, then voted on by owners and players. The league has circulated a memo to teams telling them to be ready to play by Jan. 19, the date the shortened season is expected to start.