AKRON, Ohio -- With an elite field chasing the lead, Tiger Woods decided to play keep-away. Already up by a staggering seven shots through 36 holes thanks to a career-tying best of 61 in the second round, Woods shot a solid 2-under 68 on Saturday in the Bridgestone Invitational to maintain that same seven-stroke lead. It was as if he was turning around and daring the worlds best players to come after him. No one really could. "You know, today was a day that I didnt quite have it," said Woods, who was at 15-under 195. "But I scored. And thats the name of the game, posting a number, and I did today. I grinded my way around that golf course." Now hes only 18 holes away from making even more history in a career of historic accomplishments. Hell be competing against the record book as much as the elite field. "Its kind of tough to pick up seven or eight shots on Tiger around here," said Henrik Stenson, a distant second after a 67. "It would take something spectacular on my behalf or any of the other guys around me, and obviously a very, very poor round for him." Woods, by the way, is 41-2 when leading after 54 holes in a PGA Tour event. A victory would be his eighth at Firestone Country Club and in the Bridgestone and its forerunner, the NEC Invitational. That would match the tour-record eight he already has at Bay Hill and the eight wins Sam Snead had at the Greater Greensboro Open. Woods also could capture his 79th victory on the PGA Tour, drawing him within three of Sneads record of 82. "Ill just go out there and execute my game plan," he said. "It all starts with what the weather is doing, and then I build it from there. Well see what I do tomorrow." Unlike in a second-round 61 that could easily have been a 59 or even lower, Woods didnt recover from all of his errant shots. He bogeyed the ninth, 14th and 16th holes, failing to bounce back from wayward shots. Yet he still was good enough to put himself in position for yet another lopsided victory, one that will likely mark him as the player to beat next week in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill. "Any time you can go into a major tournament or any tournament with a win under your belt, its nice," Woods said. "It validates what youre working on and you have some nice momentum going in there." Of course, Woods has failed to win his last 17 major championships. No longer is it a lock that, with 14, hell surpass the mark of 18 by Jack Nicklaus. Woods began the third round with a seven-shot lead after rounds of 66 and the career-best 61 -- the fourth time he has gone that low, also matching the tournament record originally set by Jose Maria Olazabal in 1990. Jason Dufner was third, eight strokes back after a 67, and Luke Donald (68), Bill Haas (69) and Chris Wood (70) followed at 6 under. Dufner said Firestone isnt all that unique because it is just one of a number of places where Woods dominates. "Yeah, he has a pretty good track record here," he said. "Theres quite a few events out here that he does really well. Torrey Pines comes to mind, Bay Hill comes to mind, the Memorial. So he obviously feels comfortable on those courses, and its our job to try and chase him down if we can." Defending champ Keegan Bradley, with a 71, was another shot back along with Miguel Angel Jimenez, who put up a 65. Rounding out the top 10 were 2011 Bridgestone winner and reigning Masters champ Adam Scott and Zach Johnson. Woods has overwhelmed everyone in a glittering field that includes 48 of the top 50 players in the world ranking. Much like he did a day earlier, Woods started out fast. He birdied the first two holes (he had also eagled No. 2 in the second round). He rolled in a 12-footer at No. 1 and then two-putted from 40 feet at No. 2, most likely causing the rest of the players to just shake their heads. From there, however, he proved merely human. He parred the next six holes and then drove into the sheer face of a fairway bunker and took a bogey at the ninth hole. He played the back nine 1-under par -- including yet another shot for the highlight reel. At the par-4 13th, he airmailed his iron shot over the green and into heavy, grabby rough. But he got a sand wedge under the ball, popping it straight up. It landed on the green and rolled right to the pin, clanging off it and into the hole for birdie from 40 feet away. "Certainly, it wasnt a shot I was trying to make. I was just trying to get it down there where I could get a par and get out of Dodge and dodge a bullet," he said. "It just happened to go in." Of course, the ball often happens to just go in for Woods at World Golf Championship events like the Bridgestone. He has won 17 times in 41 starts -- a success rate of 41 per cent -- while finishing in the top 10 an amazing 32 times in WGC events. At Firestone, hes had winning streaks of four (2005-09) and three (1999-2001), and also has a tie for second and two fourth-place finishes. Woods looked back on his round and gave it a thumbs-up. "It ended up being a dead push for the day," he said about hanging on to the same lead he began the day with. "Thats not too bad, either." Not too bad at all. Manny Pina Brewers Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Keston Hiura Brewers Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/749y-ray-black-jersey-brewers.html . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Tyrone Taylor Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Corbin Burnes Brewers Jersey . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. At 6-17 this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are reeling.Their latest bump in the road came via a 27-point loss Friday to Detroit. Tom Thibodeaus team, lined with young and inexperienced players, could use a few wins to build a bit of confidence.Hosting the team with the NBAs best record may not be the ideal way to do that.On Sunday, Minnesota welcomes the Golden State Warriors, who even despite a loss Saturday to Memphis still boasts a 20-4 mark.Things seemingly hit a low point in Minneapolis following Fridays blowout. After the Wolves 117-90 loss, players had some pretty strong words about their latest performance.We didnt play with heart, point guard Ricky Rubio told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It was a two-point game and suddenly it was a 25-point game. And it seems like we didnt care.Guard Zach LaVine echoed Rubios sentiment following Minnesotas 17th loss.We got blown out at home, and its unacceptable, LaVine told the Star Tribune. Weve got to play as a team. We have to come out and give it all weve got. Because we have to get out of this hole. This is our job. Our passion. Its about us.Golden State reeled off four straight wins before suffering a 110-89 loss Saturday to the Memphis Grizzlies. That loss was only the fourth of the year -- and the third by at least 20 points -- for the reigning Western Conference champion. Steve Kerrs team has still looked like the team to beat in the NBA through the first few months of the 2016-17 season.ddddddddddddIn Saturdays loss, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were each 4-for-14 from the floor. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 21 points, while Curry was held to 17 points -- including an uncharacteristic 3-for-11 from 3-point range.I think (Currys) set the bar so high the last couple years, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told the San Jose Mercury News after Saturdays loss. Hes got high standards. Hell find his stroke.Defense has been one of the weakest parts of Minnesotas game this year. The young Timberwolves rank near the bottom of the league in many defensive categories, including points against and opponent field goal percentage. They havent held an opponent to fewer than 100 points in eight straight games.That doesnt necessarily bode well for Minnesota on Sunday, considering Golden State is the highest-scoring team in the NBA. However, Saturdays 89-point performance was the lowest output of the year for the Warriors.Tonight was just about our overall effort, Kerr told the Mercury News on Saturday. It didnt matter who was doing what offensively.Its the second meeting of the year between the Timberwolves and Warriors. Golden State won at home against Minnesota 115-102 on Nov. 26 despite forward Draymond Green not playing because of an ankle injury. Curry scored 34 points in that one. ' ' '