Padraig Harrington responded to a late charge by Tiger Woods with one of his own Saturday and shot a 3-under 67 at rain-softened Firestone to build a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods put some life into a dreary afternoon of rain with four birdies over his last six holes for a 65 that left him tied for the lead when he walked off the course.

It didn’t last long, however, as Harrington ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch to seize control. And even after the Irishman made a careless bogey on the par-5 16th, he answered with a 20-foot birdie on the 17th to restore his three-shot lead.

Of his 69 victories on the PGA Tour, Woods has only won five times when trailing by three shots or more. Two of those came earlier this year when he made up a five-shot deficit at Bay Hill and a four-shot deficit at the Memorial.

Harrington was at 10-under 200.

Pro Football

Falcons WR White agrees

Flowery Branch, Ga. — After holding out for the first week of training camp, receiver Roddy White agreed to a contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

White had a career-best 88 receptions and set a franchise record with 1,382 receiving yards last season, ranking fourth in the NFL. He earned his first Pro Bowl appearance while becoming the first Falcons receiver in a decade to post back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns.

Seahawks sign top pick

Renton, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks have signed first-round draft choice Aaron Curry eight days into training camp.

The No. 4 pick from Wake Forest ran onto the field Saturday afternoon a few minutes into practice. The fans in attendance cheered wildly as Seattle’s new outside linebacker nodded in their direction.

Terms of the multiyear contract were not immediately known, but Curry was expected to get around $30 million in guarantees.

Parker sits out practice

Latrobe, Pa. — Running back Willie Parker sat out the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice Saturday with back spasms, although the team doesn’t believe the problem is serious.

Eagles WR injures knee

Bethlehem, Pa. — Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has hyperextended his right knee in practice.

Jackson fell awkwardly Saturday after getting tangled up with cornerback Asante Samuel during a full-squad drill.

The second-year pro walked the length of the field with head trainer Rick Burkholder before being carted to the locker room. Jackson was able to put weight on his leg after practice, but the knee was heavily wrapped.

Browns release Smith

Berea, Ohio — Never afraid to speak his mind or offer an opinion, veteran defensive lineman Shaun Smith was released Saturday by the Cleveland Browns.

Coach Eric Mangini offered few details about his decision to cut the 6-foot-2, 325-pound Smith, who started 19 games in two seasons with Cleveland and last year was involved in a weight-room fight with quarterback Brady Quinn.

“We needed to create a roster spot, and that’s really what it came down to,” Mangini said.

Pro Baseball

Cubs place Zambrano on DL

Denver — The Chicago Cubs placed right-hander Carlos Zambrano on the 15-day disabled list a day after he was scratched from his start due to back spasms. The team recalled righty Jeff Stevens from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday.

It’s Zambrano’s second trip to the DL this season. He was out in May due to a left hamstring strain. The move Saturday is retroactive to Aug. 2. Zambrano (7-4) was scheduled to pitch against Colorado on Friday, but was scratched 15 minutes before the game.

Golf

Rollins adds to lead

Reno, Nev. — John Rollins doubled his lead in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, shooting a 5-under 67 to move four strokes ahead of Ryan Palmer.

Rollins, who tied the course record with a 62 on Friday, had three birdies and three bogeys on the front nine, then rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th and added two birdies to finish at 17-under 199 at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

Song closer to 2nd win

St. Louis — Jennifer Song moved within a victory of becoming the second woman to win two U.S. Golf Association championships in the same year, beating Tiffany Lua 3 and 2 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinals.

The 19-year-old Song, the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links winner in June and low amateur last month in the U.S. Women’s Open, will face Jennifer Johnson today in the 36-hole final at Old Warson. Johnson beat 14-year-old Alexis Thompson 1-up.

Auto Racing

Ambrose wins again

Watkins Glen, N.Y. — A year ago, Marcos Ambrose used pit strategy to win at Watkins Glen International. The second time around he used a little aggression.

The hard-charging Tasmanian passed series points leader Kyle Busch with a daring move through the chicane Saturday and won the Nationwide Zippo 200 for the second straight year.

It was the 10th consecutive top-two finish in Nationwide for Busch, breaking the series record set by Jack Ingram in 1983. Carl Edwards was third, followed by polesitter Kevin Harvick and Canadian road racer Ron Fellows. Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt, finished 24th in his Nationwide debut.

Olympics

USOC paying CEO well

Chicago — Despite the recent loss of three major sponsors and uncertainty over its revenue streams beyond the 2012 Olympics, the United States Olympic Committee is paying acting chief executive Stephanie Streeter a base salary 30 percent higher than that of the CEO she replaced, Jim Scherr.

The Chicago Tribune also has confirmed Streeter’s total compensation package could exceed $1 million, perhaps double the $619,507 Scherr received in salary, bonuses, benefits and other compensation in 2008, according to the USOC tax filing.

“She would have to hit it out of the park in every way for (a total more than $1 million) to happen,” Bob Bowlsby, head of the USOC compensation committee, said Friday.

The USOC board of directors already has approved Streeter’s base annual salary of $560,000, Bowlsby said.

Bowlsby, also Stanford’s athletic director, said the compensation committee still is discussing the incentive package for Streeter, who took over as CEO when the USOC board forced Scherr to resign in March.