Marana, Ariz. ? Tiger Woods will end nearly three months of silence Friday when he speaks publicly for the first time since his middle-of-the-night car accident sparked stunning revelations of infidelity.

However, his agent said Woods will not take any questions from a small group of media.

“This is not a press conference,” Mark Steinberg said Wednesday.

It will be Woods’ first public appearance since Nov. 27, when he crashed his SUV into a tree outside his Florida home. Woods’ only comments since then have been made through his Web site.

“It will be good to see Tiger’s face again and see that he’s actually out there somewhere,” Stewart Cink said. “I think this is the beginning of the comeback process for him.”

Woods is to speak at 10 a.m. Friday from the clubhouse at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home of the PGA Tour.

“This is all about the next step,” Steinberg said. “He’s looking forward to it.”

Still, there was strict control over the appearance, typical of Woods’ career.

Steinberg described the gathering as a “small group of friends, colleagues and close associates,” who will listen to Woods apologize as he talks about the past and what he plans to do next. He said three wire services have been invited — the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg — and he asked the Golf Writers Association of America to recommend pool reporters.

Only one camera will be in the room to provide live coverage via satellite. Steinberg said other writers with proper credentials could watch from a hotel ballroom more than a mile away.

“The first time out, he’s better controlling it,” Padraig Harrington said. “Over time, there will be questions. At the moment, the best thing is a more controlled environment and gradually ease his way back into it.”

Steinberg said in an e-mail announcing the public appearance, “While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between he and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends and that’s what he’s going to discuss.”

The timing is peculiar. It will be held during the third round of the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, sure to steal attention away from the first big event of the year. Accenture was the first sponsor to drop Woods when he became embroiled in the sex scandal.

“He’s got to come out at some point,” Rory McIlroy said. “I suppose he might want to get something back against the sponsor that dropped him. No, I don’t know. It just went on for so long. I’m sick of hearing about it. And I’m just looking forward to when he’s getting back on the golf course.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said he did not think Woods’ appearance was going to undermine a World Golf Championship event.

GOLF

Top seed Stricker ousted

Marana, Ariz. — Ross McGowan of England rolled in a 30-foot par putt on the 19th hole to beat Steve Stricker, only the second time in the Match Play Championship that the No. 1 seed was beaten in the opening round.

On a day dominated by news of Tiger Woods, golf’s biggest star managed to have an influence at Dove Mountain. McGowan only got into the 64-man field because Woods did not enter while on his indefinite break from golf. That also elevated Stricker to the No. 1 seed, and he became the first top seed since Woods in 2002 to lose in the first round.

NBA

Gooden sent to Clippers

Washington — The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards in a three-team trade that sent Drew Gooden to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Washington received Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first-round draft pick and the rights to Emir Preldzic, who was selected in the second round of last year’s draft from Cleveland. The Wizards also received forward Al Thornton from Los Angeles. Cleveland received guard Sebastian Telfair from the Clippers.

Gooden reportedly was seeking a buyout. Unlike his three former Mavericks teammates, he did not practice with the Wizards on Tuesday, but was at shootaround Wednesday morning. He was listed as inactive.

T-wolves trade for Milicic

New York — The New York Knicks have traded Darko Milicic to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Brian Cardinal. The Timberwolves also received cash considerations in the deal that was completed Wednesday night.

Milicic has played in just eight games this season for the Knicks. He is averaging just 2.0 points and has not played since Nov. 13. The 32-year-old Cardinal is averaging 1.7 points in 27 games this season.

Pistons president resigns

Detroit — Tom Wilson, who for more than three decades has been the face of one of the nation’s most successful sports and entertainment enterprises, resigned as president and CEO of the Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment on Wednesday. Wilson said that after the death last year of Pistons owner Bill Davidson, the time was right to move on.

BASEBALL

McGwire arrives at camp

Jupiter, Fla. — Mark McGwire’s first day on the job ended with another apology for using steroids.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ new batting coach got time in the batting cage with hitters on Wednesday, sat in on a lengthy staff meeting and then spoke with reporters at the team’s spring training complex in Florida. He again said he was sorry, echoing remarks he made a few weeks ago when he admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs during his time as baseball’s home run king in the 1990s.

Lincecum deal finalized

San Francisco — Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants have finalized their $23 million, two-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Already a two-time All-Star, Lincecum is 40-17 with a 2.90 earned-run average with 676 strikeouts in three big-league seasons.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Oregon RB arrested

Portland, Ore. — Oregon tailback LaMichael James, one of the top freshmen in the nation, was arrested on domestic-violence charges after his girlfriend said he grabbed her neck during an argument and pushed her to the ground.

NFL

Browns release RB Lewis

Berea, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have released running back Jamal Lewis. Lewis’ season ended on Dec. 2 when he was placed on injured reserve with post-concussion symptoms. After Cleveland’s final game, Lewis revealed that he was still suffering from headaches and blurred vision as a result of the concussion, which he sustained in the season opener against Minnesota. He tried to play through it for three months before finally getting examined.