n the playoff.No other player has ever faced so much scrutiny, espec

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is taking up a First Amendment clash over the governments refusal to register offensive trademarks, a case that could affect the Washington Redskins in their legal fight over the team name.The justices agreed Thursday to hear a dispute involving an Asian-American rock band called the Slants, but they did not act on a separate request to hear the higher-profile Redskins case at the same time.Still, a high court ruling in favor of the Slants could bolster the football teams legal fight. Both groups argue that it is unconstitutional for the government to reject trademark rights for offensive speech.The trademark dispute is one of eight new cases the Supreme Court added to its calendar for the term that starts Monday. The court continues to operate with only with eight justices since Antonin Scalia died in February. His successor appears unlikely to be confirmed until sometime after the election.In the Slants case, front man Simon Tam tried to trademark the name in 2011, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the request on the ground that it disparages people of Asian descent. He sued, and a federal appeals court ruled last year that the law barring offensive trademarks violates free speech rights.The Redskins hoped to piggyback on the bands case, asking the Supreme Court to consider both disputes at the same time. The trademark office canceled the teams trademarks last year after finding they are disparaging to Native Americans.But the teams appeal has not even been heard yet by a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia. In an unusual request, the team asked the Supreme Court to intervene before the lower court acts. The high court almost never grants such requests.Tam says his goal in choosing the name was to transform a derisive term about the shape of Asian eyes into a statement of ethnic and cultural pride. The Redskins have similarly claimed their name honors American Indians, but the team has faced years of legal challenges from Indian groups that say the name is racist.The team has also come under intense public pressure to change the name, but owner Dan Snyder has refused.In the bands case, a divided federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., struck down a portion of the 70-year-old federal trademark law. The courts majority said the First Amendment protects even hurtful speech that harms members of oft-stigmatized communities.It is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys, Judge Kimberly Moore said for the majority.In dissent, Judge Alan Lourie said the decision interferes with the governments authority to filter out certain undesirable marks from the federal trademark registration system. He said the ruling would lead to further the degradation of civil discourse.The Obama administration is urging the high court to overturn the ruling. The government says the law simply reflects Congress judgment that the federal government should not affirmatively promote the use of racial slurs and other disparaging terms by granting the benefits of registration.The administration also argues that the law does not restrict speech because the band is still free to use the name even without trademark protection.The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have supported the Slants and the Redskins in their legal fights. The ACLU says the government cant withhold benefits just because it disagrees with the content of someones speech.The Slants and the Redskins can continue using their preferred names even without trademark protection. But a trademark confers certain legal benefits, including the power to sue competitors that infringe the trademark. For the Redskins, the team could lose millions if it cant block the sale of counterfeit merchandise.The Redskins say they have an even stronger case against the government than the Slants because team has already relied on financial advantages of trademark protection for many years. The team registered six trademarks including the name between 1967 and 1990.The justices will hear arguments in Lee v. Tam, 15-1293, early next year.Other new cases the justices agreed to take up on Thursday include:-a dispute over the minimum standards that public schools must meet to help learning-disabled students-whether state laws can prohibit merchants from imposing fees on customers who use credit cards-the Obama administrations appeal of lower court rulings making it harder to deport immigrants whove been convicted of crimes Air Max Plus 97 Nz . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Vapormax Off White 2019 . 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NASSAU, Bahamas -- Tiger Woods has gone through two back surgeries since he last played a golf tournament 15 months ago. He had another back surgery that knocked him out of the Masters for the first time in 2014. He had four knee surgeries before that.None of that matters to Ernie Els when Woods returns to competition this week.Els is more curious about whats going on in his head.The talents there. Its been proven. It doesnt go away, Els said. Its what you think of yourself. Its what you think where you are. We look at this great player, but hes not seeing the same stuff in his own mind. A lot of us are like that. When youve achieved as much as he has ... its a shock to the system not to play as good as you have been. To look at other people looking at you like, `Hey, youre not the same guy, thats hard to take.Els, perhaps more than any other player, has a deep golfing connection with Woods.He was the player Woods sought out 20 years ago at Royal Lytham & St. Annes when deciding whether to turn pro. They had so many meaningful battles, and Woods almost always got the better of him. Els was runner-up to Woods seven times, the most of any player.Els designed the Albany golf course where Woods comes back from the longest layoff of his career. He plans to be in the Bahamas, and he is as eager as anyone else to see how a guy who won 79 times on the PGA Tour, including 14 majors, stacks up against a generation that grew up in awe of how Woods played golf.The Hero World Challenge is a holiday tournament with an 18-man field and no cut. Even so, it commands as much attention as any tournament this year. Woods has been a star attraction his entire career, and the appetite is even stronger after an absence that dates to Aug. 23, 2015.I cant wait to watch, either, just to see him play, Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III said. The last time I saw him play, I won. Its hard to believe its been that long. Ive seen his swing. Ive seen him on video. Hes sent me clips, and Ive heard the description of how he feels. Im excited to see him play.Youve got to start somewhere, he added. And I want to see the start.Woods already has had one false start. He signed up to play the Safeway Open, only to pull out three days later because he said he felt vulnerable. That followed a week as assistant captain at the Ryder Cup, and cramming in practice the week before with results that made him want to wait.ddddddddddddLove won the Wyndham Championship last year in August at age 51, and it could easily have served as a model for Woods -- a power player no longer in his prime, not among the biggest hitters anymore, but with enough experience and talent to find a way to score and to win.It has to motivate him that Vijay Singh is lasting until 53, that Ernie is still competitive, that Davis is still competitive, Love said. He knows Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986 playing part-time. He knows what everybody has done. I know hes working hard not to come back and be average. He wants to come back and win again.That might be expecting too much, way too soon.Woods hasnt won a tournament since his seven-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational in 2013, the year he won five times and was PGA Tour player of the year. He hasnt had a serious chance at winning since his tournament three years ago when it was at Sherwood Country Club. Zach Johnson holed a wedge from the drop zone to force a playoff, and won when Woods missed a 5-foot putt in the playoff.No other player has ever faced so much scrutiny, especially now.I wont be able to turn the TV on, or the radio on, or look at my phone without knowing what he shot, Jim Furyk said. The expectations are so high. ... Every pitch shot, every putt, every 3-footer, its not under public scrutiny like he has. I guess you live by the sword, die by the sword. Thats why hes Tiger Woods. Its a tough situation.Woods said his health had nothing to do with pulling out of the Safeway Open, and Els believes him. He says Woods is in better shape than some players in their 20s. Then again, he has accumulated plenty of emotional baggage over the last several years, on and off the golf course.They physical side is not an issue. Its the other side thats an issue, whatever is blocking him, Els said. But youve got to get on the horse. You cant be standing on the sidelines. Youve got to get out there. ... Hopefully, he plays well, really, for his own goodness, his own sake, his own mental sake. If he plays well, it would be great. Hell have hope and start a good schedule. If it goes the other way, hes behind the 8-ball again. ' ' '