BRIEFLY WOODS SHOULD BE CUT ABOVE.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Tiger Woods took any suspense out of his bid to tie the PGA Tour record for consecutive cuts, shooting a 6-under-par 66 on Thursday to sit three strokes behind leader Brenden Pappas at the Funai Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

If Woods makes the cut after play today, he will tie Byron Nelson's 55-year-old record of making 113 cuts in a row. Woods has accomplished the feat over six years.

Meanwhile, Vijay Singh, trying to win the PGA Tour's money title after Woods has won it the past five years, shot an 8-under 64 to leave him in a tie for second with Pat Perez and John Huston.

--LPGA standout Se Ri Pak shot an even-par 72 to tie for 13th out of 126 entrants in her first round against men at the Korean tour's SBS Super Tournament in Yongin, South Korea.

--Jim Thorpe made five birdies over the last nine holes for a 9-under 63 to tie the tournament record at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma and take a three-stroke lead in the final Champions Tour event of the year.

COLLEGES: The Western Athletic Conference has decided to add Utah State and New Mexico State in 2005. Both are leaving the Sun Belt Conference.

--Pitcher Robyn Contra of Hart High in Newhall has committed to play softball at Cal Poly.

BASEBALL: The Round Rock Express, owned by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and his family, will become a Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate after the purchase of the Edmonton Trappers.

The Trappers will move to the Texas city for the 2005 season and take the Round Rock name. The current Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros will move to Corpus Christi, Texas, under a new name.

CROSS COUNTRY: A bus carrying Florida A&M's cross-country team overturned on a highway on the way to a tournament in South Carolina, injuring 19, but none of them were life-threatening, a hospital spokesman said.

OLYMPICS: International Olympic Committee officials were assured that the Greek government is committed to anti-doping efforts following the disclosure of a previously undetectable steroid.

Culture minister Evangelos Venizelos told chief International Olympic Committee inspector Denis Oswald there is an ``absolute need'' to fight doping and described Greece as an ``active member'' of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Wednesday, Greece's Amateur Athletics Association ordered the re- examination of athletes' samples to test for the steroid, tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG.

HOCKEY: Eight players from the University of New Hampshire's top-ranked men's hockey team were suspended for violating team rules.

A disturbance broke out in Durham, N.H., after the Boston Red Sox lost Game 7 of the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees on Oct. 16. UNH coach Dick Umile had told his players not to go downtown that night, after UNH defeated Merrimack College 4-1.

Seven New Hampshire's students were arrested during the disturbance.

TENNIS: Top-seeded Andy Roddick reached the Swiss Indoors quarterfinals in Basil, Switzerland, by beating qualifier Gilles Elseneer 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Roger Federer, seeded second, lost 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 to Ivan Ljubicic.

--Taylor Dent lost to Robby Ginepri 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 at the Stockholm Open.