Sports News

BALTIMORE - Dave Trembley will get another chance to coax a winning season out of the Baltimore Orioles in 2009.

The race for the World Series reaches an important juncture tonight.

Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are struggling to get back into the playoff race while the Los Angeles Angels are closing in on another postseason berth.

MILWAUKEE - The Brewers got through August unscathed this year. Now, Milwaukee is struggling in the regular season's final month.

MILWAUKEE - Will Venable hit his first career homer and the San Diego Padres beat Milwaukee 5-2 on Thursday night, handing the slumping Brewers their fourth straight loss.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The New York Giants won the Super Bowl with defense and they kicked off defense of that title with more of the same.

A better question than "Are you ready for some football?" on the opening week of the NFL season might be how soon you're ready for some more games that count.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Football fans will have to open their wallets wider this season as ticket prices in the National Football League continue to rise despite the weak U.S. economy, according to a study by a sports marketing firm.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Giants signed top receiver Plaxico Burress to a contract extension, the team said on its website on Thursday, securing the playmaker through 2012.

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) - The New York Giants opened the NFL season with a 16-7 victory over the Washington Redskins on Thursday.

Sporting News caught up with Todd Quinter, Olympics scout and Suns director of player personnel, to talk about his experience scouting the basketball overseas. Among the highlights: trying to find a proper meal in Nanjing, the atmosphere of the European game, and Rudy Fernandez is the real deal.

RYE BROOK, N.Y. - He was drafted more than 14 months ago, and even then he looked too old to be a first-year player, so it's easy to forget that Greg Oden is technically a rookie.

LOS ANGELES - LeBron James could be excused for his poor shooting from behind the arc, and for being blown out in a game of H-O-R-S-E with a warehouse worker in a beach exhibition. James was still floating in the clouds from his Olympic experience.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NBA franchise that relocated to Oklahoma City from Seattle unveiled its nickname as the Thunder.

RYE BROOK, N.Y. - Former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home Wednesday from the NBA's mandatory rookie transition program for violating unspecified league rules.

BARCELONA (AFP) - Fabio Capello believes Wayne Rooney must end his England goal-drought against Andorra on Saturday to shatter the mental block affecting his performances for the national team.

LONDON (AFP) - Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton was banned on Friday for six matches - with another six suspended - and fined 25,000 pounds for assaulting team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

LONDON (AFP) - League Managers' Association (LMA) chief executive Richard Bevan on Friday called on Newcastle to sort out their structural problems to ensure their next manager does not suffer the same fate as Kevin Keegan.

LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted Friday that the failure to sign his fellow Brazilian Robinho would be no loss to the Premier League club this season.

BARCELONA (AFP) - Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of England's opening World Cup 2010 qualifier against Andorra here on Saturday after failing to recover from a back injury.

A newly formed Russian hockey league accused the NHL of poaching two of its players when the Los Angeles Kings agreed to terms with two draft prospects last week.

DALLAS - Dallas Stars center Stu Barnes is retiring after 16 years in the NHL.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic agreed to a four-year contract extension with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, keeping one of the club's best young players with the Sharks through the 2012-13 season.

DENVER - Patience paid off for the Colorado Avalanche, who signed Joe Sakic to a one-year, $6 million contract Wednesday after he decided to play a 20th season in the NHL rather than call it a career.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Scott Gordon faced a probing question in the time between accepting the job as head coach of the New York Islanders and his introductory news conference.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Chris Nickson threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Vanderbilt finally beat a ranked opponent on its own field Thursday night, upsetting No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

DOVER, Del. - Quarterback Vashon Winton ran for four touchdowns, including a six-yarder for the game-winner in overtime, as Delaware State edged Florida A&M 35-28 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football Thursday night.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells will not play when the third-ranked Buckeyes take on Ohio on Saturday.

KENTON, Ohio - Former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk testified Thursday that a foot injury prevented him from playing or even practicing at times during his freshman season in 2003 at Wake Forest, where he played before transferring to Cincinnati.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Officials have set a 6 p.m. start time for Saturday's Charleston Southern-Wofford football game.

NEW YORK (AFP) - For Roger Federer to win his fifth US Open title in a row, the Swiss second seed must prove he still has what it takes to beat Novak Djokovic, this time in a semi-final rematch of last year's final.

NEW YORK (AFP) - India's Leander Paes completed a career mixed doubles Grand Slam on Thursday, joining Zimbabwe's Cara Black to beat Britain's Jamie Murray and American Liezel Huber 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in the US Open final.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Four-time defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the US Open semi-finals on Thursday by beating 130th-ranked Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).

NEW YORK (AFP) - US Tennis Association officials are pondering their rainy day plans with forecasters predicting downpours all day Saturday when the US Open men's semi-finals and women's final are scheduled.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Playing in Madrid's high altitude could help give reigning champion United States an edge against disgruntled Spain when the rivals meet in a Davis Cup semi-final tie, US captain Patrick McEnroe said.

Under increasing criticism, the LPGA Tour on Friday backed off a proposed policy that would have suspended players who could not efficiently speak English.

ST. LOUIS - When the fans came out to watch Tiger Woods, there was no tournament. Arnold Palmer once played in a tournament, but fans couldn't get to the golf course.

MEXICO CITY - Lorena Ochoa of Mexico says a new LPGA Tour policy requiring players to be effective in English starting in 2009 is a "little drastic."

NEW YORK - Chad Campbell lingered in the parking lot of a Dallas hospital as his wife waited inside to get the latest report on their first child, due to be born later this week.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Even with his golf done for the year, Tiger Woods found something to celebrate Tuesday: His wife is pregnant with their second child. Woods said on his Web site that Elin is expecting in late winter without being more specific on a due date.

BERLIN - Russian giant Nikolai Valuev won the WBA heavyweight championship Saturday night, using his left jab to outpoint American John Ruiz in an unanimous decision.

NEW YORK - Police say a promising New York City boxer is dead after being shot during a fight in the Bronx.

Oscar De La Hoya finally has an opponent for his farewell fight — only the Golden Boy's tantalizing matchup with Manny Pacquiao might not be his final bout after all.

CHICAGO - Jabir Herbert Muhammad, a longtime manager of boxer Muhammad Ali, has died following heart surgery. He was 79.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart and Joey Logano will not be on probation in the NASCAR Nationwide Series after all.

MONTICELLO, N.Y. - Bill McMichael braked his new Ferrari F430 Scuderia into the turn, downshifting as he went into the corner. Then he punched it on the straightaway. Pedal down, engine whining an octave higher, the sleek, black car closed in on 140 mph within seconds.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dario Franchitti will leave NASCAR and return to IndyCar in 2009 as the replacement driver for Dan Wheldon at Chip Ganassi Racing.

FONTANA, Calif. - Jimmie Johnson had enough time to think about how good his car was — and worry that he might blow it.

DETROIT - Helio Castroneves surely had another fence-climbing celebration running through his mind as he raced toward victory Sunday at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

SAN ANTONIO - Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been released from federal prison after completing her sentence for lying about her steroid use.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AFP) - A motorcyclist was killed after losing control of his bike at 385 kilometers (239 miles) per hour and crashing on Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flats, authorities and reports said Thursday.

NEW YORK - That litany of health issues Novak Djokovic dealt with earlier in the week — hip, ankle, stomach and more — seemed a tad humorous to Andy Roddick.

MIAMI - Daunte Culpepper summed up his thoughts Thursday in two words, which ushered in the start of a new era for the former Pro Bowl quarterback. "Farewell NFL," he wrote.

Under increasing criticism, the LPGA Tour on Friday backed off a proposed policy that would have suspended players who could not efficiently speak English.

CHICAGO - The thought of wearing a skintight swimsuit in public makes many people cringe. But gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps said he wouldn't be surprised if he dons his Speedo when he hosts the Sept. 13 season premiere of "Saturday Night Live."

CHICAGO - Thousands of spectators cheered Olympic medalists Michael Phelps, Dara Torres and Kobe Bryant on Wednesday as the city of Chicago got a high-profile boost to its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The International Olympic Committee is investigating the silver and bronze medalists in the men's hammer throw in Beijing for suspected doping offenses.

NEW YORK - Michael Phelps will put his $1 million bonus to good use, announcing plans to start a foundation promoting water safety and youth swimming. Joe Gromek, president and CEO of Warnaco, Speedo's U.S. parent company, presented a check to Phelps on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday.

PARKER, Texas - Olympic gold-medalist Nastia Liukin has been greeted by flocks of fans at a welcome-home parade in her North Texas town.