Argentina's Andres Romero walked off the TPC Louisiana a happy man Sunday afternoon. Three hours later, he felt even better. Romero won the Zurich Classic in his 12th career start on the PGA Tour, closing with a 4-under 68 hours before the other contenders finished en route to a one-stroke victory over Australia's Peter Lonard.
As he walked down the Los Angeles Coliseum tunnel and glanced toward the left-field screen, Boston catcher Jason Varitek smiled and said sarcastically: "Wakie's a fly ball pitcher. That's great." Then, in his best broadcast voice, he intoned: "Dodgers 85, Red Sox 81." Esteban Loaiza, the Dodgers' starter who opposed knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in Saturday night's exhibition game, followed a few...
All it took for Curlin to win over the world were a few powerful strides in the stretch of the $6 million Dubai World Cup. The Horse of the Year rolled on from there to a record-setting 7 3/4 -length victory in the world's richest race at Nad al Sheba racetrack on Saturday, and now rules thoroughbred racing.
With a flick of his wrist in overtime, Christopher Higgins capped the Montreal Canadiens' three-goal comeback and dealt the stunned Buffalo Sabres a near finishing blow to their playoff hopes. Higgins, though, wasn't thinking about the big-picture implications following a 4-3 victory that put Montreal back atop the Eastern Conference standings, a point ahead of idle Pittsburgh.
LeBron James walked to the center of the floor as fans who have watched him grow from local teenage prodigy to NBA superstar drowned him in cheers. As they stood and screamed, James returned their love by blowing kisses. The kid from nearby Akron has done it all so quickly, in the blink of an eye. From the franchise's top pick to its top scorer -- in less than five years.
Heath Benedict, a two-time Little All-American offensive lineman from Newberry College in South Carolina, was found dead on a couch in his home. Jacksonville police said no foul play is suspected in the death of the 24-year-old Benedict, a 6-foot-6, 326-pounder who finished up his senior season in the fall and left school to train for next month's NFL draft.
California underachieved in the eyes of its players, its athletic director and its fans. The school fired basketball coach Ben Braun on Wednesday following another disappointing season in which the Golden Bears missed the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years. Braun spent 12 years at Cal and made the tournament five times.
Commissioner David Stern and three NBA owners believe Oklahoma City should be the future home of the Seattle SuperSonics. To make his relocation request a reality, Sonics owner Clay Bennett now needs to win over at least 13 more of his peers. After a tour of the Ford Center and a presentation from Oklahoma City and state officials, Stern said Tuesday a subcommittee of three NBA owners would suggest...
Chris Webber is ending his comeback attempt with the Golden State Warriors and will retire after 15 seasons in the NBA. Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said Webber will make the announcement at a news conference Wednesday. The news was first reported Tuesday by ESPN.com. Webber played only nine games with the Warriors before being sidelined by a bum left knee that's hampered him in recent years.
RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writers The Roger Clemens vs. Brian McNamee dispute over whether the seven-time Cy Young Award winner took performance-enhancing drugs has become a feud between Republicans and Democrats. Reprising the partisan nature of last month's Clemens-McNamee congressional hearing, the leading Republican on that committee released a report Tuesday questioning some of the Democratic...
Kobe Bryant took a pass in the lane and spun toward a defender, flicking the ball over his head once his back was toward the basket. The ball hit the glass, caromed off the rim and fell into the net. Just like that, the Los Angeles Lakers were up by 25 points midway through the third quarter. And the momentum the Dallas Mavericks thought they'd built with five lopsided wins over lousy teams seemed...
Reggie Larry scored 31 points and Boise State ended a l4-year NCAA drought, outlasting New Mexico State 107-102 for the WAC tournament title in a triple-overtime thriller Saturday night. Matt Nelson added 26 points and Tyler Tiedeman had 17 to help the Broncos (25-8) return to the NCAAs for the first time since 1994, when they won the Big Sky tourney but lost to Louisville in the first round.
It's Madison Square Garden in March so Pittsburgh must be in the Big East tournament championship game. The Panthers reached the title game for the seventh time in eight years with a 68-61 victory over No. 25 Marquette on Friday night. As great as that run sounds, there is a lot more for them to do since they have won the tournament just once, beating Connecticut in 2003.
Michelle Wie made sure she didn't get too far ahead of herself in her first tournament round of the year. Telling herself to "stay in the present," Wie shot a 3-under 69 in the Fields Open on Thursday to finish five strokes behind first-round leader Jeong Jang. Showing virtually no signs of the wrist injuries that plagued her last year, Wie broke 70 for the first time since the Evian Ladies Masters...
Boston coach Doc Rivers expects some disagreement from Kevin Garnett. However, no amount of pleading will sway Rivers from his plan. Garnett, who's been sidelined since Jan. 25 with a strained abdominal muscle, will only play a limited number of minutes in Tuesday night's game with the Denver Nuggets. Rivers wouldn't reveal how much court time Garnett would see in his return.
Phil Mickelson learned as junior golfer to never underestimate anyone, no matter the size of his lead or the pedigree of his opponent. And while the odds of Lefty finally winning in L.A. looked good as ever Saturday at the Northern Trust, where he shot a 1-under 70 for a one-shot lead over Jeff Quinney, two holes showed how much work remains to add Riviera to his West Coast collection of trophies.
Kobe Bryant was hurting and coming off his worst scoring night in more than a year, and yet kept coming back to the same word: easy. Thanks to Pau Gasol, the Lakers no longer need Bryant to be great every night anymore. Gasol had 24 points and 12 rebounds in his Los Angeles debut, and the Lakers beat the New Jersey Nets 105-90 on Tuesday night despite a season-low six points from Bryant, his first...
With Larry Harris out as general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Sen. Herb Kohl now has to prove to the next candidate that he's not a meddling owner. "I'm not Mark Cuban," Kohl quipped of the Dallas Mavericks' billionaire owner who routinely makes headlines. "I honestly believe that I'm not a meddling type of a manager, whether it be in basketball or whether it was in food stores or department...
Two years removed from the Final Four, John Brady will try to resurrect his career at Arkansas State. Brady was hired as the new coach Wednesday, less than six weeks after being fired by LSU. He takes over a team that finished 10-20 this season and hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1999. "I think there's an opportunity to win here," Brady said.
Fans at City of Palms Park were ready for Boston's final spring training game in Florida. The Red Sox weren't. In an extraordinary move, Boston players voted to boycott a nationally televised exhibition and Wednesday afternoon's flight to Japan for next week's season-opening series against Oakland, upset that coaches weren't going to receive the same $40,000 payments negotiated for players by their...
The New York Rangers got the kind of effort Sunday that they believe can lead them to a successful playoff push. Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, and the Rangers scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Drury redirected Nigel Dawes' shot past Montreal goalie Cristobal Huet at the right edge of the crease as New York overcame a 3-0...
New Orleans defensive end Charles Grant was stabbed in the neck, and a pregnant woman was shot and killed early Sunday in an altercation at a nightclub in southwest Georgia. Grant was assaulted and had an injury to his neck, according to a statement released by Capt. Will Caudill of the Early County Sheriff's Office.
Willie McGinest always believed Romeo Crennel would turn the Cleveland Browns into winners. For a long time, though, it seemed like the 36-year-old linebacker was about the only who did. "There was a lot of prejudgment about Romeo," said McGinest, who played for Crennel in New England. "And it was really unfair.
Second baseman Brandon Phillips agreed to a $27 million, four-year deal Friday, settling the Cincinnati Reds' final arbitration case and satisfying a player who doesn't want to leave. The 26-year-old infielder had a breakout season last year, when he joined Alfonso Soriano as the only second basemen in major league history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases.
The San Jose Sharks opened their six-game homestand with a literal bang when Jody Shelley landed a board-rattling, crowd-inciting hit on the enforcer's first shift with his new club. The Sharks might be tougher with their menacing new addition, but Joe Pavelski and Jeremy Roenick haven't lost the skill that put San Jose among the NHL's elite.
Georgia lingered on the home court of its bitter rival, even after cutting down the nets and donning the hats and T-shirts of a championship weekend. The Bulldogs wanted to find out where they would be playing next. Imagine that. Georgia is heading to the NCAA tournament. After enduring a tornado, a change of venue and a doubleheader, the gritty Bulldogs provided one last surprise in the finale of an...
No one thought Georgia could win two SEC tournament games in one day. Then again, no one asked Georgia seniors Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss. Gaines scored 20 points and Georgia, a last-place team in the regular season, upset Mississippi State 64-60 on Saturday night to move to within one win of its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002.
Tennessee hardly looked like a No. 1 seed, and South Carolina sure didn't resemble the team that lost by 33 points to the Volunteers less than a week ago. In a stunning turnaround, the lowly Gamecocks were in position to pull off a major upset against No. 4 Tennessee before Chris Lofton hit a 3-pointer with 11.4 seconds remaining to give the Vols an 89-87 victory in the quarterfinals of the...
Free-agent third baseman Pedro Feliz and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to an $8.5 million, two-year contract. The deal includes a team option for 2010, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. With the option and performance bonuses, the contract could be worth up to $15 million over three years.
Billy Crystal whacked himself in the helmet with his backswing, found his shoelaces and socks sabotaged and watched his team lose. Oh, and the New York Yankees rookie struck out in his one and only at-bat as a big leaguer. "It was the strangest, greatest moment of my life," he said Thursday. A day before his 60th birthday, the comedian, actor and Oscar host enjoyed every moment of the day he'd hoped...
Unusual enough that the Pittsburgh Penguins scored seven goals without Sidney Crosby. Stranger still, their highest-scoring game all season swung not on all that offense, but a game-changing penalty kill. Ty Conklin beat Buffalo for the fourth time this season and the Penguins got goals from Evgeni Malkin and rookies during a 7-3 victory over the Sabres on Wednesday night.
John Daly woke up Wednesday morning to read that swing coach Butch Harmon fired him. Then he got a phone call when he was at the entrance to Bay Hill letting him know he had been kicked out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing the pro-am. "Hasn't been a good day," Daly told The Associated Press.
Defensive end Antwan Odom signed a five-year deal worth $29.5 million Monday night with the Cincinnati Bengals, their first move in free agency to fix their biggest problem. Odom was coming off a career-best season with 16 starts and eight sacks with the Tennessee Titans, who drafted him in 2004. But the Titans took a risk in letting Odom test the free agent market, and they lost him to...
Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek each scored goals, Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves and the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 Tuesday night for their franchise-record 10th straight win. The first goal was decided after a lengthy video review in the second period. On the power play, Jonathan Cheechoo was skating close in on the left side when he passed the puck to Pavelski in front of the...
Dwyane Wade needs time to heal, and the Miami Heat saw no reason to further postpone the inevitable. Wade will miss the remainder of the season so he can further rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee, which has bothered him for about a year. He will undergo a powerful shock-wave treatment later this week, and hopes he will be pain free in time for next season.
Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson answered one question on Monday. He'll be back as the Wildcats' coach at the end of the season, ending his personal leave of absence. But Olson raised another question when he said in a statement that his leave was necessitated "by a medical condition that was not life-threatening, but serious enough to require time away from my coaching responsibilities." In a...
Peter Forsberg always realized it was nothing personal, just business. Now, he's back for another run. Forsberg agreed to a $5 million, one-year deal Monday with the Colorado Avalanche, a team he won two Stanley Cup championships with before their split following the league's lockout in 2004-05. "There were no hard feelings," Forsberg said of his departure due to salary-cap reasons.
Warren Sapp's 13-year NFL career officially ended when his retirement was posted on the Oakland Raiders' Web site. Sapp said immediately after last season that he was through playing, but did not file the paper work. The posting on the team's site was the first official word that the star defensive tackle was done.
Yao Ming will have surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot, Houston Rockets officials said Saturday. The surgery will be performed Monday in Houston by Rockets team doctor Tom Clanton. The team announced the All-Star center's injury on Tuesday and said he would get a second opinion before deciding whether to have the surgery.
The FBI took up the Roger Clemens case Thursday, told by the Justice Department to investigate whether the star pitcher lied when he testified to Congress he never took performance-enhancing drugs. The FBI's involvement was announced one day after the leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee told Attorney General Michael Mukasey they weren't sure whether Clemens told the...
New-look Lakers and Mavericks, same old Kobe. Kobe Bryant took charge late in the game, scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter and eight in overtime to finish with 52 Sunday in Los Angeles' 108-104 victory over Dallas. Mavericks coach Avery Johnson tried a variety of ways to stop him. Nothing worked. "We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split...
A Democratic congressman asked the FBI on Wednesday to drop its investigation of Roger Clemens because the pitching great had suffered enough from the probe into steroid use. Rep. Anthony Weiner, a candidate for New York mayor in 2009, said the FBI is too busy with more important crimes to spend time trying to determine if the ex-Yankees pitcher lied to Congress about taking performance enhancing...
Brian McNamee asked a federal judge on Tuesday to throw out Roger Clemens' defamation suit and to disqualify the pitcher's lead attorney. McNamee's lawyers filed motions in U.S. District Court in Houston, where the case was moved after Clemens filed it in Texas state court. Clemens claims he was defamed when McNamee, his former personal trainer, said the pitcher used steroids and human growth...
Derek Anderson ran a reverse on the Cleveland Browns. Only a few hours after the quarterback hit the free-agent market, Anderson agreed to terms on a three-year, $24 million contract with the Browns, who were prepared to move on without the Pro Bowl alternate. The deal reportedly includes over $13 million in guaranteed money.
Peter Forsberg isn't worried about his right foot or his fitness level in his first game with the Colorado Avalanche against Vancouver on Tuesday night. He's simply concerned about living up to expectations. "I'm just asking everyone who's watching for a little patience," Forsberg said. "It might be a little tough here in the beginning.
The Tennessee Titans agreed to a two-year contract with former Atlanta tight end Alge Crumpler, one of many veterans released last month by the Falcons. Crumpler, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is expected to help an offense that had only nine touchdown passes in 2007. He will get to play with a quarterback in Vince Young whose mobility is similar to Michael Vick.
Randy Moss is staying with the New England Patriots. The defending AFC champions re-signed the record-breaking receiver on Monday to a three-year deal worth $27 million, his agent said. The signing was confirmed by the team shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site. "I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New...
Philadelphia Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and team officials said he was expected to make a full recovery. The former Milwaukee Brewers manager will have surgery later this month at the Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and is expected to miss six weeks after that.
Javon Walker got his wish Friday when the Broncos released the oft-injured wide receiver. Upset with his contract in Green Bay and public criticism by Brett Favre of his threatened holdout, Walker came to Denver from the Packers in a draft day trade in 2006. His two-year stay in Denver was marked by a brilliant first season and the tragic shooting death of teammate Darrent Williams, who died in his...
Michael Turner says he was won over by the Atlanta Falcons' aggressive efforts when he agreed to a six-year deal Sunday. "It was really the whole organization and what they're trying to do," Turner told The Associated Press on Sunday when asked what influenced his decision. "Everybody is fresh with a clean slate and trying to build things back up.
The New York Jets and Pro Bowl left guard Alan Faneca agreed to terms on a five-year, $40 million contract Saturday, making the former Pittsburgh player the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. Agent Rick Smith told The Associated Press on Saturday that the 31-year-old Faneca planned to fly to New York on Sunday, take a physical and officially sign the deal Monday.
A federal judge told prosecutors Friday to redraft their indictment of Barry Bonds and made public his grand jury testimony, revealing a previously unpublicized drug test from seven years ago that showed an elevated testosterone level. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston ordered prosecutors to amend Bonds' indictment so that each of the five counts against him don't cite multiple statements...
