Mike Hampton, analyzes trying examines to put a series of injuries behind him in his return to Houston, allowed seven hits and three runs in five innings " It was a grind today " he said " Nothing came easy. With Flip Saunders taking Larry Brown' s place in Detroit and Maurice Cheeks replacing Jim O' Brien, the Pistons were still too tough on defense and balanced on offense for the Sixers " It seemed like we just picked up where we left off last season " said Tayshaun Prince, who scored 16 points " It didn' t seem like a first game " Philadelphia' s Allen Iverson scored 31 points, but he didn' t have much help- much like in Detroit' s 4- 1 series victory en route to its second straight trip to the NBA Finals. With the exception of a trip to Massachusetts to watch his 10- year- old son play in a Pop Warner game, Cooper has been working out in San Diego " Just that duration of four games, it made me sick " Cooper said. This could really do something for our team to have success " Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. In the Football Outsiders advanced DVOA stats, the 2007 Titans ranked second in the league on first down and third on second down, but only 17th on third down. Updated: December 8, 2003, 6: 29 PM ET Outfielder accepts$ 18M at deadline Email Print Share ESPN news services MINNEAPOLIS- Outfielder Shannon Stewart agreed to a three- year$ 18 million deal three minutes before the midnight deadline, ESPN' s Jayson Stark reports. ATLANTA( AP- If the New York Mets keep playing like this, they won' t have to worry about coming up short again to the Atlanta Braves.
Mitchell ought to disclose " Hardin said " I' m more interested in who he talked to and who he did not talk to to reach his conclusions " Mitchell' s report did include an appendix with photocopies of 91 checks and money orders, most of them sent to Radomski, along with eight express mail slips and two notes allegedly written by catcher Paul Lo Duca . The play continued with the Tigers turning a 5- 4- 3 double play " From[ Joyce' s] vantage point he thought it didn' t hit him " Black said " I thought otherwise " Game notes Padres closer Trevor Hoffman threw a perfect ninth inning appearing against the Tigers for the first time in his career . We' ve had some decent quarters this year, but that was one of our best " Kidd was disgusted with New Jersey' s defensive effort after halftime " Our defensive principles, there were none " he said . Keasey spent parts of the last two seasons on the 49ers' practice squad . We are going to leave New Jersey on Friday for San Francisco and after we beat the 49ers, we are going straight to Tampa Bay( where the Super Bowl was " He showed us his suitcase full of clothes, and that was all the motivation we needed. Is the rest of the country, and the rest of sports, next? Keep up with the impact of the virus on the world of sports through ESPN' s coverage# 8226; Q& A: Flu raises questions in sports world# 8226; Spring sports hit hard# 8226; Swine flu outbreak halts Alabama playoffs# 8226; Swine flu slows girls' basketball action# 8226; Flu brings Mexican sports to a stop# 8226; Scientific American: The latest# 8226; Scientific American: Protect yourself# 8226; Swine flu affecting sports world# 8226; The impact in Mexico As of Thursday, the H1N1 strain, originally known as the swine flu, had caused at least 109 laboratory- confirmed cases in the United States and the death of a young Mexican boy who became sick while visiting Brownsville, Texas. But win or lose this ESPN- created designation, Pittsburgh is the first and only " City of Champions " You know about the history of the Steelers.
Rogers insisted then that mud, resin, spit and dirt was what everyone saw at the base of his left thumb- not pine tar or anything else illegal . They' re incredible guys and we had the time of our life " With Oakland, Giambi gets a$ 4 million salary this season and the A' s hold a$ 6 5 million option for 2010 with a$ 1 25 million buyout . On the defensive end, on the offensive end, his knowledge of the game- man it' s tough " Ford scored 28 points to lead Toronto and Anthony Parker added 16 points It' s the second big loss for Toronto in less than a week . The former Brigham Young star, who has been a standout special teams contributor during his two years as a backup, did start two games at middle linebacker earlier this year when Brackett was slowed down by a hamstring injury Morris had a combined 23 tackles in those two starts . 110 is head linesman Phil McKinnely, a former player for three NFL teams during the 1970s and' 80s. His single gave West Tenn a 1- 0 lead in the fifth before the game was delayed. Malone, who joined the Lakers after 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz, had 30 points Sunday to become the first 40- year- old to do that in a playoff game in 17 years " He did everything " Payton said " He just came out and played.
Throughout the season, backup Jose Calderon proved more than adequate and took advantage of Ford' s injury to land the role as the Raptors' favored starter Nesterovic averaged 7 8 ppg and 4 . Bailey " Yeah, I love the way he talks " Bailey said " The funny thing is he has respect for me and I have respect for him and he knows what he' s capable of and I know what I' m capable of So, it' s not like he' s talking to belittle you . Papelbon got the first two batters in the ninth before things got interesting . Buck hit his 13th homer and David DeJesus added a run- scoring single in the second for Kansas City . In one of his biggest trades, Towers acquired All- Star right- hander Chris Young and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in a six- player deal with Texas in January 2006 The Padres have won 970 games in Towers' tenure. Roy Hibbert scored 19 before drawing his fifth foul with 6: 46 to play in the third quarter He did not return. But he comes off an injury- plagued year in which he made only 13 catches.
NFL Video The Bengals solidify their offensive line with Alabama OT Andre Smith at No 6 . He injured a tendon in his ankle near the end of last regular season and struggled in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against New York . Beltran opened the bottom half with a single off rookie Manny Acosta( 0- 1) and stole second against catcher Clint Sammons, who had just been inserted as a defensive replacement and was making his major league debut . Backe struck out five and didn' t walk a batter for the first time in 10 starts . Hamilton and Billups made 16 of 33 shots while their teammates made just 15 of 43 attempts. I came here to play and win but I didn' t make it " The partisan crowd in Novi Sad showered the hosts with boos during their 89- 70 loss to Spain in the tournament opener. Aceves entered in the fourth and pitched three scoreless innings of two- hit ball to earn the victory.
The teams will play again Saturday in Philadelphia, where the Sixers are 13- 2 in the second game of back- to- backs . He plays big minutes for us, and somebody' s got to play those minutes now that he' s not there . Flacco went 35- for- 67 for 284 yards and no interceptions during the preseason . It is not known if those attempts have continued since the draft . Also, there were nerves that had scarred down onto the graft, which was causing Gagne considerable pain. Hill has been sidelined for 14 months due to a severe ankle injury " I think next week we could see Grant, yes " Magic general manager John Gabriel told the Sentinel on Thursday " I' d say four weeks of practice and then a handful of games " However, if Hill experiences pain in his left ankle during workouts, or isn' t generally comfortable, he will shut down his comeback and aim for a return next season. Hardy, however, was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw from Beltran in center.
But no one was talking about James being left off the squad " We got time " teammate Carmelo Anthony said " I think it' s just a little mild ankle sprain We got time We need him to rest We don' t need him right now We need him on Aug 10 " Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press . Paul Pierce had 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and Ricky Davis added 23 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Bobcats 109- 106 on Wednesday night . Seven- year veteran Cosey Coleman is an unrestricted free agent and still available, but Cleveland has made no effort to re- sign him . He gloved the ball and made the throw " I was happy to get that one out of the way " he said . Lew Ford had two hits and scored two runs for the Twins, who have lost six of their last seven home games to the Angels " Our guys battled " Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said " Their guy was just a little better " Twins starter Carlos Silva( 1- 2) again had trouble getting his standout sinker to work. The teams combined for seven homers Friday- four by Chicago and three by Colorado- and four more went out Saturday, three by the Rockies. Those were big runs for our team and kind of opened the floodgates " The Diamondbacks scored eight runs in the final three innings " The finishing blow was Reynolds' home run " Diamondbacks manager A J.
He tied the team single- season save record set by Lee Smith in 1991 despite playing much of the season with a painful hip condition that reacquired surgery in November . The decision was made because the Yankees have three off days during the opening 10 days of the regular season . Brian Anderson tied it at 3 with a two- run single to left and took second on Thames' error Game notesUribe had missed six games with a sore back Rogers had won four straight against the White Sox . But by taking two of three from the Astros and then the two- game series from St . Their starting pitching is in line, and their offense is a little stronger and a little more mature " Edgar Gonzalez( 0- 4) remained winless in six starts for the A' s, yielding seven hits and five runs in five innings. 1 receiver, Walker instead has struggled in training camp and not performed nearly as well as less heralded players like Todd Watkins. Whisenhunt specifically has stressed that Leinart now knows more about what it takes to be a better quarterback.
When Mauer resumes rehabilitation Thursday, he' ll have agility drills and other exercises added to his program that will help him get back in playing condition Mauer got the news after being examined by Dr . The Mariners took advantage of backup Alex Cora' s error to move ahead 5- 4 against Julian Tavarez in the seventh . Those two runs made a huge difference " Heading to first, I saw him keep going and I was thinking it was going to sail on him " Belisle said " Then I saw it rolling around . Rookie Edgar Gonzalez had his first three- hit game and scored two runs . Sometimes it' s frustrating, but it keeps you on your toes " Varitek' s second homer in two games put Boston up 3- 0 in the second inning. It would be hard for a 20- year- old to break into the lineup " Grunfeld said SportsTicker contributed to this report. 2 overall, Allen told the Tacoma News Tribune " Now that I' m no longer there, I' m not even sure Rashard is going to want to come back.
6 points in his final 11 games with Charlotte, and it was clear that he simply wasn' t going to emerge as a valued member of the Bobcats' rotation . With RB Ryan Grant and the Packers' running game starting to crank up and the offensive line jelling in protection, Green Bay should get a chance to exploit plenty of mismatches against New Orleans' depleted secondary . The 29- year- old was placed on the DL retroactive to July 21 " It just hasn' t progressed at all " said Washburn, who became the 13th Angels player to go on the DL this season " The discomfort' s still there, so they wanted me to go on the DL instead of taking a chance of making it worse and having it bother me the rest of the year " It' s not excruciating pain, but it' s an uncomfortable feeling . Four times Young has homered on the road as the game' s first batter " It feels great, because it does help get some kind of momentum going " Young said " Any kind of hit is a plus, not just a home run " Livan Hernandez( 9- 7) shook off a case of nausea to pitch seven innings . Game notes Sheffield received another cortisone shot in his shoulder on Thursday but wasn' t sure when he might return to the lineup. I think he kept the ballclub playing for him under bad conditions in April, and I think it played hard for him all year " Ryan said " With a young club, that' s the thing that you look for, if the team quits on a manager. 4 seconds on the clock after stripping the ball clean from Maggette.
Former Clipper Melvin Ely, who sat out Charlotte' s previous game because of a sprained right ankle, scored seven points in a 6- minute stretch to help slice Charlotte' s deficit to seven at 85- 78 with 4: 54 to play " We built that lead up to 21, and then we fell into the classic fool' s gold " Dunleavy said " We came down in transition four or five times in a row and shot open jump shots, but with no board coverage- and basically, that' s as good as a turnover . Starting cornerback Aaron Ross injured his right shoulder in the second half and had to leave . Beyond the direct economic impact, the Pro Bowl is a priceless marketing tool and benefits the community in many ways, said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert, a nonvoting board member . Oscar Villarreal, making his second start for Atlanta after pitching 47 games out of the bullpen, gave up one run and four hits in five innings . The Royals, who had 15 hits, have the worst record in the major leagues at 44- 79 " At the point we' re at, we don' t consider anybody a bad team " Bell said. Wagner allowed an RBI double to pinch- hitter Ramon Martinez in the ninth before striking out Garciaparra " We needed this game, as far as momentum goes " Wright said " We have a team full of igniters. The loss, coupled with Minnesota' s 9- 4 win over Kansas City, reduced first- place Detroit' s lead over the Twins in the AL Central to two games " If somebody would have told me that Eddie Bonine would pitch that far into the game and give up two hits, I' d have said we would have won.
The Knicks had a chance to make it closer on a three- on- one break but Wilson Chandler drew an offensive foul, his sixth . But we' re giving him major props for guaranteeing the win over the heavily favored Colts- the AFL' s first win over the NFL 23 . Guys went to the plate and just didn' t get anything " The Reds scored three runs in the first inning off Wandy Rodriguez( 2- 5, all after manager Jerry Narron was ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke . With a chance to win the championship, the Giants blew a late 5- 0 lead in Game 6 and lost, then lost Game 7 Despite the defeat, Bonds hit 471 with four homers and had a 700 on- base percentage against the Angels Overall, he is a 245 career hitter in the postseason Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press . Sandberg was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. To make room for him on the 40- man roster, the Red Sox designated right- hander David Aardsma for assignment. Bensinger: If you' re getting married in July, with training camp coming up, what happens with the honeymoon? Thomas: I' m getting married July 7th, so we' re going to do a week in Switzerland right after that That' s kind of the down period that you get It works pretty well.
Updated: March 3, 2004, 5: 42 PM ET Young signs one- year$ 450, 000 deal Email Print Share Associated Press SURPRISE, Ariz- Michael Young, taking over at shortstop in Texas for the traded Alex Rodriguez, signed a one- year$ 450, 000 contract Wednesday . Atkins singled and Holliday homered into the left- field seats to start the fifth . Keith Foulke got two outs in the eighth and left with a runner at third . Seattle scored as many runs Tuesday as in its previous three games combined . Cox said Hudson was just trying to throw inside to move Soriano off the plate. He' s a Hall of Fame manager whenever he decides to call it quits. The Pistons don' t have any superstars on the roster, but they are turning into a superstar team with Billups emerging as its leader.