Sports News

ST. LOUIS - Andy Sonnanstine carried a shutout into the eighth inning and added two singles to a 12-hit outburst in the streaking Tampa Bay Rays' 3-1 victory over the sagging St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

PHILADELPHIA - Jayson Werth homered in his first three at-bats and tied a Philadelphia Phillies record with eight RBIs in a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

Jayson Werth surprised even himself with his power surge. Werth connected for three home runs and had eight RBIs to match a Philadelphia Phillies record in a 10-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

SAN FRANCISCO - Peter Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Joe Torre doesn't mind that he was left off the coaching staff for the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. He might not have accepted an invitation anyway.

BOSTON - New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick lashed out at the team's former video assistant Friday, saying in a televised interview that Matt Walsh was a low-level staffer who was fired for "poor job performance." "There's not a lot of credibility," Belichick said in an interview broadcast on "CBS Evening News."

NEW YORK - NFL investigators have met with a convicted steroids dealer, who has said he provided performance-enhancing drugs to professional football players, according to a newspaper report.

NEW YORK - NFL owners could opt out of their agreement with the players union next week, leaving open the possibility of a 2010 season without a salary cap. The labor agreement is on the agenda for the league meetings in Atlanta on Tuesday.

BOSTON - The Boston Herald sports writer who reported the New England Patriots taped a pre-Super Bowl walkthrough by the St. Louis Rams in 2002 said he will regret the erroneous story for the rest of his life.

NEW YORK - Former New England assistant coach Brian Daboll told the NFL he doesn't remember speaking with Matt Walsh about the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough Walsh attended the day before the 2002 Super Bowl.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AFP) - The Los Angeles Lakers withstood a late rally by the Utah Jazz Friday, posting a 108-105 victory to advance to the Western Conference finals of the National Basketball Association playoffs.

SALT LAKE CITY - Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in four years.

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Cavaliers packed for a weekend stay in Beantown — not a few weeks on Cape Cod. They've got at least one more game left, and in the NBA, it's as big as they ever get. Game 7. On Sunday. In Boston.

CLEVELAND - As the roaring crowd nearly drowned out the final horn, LeBron James grabbed the ball and heaved it as far as he could.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Lakers held off a furious late fightback by the Utah Jazz to book their place in the Western Conference final with a nail-biting 108-105 victory in Game Six on Friday.

LONDON (AFP) - Nwankwo Kanu's goal was good enough to give Portsmouth a 1-0 win in the FA Cup final against Cardiff City at Wembley here on Saturday.

ROME (AFP) - Alessandro Del Piero scored twice to help Juventus complete their Serie A season with a 3-3 draw against Sampdoria and deliver a timely Euro 2008 reminder to national team coach Roberto Donadoni.

BERLIN (AFP) - Luca Toni scored a hat-trick to secure his place as the Bundesliga's top-scorer as Bayern Munich broke the 20-year record for the least goals conceded in a league season after Saturday's 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin.

MOTHERWELL, Scotland (AFP) - Motherwell handed Celtic the initiative in the Scottish Premier League title race after holding Rangers to a 1-1 draw at Fir Park on Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) - After spending his entire career trying in vain to gatecrash English football's grandest occasions, Harry Redknapp finally savoured success on the big stage on Saturday.

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings sound as if the Western Conference finals have lasted long enough.

QUEBEC CITY - Rick Nash scored the go-ahead goal to put Canada in the title game of the world hockey championships with a 5-4 win over Sweden on Friday night.

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes know their coach will be back next season. They're still waiting to find out whether two of their aging defensemen will join him.

SUNRISE, Fla. - Jacques Martin has reached an agreement to remain with the Florida Panthers as general manager through the 2011-12 season, the team said Friday.

PHILADELPHIA - The Pittsburgh Penguins' road to the Stanley Cup finals along the Pennsylvania Turnpike took an unexpected detour.

GRAPEVINE, Texas - Here's a ray of hope for college football fans bummed by the recent rejection of the plus-one model to determine a national champion.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Penn State coach Joe Paterno spent several hours at a hospital being treated for dehydration before returning home late Thursday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana University has reached a settlement with former interim coach Dan Dakich, paying him the $185,000 he was scheduled to earn next school year.

HOUSTON - Saying the NCAA has "new information," president Myles Brand promised to investigate former Southern California basketball star O.J. Mayo, who allegedly received thousands of dollars in gifts from money given to an event promoter by a sports agency.

LOS ANGELES - The head of the sports agency representing O.J. Mayo denied any illegal activity involving the Southern California star on Monday, a day after ESPN reported Bill Duffy Associates gave cash to an event promoter who provided gifts.

ROME (AFP) - French qualifier Alize Cornet stormed into the final of the Rome International on Sunday, dropping her first set of the tournament to Russian sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze before winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) - Rafael Nadal proved he is the undisputed clay-court King with a pulsating 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the Hamburg Masters Series on Saturday.

ROME (AFP) - World number one Maria Sharapova pulled out of the WTA Rome International on Saturday complaining of a strained calf muscle, propelling titleholder Jelena Jankovic into the final.

HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) - Defending champion Roger Federer, clay-court king Rafael Nadal and Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic all cruised into the Hamburg Masters semi-finals on Friday with straight-set wins.

ROME (AFP) - Serbian fourth seed, and defending champion, Jelena Jankovic dismantled Venus Williams' power game on Friday to advance to the semi-finals of the WTA Rome International, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

DULUTH, Ga. - After two straight top-10 finishes at the AT&T Classic, Jonathan Byrd is poised to win the suburban Atlanta tournament.

HOOVER, Ala. - Andy Bean and Monday qualifier Mike Goodes shot 7-under 65s on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's Regions Charity Classic.

CLIFTON, N.J. - Despite being under par for the round and having a share of the lead, Rachel Hetherington wasn't overly disappointed Friday when the LPGA Tour took the rare step of washing out play in the Sybase Classic.

CLIFTON, N.J. - Annika Sorenstam ignored her notes and spoke from the heart. One of golf's greatest players was leaving the game, and she handled her retirement announcement the way she would a 10-foot birdie putt with a tournament on the line. With command and composure.

ST. LOUIS - Tiger Woods is chipping and putting again, and he hopes to play in the Memorial in two weeks. But even if he can't compete until the U.S. Open, he doesn't expect the same result as his last layoff during a season.

CARSON, Calif. - Oscar De La Hoya showed he could still beat a contender. Next up is cashing in again like a champion. In what was little more than a tuneup for a much bigger fight, De La Hoya kicked off his retirement tour Saturday night before an appreciative crowd by pitching a near shutout over a game but overmatched Steve Forbes.

INDIANAPOLIS - Ryan Briscoe, a front-row qualifier last week, crashed hard in the second turn but was uninjured during practice Friday for the Indianapolis 500.

INDIANAPOLIS - John Andretti has been around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway long enough to know that the weather can fool you.

CONCORD, N.C. - Kyle Busch needed an inch, and big brother wouldn't give it to him.

INDIANAPOLIS - Rookie driver E.J. Viso has crashed during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

INDIANAPOLIS - Charles Buckman, a crewman for Dale Coyne Racing, has been released from Methodist Hospital four days after being struck by Danica Patrick's race car during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

BOSTON - New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick lashed out at the team's former video assistant Friday, saying in a televised interview that Matt Walsh was a low-level staffer who was fired for "poor job performance." "There's not a lot of credibility," Belichick said in an interview broadcast on "CBS Evening News."

SALT LAKE CITY - Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in four years.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eight Belles had no diseases or pre-existing bone abnormalities that caused the filly to break down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs' Big Three came through. Now they have to win one on the road to keep their title defense alive. Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

A top USA Swimming official said Friday he hopes a lawsuit accusing the governing body of being in cahoots with Speedo will be resolved quickly so athletes can focus on the Beijing Olympics.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Natalie Coughlin broke her own American record in the women's 100 freestyle while finishing second at the Santa Clara Grand Prix on Friday.

CHICAGO - Chicago Olympic organizers are on track to spend about $58 million trying to lure the 2016 Summer Games to the Midwest.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius has won an appeal to compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.