World Sports News

Sources: Owners Budge on Cap Demand

2011-09-28T04:41:00.001-07:00

By HOOPSWORLD

Basketball News & NBA Rumors

For the first time in two years of labor talks, NBA owners made a modest push from their rigid stance on implementing a hard salary cap, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The owners proposed at Tuesday’s negotiating session an idea similar to the current system that allows teams to pay a luxury tax for going over the cap. Only, now there would be ultra-punitive measures against higher-spending teams. The current system has teams pay a dollar-for-dollar tax for exceeding the cap.

Players Association executive director Billy Hunter has called the hard cap a “blood issue” for the union, and insisted the players would never agree to it.

The owners’ proposal on Tuesday “would still have the affects of a hard cap,” one source with knowledge of the talks said.

via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

Do you like Presidents Cup picks of Woods and Haas?

2011-09-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

By Reid Cherner, USA TODAY

Fred Couples made it official yesterday by picking Tiger Woods and Bill Haas with his two captain's picks for the Presidents Cup.

PRESIDENTS CUP: Couples takes two

Greg Norman will captain the International team.

Although Woods has not played since the PGA Championship in August, Couples had said a month ago that Woods would be a choice. Last weekend, Haas won the Tour Championship and the FeEx Cup.

Haas was 12th in the Presidents Cup points standings. The top 10 are automatically on the team.

Not picked for the Nov. 17-20 matches at Royal Melbourne Golf Club: PGA winner Keegan Bradley (20th on points list); 2010 Ryder Cup member Rickie Fowler (15th) and Brandt Snedeker (11th).

The automatic qualifiers: Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, David Toms, Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk.

First Pitch: Tied wild-card races raise prospect of one-game playoffs

2011-09-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

By Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY

Ready for two playoffs before the playoffs?

That scenario would unfold if the wild-card races remain the way they are for just one more day.T

The St. Louis Cardinals finally caught up to fast-fading Atlanta by overcoming an early 5-0 deficit to crush the Houston Astros 13-6 on Tuesday, after the Philadelphia Phillies had delivered another damaging blow to the Braves by beating them 7-1.

Should the NL wild-card contenders remain tied after today's action, they would face each other in a one-game playoff Thursday in St. Louis at 8:07 p.m. EDT.

The AL wild-card tiebreaker would be played four hours earlier at Tampa Bay, provided the Rays and Boston Red Sox can't settle matters by tonight.

Both clubs won Tuesday, but while the Rays rode Matt Joyce's three-run homer in the seventh to a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees, the Red Sox had to sweat till the last swing before dispatching the stubborn Baltimore Orioles 8-7.

Fittingly for a Boston club that has gone 7-19 in September, it took closer Jonathan Papelbon 28 pitches and all of his resources to get out of the ninth inning, after allowing one Oriole to score and having the tying run at second base.

"I don't know if you could see out there, but there was a couple of times I had kind of a little grin on my face," Papelbon said afterward. "I enjoy that. That's baseball, man. It doesn't get any better than that. I was having fun. I enjoy that. That's what it's all about."

Manager Terry Francona, who saw his club take an 8-4 lead in the eighth and nearly blow it, had an appreciating for the moment but wouldn't exactly describe the experience as fun.

"I think it's really good for baseball. Not so good for my stomach,'' said Francona, who will have Jon Lester on the mound tonight, opposing Alfredo Simon. "It's exciting. If you don't want to show up tomorrow and play, you've got no pulse. My goodness. I can't remember being that nervous in a long time.''

Boston got a major boost from rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who had two homers and four RBI. The Rays, meantime, were lifted by two highly unlikely developments – a sixth-inning triple play and Joyce's second homer in his last 30 games.

The blast turned a 3-2 Yankees lead into a 5-3 Rays margin that held up.

"It was probably one of the most exciting times you can possibly have on a baseball field -- in our town, two games left in the season, everything riding on the line, you're down a run. You know it was just a big hit," Joyce said.

He homered off former Rays closer Rafael Soriano, as Yankees manager Joe Girardi stuck with his plan to give some work to his top relievers, including David Robertson and Mariano Rivera. Today, however, Girardi intends to rest them for the playoffs, and he has yet to announce a starter. The Rays will go with ace left-hander David Price.

The Braves will also have their ace on the mound in Tim Hudson, but he may need a bit more support than his fellow starters have received in the last two games, when the Phillies held Atlanta hitters to a total of three runs. He'll be opposed by Joe Blanton.

The Braves, who had an 8 ½-game lead for the wild card on Sept. 6, have lost 12 of 17.

"You never expect this to happen to you," said Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones. "It's like living out a bad dream."

The Cardinals must have felt the same way after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers left them at 67-63 on Aug. 24, the wild card but a faint hope with the Braves 10½ games ahead of them.

Now they're on equal footing, except St. Louis is facing the team with the majors' worst record and the Braves play the one with the best.

The Cardinals have won 21 of 29 since the Dodgers sweep.

"It's kind of fed us here the last few days, 120 years of baseball and this is one of those historic runs to tie," said manager Tony La Russa, who will send out ace Chris Carpenter against the Astros' Brett Myers. "But there's a different story between tying and finishing it off. So tomorrow we'll see if we can go take another step."

Braves, Cardinals all even

2011-09-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Associated Press

Dan Uggla drop-kicked his bat after striking out on three pitches. Chipper Jones slammed his bat into the dirt after popping up. Derek Lowe just trudged off the mound to another round of boos from the home crowd, wondering how it all went wrong.

The Braves are mad and frustrated heading to the 162d game.

Their season is on the brink after a potentially historic collapse.

“It’s like living out a bad dream,’’ Jones said.

Lowe (9-17) had another miserable outing, surrendering five runs in four-plus innings, and the Braves took another step toward giving away a playoff berth that seemed certain just a few weeks ago with an ugly 7-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies last night in Atlanta.

St. Louis pulled even with the Braves, rallying from an early 5-0 deficit to beat the Houston Astros, 13-6.

Chase Utley, Hunter Pence, and Jimmy Rollins homered to back a three-hit outing by Roy Oswalt (9-10), who tuned up for the playoffs with a strong performance in a largely disappointing season.

Talk about disappointing. Look what has happened to the Braves.

They lost their fourth in a row and eighth in 11 games, sending them to the final day of the regular season tied with the Cardinals. Atlanta had an 8 1/2-game lead just three weeks ago.

“We’ve got one game to play in the month of September, then October comes around and it’s a new month,’’ Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “There’s not a person in that locker room who I wouldn’t want to be on my team to play that game.’’

Sixteen-game winner Tim Hudson will try to wrap up the wild card or at least force a one-game playoff against Cardinals, which would be tomorrow night in St. Louis.

“It is what it is,’’ Gonzalez said. “We’ve played 161 games and it comes down to one. We’ve done it to ourselves. No excuses there. We’ve got to go get it tomorrow.’’

Cardinals 13, Astros 6 - Visiting St. Louis got a tiebreaking two-run triple from Ryan Theriot in the seventh inning to beat Houston and pull even with Atlanta in the NL wild-card race. The Cardinals trailed, 5-0, early and appeared to be headed for a second straight loss to the Astros. But St. Louis scored five times in the fourth and erased a 6-5 deficit with a four-run seventh.

In other games - Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, and Nelson Cruz hit consecutive homers in the fifth inning, and the surging Rangers stayed on track for homefield advantage in the AL division series with a 10-3 victory over the host Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers (95-66) have won five straight and nine of 10 while holding off Detroit (94-67) for the AL’s second-best record. If Texas wins today’s season finale or if the Tigers lose to the Indians, the Rangers will host the AL’s wild-card winner Friday . . . Prince Fielder homered three times in a game for the first time in his career, including a two-run shot in the seventh inning that lifted host Milwaukee to a 6-4 victory over Pittsburgh . . . Wilson Betemit hit a 423-foot home run in his first game back from left knee soreness, and host Detroit beat Cleveland, 9-6 . . . Bryan Petersen homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and Javier Vazquez (13-11) pitched a five-hitter as the host Marlins beat the Nationals, 3-2 . . . Rene Tosoni hit a grand slam, the first by a Twins player at Target Field in the two-year history of the park, to lift host Minnesota to a 7-4 victory over Kansas City . . . Mark Buehrle (13-9) pitched seven shutout innings to lead the host White Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jays . . . Jose Reyes hit two solo home runs, putting pop into his bid for the NL batting title, but visiting Cincinnati the Mets, 5-4, on Drew Stubbs’s squeeze bunt in the 13th inning. Reyes went 3 for 6 and raised his average to .336, finishing the evening one point ahead of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, who went 1 for 2 against Pittsburgh . . . Trevor Cahill and two relievers held Seattle to just four hits to lift visiting Oakland to a 7-0 win over the Mariners.

Surging Rays Top Yankees, Remain Tied With Red Sox for AL Wild Card

2011-09-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Rays are loose and raring to go, ready to work overtime -- if necessary -- to win the AL wild card.

"Whatever it takes," designated hitter Johnny Damon said. "It's been a fun ride and hopefully it continues."

The Rays' improbable bid for a third playoff berth in four years comes down to the final day of the regular season after Tuesday night's 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees left them tied for the wild card with Boston. The reeling Red Sox held off the Baltimore Orioles 8-7.

If the teams remain tied after Wednesday night's season finales, they will meet in a one-game playoff at Tropicana Field on Thursday afternoon.

"We have to focus on ourselves ... play our game and not worry about the other side of it," manager Joe Maddon said. "That will eventually take care of itself."

Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist homered, the bullpen shut down the Yankees after starter Jeremy Hellickson pitched six strong innings, and the Rays kept the score close by turning the third triple play in franchise history.

Throw in Joyce, whose three-run homer wiped out a 3-2 deficit in the seventh -- playing on an injured foot -- and that the Rays were without Casey Kotchman after the first baseman experienced tightness in his chest and was taken to a hospital for tests, and no wonder Tampa Bay feels it has no limits.

"All the indicators are there, let's just keep pushing," Maddon said. "When those things kind of show up, it really promotes even more fight, I think. There's more of a believability about the moment."

Joyce's homer off former teammate Rafael Soriano (2-3) was the All-Star's first in more than three weeks. Zobrist hit a two-run drive off Bartolo Colon in the second, and the Rays kept the Yankees from busting the game opened with the triple play that bailed Hellickson out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

"Everybody's thirsty for offense, and we'd like to score more," Maddon said. "But we're built around pitching and defense."

Jake McGee (4-2) pitched one scoreless inning to get the win. With a crowd of 22,820 standing and cheering, Kyle Farnsworth got the final three outs for his 25th save in 31 chances. The victory was the fourth straight for Tampa Bay, which trailed the Red Sox by nine games before battling back into the wild-card race.

Russell Martin hit a solo homer for the Yankees in the third, but also grounded into the triple play that prevented them from building on the 3-2 lead Nick Swisher gave them with a RBI double.

The Yankees, who clinched the division title and homefield advantage throughout the AL playoffs last week, rested Derek Jeter and plan to play most -- if not all -- of their regular lineup again on Wednesday. Manager Joe Girardi remained undecided on a starting pitcher for the finale, but it figures to be a reliever.

Tampa Bay will go with All-Star lefty David Price, who's 12-13 after finishing second in balloting for the AL Cy Young Award a year ago.

The Rays said he's up to the task.

"I always have the utmost confidence when David pitches. I really do," Maddon said. "Every time he pitches we feel like we're going to win that night. I know some things have not necessarily gone his way this year, but in a very tight moment, you always feel very comfortable about how David will pitch."

Despite squandering their big lead with a miserable September, the Red Sox are excited about still having a chance to make the postseason on the final day.

"I think it's really good for baseball (but) not so good for my stomach," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It's exciting. If you don't want to show up (Wednesday) and play, you've got no pulse."

Tigers notes and quotes from Monday night's win | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

2011-06-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

Tigers notes and quotes from Monday night's win | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

At Comerica Park

WHAT HAPPENED: Victor Martinez started the scoring with an RBI double to left-center that reached the wall and scored a huffing and puffing Miguel Cabrera in the second. Martinez added another RBI single in the third to give starter Max Scherzer a 2-0 lead. The Blue Jays got a run back on a double by Eric Thames, a wild pitch by Scherzer and a bounce out by Jose Bautista, then tied it up on a homer by Adam Lind, all in the fourth inning.

Jhonny Peralta’s triple in the bottom of the eighth scored pinch-runner Austin Jackson and proved to be the winning run.

Magglio Ordoñez, who had two hits, had singled with one out in the eighth and Jackson, pinch-running for the rightfielder, stole second and scored on Peralta’s hit, which skipped under the mitt of Jose Bautista and went to the right-centerfield wall.

• BOX SCORE

.300: Brennan Boesch hit a dribbler down the third-base line in the third inning that stayed fair for a single, lifting his average to .300. Boesch got another hit later and finished the game at .301.

DAY OFF: After striking out four times Sunday against Arizona, lead-off man and centerfielder Austin Jackson was given the day off with Andy Dirks taking his place at both positions. Don Kelly started in place of Brandon Inge at third base to keep his bat sharp.

WHAT A RELIEF: Scherzer had a good game, giving up two runs over seven innings, but the bullpen won it. Joaquin Benoit (2-3) pitched a scoreless eighth and picked up the victory, and Jose Valverde came on in the ninth and got his 18th save. Valverde allowed runners to get to the corners with one out, but induced a double-play ball from Juan Rivera to end it.

FURBUSH A STARTER? One day Charlie Furbursh could be in the Tigers rotation.

“I thought there was a strong possibility from what I saw and what I’ve seen in Furbush -- I thought he was a reliever, but I think he’s a starter,” manager Jim Leyland said. “To get him some innings like I have to this point, two or three at a time sometimes, I think it’ll be beneficial to him instead of making him a lefty specialist. I should have two of the three lefties available everyday. I would not put Furbush in relief situations only in the future. I think he’s a potential starter.”

GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MIND: Leyland reiterated that Justin Verlander wouldn’t start or be pitching in the All-Star game because his last start is Sunday, two days before the event in Arizona. He can dress and take part in all the festivities, but he won’t be on the mound.

ONE MAN’S OPINION: Leyland said he wasn’t trying to offend anyone or start a controversy, but when asked about how the All-Star game participants should be selected, he said: “The managers and coaches around the league should do it.

“I’m sure a lot of people will take offense to that, and I’m not looking to open up a can of worms, but I’m just saying I have my reasons for saying that. Sometimes with the fans it becomes a popularity contest, and if you have the players vote, certain players might not like certain players and they might not vote for them. The fans vote and I’m fine with that. I like the fact that all 25 uniforms are represented.”

EARLY SHOWER:Leyland was ejected in the seventh after a long argument that included a mocking impersonation of first base umpire Ed Rapuano changing his call on a close play.

THREE STARS: 1. Peralta; 2. Scherzer; 3. Ordoñez.

Detroit Free Press news services contributed to this report.

Join Free Press special writer Anthony Fenech for a live blog of the Tigers-Mets game Thursday afternoon at freep.com/sports.

Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker out 6 weeks with torn meniscus - ESPN Los Angeles

2011-06-28T00:18:00.001-07:00

Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker out 6 weeks with torn meniscus - ESPN Los Angeles

Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker will miss approximately six weeks due to a torn lateral meniscus in her right knee, the team announced Monday evening.

An MRI earlier Monday revealed the injury.

"I appreciate all of the kind thoughts and prayers that have come my way in the last 24 hours. They have truly helped," Parker said. "I look forward to picking up where I left off and contending for a WNBA championship."

Parker, who was limited to 10 games last year due to a shoulder injury, suffered the injury after grabbing a defensive rebound with 5:56 to go in the third quarter and making contact with New York's Quanitra Hollingsworth.

After staying down while holding her knee for a few minutes, she limped off the court and went to the locker room and did not return. The Sparks announced later Sunday that Parker would have the MRI in Los Angeles on Monday.

"We look forward to Candace making a full recovery," Sparks vice president and general manager Penny Toler said.

The Sparks have lost consecutive contests to start a seven-game road swing that continues at Connecticut on Tuesday night.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Acrobatic first pitch part of Cirque du PETCO | MLB.com: News

2011-06-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

By Mark Thompson / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres welcomed 10 artists from the resident production of KA by Cirque du Soleil at MGM Grand in Las Vegas to PETCO Park on Monday for the Padres' contest with the Royals.

It's the first performance by the KA artists, who participated in pregame elements like a brief performance before the game, the ceremonial first pitch, the national anthem and tossing T-shirts to fans during the seventh-inning stretch.

KA is a gravity-defying production that features a blend of high-flying feats, puppetry, projections and martial arts.

Gabryel Nogueira da Silva handled ceremonial first pitch honors by doing an acrobatic 360-degree backflip on the mound and subsequently throwing a strike.

Padres fans who purchased game tickets with the promotional code CIRQUE had the opportunity to meet the artists in specially designated sections of the ballpark.

Mark Thompson is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Soccer news and notes, June 27

2011-06-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

After meeting in the first round at the last three Women's World Cups, the United States should know everything it needs to about North Korea.

Not even close.

There's an air of mystery surrounding the Americans' opponent in their World Cup opener today in Germany.

North Korea plays few games, five in the last six months, giving opponents little opportunity to scout. None of the players plays overseas professionally. Only two have World Cup experience.

North Korea is also the youngest team in the tournament, with 14 players 20 or younger. Only five players have 10 or more appearances with the senior national team.

"It's really difficult when you don't see much of a team and you're not familiar with how they play," defender Ali Krieger said Monday after the U.S. training session at Rudolf-Harbig Stadium in Dresden. "We might get some nerves because you don't know what to expect."

The United States is concentrating on two recent North Korean games - against Germany and China - and figuring that's the lineup they'll face this time.

"They are technical, they're comfortable with the ball, they're reading the game very well, and I think they're one of the best teams in the world between the boxes," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said.

The Americans have played North Korea three times, all at the World Cup. The United States won the first two games 3-0. But at the 2007 World Cup, the Americans went down 2-1 before Heather O'Reilly scored to salvage a draw. The North Koreans won the Under-20 title in 2006, and were second to the Americans - in 2008.

Cal alum Alex Morgan was part of the '08 U-20 team, scoring the game-winner in the final.

"I don't remember too much. I just remember winning," Morgan said. "What I remember most is ... they love to play one-touch. They have some speed up top. ... They are physical, but aren't afraid to dive a little bit."

More World Cup: A 30-yard blast from Monica Ocampo gave Mexico a 1-1 draw with England in Wolfsburg, Germany, and a curling free kick from Aya Miyama sent Japan past New Zealand 2-1 in Bochum, Germany.

Relegation riots: The mayhem that swept River Plate's stadium following the famed Buenos Aires club's relegation left 89 people injured and 55 people detained by police. There are suggestions the seating capacity of 40,000 was exceeded by 12,000 at the stadium that will hold the Copa America final July 24. On Monday, River Plate coach Juan Jose Lopez resigned.

MLS: D.C. United acquired playmaker Dwayne De Rosario from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for midfielder Dax McCarty. De Rosario is a two-time MLS Cup MVP winner with 80 goals and 56 assists in 11 MLS seasons - five in San Jose. ... The Earthquakes traded starting defender Brandon McDonald to D.C. United in exchange for allocation money. ... Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts will undergo surgery today on a fractured left forearm that he sustained in Saturday's 0-0 draw in San Jose.

This article appeared on page B - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Indians-Diamondbacks Preview - June 28, 2011 - MLB - CBSSports.com

2011-06-28T00:14:00.000-07:00

TIME: 09:40 P.M. EST
VENUE: Chase Field

Probable Starters

Josh Tomlin, RHP

2011 stats
95.2	Innings Pitched	108.0
9-4	Wins-Losses	9-5
3.95	Earned Run Average	3.58
12	Walks	25
54	Strikeouts	87
91	Pitches Per Start	106
Career vs. opponent
-	Innings Pitched	-
---	Wins-Losses	---
-	Earned Run Average	-

Daniel Hudson, RHP

Arizona's Daniel Hudson and Cleveland's Josh Tomlin are big reasons their respective teams are contending for division titles.

One of the right-handers could become the majors' latest 10-game winner when the Indians and Diamondbacks continue their series Tuesday night at Chase Field.

Since posting a 5.92 ERA while losing his first four starts of 2011, Hudson (9-5, 3.58 ERA) is 9-1 with a 2.90 ERA in his last 12 outings. He's 6-0 over his last eight, and has allowed five runs in 22 innings to win his last three starts.

Hudson gave up three runs in seven innings of a 5-3 victory at Kansas City on Thursday.

"I'm sure he'll (Hudson) tell you he wasn't real happy," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said.

Gibson knows the 24-year-old pretty well.

"I probably had my worst command of the year," said Hudson, who nonetheless only walked one batter. "Just pushed through it, tried to battle through it.

"(It's) just more of a fact of getting into a rhythm and trying to throw the ball over the plate more."

Hudson hopes to find a rhythm in his first appearance against Tomlin (9-4, 3.95) and the Indians, who won Monday's series opener 5-4.

Tomlin has allowed four runs over 13 innings while winning his last two starts after giving up six runs in each of his previous three outings. He yielded three runs off two homers in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-3 victory over Colorado on Wednesday.

Tomlin has pitched at least five innings in 27 consecutive starts, and will tie Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka for the longest such streak to begin a career if he can last that long Tuesday.

"With Tomlin, I know what I'm going to get. ... I've never had to go out there and get him before the fifth," manager Manny Acta told the Indians' official website. "He makes our job easier."

Orlando Cabrera made life slightly easier for the Indians (41-36) after his tiebreaking solo homer in the ninth inning Monday helped them snap a three-game skid. Cleveland remained one game behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.

Asdrubal Cabrera added a two-run homer and prized third base prospect Lonnie Chisenhall went 2 for 4 with an RBI in his major league debut.

Chisenhall, who batted .265 with seven homers and 44 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Columbus, was brought up to add a spark to a Cleveland offense that totaled four runs and 13 hits while being swept in San Francisco over the weekend.

"He has the ability to be a very good hitter at this level," Acta said. "I mean, a good player overall. You don't get picked in the first round just by having a cool name."

TV Schedule
Away: STO Network	Home: FOX Sports Arizona

Standings
Team	Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB	L 10	Strk
Cleveland	2nd AL Central	41	36	.532	1	5-5	W 1
Arizona	2nd NL West	43	37	.538	2	5-5	L 3

Kelly Johnson had a game-tying triple in the eighth Monday for the Diamondbacks (43-37), who dropped their third in a row to fall two games behind the first-place Giants in the NL West. Johnson represented the potential go-ahead run on third base with no outs after his triple, but did not score. The Diamondbacks are 4 for 24 with runners in scoring position over their last three games.

"We have been struggling with runners in scoring position recently," Gibson said. "It stings, but (the Indians) are a good ball club."

Justin Upton, who had a hit and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, is batting .425 with 17 RBIs in his last 28 games.

Cleveland has won four in a row over Arizona.

Sports | Mariners waste Bedard's effort against Braves | Seattle Times Newspaper

2011-06-28T00:12:00.000-07:00

By TIM BOOTH

AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE —

The Seattle Mariners have struggled at the plate so frequently it's been hard to distinguish one night from the next.

The lackluster effort Monday against Atlanta seemed to particularly bother manager Eric Wedge.

"We've had some tough nights this year offensively, but tonight was particularly disappointing," Wedge said. "We gave away some ABs and didn't have people step up when we had some opportunities."

The Mariners wasted another stellar pitching performance, this time from Erik Bedard, in their 3-1 loss to the Braves to open their interleague series. Bedard made a pair of mistakes, giving up a first-inning homer to Brian McCann and a tiebreaking, two-run shot to Freddie Freeman in the seventh.

In between, Bedard was outstanding. McCann solved Bedard with three hits, but the rest of the Braves' lineup was a combined 0 for 18 before Freeman jumped on a first-pitch fastball and clubbed a 412-foot shot over the center-field fence, just out of the reach of Franklin Gutierrez.

"Those big home runs like that, as soon as you let it go it's like, 'oops, it's gone,'" Bedard said.

Bedard (4-6) was a hard-luck loser despite his 12th straight start giving up three earned runs or less. He allowed four hits and struck out five.

Making his second start since coming off the disabled list, Atlanta's Brandon Beachy (3-1) was nearly at his best. He struck out five his first time through the Mariners' lineup and nine total, just two short of his career high. He has 20 strikeouts in 12 innings since coming off the disabled list.

Beachy allowed three hits and four baserunners, but made one crucial mistake. In the fourth inning, he left a 3-1 fastball over the middle of the plate and Adam Kennedy slapped it into the seats in right for his sixth homer of the season.

Beachy didn't lament Kennedy's solo homer too much but was critical of himself for letting his pitch count climb early and being unable to make it into the seventh.

"I'm wasting too many pitches. I would like to get deeper into games," Beachy said. "I really need to get through seven, get into the eighth inning. That's just something I need to be able to do. I need to be more efficient."

That was the extent of the offense for the Mariners, although they had chances. And none bigger than the missed opportunity in the fifth.

Mike Carp led off with double down the left-field line, snapping an 0-for-11 slide. He moved to third when Gutierrez rolled a grounder to second base.

Maligned third baseman Chone Figgins then weakly fouled out down the third-base line, drawing a cascade of thunderous boos. Beachy ended the inning by striking out Ichiro Suzuki for the second time, fooling Suzuki badly on a pair of swinging strikes.

"These guys are going to have to find a way to get tougher up there, start squaring up some fastballs," Wedge said. "They can't feel sorry for themselves, can't get down on themselves. The only way you're going to get better is fight through it, be more aggressive and be tougher. Otherwise this game will beat the hell out of you."

Seattle briefly threatened in the seventh. Dustin Ackley led off with a single against reliever George Sherrill before Miguel Olivo's drive to deep left-center. But Nate McLouth had time to sprint over and make a sliding grab in front of the warning track. After Carp's infield single, Scott Linebrink entered and got Gutierrez to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Eric O'Flaherty worked the eighth and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 21st save in 25 chances.

NOTES: Atlanta's Jason Heyward batted leadoff for the first time in his career and went 1 for 4 with a double in the eighth off reliever Aaron Laffey. ... Braves RHP Tommy Hanson will come off the DL on Tuesday to make his first start since going on the disabled list June 13 with shoulder tendinitis. ... Ackley continued his impressive start, now having hit safely in eight of his 10 games and reached base in all 10 since the prized prospect made his debut on June 17.

---

Follow Tim Booth on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/tjbooth7

Duke Basketball: Kyrie Irving and 10 Other Dukies We Wish Stayed All 4 Years | Bleacher Report

2011-06-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Kyrie Irving was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Irving joined Elton Brand and Art Heyman as the only Duke Blue Devils to be selected with the first overall pick.

Duke University has yielded many quality basketball players who played an entire four years with the university. Players such as: Grant Hill, J.J. Redick, Shane Battier, Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner all played four years of college basketball before entering the NBA Draft.

However, starting in the late 1990s with Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and William Avery, it became more common to see Duke basketball players enter the Draft early.

After only playing part of one season, Irving now joins the list of players who we wish had played with the Blue Devils for four years.

Who else is on the list?

Let’s find out.

Venus, Serena, Caroline Wozniacki all fall in Wimbledon round of 16 | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

2011-06-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

WIMBLEDON, England -- Venus and Serena Williams were eliminated in the fourth round of Wimbledon on Monday, the first time in five years neither sister will play in the quarterfinals at the All England Club.

Defending champion and four-time winner Serena lost, 6-3, 7-6 (6), to Marion Bartoli of France, cutting short the American's return to Grand Slam tennis after nearly a year out with serious health problems.

Older sister and five-time champion Venus was ousted, 6-2, 6-3, by Tsvetana Pironkova -- the same score of the Bulgarian's win in last year's quarterfinals.

"Definitely not our best day," Venus said. "I think we both envisioned seeing this day going a little bit different."

Venus and Serena have won nine of the past 11 titles at Wimbledon and have faced each other in four finals. This is the first year that, when both sisters were in the draw, both lost before the quarterfinals. The last time the sisters lost on the same day at a Grand Slam was in 2008, the third round at the French Open.

Also knocked out was top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5, to No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova in the Dane's latest attempt to win her first Grand Slam title.

Six-time men's champion Roger Federer survived a scare, dropping his first set of the tournament before coming back to down Mikhail Youzhny, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, and reach his 29th successive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

"I forgot completely (the 29th quarterfinal) was on the line to be quite honest, especially once you're in the heat of the moment, of the battle," said Federer, who also won his 100th match on grass. "I thought I played a good match overall."

Top-seeded defending champion Rafael Nadal overcame a foot injury and outlasted Juan Martin del Potro, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in a Centre Court match that ended in fading light shortly after 9 p.m.

A grimacing Nadal took a medical time-out after suffering an injured left foot in the game before the first-set tiebreaker. "For a moment at the end of the first set, I thought that I had to retire," Nadal said, adding he would seek further medical checks. "After that, the pain goes a little bit down, and finally I was ready to play."

With 2004 champion Maria Sharapova of Russia among those advancing Monday, this marks the first time since 1913 that all eight women's Wimbledon quarterfinalists are from Europe. And all come from different countries.

With no American women left, No. 10 Mardy Fish made it to his first Wimbledon quarters by serving 23 aces and beating 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray swept Richard Gasquet of France, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 -- then took a deep bow to the Royal Box, where Prince William and bride Kate joined the rest of the crowd in giving the British winner a standing ovation.

Angels blow another lead but still beat Nationals, 4-3 - latimes.com

2011-06-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

After rookie closer Jordan Walden fails in his third consecutive save opportunity, Maicer Izturis drives in the winning run in the 10th inning

By Mike DiGiovanna

There are learning curves, and there are learning first-pitch fastballs, and Jordan Walden, the Angels' hard-throwing but work-in-progress of a closer, got a bitter dose of both Monday.

One out away from victory, the 23-year-old right-hander blew his third straight save opportunity when he grooved a first-pitch fastball to Washington second baseman and local star Danny Espinosa, who crushed it for a score-tying home run in the ninth inning.

Walden had little time to stew. An inning later, he rushed onto the Angel Stadium field with his teammates to mob Maicer Izturis, whose one-out, bases-loaded single in the 10th gave the Angels a 4-3 win.

"I'm never happy about blowing a game," Walden said, "but the team won, and that's all that matters."

The Angels parlayed 16 hits, 15 of them singles, and four walks into only four runs, but they got big contributions from the bottom of the order, as Alberto Callaspo, Peter Bourjosand Bobby Wilson combined for eight hits and three runs batted in.

And all three had a hand in the winning rally, which Callaspo sparked with a one-out single against reliever Sean Burnett. Bourjos followed with his fourth hit, a ground-rule double to right field.

Davey Johnson, in his first game as the Nationals' interim manager, walked Wilson, the No. 9 batter, intentionally to load the bases.

Izturis atoned for his two errors at second base by stroking the fourth walk-off hit of his career to center to improve the Angels' to 10-5 in their last 15 games and 127-83 in interleague play since 2000, the best mark in baseball during that span.

"We definitely had to work for this one tonight," ManagerMike Scioscia said. "Unfortunately, Jordan missed with one fastball, and Espinosa didn't miss it."

Angels starter Ervin Santana, who was looking to end a losing streak at four games, threw 93 pitches in eight innings and blanked the Nationals on one hit over his final four innings, but Scioscia did not send the right-hander out for the ninth.

Instead, he went to Walden, who gave up two runs, a hit and two walks in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss in Dodger Stadium on Sunday.

Control wasn't the problem Monday night for Walden, who retired the first two batters before the home run pitch to Espinosa, the former Mater Dei High and Long Beach State standout.

With his parents, Vicki and Dan Espinosa, in attendance, Espinosa drove it out in right field for his 15th home run and a 3-3 tie.

"Oh man, it was right there on a tee for him," Walden said. "I was just trying to get ahead, and he was sitting dead red. Santana pitched his butt off. He deserved the win."

Santana lobbied to remain in the game. Did Scioscia think his starter was gassed, or did he want to throw Walden back into the fire?

"I think Ervin was about at his limits," Scioscia said. "It was a great outing. At that point of the game, it was enough for Ervin."

Santana gave up homers to Michael Morse in the second and Ryan Zimmerman in the fourth, and ranks second in the American League with 17 homers given up.

But Santana buckled down after the fourth, and the Angels rallied in the fourth, as singles by Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells and two-out run-scoring singles by Callaspo and Bourjos made it 2-2.

Callaspo singled with two out in the sixth, Bourjos reached on an infield single, and Wilson, the catcher who was making only his seventh start, lined a run-scoring single to left for a 3-2 lead.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

Dodgers-Twins: Dodgers rout Twins, 15-0 - latimes.com

2011-06-28T00:05:00.000-07:00

By Dylan Hernandez

Reporting from Minneapolis—

One of baseball's titanic institutions was bankrupt. Journeyman Trent Oeltjen nearly hit for the cycle. Rail-thin Dee Gordon hit for power.

Monday might have been the oddest day of an already-strange season for the Dodgers, as their historic Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was followed by an unprecedented outburst by their lineup in a 15-0 mauling of the Minnesota Twins atTarget Field.

What the Dodgers did on the field was more than a season first. They did something they had never done in their 54 seasons in Los Angeles: every player in the starting lineup had at least one hit, one run and one run batted in.

"History," Casey Blake said.

"All over the place," Manager Don Mattingly said.

The Dodgers had 25 hits, tying their highest single-game total since their move to Los Angeles in 1958. The mark simultaneously set a new standard of incompetence for the Twins, who broke their all-time franchise record for most hits given up in a nine-inning game.

The 25th hit was the result of some lawyering, but not from the legal counsel Frank McCourt has retained in his effort to remain owner of the Dodgers.

When the game ended, the scoreboard showed the Dodgers had 24 hits. But Mattingly took issue with the ruling that his designated hitter, Andre Ethier, had reached base in the fourth inning on an error by Twins shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

"That's a hit," Mattingly said.

Mattingly asked team spokesman Jon Chapper to ask official scorer Stew Thornley to review the play. Thornley did and overruled his initial decision.

History was made.

"You wish you can have more days like that," Matt Kemp said.

Kemp was one of three Dodgers to hit a home run in pitcher-friendly Target Field. Oeltjen and Blake also went deep.

Kemp, Oeltjen and Tony Gwynn Jr. each had four hits, with Oeltjen falling a double short of the cycle. Every player in the lineup had at least two hits.

The Dodgers' 15 runs were a season high, as was the 15-run margin of victory.

Mattingly said he didn't have an explanation for what happened, downplaying the psychological effects that the bankruptcy filing might have had on his players. (In a pregame meeting, Mattingly reminded his players to remain focused on baseball.)

"It's just one of those days," Mattingly said. "Everything went our way tonight."

Even on defense.

The Dodgers' shutout was threatened in the sixth inning, whenJoe Mauer doubled to left with Alexi Casilla on first base. Gwynn retrieved the ball and delivered it to shortstop Gordon, who threw out Casilla at the plate for the final out.

Broxton examined

Sidelined closer Jonathan Broxton underwent an MRI exam and was scheduled to be checked out by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Broxton's minor league rehabilitation was halted after two appearances because of soreness in his elbow.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

South Carolina Gamecocks top Florida Gators in College World Series - Joe Lemire - SI.com

2011-06-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

OMAHA, Neb. -- Imagine for a minute a plodding, power-hitting first baseman with a broken bone in his hand, who nevertheless launches home runs in batting practice to force his way into the starting lineup and then delivers a pair of hits that alone would have been the story of the night if not for the improbable way he wins the game with his legs. If that sounds like a superhero -- for a night, at least -- you weren't far off.

That was the tale on Monday of South Carolina sophomore Christian Walker -- the player coincidentally shares a name with a Marvel comic-book protagonist, who counts the baseball-appropriate Diamond among his aliases -- who persevered through a broken hamate bone in his left hand, who was not listed in the original lineup distributed an hour before game time and who in the 11th-inning of the marathon College World Series finals Game 1 singled, stole a base (with a head-first slide, no less) and advanced two more bases on a pair of throwing errors to score the winning run.

"I like to think I play hard," Walker said after the game, "and no matter what's going on, I'm not going to let injury affect how I play."

If you expected more than such an understated even-toned reply, you erred in expectation, for Walker's modesty matched his meddle after a performance that was about as heroic as one can be on a baseball diamond, as the defending champion Gamecocks edged Florida 2-1 to take the first game of the best-of-three final series and tied the 1983-84 Texas teams with 15 consecutive NCAA tournament victories.

Walker, South Carolina's No. 3 hitter and team leader in average (.355) and home runs (10), broke the bone while swinging the bat in his final time up in Friday night's 13-inning marathon victory over Virginia. He took Saturday off, then tried and failed to swing effectively Sunday. An X-ray and CT scan Monday morning confirmed the fracture, and hours before game time two university doctors treated him in a tunnel behind the first-base dugout and told him he really couldn't worsen the injury and that deciding to play was really just a matter of managing the pain.

"I knew it was going to take a lot of pain for me not to play," Walker said, giving profuse thanks to the medical staff.

When Walker -- who batted .588 as a high school senior in Pennsylvania and once bested Bryce Harper in a home-run derby -- finished his B.P. round with a homer off the foul pole, his teammates started to suspect they'd have their slugger.

"That's when I knew he was going to be in there," third baseman Adrian Morales said. "He's a big part of our lineup, so we need him there. Fifty percent of Christian is good."

Every bit counts, as runs in the 2011 college baseball season have been hard to come by. New restrictions on the aluminum the players swing has left the annual June rite of ball in Omaha with a little less ping. South Carolina managed just seven hits in 11 innings and never had two runners simultaneously on base all game, only putting multiple runners on in the eighth when second baseman Scott Wingo singled home shortstop Peter Mooney to tie the game at one apiece.

Of course, Florida's starter had as much to do with that paucity of runs as anything. Hudson Randall, a 6-foot-3 sophomore righthander, has J.J. Putz's red hair and tall frame, Derek Lowe's jerky upright wind-up and sinker and Greg Maddux's control and economy of pitches.

He had little choice over the former, but the latter of the three was deliberate emulation from the Atlanta native, who'd watch the former Braves ace on television and head over to Turner Field when he could. Randall cruised through the first seven innings with two hits and no walks on just 68 pitches -- he threw a shutout of Tennessee earlier in the year in 74 pitches -- before issuing his only walk, a free pass to Mooney to leadoff the eighth.

For much of Monday night Randall even seemed to have the range of Maddux, an 18-time Gold Glover, with five assists and a putout before Wingo's ball bounded just over the mound and under his glove for a game-tying two-out single in the eighth.

Credit goes, too, to the Gamecocks' bullpen, which threw 5 1/3 shutout innings of relief, and to freshman pitcher Forrest Koumas, who had gone three weeks since he last pitched in a game and who a year ago led Lugoff-Elgin High to South Carolina's Class 3A championship. This stage was a bit different, thanks to the 25,851 in attendance and the millions more watching on national television.

Those tuning in or attending this year's College World Series for the first time had plenty opportunity to get acquainted to TD Ameritrade Park, the $131 million new downtown home to the Series, thanks to the innings of extra baseball. The new park shares the same city of residence and the same familiar dimensions as old Rosenblatt Stadium, but little else: whereas Rosenblatt was quaint and quirky, TD Ameritrade is sparkling yet sterile, trading a cozy neighborhood in southern Omaha for the downtown construction boom.

The only run allowed by Koumas scored in the third inning on a fly ball tucked inside the left-field line off the bat of light-hitting infielder slotted No. 9 in the batting order with the family name of Dent. In this case it was the Gators' sophomore third baseman Cody Dent, rather than his father, Bucky, the Yankees shortstop whose down-the-line poke over the Green Monster in a one-game playoff famously ended the Red Sox' 1978 season.

As improbable as Bucky Dent's home run have been the escape tactics of South Carolina over the past week. To advance to the final series, it survived tie-game, bases-loaded situations in the 10th, 12th and 13th innings to No. 1-ranked Virginia on Friday before winning thanks to two throwing errors in the bottom of the lucky 13th.

The Gamecocks faced a similar situation Monday night in the 10th when the Gators loaded the bases with no one out, before reliever John Taylor -- who has pitched in all nine of USC's NCAA tournament games this year -- induced consecutive ground balls to Wingo at second base. The second was a laser that he ably turned into a second-to-home-to-first twin killing, but it was the first that raised hair in South Carolina as his throw skipped to catcher Robert Beary at the plate. But so charmed has their season been that Beary snagged the ball on a short hop despite the cumbersome catcher's mitt.

"I blacked out," Beary said. "I blacked out and I was like, 'Wow, I caught the ball.' I ended up holding on -- barely."

Added Morales about some fortuitous pregame foreshadowing, "We weren't sure if Walker was going to go, so [Beary] was taking throws at first. He was scooping at first and then he was scooping behind the plate. It worked out pretty good for us."

That complex formula of a bases-loaded escape followed by a run scoring on consecutive throwing errors worked again Monday on Walker's mad dash around the bases, as the catcher's throw on the steal attempt sailed into center field, and the center fielder's effort to nab him at third bounced out of play near the dugout.

"Coach [Ray] Tanner always tells us, 'Just win anyway' -- no matter what the situation is," Walker said.

Bus crash kills NC State's Lorenzo Charles

2011-06-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

Former North Carolina State basketball player Lorenzo Charles, whose last-second dunk gave the underdog Wolfpack the 1983 NCAA championship, was killed Monday when a bus he was driving crashed, a company official said.

An Elite Coach executive said Mr. Charles, 47, was driving one of its buses on Interstate 40 near Raleigh, N.C. Police said no passengers were aboard.

Mr. Charles secured his spot in N.C. State lore 28 years ago in the final moments of the Wolfpack's national championship game against Houston.

He grabbed Dereck Whittenburg's 30-foot airball and dunked it at the buzzer to give N.C. State a 54-52 win and its second national title, sending coach Jim Valvano scrambling for someone to hug in what has become one of the lasting images of the NCAA Tournament.

Elsewhere

Gamecocks 1 win from repeating

Christian Walker, cleared to play with a broken wrist a half-hour before the game, scored from first base on two throwing errors in the 11th inning and defending champion South Carolina beat Florida 2-1 in Game 1 of the best-of-three College World Series final in Omaha, Neb. The Gamecocks threw out two runners at the plate in the bottom of the ninth and another in the 10th.

Game 2 is today.

College basketball: Kentucky gave John Calipari an extension that will keep him coaching the Wildcats through 2019. He is guaranteed $3.8 million annually, with bonuses and incentives potentially adding nearly $2 million a season.

-- UConn's Maya Moore won her second straight Honda-Broderick Cup as the top female college athlete.

College football: Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said former North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson, who most recently played in the Rockies' minor-league system, will quit baseball and compete for the Badgers' starting job.

Olympics: The International Olympic Committee "actively encourages" competitors at the 2012 London Olympics to "post, blog and tweet their experiences," but forbids athletes from using social media for commercial or advertising purposes or sharing videos from Olympic venues.

"Postings, blogs or tweets should be in a ... diary-type format and should not be in the role of a journalist," the new IOC rules state.

The IOC also urged athletes not to comment on opponents or reveal confidential information, and posts, tweets and blogs should be "in good taste, and not contain vulgar or obscene words or images."

Golf: Britons hold the top three spots in the world ranking, the first time that has happened in the list's 25-year history. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland rose to third following his U.S. Open win. Englishmen Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are Nos. 1 and 2.

NHL: The Sharks agreed to one-year contracts with forward Andrew Desjardins and goalie Alex Stalock. ... The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a five-year, $23 million contract extension.

Around the horn: Cash-starved Dodgers file for bankruptcy

2011-06-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES -- One of baseball's proudest franchises is in tatters, its future to be decided more in the courtroom than on the field.

The Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Monday, blaming Major League Baseball for refusing to approve a multibillion-dollar TV deal that owner Frank McCourt was counting on to keep the troubled franchise afloat.

McCourt, upset that commissioner Bud Selig rejected the proposed TV deal last week, hopes a federal judge will approve $150 million in financing to be used for daily operations, which would give him more time to seek a more favorable media contract. A hearing is set for today.

"The action taken today by Mr. McCourt does nothing but inflict further harm to this historic franchise," Selig said in a statement.

The team is bleeding red ink instead of Dodger blue, with former players owed millions. Even beloved Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully is owed more than $150,000 as part of his contract, court documents show.

The filing by a cash-starved McCourt comes just days before he was expected to miss a team payroll Thursday and possibly be confronted with an MLB takeover.

CLEVELAND: Rookie third basemanLonnie Chisenhall was promoted from the minors, hoping to spark a stagnant offense. Chisenhall, 22, considered the top prospect in the organization, batted .265 with 14 doubles, seven homers and 44 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Columbus. He's hitting .303 with runners on base and .360 runners in scoring position. He was scheduled to make his major league debut Monday night at third and bat seventh against Arizona. The club designated infielder and ex-Tiger Adam Everett for assignment. ... Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo's broken left thumb won't be examined until today, when he likely will undergo surgery, and might miss six weeks.

HULL SET TO APPEAL BOATENG RED

2010-02-11T01:47:00.001-08:00

Hull City manager Phil Brown is considering appealing the red card shown to George Boateng during Wednesday's 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.

The veteran midfielder was shown a straight red card by referee Lee Probert following a 40th minute aerial challenge with Morten Gamst Pedersen at Ewood Park.

Afterwards Rovers boss Sam Allardyce conceded the red card had been harsh on the Tigers and Brown was similarly bemused by Probert's decision.

He explained: "To say it is a nonsense is an understatement. The problem I have with it is he had two to three minutes to make the decision while George was knocked out.

"But the players told me he already had the red card out of his pocket within seconds of the incident.

"It is clearly a clash of heads and a brave challenge by both players. If I am going to jump I am going to bring my arms up.

"If you look at George Boateng's history, he's had 14 years in the Premier League and two red cards.

"It is a good career record for me for a combative midfielder whose involved in tussles and tackles."

Nani's moment of madness leaves Sir Alex Ferguson seeing red

2010-02-11T01:46:00.001-08:00

Sir Alex Ferguson received a major blow to his offensive options at Villa Park, a straight red card given to Nani, awarded by referee Peter Walton for a studs-up tackle on Stiliyan Petrov, meaning that the winger will suspended for the next three domestic games, including his side’s Carling Cup final against Villa at Wembley later this month.

By Sandy Macaskill

He will also be required to sit out of United’s next two Premier League matches, a trip to Goodison Park and a home fixture with West Ham, which after the draw in the west midlands have assumed even greater importance as United strive to wrest the lead of the table from Chelsea.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for either the 23-year-old or Ferguson. In recent weeks Nani has been the king to Wayne Rooney’s ace, and he has been rewarded with a starting place in United’s last five games, running amok against Hull, Manchester City, Arsenal and Portsmouth.

Finally the Portuguese has been able to show what he can do now that he is no longer obscured by Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow.

The midfielder has been the target of some criticism since his £18 million move from Sporting Lisbon in 2007. Too often the attempts at trickery seemed nothing more pale imitations of his more illustrious team-mate, his free-kicks well regarded, but nothing on the master, and it earned him the unfortunate nickname ‘Ronaldo lite’, and rumours Ferguson would sell him come summer

Yet Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid, Antonio Valencia’s failure to step into his boots, and Dimitar Berbatov’s inability to emerge from obscurity since his move from Spurs have left Ferguson casting for alternatives to provide cutting edge, and Nani has emerged as the solution.

Unfortunately for United fans he was unable to deliver on the promise that “I am sure I have the quality to be one of the best in the world," – as he said this week – his only contribution of note before he was escorted down the tunnel to a cheering Villa Park a vicious free kick, which almost bamboozled Brad Friedel with a late swerve.

Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, has been left fretting over the fitness of Petrov, who left the scene injured in the 65th minute, to be replaced by Steve Sidwell. The Bulgarian has been the linchpin of Villa’s season, operating in a holding role in front of the celebrated back four.

With the likes of James Milner and Ashley Young plying their trade in the same midfield, Petrov’s contribution often goes unsung – but should the injury prove serious it would be a major blow to Villa.

Arsène Wenger: Arsenal will make sure Premier League goes to the wire

2010-02-11T01:45:00.000-08:00

Arsène Wenger believes the Premier League title race will go to the wire after seeing his Arsenal side's ambitions boosted by the 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

By Telegraph staff

Arsenal had started the day nine points adrift and seemingly no longer genuine contenders following successive defeats to Manchester United and, on Sunday, Chelsea.

However, the deficit was narrowed to six points after Abou Diaby's header earned the three points against Liverpool, United drew 1-1 at Aston Villa and leaders Chelsea lost 2-1 at Everton.

"I believe we will fight until the last second of the season, and that's what we want to continue to do," said Wenger.

"We believe we have a chance and you could see again that Chelsea lost, Manchester United dropped points, so it is open for everybody."

Wenger, though, warned more hard work lay ahead and is focusing only on the immediate future.

"It can change quickly, but for us it is more important for us to focus on winning our next game than speaking about the title because we had a big shock in our last two games," he added.

The victory may have not been a vintage performance by his young side, but it reinforced Wenger's faith following a difficult couple of weeks.

The Arsenal manager added: "Nobody realises what it is to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on the trot - physically and mentally it is very demanding, especially with two massive disappointments.

"We have shown good togetherness, good discipline and then we got that little goal which makes a massive result for us."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was left fuming, claiming his side should have had a stoppage-time penalty when Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas appeared to handle the ball from a Steven Gerrard free-kick.

Referee Howard Webb waved away Liverpool's appeals, and television replays appeared to suggest there was doubt whether the hand was in the box.

Wenger denied Liverpool should have had a penalty, saying: "It was a controversial situation.

"The free-kick against us was harsh. Steven Gerrard didn't deserve the free-kick he got and afterwards Cesc Fabregas maybe touched the ball with his hand, but it shouldn't have been a free-kick."

One sour note for Wenger was that Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin limped off with a hamstring injury and Samir Nasri was substituted with a head injury which left him nauseous.

Both will be assessed ahead of the Champions League trip to Porto next week, which will be the Gunners' next match as they are no longer in the FA Cup.

Ferguson has no complaints as Nani sees red

2010-02-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

By John Percy (AFP)

BIRMINGHAM, England — Sir Alex Ferguson belied his reputation as a referee-baiter by insisting he had no problems with Nani's sending off in a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.

Wednesday's result left champions United a point behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

It also meant Nani, shown a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Stiliyan Petrov, would be suspended for United's next three matches, including this month's League Cup final against Villa at Wembley.

Ferguson, who earlier this season received a two-match touchline ban for criticising referee Alan Wiley's fitness, had no complaints with Peter Walton's decision to reduce United to 10 men in the 29th minute at Villa Park.

"It's a red card, Nani went in double-footed and he can't do that," Ferguson said. "It was a naive tackle and the referee had no option.

"But Nani is not a malicious player.

"He has been doing so well for us and we'll now miss him for the League Cup final.

"He's also missing two league games which is just as important."

United's dropping of two points was compounded by the sight of veteran winger Ryan Giggs leaving Villa Park with his arm in a sling after a innocuous collision with Steve Sidwell late in the second half.

Despite the loss of Nani, United should have won this match and knocked Chelsea off the top of the Premier League, with the Londoners surprisingly beaten at Everton on Wednesday.

"Even with ten men we should have won the game," said Ferguson. "We were the better team and tried to get the result.

"Credit to the players, they were absolutely brilliant. Every player worked their socks off.

"We have sent Ryan for an X-ray to see if there is any damage. It is very painful but hopefully he is going to be all right."

United arrived at Villa Park on a revenge mission after suffering defeat at Old Trafford in December.

Carlos Cuellar though headed Villa in front with the club's first home league goal of 2010 before James Collins's unfortunate own goal hauled United level.

But then Nani was dismissed for a moment of madness following a scything lunge on Petrov just before the half hour.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill's bid to record a season double over Ferguson never looked like being successful, however, and even when a man down it was United who appeared the more dangerous side.

O'Neill was left rueing Villa's failure to capitalise on their numerical advantage but insisted this game would have no bearing on the Wembley final.

"That will be a different set of circumstances, a different environment," he said. "When it comes round, we should go into the game with plenty of confidence."

He added: "When they had a man sent-off I was hoping we would be able to take the initiative. In the second half we didn't create enough and make enough use of the extra man.

"If you'd asked me at the start of season would you take four points against United I'd have been pretty happy with that."

The result left Villa seventh in the table, two points outside the top four who will qualify for next season's Champions League.

Although they are fifth, Manchester City are level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool and have two games in hand on their Merseyside rivals.

"Manchester City would have been delighted with the results (on Wednesday)," said O'Neill.

"Considering their resources they would be strong contenders. But we are in the race and we will try our very best."

Premier League: Everton 2 Chelsea 1

2010-02-11T01:42:00.000-08:00

CHELSEA put a protective arm around John Terry last night after a bad night at Goodison.

Terry was caught out as Louis Saha fired a superb goal - his second of the game after Florent Malouda's opener - to sink the Premier League leaders 2-1.

Sacked as England captain last week, Terry remains under pressure over his private life and has been given the nod to miss this weekend's FA Cup clash against Cardiff. Assistant boss Ray Wilkins said: "You have to give Louis Saha a bit of credit because he's a tough opponent.

"John got caught under the ball for the second one but he's been outstanding for us, so I'm sure it was the slightest of blips."

Everton boss Davie Moyes said: "Not many teams come back from 1-0 down to them."

Skier Lindsey Vonn is top U.S. hopeful at 2010 Vancouver Olympics

2010-02-10T01:11:00.000-08:00

By Barry Svrluga

Washington Post Staff Writer

The high temperature of 4 degrees had come and gone one Sunday afternoon last December at the base of a mountain in Lake Louise, Alberta, when Lindsey Vonn found her husband, Thomas, and buried her head into the shoulder of his puffy ski jacket.

"I'm so depressed," she said quietly. He put his arm around her.

"Hey," Thomas Vonn said. "That's awesome."

There, in a tiny six-word exchange with her husband, everything was on display: Vonn's talent and potential, her desire and competitiveness -- and, more than anything, her expectations, both internal and external.She won two races that weekend and came within a blink of another, the beginning of a season that now includes nine pre-Olympic wins from a skier who has won the last two World Cup overall titles. She is widely considered, as Canadian ski federation president Gary Allan said, "just the most professional performer we have out here."

"She's not really depressed," Thomas Vonn explained later. "Racing just doesn't always go the way you expect it to go."

So she is expecting a bounty and is guaranteed nothing. Just six American skiers have ever won two medals in a single Olympics. None has won more than that. Yet now, with the Vancouver Games set to open Friday, here comes Vonn, a clear favorite for gold in the downhill and the super-G, a strong contender in the combined, a threat for a medal in both the slalom and the giant slalom -- though, hampered by an injured hand, she has struggled in the latter two disciplines during the World Cup season.

Three hundredths of a second could determine whether Vonn matches the breathless hopes that have been thrust upon her entering these Games or instead heads back to her home in Vail, Colo., or her home town of Burnsville, Minn., another victim of build-up that proved unmatchable.

In 2008, Michael Phelps went into the Beijing Olympics with a quest for eight gold medals. He delivered. Now, historic expectations are moved from one Games to the next, from one sport to another, whether or not the analogies apply.

Vonn is accepting, if not quite comfortable, with the expectations.

"What I've come to realize is that the only thing I can do is be prepared and -- physically, mentally -- do the best that I can every day," Vonn said. "At the end of the day, if people judge me for not succeeding or succeeding -- what have you -- that's their opinion. I have to be happy with my performance and what I've given."

What she has given is her life -- "my whole life," she said, almost all 25 years of it. And now, it is not just hers. Thomas Vonn was once a ski racer, too. The year of his lone Olympic appearance, 2002, was the year of Lindsey Kildow's first, when she was just 17. That same year, she and Vonn began dating, though he is nine years older and her father disapproved. In 2007, they got married.

Now, entering an Olympics in which she could be the marquee performer, they are rarely apart. Her career is their career, and when NBC's cameras are trained on Vonn before a race, during a race, after a race -- as they will undoubtedly be over the course of the next two-plus weeks -- expect a corresponding shot of Thomas's face, smiling or sullen. If she wins multiple events, they will have done it together. If she fails to earn even a single medal -- as Bode Miller, the featured product of 2006 pre-Olympic hype machine, learned was possible -- they will have done that together, too.

"Being married has really changed her," said Linda Krohn, Lindsey's mother. "It's made her so much calmer. It's really cool."

'Thomas, I need you'

Ski racing involves significantly more stewing than actual racing, with individual runs lasting two minutes at most. Days and months and years of preparation build to an occasionally unnerving tension in the moments before a race, when skiers gather at the top of a mountain, waiting their turn to churn through the starting gate, anxiety often more prevalent than oxygen at those altitudes.

Lindsey Vonn has won 31 World Cup races and is the most successful female American ski racer in history. Last February, when she climbed to the top of a downhill course in Val d'Isere, France, she was the woman to beat. She had won the super-G just six days earlier. Yet faced with this prospect -- the speedy downhill, her best discipline -- she was a wreck.

"I just got to the point where I couldn't function," Vonn said. "I was just a nervous wreck. Literally, I was shaking. I was like, 'I don't know if I can do this.' "

So the call went out over a radio: "Thomas, I need you."

This is the on-the-mountain portion of the most unique partnership in skiing. Fellow competitors, friends, rivals, they all seem to marvel at how this 34-year-old former World Cup skier -- a classic tinkerer with equipment, "Mr. Technology Guy," his wife called him -- works with this sturdy, 5-foot-10 natural talent who can win races on ability alone.

"She's way more of the free spirit, like, doesn't pay attention to details," Thomas Vonn said. "She just has the raw talent and drive to do it. And I'm way more of the technical guy."

That, though, undersells Thomas Vonn's role in all this. In fact, he guides almost every aspect of Lindsey's career. Lindsey Vonn's father, Alan Kildow, moved his family to Vail from the Minneapolis suburbs when Lindsey was 11. But according to Lindsey, he became overbearing when she reached the World Cup level. Alan Kildow did not attend the 2006 Olympics, did not attend his daughter's wedding, and is not in contact with Lindsey now.

Thomas Vonn, clearly, is the confidante through which every decision -- be it about equipment or scheduling or appearances -- runs.

"He does not want the limelight," said Krohn, who divorced Alan Kildow several years ago. "He doesn't want to be up on that stand, and he's been in those places before, on that Olympic stage. That's a wonderful deal. He wants to be behind her, supporting her."

But the relationship wasn't perfect from the start. Thomas Vonn first joined Lindsey on the road full-time more than three years ago, full of enthusiasm for his then-girlfriend's career, along with plenty of advice. That didn't always sit well with a skier who had already won races, several races, her way.

"She wasn't always receptive," Thomas Vonn said. "It was kind of like a reprogramming process, because she was always used to operating a different way, just totally winging it. 'Oh, I'm good this week, and not this week,' and not knowing why.

"It took a whole lot of battling from us in the beginning to where she trusted what I said. . . . It was frustrating, for sure. It was frustrating for both of us."

By the time Lindsey Vonn's knees knocked atop that mountain in Val d'Isere, those frustrations had melted away. Only a team remained.

"He's so real," Lindsey Vonn said. "He's always straight with me. He doesn't tell me what I want to hear. He tells me what I need to hear."

But he also knows enough to listen. Throw out the logistical aspects of Thomas Vonn's role in his wife's career -- the coaching and the equipment evaluations and the tactical advice -- and what remains is something of a sports psychologist. It was Thomas's idea to treat the 2009 world championships, Alpine skiing's most significant event outside of the Olympics, as a test run for Vancouver. Here, then, at the start of the downhill, was a moment from which they could learn.

So Thomas Vonn arrived at the top of the mountain and found his bride, who had seen what she considered to be a perfect run by Switzerland's Lara Gut and knew she had no margin for error. Thomas joked with her, talked to her, "gave me perspective," Lindsey said. She stopped shaking.

Fifteen skiers after Gut left the starting gate, Vonn shot down the hill. The nerves were gone. She won by more than half a second.

'She got up and raced'

Vonn's last Olympics are defined not by the numbers attached to her races -- eighth in the downhill, seventh in the super-G, 14th in the slalom and a DNF in the combined -- but by the following series of events: a violent crash during a downhill training run in which her body looked something like a fish flopping on a dock, an emergency helicopter flight from the Alpine village of San Sicario, Italy, to the host city of Turin, a stay in a hospital during which she alternately contemplated the end of her career and how best to escape, and then a return to skis less than 48 hours later.

The video of that accident, violent and spectacular all at once, has been shown widely in NBC's commercials leading up to the Games. It could bother a skier who has accomplished so much that her one major slip-up is how people view her prior to these Olympics. It doesn't. The gravity of the situation then -- doctors told her she might have broken her back or her hip or both -- gives it weight as she heads to Whistler, the mountain less than 80 miles outside Vancouver that will host the Alpine events.

"It was kind of a defining moment for me, personally," Vonn said. "That was the first time I had ever thought that I might not be able to ski again because of what the doctors were saying. It really was a wake-up call. I never wanted to miss another opportunity, and I never wanted to be in the finish and think that I could've done better or could've worked harder."

When Vonn was little, her mother remembers that it was "like pulling teeth" to get Lindsey to run a mile. Now, she'll do daily spinning workouts on a stationary bike for an hour and 45 minutes. "That's crazy," Krohn said. Her summertime, dry-land training sessions are legendary among her teammates and competitors alike. As former U.S. coach Patrick Riml, who now leads the Canadian team, said: "The talent was always there with Lindsey. Now, the focus is there, too."

"I know we get compared to her a lot, like, 'How come you guys aren't doing this like Lindsey?' " said veteran U.S. skier Stacey Cook, who will appear in her second Olympics in Vancouver. "I'm like, 'I'm never going to be as professional as her.' I have to have a little more fun. I have to do things that probably aren't good for my racing, but they're good for me, for my sanity. That's one way she's changed. She has everything -- everything -- down to the T. It's amazing."

When Vonn was 9, she first met her hero, Olympic champion Picabo Street, at an autograph signing. Street remembers it even now, she said, "not just because she was taller, but because her eyes were bright and attentive and she wasn't caught up in all the little menial stuff. She really paid attention and was absorbing it all."

Vonn and Street eventually became teammates at the 2002 Olympics, by which point Street was something of a mentor to the teenager. Street has watched Vonn develop on the mountain and off, watched her relationship with Thomas Vonn grow both personally and professionally, and has guided Vonn on how to handle various situations -- with sponsors, with life on the road, with the media -- throughout her career. Street believes, though, that the reasons for Vonn's success are fairly simple.

"Love for the fall line is something you can't teach," Street said, referring to the most direct -- and often most frightening -- path down a race course. "She was born with that, and that's never deviated. Lack of fear and a love for the fall line -- that's a combination that's tough to beat."

Street was there in the hospital in Turin in the days after the training crash, when Vonn's injuries were diagnosed merely as bad bruises and she was dealing with a tremendous amount of pain. There was, though, no fear of returning.

"She got up and raced," Thomas Vonn said.

And if she falls at Whistler, no one doubts she'll do the same again.

'Minnesota nice'

"I mean, Michael Phelps probably has no idea who I am," Lindsey Vonn was saying. "You know?"

She said this as a way of minimizing her fame, or certainly the potential for it, back in December, just a few days before she lost that super-G by three hundredths of a second. She sat on a couch in a nook of the grand Chateau Lake Louise, relaxed.

An hour earlier, she had arrived at an appointment with a reporter in a full sprint, racing through an elegant hotel hallway, hurling herself around a corner as if it were a slalom gate. "I'm so-so-so-so-so sorry," she said, because there had been a mix-up about the location of the interview. But instead of heading for the comfort of her room, Vonn had spent 30 minutes frantically trying to make the appointment work.

"Minnesota nice," is how her mother puts it, and it clearly makes Linda Krohn as proud as any Olympic medal would.

Should the next few weeks go as Lindsey Vonn hopes, American skiing will have an engine that could propel it to heights Miller couldn't push it to in 2006, that other stars from the past -- Street and the Mahre twins and Bill Johnson and Tommy Moe -- couldn't hope to attain. Part of that will be due to whatever she accomplishes. But part of that, no doubt, will be due to how she carries herself.

Vonn's model for all this is tennis legend Roger Federer, whom she met at last year's French Open, finagling a pass to his post-championship news conference, sitting in the back, watching how he handled it all.

"The one thing you draw from all of his interviews is how humble he is and how down to earth he is," Vonn said. She was a bit dumbfounded when Federer seemed to know who she was when they were introduced, then again when he recognized her at Wimbledon. She didn't seem to connect that such notoriety could be hers after these Olympics.

"I'm never going to be like Nicole Kidman," she said. "I'm not going to be some big star that everyone will know. For me, personally, I don't think it's going to change very much.

"But I don't know. My husband may have a different view of that."

Indeed, he does, and he has tried to prepare her for it, pointing out the attention she receives after World Cup races in Europe and reminding her that it'll be magnified at the Olympics.

"She likes to be skiing fast, and whatever position that puts her in, she's happy with it," he said.

As Thomas Vonn said this, the light was growing low in Lake Louise. Lindsey Vonn had just lost that super-G by those three hundredths of a second, and was heading to the warmth of the nearby lodge. First, though, she stood in the snow, her skis off and her boots on, signing autographs for kids who leaned up against a temporary fence that separated fans from athletes. Three hundredths of a second had just changed her result, as it could again this month in Vancouver. It couldn't, though, change her.

The thin man: Ohno is lighter

2010-02-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

Art Thiel, Hearst Newspapers

PST VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Breaking news from Planet Ohno:

Guy's disappearing.

Either that, or he's a black hole, growing more intense by drawing energy from all around him.

Apolo Anton Ohno, one-time Federal Way, Wash., mall rat who stands astride the American team at the Winter Games, said Tuesday that he's the most fit he's ever been entering an Olympics.

Ohno said he's down to 145 pounds with 2.5 percent body fat. That compares with 165 pounds at the 2002 in Salt Lake and 155 pounds in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

"I'm lifting almost double what I did before the World Cup three months ago," he said.

If that weren't enough, he seems to be the coolest dude in the warmest climate ever to host a Winter Games. If he feels any pressure about his opportunity to become the most decorated Winter Olympian in U.S. history, there were no visible fissures as he relaxed among his short-track teammates.

"Now, toward the end of my career, I have five Olympic medals, and I've accomplished every single thing I've wanted to do in the sport, in the Olympics and World Cups," he said. "I have a sense of calm. I feel very good with where I'm at. I'm doing this purely because I still love it."

Ohno's medal count (two golds, a silver and two bronzes) ties him with long-track speedskater Eric Heiden and is one short of another skater, Bonnie Blair. Starting with the 1,500-meter race Saturday, he has three individual races plus the team relay to put him in the books.

"Anytime anyone makes a reference to them, two of the greatest Olympians of all time, I'm kind of in awe, or shock, to be mentioned in the same sentence," he said. "I'm very optimistic. I have a killer instinct inside that I try to kind of hold back until Saturday when I let the beast loose."

Snow business: Olympic organizers opened parts of the Cypress Mountain to media, showing off a snow-covered moguls course with a big patches of dirt on either side. The snowboard halfpipe remained off limits.

"All in all, I think we are very positive about how things have come together," said Dick Vollet, the Vancouver organizing committee's head of mountain operations. "We are quite happy with where we are given that we are fighting Mother Nature and sometimes she can be very unforgiving."

Legal injection: The men's Alpine course at Whistler was injected with water. The International Ski Federation ordered the move, allowing the course to better withstand warm weather and rain. Critics, however, contend that courses injected with water can cause more skiers to fall.

The women's course at Whistler was not injected.

While temperatures on the mountain have been hovering around or above freezing in recent days, cooler conditions and snow were expected today, when men's downhill training begins.

When a course is injected, water is forced 1 or 2 feet deep into the snow through tiny nozzles on a high-pressure hose. As cold air seeps in, a layer of hard snow and ice forms. That prevents the slope from deteriorating from use or becoming sloppy in warm weather, rain or falling snow.

No dopes: Vancouver's state-of-the-art doping lab already has tested more than 200 blood and urine samples from Olympic athletes, and there have been no positives.

Dr. Christiane Ayotte, the scientist in charge of the facility, said the new facility at the Richmond Oval aims to process about 2,000 samples - 1,600 urine and about 400-500 blood samples - during the games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kings, Omri Casspi down Knicks in overtime

2010-02-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

By Ailene Voisin / McClatchy Newspapers

NEW YORK — In front of a Madison Square Garden audience that sang his name, cheered his performance, and applauded him again at the end, Omri Casspi’s teammates gave him the sweetest gift of all.

They gave him a win. They eased his burden, protected his wing, and when he faltered in the second half, emotionally and physically exhausted from two days of interviews and receptions, they provided the final, fateful push.

"I was so happy for him," Tyreke Evans said Tuesday night after the Sacramento Kings defeated the New York Knicks 118-114 in overtime, a wide, boyish grin on his face. "I know how much this meant to him. There so many Jewish people here. It was almost a home game for him."

This was Omri Casspi’s night, Jewish Heritage Night, and the night a performance lived up to the hype.

En route to stopping a six-game losing streak their first road win since that comeback victory in Chicago, a span of 11 games the Kings had contributions from almost all of their youngsters, got nine consecutive overtime points from Kevin Martin, and rewarded coach/mad scientist Paul Westphal for his chronic, often weird, always unconventional tinkering.

Tuesday night, Westphal utilized a zone defense during the fourth-quarter comeback, benched Spencer Hawes after six defensively lackluster minutes, decided to bring Martin off the bench because his veteran missed shootaround with a migraine and suspected he would be unavailable. He played Casspi, Evans and Donte’ Greene major minutes, well aware his twentysomethings have yet another game tonight in Detroit.

But like he said later. This wasn’t just another game. They knew it, they earned it. Greene, stroking jumpers, rebounding, hustling. Jason Thompson, leaping and muscling for 11 boards. Martin, swiping a key offensive rebound in the extra period. Casspi, scoring 16 first-half points. And Evans, and especially in the final five minutes of regulation.

With the Knicks up 101-93 and four minutes left, the rookie point guard twice penetrated and found Thompson for dunks.

He even blamed himself for a miscommunication with 39 seconds left, when Casspi cut one way, suddenly turned the other way at the same time Evans was throwing the pass.

"If we had lost that game because of that play," said Evans, shaking his head. "I would have been so mad at myself because I’m the point guard."

No one, of course, was more satisfied than Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the league. His Manhattan visit was an ongoing series of interviews, receptions and gatherings with relatives, media members, Jewish dignitaries, with NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Approximately 1,000 tickets were purchased by Jewish groups, and before the game, youngsters in yarmulkes crowded the baseline.

During the game fans waved Israeli flags, gasped at Casspi’s play, and lingered appreciatively at the end.

But like the quarterback who buys his linemen dinner for having his back, Casspi should spring for the steaks Wednesday night in Detroit. These same teammates who jokingly accused him of setting NBA records for appearances, who intuitively, graciously, understood the pressure and sensed what this meant, were thoughtful and accommodating throughout.

At the buzzer, it was all there, relief, elation, gratitude. With another wide smile on his face, Evans immediately turned and reached for Casspi. Thompson and Greene waited for him at midcourt, where the three posed for photos. Casspi looked into the stands at his brother (Eitan) and father (Shimon), who stood there clapping, beaming.

"When I left the court," said Casspi before leaving, "it was one of the most exciting moments of my life."

Briefs: Haas, Phau, Becker advance at San Jose

2010-02-10T01:04:00.000-08:00

Daily News Staff Writer

SAN JOSE — Tommy Haas remembers when his first-round opponent, wild-card Devin Britton, was a ballboy. Then he watched him develop into a professional player. Now he's playing against him.

Haas needed a tiebreaker to beat Britton 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the first round of the SAP Open at San Jose's HP Pavilion on Tuesday.

Haas remembered Britton as a youth and was on hand for his first professional match against Roger Federer at the U.S. Open.

Britton, who played in his third career main draw singles match on the ATP tour, became the youngest player to win the NCAA championship last May as a freshman at Mississippi.

Bjorn Phau of Germany beat No. 8 Jeremy Chardy of France 6-3, 6-1.

American Michael Russell, who played in his first professional tournament two years ago when he was 15, beat lucky loser Kyu Tae Im of Korea 7-6 (8), 6-1.

No. 7 seed Sam Querry took care of Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3, 6-2; teenager Ricardas Berankis, the former No. 1 junior in the world, beat American Robby Ginepri 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3; Benjamin Becker topped Tim Smyczek, 6-4, 6-2; and Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Rajeev Ram 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-3.

American Mardy Fish withdrew from his singles match because of a left knee injury, but plans to remain in the doubles draw with Sam Querry. The duo won their first doubles match Monday and don't play again until Thursday.

Fish, a two-time finalist here, had September surgery on the knee and was able to compete in the Australian Open.

"For whatever reason, the knee is not where it needs to be and not 100 percent," Fish said in a statement. "It's frustrating because I've always played well here. I want to be healthy and I've put a lot of work in to get ready."

Top-seeded Andy Roddick meets qualifier Ryler DeHeart in his first match today.

DOUBLES RESULTS (first round): Benjamin Becker, Germany, and Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, def. Scott Lipsky and David Martin, United States, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 12-10; Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, and Dudi Sela, Israel, def. Jeremy Chardy, France, and Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8; Johan Brunstrom, Sweden, and Jean-Julien Rojer (3), Netherlands Antilles, def. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, and Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany, 7-6 (2), 6-2; Bob and Mike Bryan (1), United States, def. Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski, Britain, 6-2, 6-4.

Meulman avenges loss to No. 1

St. Francis wrestler Drew Meulman avenged his only loss of the season by defeating College Park's Ory Elor 3-2 Saturday to win the Mission San Jose tournament heavyweight title.

Meulman fought off a late takedown attempt by Elor and came around from behind to score the deciding takedown in the final seconds of the match.

Elor entered the match ranked No. 1 in California, with Meulman No. 2.

Elsewhere

Strong wind and rough seas kept Alinghi and BMW Oracle from training the day before the first race of their America's Cup showdown pitting the fastest sailboats ever built.

Mountain View needs two assistant track coaches immediately. Experience with jumpers, sprinters and/or hurdlers desired. Positions open immediately. Contact Athletic Director Rob Friedrich by e-mail atrobert.friedrich@mvla.net.

The Notre Dame de Namur University women's tennis team dropped 8-1 decision to Santa Rosa at Canada College in Redwood City. Top-seeded Rebecca Corteza earned the Argonauts' only win, 6-0, 6-1. NDNU opened its season Friday, losing 9-0 to Academy of Art of San Francisco at Canada College. The Argos lost 86 of 96 games in the nine matches.

U.S. finally on the right nordic track

2010-02-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Billy Demong summed up the mental approach for the U.S. nordic combined ski team at the 2010 Winter Olympics thusly:

“Compared to the past, we're not trying to believe that we can. We don't believe that we will. But we believe that we can.”

Huh? Did he get that from Dr. Phil or Yogi Berra?

“There's a subtle difference between those three,” Demong said. “We're in the good place.”

A place the U.S. team has never been.

At a pre-Games news conference Tuesday, the U.S. team sounded as if it is in a place that could make nordic combined — a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing — one of the exciting events of the upcoming Games.

The Americans are downright confident they can make history.

In the wake of the Decade of Destiny for lovable losers (see: Red Sox, White Sox, Saints, etc.), the U.S. nordic combined squad should be the favorite.

There have been 83 medals awarded in the nordic combined — one of the original Winter Games sports — since 1924, and none has gone to an American.

It is more than just a running joke that the last time Canada hosted the Olympics the top finishers were done with their victory news conferences before the U.S. team crossed the finish line.

That was a long time ago.

After slow and steady progress toward respectability, this year's U.S. entry is talking openly about the possibility of a fantasy finish with Americans taking all three spots on the medals stand.

“If things break right, it can be done,” said American Todd Lodwick, who ended a two-year retirement in 2008 and is making his fifth appearance in the Olympics.

That is an indicator of how far the U.S. has come since Calgary in 1988. Demong, Lodwick and Johnny Spillane, the first American to win a world championship (2003), each has a World Cup victory this season.

Lodwick, 33, returned to competition last year to claim the first gold medals (in the individual combined and normal hill sprint) at the world championships in his career. Demong, 29, took gold in the large hill sprint at the same event, setting the stage for this year's expectations.

Though they never swept a World Cup event, the three were 1-2-3 during points in several races this season. The team has even discussed strategy if such a situation were to arise at Whistler Olympic Park.

Put past behind them

This team of world champions, who willingly launch themselves off a ramp into the air at 60 mph, believes this is the year.

“You're only as good as you believe you are,” combined head coach Dave Jarrett said. “You can try to kid yourself thinking that you're better than you are, but these guys have a strong grasp on reality. They know exactly what it takes.

“The three — John, Todd and Bill — have done it on numerous occasions in different conditions, on different jumps and different courses.

“It doesn't have to be an out-of-body experience for them to win.”

Perhaps out-of-body isn't required, but they do need to put out of mind previous Olympic failures.

Demong crashed on his first jump of the team event at the 1998 Olympics, wrecking the team's chances.

In 2002, destiny's team was destined to a fourth-place finish in the team event in Salt Lake when Lodwick was overtaken in the first leg of the relay race.

Lodwick had the best finish (fifth and seventh) in individual events four years ago at Torino, leaving the U.S. in its current medals-free status. He retired after the disappointment, thinking he would never earn an Olympic medal.

But he and the U.S. team are back this time with a new mindset. Time and working with a sports psychologist, as many elite athletes these days do, have helped them reach a different level.

No more ‘what-if'

“There are great expectations,” Lodwick said. “We're talking about it, not just asking, ‘What if?'

“It's not that we're medals hopefuls, we're contenders in the sport, and that's a big step for us and it's a good feeling. It's not a nervous feeling.

“It just seems like this Olympic Games is different. It seems like it's a little bit of destiny.”

This team believes in destiny.

“Of course we believe,” Demong said. “We know that we're good enough to do it.”

jerome.solomon@chron.com

Pac-10 explores launching TV network

2010-02-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

Conference hires Kevin Weiberg as a strategic move toward that goal.

By Baxter Holmes

Kevin Weiberg's hiring as chief operating officer and deputy commissioner of the Pacific 10 Conference was a strategic move toward the goal of launching a television sports network, Commissioner Larry Scott said Tuesday.

"A Pac-10 network was something that we were going to seriously explore," Scott said in a conference call with reporters. "The timing is such that now we're less than a year away from our negotiating period, our analysis and evaluation has to get more serious and more rigorous.

"Kevin will absolutely be a key player in that with his in-depth background."

Scott also talked about possibly adding teams to the conference.

"To me, the logic if the Pac-10 is going to think about expanding, now is our window," Scott said.

"The reason being if you're going to consider a reconstruction of the conference, there's a value proposition associated with that. Given that we're about to have negotiations regarding our media rights, it makes sense that if you're going to do it, to do it when you can monetize it."

Scott said there have been "no serious discussions" with any schools.

The Pac-10's television contract with Fox Sports Net is set to expire after the 2011-12 academic year.

In a former capacity, Weiberg helped launch and expand the range of the Big Ten Network as vice president of university planning and development. Before that, he was commissioner of the Big 12 Conference for nine years and the Big Ten's deputy commissioner from 1989 to 1998.

Scott said a Pac-10 network could help dissipate the revenue gap between the Pac-10 and other Bowl Championship Series conferences such as the Big Ten and Southeastern, both of which have networks.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com

Associated Press contributed to this report

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are sticking together

2010-02-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

By Helene Elliott

Teammates on the Ducks will be linemates on Team Canada.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry met at a selection camp for an under-18 team -- or so Perry recalls. Getzlaf thought it wasn't until after the 2003 draft, in which the Ducks chose him 19th and Perry 28th, that they began forming the bond that led to having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup in 2007 and on Team Canada's roster for the Vancouver Olympics.

After a moment's thought, Getzlaf decided Perry was right.

"He made that team and I didn't," the rangy center said, "so that's why he remembers it."

Since then they've rarely been separated on the ice by anything but an injury. Getzlaf's sprained left ankle gave them a momentary scare Monday, but he is still being counted on to anchor the second line in Vancouver. Their familiarity will be a big boost for Canada, which will have only one practice before its opener Tuesday against Norway.

Because there will be no time to develop chemistry, Canada chose some pairs and trios, such as the San Jose line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley, and Chicago defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. In Getzlaf and right wing Perry, Canada got players who stand out individually but are a force together.

"One and one makes two, but sometimes one and one makes three too," said Mike Babcock, Team Canada's coach. "Perry's competitiveness and his net-front play and his reach, just his overall resume spoke for himself. And I think Getzlaf is a dominant player in the league."

Getzlaf was born six days before Perry, in May 1985. They were paired on the first day of their first Ducks rookie camp and made their NHL debuts on Oct. 5, 2005. Since that season they've been friends and at the core of a changing cast.

"I think our games kind of complemented each other," said Getzlaf, who has 15 goals and 57 points in 55 games. "He's a little more of a scorer than I am, and he's a guy who's gritty and goes to the net real hard.

"As we grew as a tandem, we learned where each other is going to be, and the fact that I can put the puck into those areas and know he's going to be there makes it work."

Perry says their friendship helps them on the ice.

"We've gone through a lot of things together," said the 6-foot-3, 206-pound right wing, who's about an inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter than Getzlaf. "It's kind of nice when you have somebody that's going through the same thing at the same time in your life that you can talk to and get ideas from."

Of the two, Perry was less sure of an Olympic berth. He hit career highs of 32 goals and 72 points last season, but Canada had a lot of options on the wing, while Getzlaf's size, strength and stats marked him as an early favorite.

Having watched Canada win gold at Salt Lake City in 2002 and eager to be an Olympian in his homeland, Perry worked like a demon to prepare for orientation camp in August.

"It wasn't a cakewalk, that's for sure. It was intense, it was high-speed," he said. "All the best players in Canada were there, and when you get them together it's going to be quick, it's going to be skilled, it's going to be very competitive.

"Practices were only an hour, but it felt like you were out there for three."

Afterward, he wasn't sure where he stood.

"I was probably one of the guys that had to have a good start to even be on the radar," said Perry, who has 21 goals and 56 points in 59 games. "You had to go out and prove yourself night in and night out, not just putting up numbers but playing strong defensively and playing an all-around, two-way game for 200 feet."

Which he did. "He knew he had to go out and make a mark, and that's the kind of player he is," Getzlaf said. "What makes him who he is is that he can play in the big games and big situations."

The same is true of Getzlaf, but his recovery from hernia surgery limited his activity at the orientation camp and he feared that might count against him.

"There was a little bit of doubt in my mind at times. I'd be lying if I said otherwise," he said. "It was tough for me, especially the first 10 games or so until I got going and got getting the points."

Players were told that if they made the team they would get a phone call early on Dec. 30. Getzlaf was out for breakfast with his girlfriend when Team Canada executive Ken Holland gave him the good news, but Holland wouldn't say if Perry had made it. Getzlaf wanted to know before he went to Perry's house to carpool to the airport.

"I ended up talking to one of the PR guys and he let me know before I got over there, thank God," Getzlaf said. "It was a pretty exciting morning for us."

Perry heard from Holland about 7:45 a.m but didn't know about Getzlaf until his teammate drove by to pick him up.

"He walked in the door with a big smile on his face, then he asked if I made it and I said yes," Perry said. "We were two happy guys going to the airport. To go through that with him is going to be fun, and to have Scotty Niedermayer along too to lead our team is going to be a great experience."

Both know the pressure on Canada to win gold in the national sport will be like nothing they've known.

"It's going to be media-filled. It's going to be the talk of the Olympics. Fans are going to be crazy about it," Perry said. "You just have to stick to what you have to do. You try not to think, 'What if?' or 'What are these people saying?'

"You just go out on the ice and do your job and come off, and the next person comes out and does his. You just roll it over and continue to do what you do and what got you there. You don't want to change what got you there."

Getzlaf is taking the pressure as a challenge. "For us, and myself personally," he said.

A challenge he and Perry will handle better together.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

twitter.com/helenenothelen

Bruins shooting straighter

2010-02-10T00:59:00.001-08:00

A pair of goals by Paille spark second win in a row

By Fluto Shinzawa

BUFFALO - After Daniel Paille, one of the most snakebitten Bruins, tucked two first-period pucks behind Team USA’s presumed No. 1 netminder last night, it was almost certain that Ryan Miller would not allow such nonsense to continue.

“I know Ryan,’’ said Paille, the ex-Sabre. “He doesn’t like getting scored on, especially two in the first. He definitely wanted to do better for his team in the last two periods and in overtime.’’

Right on cue, after Paille’s second strike found the back of the net at 11:58 of the first period, Miller bricked up the cage. Through Periods 2 and 3, he turned aside all 19 Boston shots, then added four more saves in overtime, when the Bruins went on a four-on-three power play after Thomas Vanek was whistled for hooking.

But the Bruins, who saw their 2-0 lead blow up into a 2-2 tie by 18:35 of the second period, finally got some shootout luck to best one of the NHL’s sharpest netminders. Marco Sturm, Boston’s first shooter, beat Miller with a snap shot. Tuukka Rask, making his fourth straight start in the Boston net, brushed off a Jason Pominville leadoff goal and stopped Jochen Hecht, Tim Connolly, and Drew Stafford.

David Krejci, Boston’s No. 4 shooter, rewarded Rask by slipping a forehand shot between Miller’s pads to give the Bruins a 3-2 shootout victory before 18,690 atHSBC Arena. The Bruins have won back-to-back games and have recorded points in their last four outings.

“I thought we were going to see deja vu again in overtime with that four-on-three,’’ said coach Claude Julien, referring to last Thursday’s OT power play in a shootout loss to Montreal at TD Garden. “But at least we managed to find a way to win in the shootout.

“That’s a big extra point for us. We need those wins and we need those extra points. Sometimes they’re not always pretty. But they make up for the ones you think you should have had but never got.’’

One of the heroes was Paille, who found himself so far down on the Buffalo depth chart that he was traded to the Bruins for two picks (one conditional) last Oct. 20. Paille, skating with Marc Savard and Miroslav Satan, didn’t play that well in a 2-1 road loss to the Sabres Jan. 29. Yesterday morning, Julien pulled Paille aside to make sure he’d rebound.

“The last time we were in this building, he really had a tough night,’’ Julien said. “He was nervous coming back and playing here. Today, I told him, ‘You’ve just got to do what you do best.’ That’s skate and be on top of the puck all the time.’’

Prior to Paille’s first goal, he and his linemates worked the puck down low. Savard had the puck behind the net and left it for Paille. The left wing whirled around the net, scooped up the puck, curled around the net, and tucked a shot on goal that slipped by Miller at 4:51 of the first.

“No one was on me,’’ Paille said. “I saw an opportunity to go right at the net. I wrapped it and it went in.’’

Just over seven minutes later, Paille struck again. From the left point, after taking a pass from Derek Morris, Zdeno Chara hammered a slap shot on goal that deflected off Paille and beat Miller.

“The last couple games in this building, I didn’t really play very well,’’ said Paille. “Obviously I wanted to make a bit more of an impact today.

“Having the opportunity to play with Savvy and Miro is great. I’ve got to take advantage of that. I just took the puck to the net and went to the net. I just wanted to bury my chances.’’

It appeared, however, that Paille’s two-goal explosion wouldn’t stand up. After Milan Lucic (hooking) and Steve Begin (holding) were sent off within a 52-second span in the second period, the Sabres buried their five-on-three chance. With traffic in front, Derek Roy attacked from the slot and ripped a wrister over Rask’s glove at 4:35.

Late in the second, the Sabres tied the game with a kick-to-the-teeth goal. After Miller turned back an Andrew Ference scoring chance, the Sabres roared the other way, with first-year defenseman Tyler Myers leading the rush. The rookie cut into the slot, used Ference as a screen, and flung a wobbly wrister that Rask couldn’t glove, tying the game at 2-2 with 1:25 remaining.

“I saw it at the last second and didn’t make the save, so he just beat me,’’ Rask said.

But where the Bruins of last month might have caved, this time they stood tall in the third period and overtime. Rask turned back 12 shots in the third, including a last-minute wraparound by Pominville after Dennis Wideman coughed up the puck behind the net. By the end of overtime, Rask had stopped a career-high 43 shots.

“He’s enjoying his time right now,’’ said Chara. “He’s got a lot of confidence and making big saves.’’

Loss erases Michigan State's Big Ten lead

2010-02-10T00:58:00.000-08:00

BY GEORGE SIPPLE

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said Tuesday’s crowd at the Breslin Center was one of the best in years. Unfortunately the crowd of 14,759 battled the winter elements to get to the arena for a 9 p.m. start only to see the Spartans suffer one of their worst home losses in years.

The 10th-ranked Spartans lost, 76-64, to the No.6-ranked Boilermakers, their largest margin of defeat at home since an 81-68 setback against Illinois in February 2005. It was also MSU’s third straight loss, while Purdue won their sixth straight game.

“I want to start out by saying if I motivated my players as well as the crowd – I have to do a better job,” Izzo said after watching some of his players jog back defensively while Purdue was completing lay-ups and dunks off fast breaks. The Boilermakers shot 65.2% in the first half and had a 47-33 halftime lead.

“I can’t tell you how appreciative I was – it was the best crowd we’ve had in a couple years, on a snowy night and we just didn’t bring it,” Izzo said.

“We didn’t check anybody the first half. Not anybody. We start the game, we miss lay-ups and just got us going in a bad direction. For some reason, we haven’t checked (defensively) in three games and I really don’t have an answer for it right now.”

The Spartans battled back in the second half, cutting Purdue’s lead to three, 65-62, with 4:34 on a three-pointer by Chris Allen, who finished with a team-high 21 points.

The Spartans never got closer, though.

E’Twaun Moore answered Allen’s trey with a triple of his own on the next possession.

“I’d say it was a gallant effort in the second half, brought on 90% by the crowd and they almost willed us to a win,” Izzo said. “We got it down to three and E’Twaun Moore hit a tough shot behind that ball screen and that’s what they do and that’s the way he plays and he played well. I don’t have any excuses. I thought that they just made more shots and we didn’t.”

After Moore’s triple, Robbie Hummel made a lay-up, and after a missed lay-up by MSU’s Raymar Morgan, Moore made another basket to put Purdue back up by 10 with 2:43 left.

Versteeg gives Blackhawks shootout win over Stars

2010-02-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

Dallas Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas, left, battles Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson for a loose puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

By RICK GANO (AP)

CHICAGO — Kris Versteeg scored in the fifth round of a shootout, leading the Chicago Blackhawks past the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Dallas' Loui Eriksson tied it at 3 with 3:50 left in regulation, scoring from just outside the crease following a turnover by Chicago.

Chicago had taken a 3-2 lead early in the final period on a goal by Troy Brouwer, who scored from the right circle after Marian Hossa fired the puck off the boards behind the net.

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, center, takes the puck from behind his own net as goalie Antti Niemi and Dallas Stars left wing Loui Eriksson watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Mike Ribeiro and James Neal also scored in regulation for the Stars.

Patrick Kane had two first-period goals for the Blackhawks, his team-high 23rd and 24th of the season.

In the shootout, neither team could connect until Versteeg skated in and beat Marty Turco.

Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi, the backup to Cristobal Huet, started for the second game in a row and finished with 24 saves.

Niemi had stops on Mike Modano and Brad Richards on the power play in overtime to preserve the tie. Brenden Morrow's long shot was deflected into the net about a second after the horn sounded and the game went to a shootout.

Turco had 37 saves for the Stars, who made a trade during the game in which they acquired goaltender Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta and sent defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft to the Thrashers.

Returning after missing 15 games with a throat injury, Ribeiro scored on a power play in the first. Fabian Brunnstrom dug the puck out from the boards, slid it to Neal in the right circle and he made a diagonal pass to a wide-open Ribeiro for the score.

Chicago tied it when Kane skated into the left circle and wristed a shot right past Turco. Dallas got the lead back with just under two minutes to go in the opening period when Neal scored his team-high 24th goal on a rebound.

But Kane answered quickly, circling from behind the net and ripping another shot from the right circle that eluded Turco to make it 2-2.

Turco preserved the tie in the second with a sprawling save of an attempt by Dustin Byfuglien on a breakaway with just over two minutes to go in the period.

NOTES: Ribeiro was accidentally struck in the throat by the stick of New York's Christopher Higgins in the Rangers' 5-2 victory on Jan. 6. He spent several days in a New York hospital after undergoing a tracheotomy. He was activated from injured reserve Monday ... Stars forward Steve Ott was scratched after an emergency appendectomy Monday. ... On a snowy night in Chicago, the crowd was announced at 21,446 — the Blackhawks 80th consecutive sellout at the United Center.

Who Dat? Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Demi, Dat Who

2010-02-10T00:55:00.000-08:00

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY

The Associated Press

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The cry of "Who Dat" wasn't all about the New Orleans Saints at the Super Bowl - it was also said by onlookers as cameras flashed at the sight of A-list celebrities at the big game, including Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise with kids in tow.

Sometime New Orleans resident Pitt was escorted into the game on a golf cart with security moments before it began. The bearded Pitt was with son Maddox and shouted out his allegiance to "Who Dat" nation before the Saints big win over the Colts.

By contrast, Cruise just went into the stadium like other ticket holders, up an escalator with daughter Suri in his arms.

Demi More and Ashton Kutcher didn't have security, but may have wished they had opted for some after cameras chased them into the stadium. Later, they huddled together on the sidelines before kickoff, avoiding the cameras - even though they were inches from their face.

Other celebrity sightings included John Travolta, who was seen leaving before the Saints made their game-winning comeback.

Before the game, LL Cool J declared himself on the side of the team that ultimately lost, the Colts.

"I'm from New York: There's a Manning connection," he said, referring to Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning's little brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli.

But he knew the potential repercussions of announcing his pick as soon as he said it.

"They're gonna beat me up," he said of rabid Saints fans. "I feel like I've got five pounds of beads!"

Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio, part owners of the Miami Dolphins, proclaimed they weren't there to root for anybody in particular - they were just proud the Super Bowl was back in their town.

Krieger: Nuggets, to trade or not to trade

2010-02-10T00:53:00.000-08:00

By Dave Krieger

Denver Post Columnist

With eight days to go until the NBA trading deadline, George Karl has mixed feelings about whether the Nuggets should make a deal.

"I'm 50-50," the Nuggets coach said Tuesday, just before his team blew out the Mavericks to improve to 35-17, the second-best record in the West.

"Fifty percent says I don't think anything's going to happen and that's not bad. And there's 50 percent of me every once in a while, after a loss, that goes, 'I wish I had another half a body.'

"I'm sure our phones will be a part of the participation but I'm not sure anything will get done."

The way they've been playing lately, it is tempting to think the Nuggets don't need to make a move. Tuesday was the first time in four tries that they won without Kenyon Martin, their toughest big man.

"I think it's like losing your middle linebacker in football," Karl said. "He's key in your blitzes, he's key in your coverages, he's a guy at the end who's going to take the one-on-one responsibility of being a stopper. And his efficiency offensively has been very impressive this year."

Still, with Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups back in the lineup, the Nuggets romped, improving to 1-3 without Martin. Even seldom-used reserve big men Malik Allen and Johan Petro contributed.

So no worries, right?

Well, let's not get carried away.

The Nuggets' nightmare scenario is that they stand pat at the Feb. 18 trade deadline and then Martin, Nene or Chris Andersen — the three big men who play regularly — goes down with an injury.

Even with all three of them healthy, the Nuggets arguably need a fourth competent big man to get past the Lakers, who knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago and have the NBA's most imposing front line. That's why various reports continue to suggest the Nuggets are pursuing disgruntled Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas and veteran Clippers big man Marcus Camby.

But making either of those deals happen is easier said than done. If the Nuggets are not willing to trade mercurial scorer J.R. Smith, and it doesn't look like they are, they don't have much value to offer.

The Clippers can get salary cap relief just by letting Camby's contract expire, which means the Nuggets would have to offer something of value to make a trade attractive. Likewise, Chicago will want something in exchange for Thomas, the fourth overall pick of the 2006 draft, even if his relationship with Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is a little like Smith's relationship with Karl.

It is tempting, particularly off of Tuesday's domination of the Mavericks, to think the Nuggets' need for more size has been exaggerated. Nene, Andersen, Allen and Petro all made it look as if they are plenty deep up front, even with their best big man in street clothes on the bench.

But there were at least two good reasons not to put too much weight on Tuesday's performances. For one thing, the Mavericks played the entire game in slow motion, like most teams that arrive in Denver sometime between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. following a game on the West Coast the night before. Nuggets opponents in that situation are now 0-5 on the season.

"It's definitely tough," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's something I'm sure the league has looked at as an aspect of Western Conference play to try to eliminate. But from studying scheduling for a lot of years, I know it's extremely difficult to get it perfect."

For another thing, Dallas was missing starting center Erick Dampier, out with a bad knee. In his place, Carlisle started 6-8 forward Eduardo Najera in the middle, then brought in forward Drew Gooden behind him. No wonder Nene looked like Hakeem Olajuwon.

Afterward, Karl said the Nuggets' roster might be adequate if they don't suffer any injuries down the stretch. If they do, it is likely to be a different story.

"If something comes available, I think we should evaluate it," he said.

In the 34 years since they joined the NBA, the Nuggets have never had a better opportunity to compete for a championship. The front office has eight more days in which to try to improve the odds.

Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger

Warm weather has Olympics organizers scrambling

2010-02-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

By Elliott Almond

ealmond@mercurynews.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It's supposed to be "Snowtime" for the Winter Olympians gathered on Canada's western seashore awaiting Friday's start to the Games. But springlike conditions have left organizers scrambling to complete courses for freestyle skiing and snowboarding events at Cypress Mountain, where the white stuff is being delivered by truck and helicopter this week rather than clouds.

The mother's milk of outdoor sports has bypassed the 3,000-foot mountain, which will host the women's moguls Saturday and the rest of the freestyle and snowboard events throughout the Games. But organizers are committed to staying the course.

"Come hell or rain water, we'll be at Cypress," Peter Judge, the chief executive officer for the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, told reporters this week.

Mounds of snow were dumped on the mogul course Tuesday morning under brilliant sunshine.

"We're stuck in an extraordinary period of super-warm weather that just will not quit," meteorologist David Jones of Environment Canada lamented.

Weather has become the story on the eve of the opening ceremonies in the largest, wettest, warmest metro area to play host to a Winter Games.

"When you have an Olympics four miles from the Pacific Ocean, things will happen," said Weather Channel personality Jim Cantore.

Or, in this case, not happen.

Cypress Mountain's barren slopes can be seen from downtown Vancouver, 30 minutes away. As seagulls swooped in along Burrard Inlet this week, images of quaint Alpine villages of Olympics past seemed a distant memory.

Officials of the Vancouver Organizing Committee, or VANOC, took the extraordinary steps of barring media from watching training Monday for mogul skiing at Cypress. Tim Gayda, vice president of sports for the organizers, said they took the action to ensure the safety of workers at the site but also to allow "us to focus on getting the field of play as best we can for the athletes' first day of training."

Ski racing in the Whistler/Vancouver region always has been an iffy proposition.

In 2008, event organizers canceled World Cup freestyle competition at Cypress because of blinding fog, rain and warm temperatures.

While Whistler — two hours and another several hundred feet of elevation farther up the Sea to Sky Highway — has ample snow for Alpine, biathlon, cross-country and Nordic combined events, fears of what is known as the "Pineapple Express" affecting conditions there also can't be dismissed.

Such a condition blankets an area with warm, wet weather from the South Pacific. That, meteorologist Jones said, would be a worst-case scenario.

While forecasters aren't expecting to get hit by heavy rains, all computer model projections suggest the warm trend that started in late December to continue throughout much of the Games.

"This has just been a mild persistent storm track that won't go away," Jones said.

Weather or not, Vancouver organizers say they're ready.

Starting in November they began stockpiling snow. They converted 21 million gallons of water at higher elevations and have brought it to Cypress by truck and helicopter to create courses for mogul, half pipe and parallel giant slalom snowboarding.

Environment Canada, the country's national weather service, has contributed some of its top meteorologists, as well as modern weather tracking equipment.

But all the expertise in the world can't outfox Mother Nature. The warmest January on record because of an El Niño condition has left Olympic officials reeling. While work continued on the Cypress courses this week, the spectators' area remained an unsightly mix of dirt and mud.

"In Italy we skied on a pile of dirt," U.S. mogul skier Hannah Kearney said Monday. "This is already an improvement over that. We've skied in rain, we've skied in snow. Hot weather, cold weather. So, we're ready for it."

Three-time Olympian Shannon Bahrke of Tahoe City added: "We're not basketball players, where it is 72 degrees all the time and the floors are swept. We're outdoor athletes."

Vancouver isn't the first Olympic city to face such a situation. In 1964 at Innsbruck, Austrian soldiers carved 20,000 blocks of ice from the mountains and carted them to the luge/bobsled track. They also carried 52,000 cubic yards of snow to the Alpine ski courses. Then the Tyrolean capital got hit by a downpour 10 days before the Games, so the army packed down the slopes by hand and foot.

Weather has vexed humanity since at least 650 B.C., when the Babylonians initiated rudimentary climate forecasting.

"It's the one thing that we can't control," said Cantore, who arrived in Vancouver this week to report on conditions from various Olympic sites. But he said he remains optimistic the weather won't pose an impossible challenge.

"The Winter Olympics aren't meant to be perfect." he said.

Daily Dime Live Recap

2010-02-10T00:33:00.001-08:00

1. Thunder Turn To Bench In Win Against Blazers

By John Hollinger

ESPN.com

PORTLAND -- Forget about their youth, their inexperience, and the difficulty of the Western Conference. Forget all that, and just know this: The Thunder are going to the playoffs. Tuesday's 89-77 win over the Blazers showed a good example why, as Oklahoma City demonstrated how its defense and newfound depth could carry it on a night when the starters couldn't deliver.

The Thunder wrested a tough road win from Portland by going on a 15-2 run in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter with just one starter on the floor. Instead of the Kevin Durantand Russell Westbrook show, it was the likes of Serge Ibaka, James Harden and Eric Maynor who turned this one around for the Okies.

More on them in a minute. In the meantime, take note of today's standings. The Thunder are 30-21, good for sixth in the conference and a full three games ahead of No. 9 Houston in the Western playoff race. They're closer to third than they are to ninth, and looking ahead they have one of the league's most favorable remaining schedules. Barring injury, they're going to make it, and they might even be hosting a first-round playoff series.

The reason they'll make it is the same reason they won their sixth straight game Tuesday: They've become much more than just the Durant show. Yes, there were the usual doses of Durant, who finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds and shook up Andre Miller so badly on a first-quarter crossover move that it left the Rose Garden crowed gasping.

"I just thought I ran past him and thought he was behind me a little bit so I had an advantage," said Durant. "I didn't really hear the crowd, I was just trying to make a play."

Durant also finished off the night with a pair of jumpers off crossovers over Nic Batum -- one of the few opponents Batum has faced that can shoot over him with such ease. However, Durant had an uneven night by his lofty standards, with only one assist and several defensive lapses that harkened back to his first two seasons. Point guard Westbrook was off his game too, finishing 2-of-9 with four turnovers.

Instead, it was a suffocating defensive effort from a young team that surprisingly ranks fifth in the league in defensive efficiency that got the Thunder out with a win. Although the Blazers are admittedly an easier foe minus Brandon Roy, the Thunder also forced Portland completely out of its game offensively.

Oklahoma City frustrated Portland all night by fronting LaMarcus Aldridge in the post, with many of Portland's 24 turnovers coming on botched entry passes that were stolen by rotating weak-side defenders. Aldridge made life easier for the Thunder by inexplicably passing out of 1-on-1 matchups on the block, but some of that may have been because of how hard he had to work to get the rock in the first place. He was held to 15 points and committed four turnovers.

"The main reason why we won was Jeff Green did a great job denying the ball to Aldridge," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "That's been our strategy, to take the ball out of the post, don't let the guy have an easy catch, and if he does make him go out to 15 feet and then we can shrink the floor."

Despite that effort, Oklahoma City trailed 61-59 entering the fourth quarter until the second unit came in to spark a game-changing rally. Ibaka, a rising defensive force who blocked four shots, swallowed Aldridge whole in the fourth -- he held Portland's top weapon without a single shot attempt.

"That was about as good as we can possibly play [defense]," said Brooks. "Jeff did a great job and then Serge came in the fourth quarter and was just as good."

Joining Ibaka and Green on the court in that fourth-quarter run were Nick Collison, Maynor and Harden. So the Thunder were playing three rookies and sitting two of their three meal-tickets, yet they held the Blazers to a mere two points in the first six minutes of the fourth.

Yes, Roy's absence helped. "Let's face it, Roy's out, it's a completely different team," admitted Brooks. "We got them on a good night."

But it was symbolic of the Thunder's progress that they were so confident they could shut down a Portland team that still had significant offensive weapons on the floor even in Roy's absence.

"As long as we got back and didn't give up offensive rebounds," said Collison, "We felt like they couldn't score against our halfcourt defense.

The shockingly rapid progress of Oklahoma City's young players is the primary cause of their sudden defensive prowess, but Collison showed that old dogs can learn new tricks too. He made a huge play at the five-minute mark with the Blazers down eight and trying to ride their home crowd back into the game. Andre Miller caught the ball in the wing on transition and sliced toward the basket when Collison unveiled his newfound specialty, taking a charge, to thwart his drive.

"I just ran back and saw he was going to go to the hoop," said Collison, who sprinted back to pick up Aldridge and then quickly pivoted into position when Miller angled from the right wing toward the basket. "I knew it was going to be a close play because I was running, [and] he was running. It was one of those plays where you're probably going to either foul him because he's coming into you, or you try to take a charge, and I got set in time. Or at least I made it look that way."

Harden, meanwhile, had two key deflections and scored all 13 points in the run, supplying all but two of the Thunder points in that stretch.

Add it all up, and it's another milepost for the Thunder in their rapid ascension from doormat to dominance. They already have more wins at the All-Star break than they did all of last season, and if they just win half their remaining games they'll double last year's win total.

"It's something we didn't think about early in the season," said Durant. "We just wanted to take it one day at a time and get better, and I think we've done that."

So much better, in fact, that they're well on their way to a playoff berth that, a few months ago, seemed unlikely in such a packed Western Conference field.

John Hollinger covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

2. Knicks' Ineptitude Gives Kings Rare Win

By Chris Sheridan

ESPN.com

Duhon

NEW YORK -- In a perverse sort of way, the fun thing about covering the New York Knicks the past decade is that night-in, night-out, there is a possibility of witnessing a new low for a team that has experienced about 328 new lows over the past 10 years.

But submitted for your approval (or disapproval, depending on your rooting interest) are the following details of the Knicks' latest loss, an abomination in which they blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead and allowed Sacramento to snap a six-game losing streak with a 118-114 overtime victory.

With the game tied and 22 seconds remaining in regulation, Chris Duhon got the ball and dribbled. Then he dribbled some more, then some more, dribbling through the lane and back out to the 3-point line, where he pulled up from two feet behind the line as the clock was about to expire and let fly.

Airball.

And it was an airball that wasn't even close to grazing the rim. It didn't even graze the air four inches from the rim.

"I thought if we moved the ball three or four times we'd get a good shot," coach Mike D'Antoni said afterward, mixing in some of his most disgusted comments of the year.

"For whatever reason, the spirit has gone out of this dog," D'Antoni said. "Our spirit is all messed up, our aura is all messed up."

We proceed now to the end of overtime, when Sacramento was holding a 116-114 lead but the Knicks had the ball after Omri Casspi inexplicably failed to reach out to receive Tyreke Evans' pass, leading to an out-of-bounds turnover that gave the ball back to New York with 30 seconds left.

Duhon was gone by then, but Nate Robinson didn't do much better in the decision-making process. He dribbled into traffic, found himself double-teamed in the lane and kicked it out to Jared Jeffries for a 3-pointer.

Now, if you've never heard 15,000 people groan in unison, this was the moment your ears needed to witness.

"He threw it back out to Jared for whatever reason," D'Antoni said, mystified.

Those groans began before the ball even left Jeffries' hand, the shot missed, and Sacramento rebounded. The Kings then clinched the win -- only the Kings' second in their last 15 games, and the third in their past 22 -- by then grabbing an offensive rebound that was deflected out to Kevin Martin with seven seconds left. He passed to Evans, who sank both free throws to complete his 27-point night.

Wilson Chandler provided a fitting ending on a night he scored a career-high 35 points, firing up an airball on the last shot attempt of the game.

We'd tell you that boos filled the building, but in actuality there was more noise voiced in support of the Kings. Casspi had drawn a vocal contingent of Israeli fans, and they serenaded him by loudly chanting his name as the Knicks slouched off the court.

The lowest of lows? Certainly not.

But it was a strikingly discouraging night nonetheless for the Knicks, who enter the All-Star break 19-32.

Even worse, their coach is now using canine comparisons to describe them. Ouch.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

3. Daily Dime Live Recap
ESPN.com writers and TrueHoop Network bloggers chatted with fans and gave their in-game opinions throughout Tuesday's games -- all in Daily Dime Live.

Battle of the NFL Cheerleaders (Super Bowl XLIV): Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

2010-02-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees will duke it out on the field Sunday for all the marbles, but when it comes to the Super Bowl XLIV battle of the hottest cheerleaders, well, everyone's a winner.

Let's start with the New Orleans Saintsations squad, making their first appearance in the big game.

Who dat? And do you have her phone number?

Decked out in black and gold, they always gets things started quite nicely in New Orleans. But can they hold their own down in South Florida?

They'll lock pom-poms with these cute Colts girls.

No wonder Manning is so motivated.

Ahem, we're getting motivated now, too. Perhaps one or two fewer hot wings on Super Bowl Sunday. Not that we need it, but ...

Of course, the road to the Super Bowl starts with 32 teams. In honor of the AFC and NFC squads that didn't make it...here are a lot more cheerleader photos!

No matter how ugly it got on the field at times this season for the Jets (read: AFC title game) and Giants (read: um, most of the year), there was still one sweet sight to look forward to at the Meadowlands and around the NFL.

Whether they're wearing long-sleeved Jets jackets ...

... or old-fashioned Titans sweaters ...

. or Gang Green tank tops ...

. or even if they turn their backs to you ...

.. the Jets' Flight Crew is always in style at the Meadowlands.

As for the Giants ... they don't have any 'official' cheerleaders, but they do have some, um, super fans.

Speaking of superheroes, these Redskins cheerleaders show some flash one day ...

.. and, well, a little bit more 'skin the next.

Did we mention the Redskins have cheerleaders?

The Patriots cheerleaders may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but they do manage to cross the pond this season for a game at London's Wembley Stadium.

Not to be outdone, the Buccaneers squad lights up Wembley as well ...

... and some more so than others.

Beckoning us back to the States are the Tennessee version of Titans cheerleaders ...

. whose fiery outfits ...

... deserve a second look.

Did we mention we like these uniforms?

From uniforms with flames, to uniforms with aims, these Bengals cheerleaders put their best feet forward to fight breast cancer.

Now THERE'S a cause we can believe in!

From pretty in pink to gorgeous in gold, the 49ers Gold Rush squad spins it into high gear ..

. lighting some fires at Candlestick Park during a November game against the Titans.

Alo, there are the red and white Chiefs cheerleaders ..

... the blue and black Jaguar ladies ...

. and the red, white and blue Buffalo Jills.

When it comes to patriotism, it's hard to top these Texans cheerleaders.

While we sure do love women in uniform, the Texans cheerleaders look just as good ..

... when they're dressed as themselves.

Need more proof?

Meanwhile, nothing says All-American ...

... quite like the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders ...

.. though the Chargers girls ...

... will have you down on one knee in no time.

I said get down on one knee!

Or both knees!

The Falcons girls get feisty, too ...

... doing Hotlanta proud ...

... with some funky moves of their own.

Are you even reading these captions? If so, she's a Broncos babe ...

... these are Dolphins dancers ....