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5702. wabbit - 8/6/2007 3:41:04 PM

Andy Roddick wasn't about to let John Isner have another chance at a third-set tiebreaker, much less let the unseeded American win the first title of his career. Instead, Roddick put a stop to Isner's dream week, beating him 6-4, 7-6 (4) Sunday to win his third Legg Mason Tennis Classic title. Roddick, who also won here in 2001 and 2005, earned his 23rd ATP title by solving Isner's serve, which had carried him to five straight wins in third-set tiebreakers.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova earned her first title in 10 months with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 victory Sunday over Patty Schnyder in the final Acura Classic tournament. Sharapova used sharp groundstrokes in the first and third sets to capture her first championship since winning a WTA title at Linz, Austria, in October. The No. 2 ranked player, who was the defending champion, dropped her first set of the tournament that had a 24-year run in the San Diego-area. Promoters sold the tournament rights back to the WTA Tour, which plans to relocate the event.

Underlining the importance of protecting tennis' "appeal and integrity," the head of the men's professional tour promised Saturday to use "all means available" for an investigation into suspicious betting on a match involving No. 4-ranked Nikolay Davydenko. Etienne de Villiers, the ATP's executive chairman, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that "independent, external resources" would be used to look into why a British online gambling company received about $7 million in wagers on the match, 10 times the usual amount. Most of the money was on No. 87 Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina to win -- and some of those bets were placed after he lost the first set to Davydenko, a semifinalist at the French Open twice and at the U.S. Open last year.

SI Tennis

5703. wabbit - 8/6/2007 3:41:21 PM

Tiger Woods erased a one-shot deficit in two holes, then buried Rory Sabbatini and the rest of the field to win the Bridgestone Invitational for the third straight year and send him to the PGA Championship with his game in good shape. Woods made a 12-foot par putt on the final hole that kept him bogey-free on a rainy afternoon at Firestone. He closed with a 5-under 65 for an eight-shot victory over Sabbatini and Justin Rose, tying a PGA Tour record for most victories at one golf course. It was the second time Woods has strung together three straight victories at this World Golf Championship, and he continued his dominance in these WGC events by winning for the 14th time in 25 tries. Sabbatini shot 74 and was left in his wake again.

Lorena Ochoa completed a runaway four-stroke victory in the Women's British Open following a 1-over-par 74. After hugging her caddie and getting doused with bubbly by her father, the top-ranked Mexican reflected on what she had done. Ochoa, who tied for second at the U.S. Women's Open a month ago, had been banging on the door of a major victory for a while. This was her fourth victory of the year to go with the six she collected last year. During those 24 months, she was runner-up 10 times. Ochoa passed $2 million in earnings this year and has a million more than anyone else. She won the first women's professional tournament to be staged at St. Andrews, home of the exclusively male Royal & Ancient Club. And she became the first player to win her first major at St. Andrews since Tony Lema's triumph in the men's British Open in 1964. Ochoa finished with a 5-under 287 total, four strokes better than Jee Young Lee (71) and Maria Hjorth (71). Reilley Rankin (71) was another stroke back at par. Annika Sorenstam, who shared third entering the final round, finished at 296 after a 76 that included a 7 at the 17th Road Hole. In teeming rain that made scoring difficult from mid-afternoon, Sorenstam felt her foot slip on the grass and she sliced her tee shot so far right it almost struck the Old Course Hotel.

PGA news

5704. wabbit - 8/6/2007 3:42:11 PM

Any Given Saturday, ridden by Garrett Gomez, gave trainer Todd Pletcher his second consecutive victory in Sunday's $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Last year Bluegrass Cat gave Pletcher the win with John Velazquez in the saddle. The 1 1/8 mile race for three-year-olds was expected to be a showdown between Preakness winner Curlin and Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun. Curlin was sent off as the 4-5 favorite, while Hard Spun was the 9-2 third choice behind the eventual victor who was 9-5.

Local runner Cable Boy took the lead at the start followed by Hard Spun, Any Given Saturday and Xchanger in the seven horse field. Curlin and jockey Robby Albarado settled off the pace by about six lengths. Cable Boy, with Jose Velez, Jr., took the field up the backstretch and into the far turn. On the turn Hard Spun, reunited with Mario Pino, assumed the lead with Curlin on the outside. Any Given Saturday was running in third. Coming off the turn Hard Spun was in front with Curlin still to the outside. Any Given Saturday split the two colts and took the lead at the top of the stretch. Any Given Saturday continued on to post a 4 1/2 length win over Hard Spun with Curlin finishing third. Imawildandcrazyguy was fourth followed by Cable Boy, Xchanger and Reata's Shadow. Stormello was scratched with a case of colic.

The time for the 40th running of the Haskell was 1:48.35 on a fast track. The victory was worth $600,000 to move the colt to just under $1 million in his career. Owned by WinStar Farm and Padua Stable, Any Given Saturday has won five of eight career starts, including the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park early last month. WinStar Farm owned last year's winner Bluegrass Cat.

5705. wabbit - 8/6/2007 3:42:25 PM

Tom Glavine won his 300th game Sunday night -- the latest and perhaps the last to do so. It was vinatge Glavine, changing speeds and fooling hitters, all the things that over the years made him one of baseball's best pitchers. With nervous family and friends looking on, Glavine left with a five-run lead after 6 1-3 innings, and New York's bullpen held on for an 8-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Hideki Matsui handled his 100th major league home run the way he usually handles success - staying mostly quiet and trying to deflect attention. Matsui connected for his 22nd of the season, Mike Mussina won his third straight start and the surging New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 Sunday. Bobby Abreu went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Melky Cabrera also went deep for the Yankees, who wrapped up a 5-1 homestand and improved to 18-7 since the All-Star break. They have scored 102 runs in their last eight games at Yankee Stadium and moving 11 games over .500 for the first time this year. New York, 9 1/2 games back in the wild-card race after play on July 7, pulled within a half-game of Detroit, the AL wild-card leader.

Coco Crisp doubled twice, scored twice, drove in a run and made a great running catch. But his best move of the game came while being run down by a moose in an all-terrain vehicle. Crisp escaped major damage when the ''Mariner Moose'' mascot clipped Boston's center fielder with an ATV, Manny Ramirez homered and drove in two and Josh Beckett struck out nine as the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 9-2 on a bizarre Sunday. "Never really gotten hit by a moving vehicle before. That was the most athletic thing I did all day," Crisp said, grinning after the moose's ATV hit the back of his legs and knocked him to his knees on the infield warning track at the beginning of a stunt in front of Boston's dugout in the middle of the fifth inning. Crisp and the Red Sox could smile. They won for the fourth time in five games to remain seven games ahead of the New York Yankees atop the AL East.

MLB scores

5706. wabbit - 8/8/2007 2:19:54 PM

With a mighty swing of his black maple bat, in front of a raucous and all-forgiving home crowd at AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds became baseball's home run king Tuesday night, crushing career homer No. 756 deep into the stands in right field to wrest the most hallowed record in sports from Hank Aaron.

Bonds, reviled by many around baseball for his role in the sport's ever-deepening steroids scandal, stood motionless for a few moments before slowly circling the bases as the crowd of more than 43,000 at AT&T Park cheered and fireworks exploded over McCovey Cove, the small inlet beyond the right field wall named for Giants great Willie McCovey. When Bonds reached home, he was greeted by his 17-year-old son, Nikolai, and swarmed by his Giants teammates.

5707. jexster - 8/8/2007 4:34:26 PM

5708. jexster - 8/8/2007 4:43:54 PM

The radio call

Jon Miller's radio call of No. 756, with ellipses indicating pauses.

"Everybody standing here at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. An armada of nautical craft gathered in McCovey Cove beyond the right-field wall. Bonds one home run away from history, and he swings and there's a long one. Deep into right-center field. Way back there. It's gone! A home run! ... Into the center-field bleachers to the left of the 421-foot marker. An extraordinary shot to the deepest part of the yard. ... And Barry Bonds with 756 home runs. He has hit more home runs than anyone who has ever played the game. ... Henry Aaron, the home run king, 755. He hit his last one 31 years ago. And now tonight in downtown San Francisco, Barry Bonds hits number 756, one more than Aaron."

5709. jexster - 8/9/2007 2:56:45 AM

You won't hear our Limo Liberal Cracker Wonkers railing against Bob Costas, Racist


Where's the outrage!

Where's the Wonk?

5710. robertjayb - 8/10/2007 6:07:10 PM

Discovery team abandons...

PARIS (AP) -- Lance Armstrong's former team is disbanding. Discovery Channel said Friday it will cease operations at the end of this season because it has been unable to find a new sponsor. Doping scandals have left cycling reeling and made sponsors jittery.

''I do not think you have seen the last of this organization in the sport,'' Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion and co-owner of the team, said in a statement. ''But clearly things need to improve on many levels, with a more unified front, before you would see us venture back into cycling.''

Discovery Channel featured the winner (Alberto Contador of Spain) and third-place finisher (Levi Leipheimer of the U.S.) at last month's Tour de France.

5711. concerned - 8/10/2007 10:44:34 PM

Bonds becomes the first baseball player in history to medicate his way to the lifetime home run record.

5712. wabbit - 8/13/2007 1:00:50 PM

Jambalaya found a seam down the stretch and used it to catch and pass the defending champion The Tin Man and win the 25th Arlington Million in Arlington Heights, Ill. The Tin Man, at age 9, was poised to become the first back-to-back winner but was caught inside the 16th pole by the Canadian-bred Jambalaya and beaten by three-quarters of a length. John Henry, who claimed the first Arlington Million in 1981, is still the only two-time winner, having also won in 1984.

The victory allows Jambalaya, a 5-year-old gelding who was previously nominated, to an automatic entry in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf. Trained by Catherine Day Phillips and ridden by Robby Albarado, Jambalaya started on the inside, stayed close in the fourth position and then came on at the end of a slow-paced race. Jambalaya won the 1.25-mile turf race in 2 minutes 4.76 seconds and paid $17.20, $6.60 and $3.80. The Tin Man, taking second by a nose, returned $3.80 and $2.60. Doctor Dino paid $3.60.

The $400,000 Secretariat Stakes for three-year-olds was won by Shamdinan as he caught Red Giant right before the wire. Ridden by Julien Leparoux, the colt covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:04.02 on the turf course. The victory puts Shamdinan into the Breeders' Cup Turf along with Jambalaya.

Royal Highness prevailed over Irridescence to win the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes on the turf. With Rene Douglas in the saddle, the German-bred mare covered the 1 3/16 miles in 1:56.68. Royal Highness is now guaranteed a spot in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

5713. wabbit - 8/13/2007 1:01:10 PM

Novak Djokovic called his Rogers Cup semifinal victory over Rafael Nadal one of the biggest victories of his career. It turns out he was only getting warmed up. Djokovic upset world No. 1 Roger Federer 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (2) Sunday to win the $2.45 million Masters Series event, solidifying himself as a serious contender to win the U.S. Open beginning later this month in New York. It was third-seeded Djokovic's fourth tournament win this year and his first win in five career matches against Federer, whose 16-match Rogers Cup winning streak ended. The Swiss star won the tournament in 2004 and 2006, and sat out in 2005 with a foot injury. With wins over Andy Roddick and No. 2 Nadal in his previous rounds, Djokovic also became the first player to beat the world's top three players in the same tournament since Boris Becker defeated No. 3 Michael Stich, No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic in succession in 1994 in Stockholm.

5714. wabbit - 8/13/2007 1:01:28 PM

Eric Gagne sat in front of his locker, his head down and his shoulders sagging. He wasn't the one who gave up the game-winning home run to Kevin Millar, yet the struggling reliever heaped all the blame for Boston's latest defeat squarely upon himself. Again. Millar hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning after Miguel Tejada tied it with a shot off Gagne in the eighth, leading the Baltimore Orioles past the skidding Red Sox 6-3 Sunday. It was the fourth loss in six games for the Red Sox, whose lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East shrunk to four games -- Boston's smallest margin since May 1.

Strutting into Jacobs Field for the weekend, the Yankees made themselves right at home. They bullied the Cleveland Indians before leaving with three wins and the same confidence that has made them champions many times before. Pettitte didn't have much trouble with Cleveland's lame lineup and Jason Giambi homered for the second straight day as the Yankees beat the Indians 5-3 to complete a series - and season - sweep on Sunday. Written off in May when they trailed first-place Boston by 14 1/2 games, the Yankees pulled within four of the Red Sox , who lost 6-3 in 10 innings at Baltimore. It's the closest New York has been to the top of the AL East standings since April 24. The Yankees have won eight of nine, and with an offense mashing like no other, improved to a baseball-best 23-8 since the All-Star break.

Jeff Weaver is accustomed to slow starts. He's also getting used to dominating late in the year. Weaver pitched his second shutout of the season and Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer to lead the Seattle Mariners past the Chicago White Sox 6-0 Sunday. Weaver, who started the 2006 season 1-7 before becoming the World Series hero for the St. Louis Cardinals, has won consecutive starts after losing four straight. Before beating Baltimore 10-3 on Tuesday, Weaver hadn't won since June 25 against Boston. Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for Chicago, breaking David Wells ' American League record and tying the major league record of 41 straight batters retired. Jim Barr also set down 41 straight for San Francisco in 1972.

MLB scores

5715. wabbit - 8/13/2007 1:01:46 PM

On Sunday at the 89th PGA Championship, Tiger Woods seemed to know exactly what score he would need on win. He was alternately pretty good, great and just good enough. Not at his best on the hottest day of the hottest major on record, a Sunday when the high hit 102 and the heat index 110, Woods shot a one-under 69 to finish eight under and hold off a surging Woody Austin and Ernie Els at Southern Hills. He was met in the scoring hut by his wife, Elin, and their infant daughter, Sam Alexis, who was attending her first major. "It's a feeling I've never had before, having Sam there and having Elin there," said Woods, whose fourth career PGA Championship victory puts him one behind Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus. "It feels a lot more special when you have your family there." Woods wins $1.26 million and increases his victory total in the majors to 13, five behind Nicklaus's record of 18 and equal to that of Bobby Jones, counting Jones's U.S. Amateur victories. (Although it would only seem fair to also include Woods's three U.S. Amateur titles.)

Sergio Garcia was disqualified on Saturday for signing an incorrect score card. Boo Weekley, who kept Garcia's card, mistakenly gave him a par 4 on the 17th hole when Garcia actually made a bogey 5. Garcia signed his card for a 73, which should have been a 74, and was disqualified. Weekley said later that he realized he'd made a mistake while he was still in the scoring cabin but Garcia was already gone. The Spaniard was in a bad mood, apparently, after three-putting the final hole. Weekley tried to call Garica back but he was already bouncing up the temporary stairs leading to the clubhouse. He caught up with Garcia later to explain what happened. Garcia's 74 would've left him nine over for the tournament and hopelessly out of contention anyway, but even so, it's an embarrassing situation for Garcia.

5716. wonkers2 - 8/15/2007 3:39:19 AM

Grosse Pointe YC Regatta 8-11-07

5717. wabbit - 8/15/2007 1:21:18 PM

RIP Phil Rizzuto

His speed and spunk made him a Hall of Famer.

"Holy cow!" made Phil Rizzuto famous.

Popular as a player and beloved as a broadcaster, the New York Yankees shortstop during their dynasty years of the 1940s and 1950s died Monday night. "The Scooter" was 89.

Rizzuto had pneumonia and died in his sleep at a nursing home in West Orange, N.J., daughter Patricia Rizzuto said Tuesday. He had been in declining health for several years...

5718. hobbes - 8/21/2007 2:02:31 AM

"He has hit more home runs than anyone who has ever played the game."

I guess he forgot about Sadaharu Oh.

5719. wabbit - 8/21/2007 11:57:48 AM

Hey Hobbes!

The rap I've read about Sadaharu Oh was that he played in a league where the pitching wasn't up to the same standard as what he would have seen in the US. I don't know enough about baseball in Japan to know whether that's a fair criticism or not.

5720. wabbit - 8/21/2007 12:13:35 PM

What do you suppose happened to the "I'm innocent" whine? Michael Vick will plead guilty to federal dogfighting charges. Now let's see the scramble to make excuses for him and keep his waste-of-oxygen ass out of prison.

More than football, Michael Vick's freedom is the question now.

With three associates prepared to testify that he brutally executed dogs and bankrolled gambling, the NFL star agreed Monday to "accept full responsibility" for his role in a dogfighting ring and plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

Worries about playing time will have to wait while Vick faces prison time -- from one to five years.

The maximum term is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines likely would call for less. Defense attorneys would not divulge details of the plea agreement or how much time Vick can expect to serve.

However, a government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms are not final, told The Associated Press that prosecutors will recommend a sentence of a year to 18 months.

The official said such a sentence would be more than what is usually recommended for first-time offenders, reflecting the government's attempt to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist...

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