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5269. wabbit - 10/30/2006 2:35:17 AM  K.J. Choi seized control of the Chrysler Championship with a 3-wood into 20 feet for eagle on the opening hole, closing with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot victory at Innisbrook that got him into the next two tournaments -- the Tour Championship next week, and the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship that kicks off the 2007 season. Paul Goydos can cancel that trip to Q-school. He was 160th on the money list until he picked a good time to have his best week, closing with a 70 to tie for second with Brett Wetterich. Goydos earned $466,400, the largest paycheck of his career, and moved up to 97th to secure his card for next year.
A wretched start cost Els any hope of winning for the first time this year, and after more blunders along the back nine, he suddenly was in danger of falling out of the top 30 and missing the Tour Championship. He had to finish with two pars, or he would have wound up at No. 31 on the money list by $852. He hit into a bunker on the 17th, then saved par by blasting out to 2 feet. Then came the 18th, and a tee shot he hooked so far to the left that it cleared a bunker and the gallery ropes before settling under a cluster of trees. Els hit a terrific punch shot just to find the short grass some 50 yards in front of the green, the pin protected by a steep bunker. He made it easy with a pitch that checked up behind the hole, inches away for a tap-in par to shoot 72 and send him to East Lake.
Troy Matteson was 172nd on the money list six weeks ago until he went on a tear, finishing in the top 10 every week and winning in Las Vegas. He tied for ninth at Innisbrook and wound up 36th on the money list to earn his first trip to Augusta National. Also earning a Masters invitation was Camilo Villegas, the rookie from Colombia, who closed with a 69. Missing out was Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, who was No. 40 going into Innisbrook but shot 76-75 on the weekend and slipped to No. 42. Mark Calcavecchia moved into the top 125, and while he was exempt next year because of his '05 Canadian Open victory, this puts him into The Players Championship next year. Darren Clarke finished at No. 125 by $2,673 over Rich Beem, who is exempt from his '02 PGA Championship. Except for Goydos, the only player who could have knocked out Clarke on the last day was Duffy Waldorf, who was No. 131. He needed at least a 67 but shot 72.
5270. wabbit - 10/30/2006 2:35:35 AM  Michael Vick has found a balance. His passer rating is just as impressive as his 40-yard dash these days. Vick threw three more touchdown passes on Sunday, leading the Atlanta Falcons to a 29-27 victory over a Cincinnati Bengals team that had never seen anything quite like the show he put on. The mercurial quarterback has led the Falcons (5-2) to consecutive wins over the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers and the defending AFC North champion Bengals by throwing the ball. Vick has thrown seven touchdown passes in the last two games, proving his point.
Brian Urlacher's one-handed interception was headed to the highlight reel as soon as he tumbled to the ground after somehow batting the ball to himself. Urlacher's stellar play symbolized what kind of afternoon it was for the refreshed and still unbeaten Chicago Bears -- and how frustrating the day was for the San Francisco 49ers. Wearing bright orange uniforms and showing their speed on defense and special teams, the Bears overwhelmed the 49ers from the outset. They jumped to a 24-0 first-quarter lead and 41-0 halftime cushion before coasting to a 41-10 victory Sunday. At 7-0, Chicago is off to its best start since the 1985 Super Bowl champions won their first 12 games.
The Philadelphia Eagles had a dropped pass, a penalty and a sack on their first three plays. It only got worse for the NFL's top-ranked offense against a Jacksonville defense missing three starters. Fred Taylor keyed a strong running attack, backup quarterback David Garrard was efficient and the Jaguars shut down Donovan McNabb in a 13-6 victory Sunday.
NFL scores
5271. wabbit - 10/30/2006 2:35:58 AM 
His genius was building a basketball dynasty in Boston, his gift was straight talk, his signature was the pungent cigar he lit up and savored after every victory. Red Auerbach, the Hall of Famer who guided the Celtics to 16 championships -- first as a coach and later as general manager -- died Saturday. He was 89.
Auerbach died of a heart attack near his home in Washington, according to an NBA official, who didn't want to be identified. His last public appearance was on Wednesday, when he received the Navy's Lone Sailor Award during a ceremony in the nation's capital.
Auerbach's 938 victories made him the winningest coach in NBA history until Lenny Wilkens overtook him during the 1994-95 season. Auerbach's nine titles as a coach came in the 1950s and 1960s -- including eight straight from 1959 through 1966 -- and then through shrewd deals and foresight he became the architect of Celtics teams that won seven more championships in the 1970s and 1980s. Phil Jackson matched those record nine championships when the Los Angeles Lakers won the title in 2001-02.
5272. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 10/30/2006 3:00:57 AM There was a nice piece on NPR about him this morning. Auerbach asked his friend, a Boston bishop, if he thought that his high-school basketball players were helped by God when they made the sign of the cross at the foul line. And the bishop responded: "Sure they are–if they can shoot!" 5273. jexster - 10/30/2006 4:48:52 AM I was a HUGE Celtics fan when I wuz a yung un! RED RIP 5274. wabbit - 11/5/2006 2:11:27 AM A 20-year-old nephew of former heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick and another man have been charged with beating him to death and leaving his body in a church courtyard, police said Friday. Harold Berbick, who had been involved in a land dispute with his uncle, allegedly killed him as part of the long-running feud, police Sgt. Jubert Llewellyn said. The retired fighter died from multiple blows to the back of his head, police said. A 2-inch-thick metal pipe recovered from the scene was believed to be the weapon used. The nephew and Kenton Gordon, an 18-year-old from the same eastern region of the Caribbean island, were detained earlier this week and charged late Thursday. At a court hearing Friday, they were ordered to remain in custody in Portland parish, about 80 miles east of Kingston. They confessed to the crime during an interrogation, said Detective Sgt. Kenneth Bailey of the Port Antonio police. A telephone call seeking comment from Berbick's lawyer was not immediately returned; Gordon does not have an attorney. Their next court appearance is set for Nov. 7.
The body of Berbick, who was believed to be 51, was discovered Oct. 28 outside a Portland church. Berbick grew up in the area and returned to live there following his deportation from the United States in 2002. Berbick was the last boxer to face Muhammad Ali in the ring and briefly held the WBC heavyweight title before losing it to Mike Tyson in 1986. 5275. wabbit - 11/5/2006 2:11:47 AM  Trailing by just eight, Ball State Cardinals quarterback Nate Davis threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal with 2:46 left and couldn't connect on a final-play desperation heave, allowing the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines to escape with a 34-26 win on Saturday.
Receiver Maurice Purify threw a touchdown pass and caught another and Nebraska took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 North with a 34-20 victory over Missouri on Saturday. The Cornhuskers (7-3, 4-2) beat Missouri for the 15th straight time in Lincoln and can clinch a berth in the conference championship with a win over either Texas A&M next weekend or Colorado on Nov. 24.
79-year-old coaching icon Joe Paterno had to leave the sideline after hurting his knee in the second half of Penn State's game at No. 17 Wisconsin on Saturday, and his team couldn't stand up to the Badgers in a 13-3 loss. Wisconsin (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) scored the first touchdown given up by Penn State's defense in more than two games, and kept the Nittany Lions offense under control for most of the afternoon.
NCAA Football
5276. wabbit - 11/5/2006 2:13:04 AM  Invasor pulled alongside Bernardini in the stretch and went past the mighty colt for a stunning victory in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. The victory Saturday in America's richest race was the ninth in 10 career starts for the 4-year-old Invasor, who was bred in Argentina and is Uruguay's Horse of the Year. With Brother Derek setting the pace, Bernardini made a bold move for the lead around the far turn, and took seemed to take charge entering the stretch as a cheer went up from the Churchill Downs crowd of 75,132. But Invasor, with 18-year-old Fernando Jara aboard, wouldn't let Bernardini get away. He went eyeball-to-eyeball with the even-money favorite, then moved ahead for a one-length victory. Premium Tap was third, followed by 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, Brother Derek, George Washington, Lava Man, Perfect Drift, Lawyer Ron, Sun King, Flower Alley, Suave and David Junior.
Five months ago, in the Preakness, Michael Matz watched his Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro pull up with a life-threatening injury as the favorite in the Preakness while Bernardini galloped to a rousing 5 1/4-length victory. Saturday, in the $2,070,160 Breeders' Cup Distaff, the Matz-trained Round Pond galloped to a 4 1/4-length victory while the two favorites in the race suffered injuries. Pine Island, the leading 3-year-old filly in the country and the 5-2 second choice, suffered a dislocation of the fetlock joint in her left foreleg and had to be euthanized. Fleet Indian, the leading older mare in the country and the slight 5-2 Distaff favorite, suffered injuries to the suspensory ligament in her left front fetlock joint, but, according to Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, the injury is repairable. The Distaff also included the disqualification of runner-up Asi Siempre for interference in the stretch. Asi Siempre, who came over on fourth-place finisher Balletto, was placed fourth by the stewards. Happy Ticket, who finished third, was moved to second while Balletto was moved up to third.
 Ouija Board staked her claim as one of the great racehorses in the 23-year history of the Breeders' Cup, winning the Filly and Mare Turf for the second time in three years, with a second-place finish last season sandwiched between triumphs in 2004 and this year. Just as she did in 2004 at Lone Star Park, Ouija Board beat tough-luck Film Maker - a bridesmaid yet again - to take home the $1,188,000 winner's share of a $2.2 million purse. Beaten 2 1/2 lengths by Ouija Board, Film Maker was a neck better than Honey Ryder, with Wait a While, the strong second choice, coming home fourth. Satwa Queen was fifth, and five longshots rounded out the order of finish.
Breeders' Cup
5277. jexster - 11/5/2006 2:40:01 PM Tigers come through with defining moment
LSU offensive tackle Ciron Black (70) and head coach Les Miles celebrate along with the rest of the team after the Tigers’ 28-24 come-from-behind-victory over Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn. 5278. arkymalarky - 11/5/2006 5:12:27 PM Pig Sooie 5279. jexster - 11/7/2006 9:31:24 PM A's On the Move!
A's ready to move to Fremont / Team expected to announce plan next week to get rights to land for a baseball-only stadium -- Cisco likely to be big sponsor
The stadium that the Oakland A's plan to build on the west side of I-880 in Fremont is shown in an architect's rendering. The arena would seat 36,000 fans on land near the old Baylands Raceway.
The A's have repeatedl threatened to move to the South Bay/San Jose/Santa Clara and bazeball threatened to block because that is Giant's territory
Fremont is in the East Bay but close enough to be competitive to the Giants' base 5280. wonkers2 - 11/9/2006 3:21:32 AM Championship Racing on San Francisco Bay 5281. jexster - 11/11/2006 3:04:09 PM Nice pics Wonk..will send to my brother and his crew
5282. jexster - 11/11/2006 3:04:58 PM Bill Walsh Battling Leukemia
The Niners' legendary former coach, who was gravely ill only weeks ago, has rebounded. 5283. wabbit - 11/12/2006 5:47:46 PM  Tiger Woods' winning streak is over. Yang Yong-eun, a regular on the Japanese tour who has played infrequently outside Asia, closed with a 3-under 69 Sunday for a 14-under 274 and a two-stroke victory over Woods at the HSBC Champions tournament.
Woods, who won six consecutive stroke events on the U.S. PGA Tour before taking a five-week sabbatical leading into the this tournament, started the day five shots back and never really threatened to overtake Yang. Woods birdied the 14th, 16th and 18th holes -- including a four-footer on the last -- for a final-round 67 and second-place finish for the second straight year. Woods said his 73 in cold and blustery conditions Saturday cost him a good run at the title in Asia's richest tournament.
Woods and Ernie Els gained approval Thursday from Bahamian officials for a luxury resort they're helping finance along with a group led by a British billionaire. The $1.3 billion private residential community, planned for an exclusive corner of New Providence island, will include an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Els, Woods said in a statement. It will be called the Albany Golf & Beach Club.
5284. wabbit - 11/12/2006 5:48:06 PM  LeBron James scored 38 points - 25 in the second half - and led the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 19-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a wild 94-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. The Cavaliers, who trailed 11-0 to open the game and 25-6 in the first quarter, were down by 25 points in the third period and still trailed 82-63 with 10:16 remaining before storming back. Not that beating the Celtics is so hard.
The best night in Milwaukee Bucks franchise history was not enough for a win. Michael Redd scored 57 points to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's franchise record, but Matt Harpring made a layup with 1.8 seconds left to give the Utah Jazz a 113-111 victory over the Bucks on Saturday night. Redd's 39-point second half helped erase a 24-point, first-half deficit. But Carlos Boozer scored 32 points and Deron Williams had 27 points and a career-high 15 assists to help the Jazz move to 6-1 for just the fifth time in franchise history.
Jason Richardson tested his legs and thoroughly enjoyed the result: A spectacular one-handed jam that showed everyone on the Golden State Warriors their star player is finally nearing full strength. Richardson had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists playing on a tender knee, and the Warriors beat the worn-down Detroit Pistons for the first time in three years with a 111-79 victory.
NBA scores
5285. wabbit - 11/12/2006 5:48:33 PM  Josh Freeman threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score to lead the Wildcats to a 45-42 victory over No. 4 Texas on Saturday night. Texas, fifth in last week's BCS standings, had hoped to move up when No. 15 Rutgers stunned No. 3 Louisville 28-25 on Thursday. And when McCoy went in from a yard out on Texas' first possession the Longhorns appeared on their way to doing just that.
But McCoy, whose 27 touchdown passes this season are a school record, got pinned under the pile on his 1-yard TD run in the first quarter. He left the game and was replaced by freshman Jevan Snead. It was the first action of the year for Snead, who had pushed McCoy for the starter's job this summer. He was 13-for-30 for 130 yards and one score and was sacked five times.
The Georgia Bulldogs did more than just spoil No. 5 Auburn's title hopes. They finally played like defending Southeastern Conference champions. With Tra Battle returning one of his three first-half interceptions for a touchdown and freshman quarterback Matthew Stafford's poised passing and running, the Bulldogs salvaged a disappointing season with an emphatic 37-15 victory over the Tigers on Saturday.
The eighth-ranked California Golden Bears' 24-20 loss to Arizona Saturday afternoon knocked the Golden Bears (8-2, 6-1 Pac-10) out of the national title hunt. But Cal can still clinch its first Rose Bowl berth since the 1958 season with a victory at No. 7 Southern California next week. For Arizona, the victory was another milestone on the road to respectability. The Wildcats, who won three games each of the last two years, have knocked off a Top 25 team on consecutive Saturdays. Last week it was then-No 25 Washington State.
NCAA Football
5286. jexster - 11/13/2006 1:41:13 AM The Lions Play Football worse than the Tigers play bazeball.
Poor Dee-Troit 5287. wabbit - 11/13/2006 5:09:30 PM  Not that the Bears wouldn't have won anyway, but this was the second time in recent years that they've gotten away with this. Standing eight yards deep in the end zone with the ball, Devin Hester couldn't believe his eyes -- the New York Giants were actually walking off the field. He had just gathered in Jay Feely's field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter, a kick that fell short. But the Chicago Bears' return specialist wasn't going to go sprinting off just yet. He gave the Giants a few extra seconds to vacate. And with that, Hester was off to the races, giving the Chicago Bears the inside track on NFC title with a record-tying 108-yard romp that was the knockout blow in a 38-20 victory over the injury-ravaged Giants in their NFC showdown Sunday night. The record-tying return gave Chicago (8-1) a 31-20 lead. On Nov. 13, 2005 -- almost exactly a year ago -- the Bears' Nathan Vasher caught Joe Nedney's missed 52-yard field-goal attempt in the back of the end zone on the final play of the first half and ran it back for a 108-yard TD return. The play helped Chicago beat San Francisco 17-9, and now Hester shares the record for longest NFL play with his teammate.
With Buffalo content to slow down the Indianapolis Colts up-tempo offense, a restrained Peyton Manning relied on short throws, an effective ground game and a time-consuming final drive to lead the Indianapolis Colts past Buffalo 17-16 on Sunday -- and into the NFL record book. Indy is the first team ever to have consecutive 9-0 records.
Fog began to descend on Gillette Stadium as the game came to a close and it was appropriate, as the heavily favored Patriots seemed in a fog, losing to the Jets 17-14, the first time New England has lost two in a row in 57 games. The loss drops the Patriots to 6-3, only one game ahead of the now 5-4 Jets in the AFC East. The numbers for the Patriots offense were deceiving. Tom Brady was a respectable 25 of 37 for 255 yards, a touchdown and one interception. On the ground, Corey Dillon had 98 yards on 11 carries with Laurence Maroney adding another 37 on 12 tries. But two key turnovers -- the Brady pick and a Doug Gabriel fumble deep in Jets territory -- hurt the Patriots chances. On the other side of the ball, Chad Pennington and his offense stayed on the field converting third downs at just under 50 percent while New England was only 3 of 12. A bright note was the game put forth by Reche Caldwell who had 9 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.
NFL scores
5288. iiibbb - 11/13/2006 6:08:50 PM Got an eight-pointer this weekend. Opening day for muzzleloader.
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