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5454. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:19:17 PM The local prosecutor who charged three Duke lacrosse players with raping a stripper apologized to the athletes Thursday and said the North Carolina attorney general's decision to drop the case was right.
"To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused," Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Roy Cooper not only dropped all remaining charges against the players Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, but pronounced them innocent and said they were the victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse." Cooper branded Nifong a "rogue" prosecutor who was guilty of "overreaching." [...] Evans' attorney, Joseph Cheshire, accused Nifong of engaging in "revisionist history" with his statement.
"It's not an apology. It's an excuse. It's an attempt at an excuse," Cheshire said. "It's not an acceptance of responsibility. It's a self-serving attempt to excuse bad behavior." 5455. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:22:02 PM 
Last Thursday, Elsie Mclean, at age 102, became the oldest person to make a hole-in-one on a regulation course.
5456. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:22:59 PM 
Dominican, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, made a rush down the stretch to nose out even-money favorite Street Sense to capture Saturday's $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The victory puts Dominican solidly into the Kentucky Derby picture long with Street Sense. The pace in the Blue Grass was kept very slow by Teuflesberg as he led the seven horse field through the first quarter-mile in 26 seconds. Pressing the slow pace was Zanjero, the 9-5 second choice Great Hunter and Street Sense. Zanjero finished third followed by Teuflesberg, Great Hunter, Time Squared. Love Dubai finished last after a slow start.
The Kentucky Derby has a new contender - maybe even a new favorite. Curlin stormed down the stretch to another runaway victory Saturday, winning the Arkansas Derby by a record 10½ lengths. The chestnut colt has been overlooked on the Kentucky Derby trail because of his inexperience, but trainer Steve Asmussen expects that to change after this performance in Oaklawn Park's final Derby prep. Curlin has only three career starts, but all were impressive wins. He took the Rebel at Oaklawn last month by 5 lengths and cruised to a 12}-length victory in his seven-furlong debut at Gulfstream Park in February. Storm in May took second in the $1 million race, Deadly Dealer finished third, and Delightful Kiss was fourth, followed by Going Ballistic and Flying First Class. Slew by Slew was second at the half-mile mark but ended up eighth. First-time starter Olympic Chief finished last.
 Silver Birch, who had promised so much earlier in his career, finally realised that promise to win the John Smith’s Grand National in a thrilling finish. "We thought he would run a good race, but this is a dream come true," said Gordon Elliott, at 29 the youngest trainer in the race. The trainer, winning the John Smith’s Grand National only a year after getting his full training licence, was confident that once the horse had mastered Barry Geraghty’s horse Slim Pickings that Silver Birch would win. Robbie Power, the winning jockey on Silver Birch, said: "Unbelievable, what a ride I got all the way. He jumped and travelled great. It does not get better than this. I should retire now."
Chicago beat Los Angeles on Saturday in a U.S. Olympic Committee vote to pick a candidate for the 2016 Summer Games. Chicago, which has never held an Olympics, now will try to persuade the International Olympic Committee that it deserves to be the host, joining a group of bidders expected to include Madrid, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. The IOC will award the 2016 Games in October 2009.
5457. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:23:18 PM  Sidney Crosby doesn't seek attention, he just has a knack of drawing it. Crosby scored his second goal in two playoff games 11:44 into the third period to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, evening their first-round series at one win apiece. Crosby, who scored a late power-play goal in Wednesday's series-opening 6-3 loss, netted Pittsburgh's third goal of the third period at 11:44. The Penguins tied it twice in the final frame before the 19-year-old NHL scoring champion gave them their second and final lead.
Rick DiPietro has the Buffalo Sabres to thank for his most intense workout in three weeks. Nothing could shake off the rust better or be any sweeter than the 32-save effort that produced a 3-2 playoff victory for DiPietro and the New York Islanders on Saturday night. DiPietro was limber enough, bouncing back from a pair of concussions 12 days apart, and the Islanders showed renewed confidence with their star's return in evening the Eastern Conference first-round series at 1. Marc-Andre Bergeron secured the win, scoring the go-ahead goal 8:37 into the third period. But much of the kudos were directed at DiPietro.
The Tampa Bay Lightning expect Vincent Lecavalier to score. Having Johan Holmqvist outplay Martin Brodeur was an unexpected bonus. Lecavalier, the NHL's top goal scorer this season, netted one early in the third period to break a tie, and Holmqvist made 34 saves to lead the Lightning to a 3-2 victory Saturday night, evening the first-round, Eastern Conference series at 1-all. Holmqvist was the big question mark for the Lightning after he gave up five goals on 24 shots in Game 1, including three relatively bad ones.
NHL scores
5458. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:23:51 PM  Curt Schilling is willing to mix in more pitches these days if it means he's able to throw fewer pitches overall. Relying less on his fastball and more on changing speeds and location, the Red Sox right-hander cruised through eight shutout innings on Saturday and led Boston to an 8-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Angels centerfielder Gary Matthews Jr. flubbed a line drive in the third to allow a pair of unearned runs that gave Boston a 2-0 lead. David Ortiz added a three-run homer to back Schilling, who allowed four hits while striking out four and walking one to pick up his second consecutive win. Schilling gave up five runs in four innings on opening day and a first-inning homer in his next start, but has not allowed a run since then to drop his ERA from 11.25 to 2.84.
B.J. Ryan is one tough closer, even when he doesn't have his best stuff. That just made Marcus Thames' clutch hit Saturday all the more sweeter for the Detroit Tigers. Thames hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Ryan in the ninth inning to help the Tigers rally for a 10-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Toronto led 7-6 when Ryan issued consecutive walks to Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen with one out in the ninth. Thames, pinch hitting for Sean Casey, then dropped a broken-bat double into left field to give the Tigers the lead.
Miguel Batista couldn't find anyone to blame for his long layoff. Thanks to Seattle's wacky string of weather-related postponements, Batista made just his second start with the Mariners on Saturday. And the 10 days off sure appeared to help. Batista rebounded from his poor debut, pitching into the seventh inning of Seattle's 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Batista gave up Sammy Sosa 's 590th career home run, but otherwise handled the Rangers' potent lineup and became the first of Seattle's three new starting pitchers to pick up a victory. Seattle had four games in Cleveland snowed out and one rained out in Boston since Batista's debut.
MLB scores
5459. wabbit - 4/15/2007 5:24:18 PM .jpg)
Sixty years ago today, Jackie Robinson took his place at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers and re-integrated major league baseball. The Dodgers -- all of them -- will be wearing No. 42 on Sunday at Dodger Stadium in honor of one of their own.
5460. wonkers2 - 4/15/2007 6:30:12 PM Quite a guy. I wonder if Imus called him a nappy headed jigaboo or applauded his skill and guts? He was probably a fan of the lily white Red Sox. 5461. wabbit - 4/15/2007 6:42:59 PM Hey, no bitchin' about the Red Sox! Their racist owners are long gone.
Speaking of the Scarlet Hose, Curt Schilling has his own blog, 38 Pitches, and it makes for some interesting reading. It's a treat to get an insider point of view of the game. If you are a baseball fan, give it a look. It isn't just for those of us in Red Sox Nation. 5462. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 4/15/2007 6:46:41 PM He should'a called his blog, The Horses Mouth!
I'll be this will piss off a lot of sports writers. 5463. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 4/15/2007 6:47:05 PM I'll bet . . . 5464. wonkers2 - 4/15/2007 6:48:22 PM I wasn't referring to the current Red Sox. If memory serves they were the last or one of the last teams to field an African American. The the racist baton was passed to Marge Shotz? at Cincinnati. 5465. wabbit - 4/15/2007 7:51:51 PM I think you're right about that, the Red Sox were very slow to integrate. If memory serves, I believe they had the chance to sign Jackie Robinson and passed. Fools.
WoW, he should use that as a subtitle! Schilling is usually a pretty good interview for sportswriters, but you have a point. I hope he doesn't get bored with the blog anytime soon, it's interesting to read. He's one of those guys who has kept meticulous notes throughout his career, so a blog doesn't seem like a big reach. 5466. wonkers2 - 4/15/2007 9:50:00 PM Speaking about the Red Sox. I was a big Ted Williams fan. What a difference between him and the current day hitters. I saw an old dressing room photo of him in his undershirt recently. He was skinny as a rail. No bulking up with weights and steroids for him. Nothing but sharp eyes, lightning reactions and great coordination. I'm sure he was strong as well but nothing like the current crop. 5467. wabbit - 4/16/2007 2:03:05 PM And look at Babe Ruth - not thin like Williams, but not what would be called an athletic specimen these days.
Meanwhile...
The Boston Red Sox pushed back the start of Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by two hours -- and warned it could be delayed further -- due to heavy rain and high winds.
The new game time is 12:05 p.m.
The team said in a statement it would make every effort to play the day game, which is scheduled to coincide with the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day.
However, the team alerted fans that it could be further delayed by storm conditions that included driving rain and wind gusts of more than 30 mph. Actually, wind gusts are up around 50mph. It's still raining, though it looks like it should stop by noon, maybe even in time for the start of the Boston Marathon. It's going to be a lousy day to run, and especially bad for the wheelchair competitors.5468. wabbit - 4/16/2007 2:38:04 PM  The Dodgers solemnly lined up along the third-base line, each and every one wearing No. 42. Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier on April 15, 1947, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the sport celebrated the 60th anniversary of his debut throughout the country Sunday, when more than 200 players, managers and coaches wore his number.
Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson threw out ceremonial first pitches, and fellow Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Dave Winfield were on hand, joined by actors Courtney B. Vance and Marlon Wayans. Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." Adding a personal touch were Robinson's widow, Rachel, and two Dodgers who knew him. Broadcaster Vin Scully paid tribute to Rachel Robinson, and Don Newcombe, Robinson's former teammate and a longtime Dodgers executive, looked on.
The Dodgers beat San Diego 9-3. Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and Wilson Valdez had three hits each for Los Angeles to send the sellout crowd of 55,298 home happy. Ethier homered and drove in his first four runs of the season for the Dodgers, who stole five bases -- their most since Aug. 23, 1999 when they stole seven in a game at Milwaukee. Randy Wolf (2-1) allowed six hits and three runs in six innings and struck out seven. San Diego's Jose Cruz Jr. hit his 200th career homer. The Dodgers snapped Padres starter Chris Young's streak of 25 consecutive road starts without a loss. Young was 9-0 with 16 no-decisions on the road dating to June 25, 2005, at Houston when he was with Texas. Only one other pitcher in big league history had gone as many as 25 straight road starts without losing -- Allie Reynolds had a 25-game streak in 1948-49.
MLB scores
5469. wabbit - 4/17/2007 3:01:47 PM  The Red Sox squashed the Angels for a third straight time, 7-2, completing a three-game sweep of a presumed American League contender by a cumulative score of 25-3. Josh Beckett, despite being asked to perform at an hour that he likened to "pitching in the losers' bracket of an AAU tournament," answered his 6:47 a.m. wakeup call, waited a couple of hours longer than he expected (the start of the 10 a.m. game was pushed back to 12:05, then 12:18), then made a California omelet out of the Angels' lineup. Beckett, winning for the third straight start (3-0, 1.50 ERA, 18 Ks in 18 IP), allowed just one run in six innings, on Orlando Cabrera's first-inning home run, which is precisely the allotment of runs Beckett permitted in his first two starts. Julio Lugo's double started the Sox' six-run uprising in the bottom of the first off Angels starter Ervin "No Magic" Santana, one of four doubles the Sox stroked in the inning. Lugo also made two plays afield -- a sprint into shallow center field to nab Casey Kotchman's flare while on his knees in the fourth, and a terrific snatch and throw from deep in the hole with two runners aboard in the fifth -- that kept the Angels somnambulant.
Freddie Bynum made the most of his first start this season. Bynum and Melvin Mora each hit a two-run homer, and the Baltimore Orioles overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-7 on Monday night. Bynum's two-run shot pulled the Orioles to 7-3 in the sixth. His RBI grounder during a five-run seventh put Baltimore ahead 8-7. Aubrey Huff added a solo homer in the ninth. Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo , who earned his 100th major league win, said Bynum's homer was the turning point in the Orioles' fourth straight victory.
An All-Star a year ago, Brad Penny may be pitching even better this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers ' right-hander was masterful in a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night, allowing one run and five hits in seven innings. Penny, who improved to 3-0, didn't earn his third victory last year until May 12.
MLB scores
5470. wabbit - 4/17/2007 3:02:19 PM  Robert Cheruiyot, who also won in 2003, earned his third Boston title standing up. He outkicked countryman James Kwambai on the way into Kenmore Square to win in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds -- slower than the course record of 2:07:14 he set last year but enough to win by 20 seconds. Kenya took the top four spots in the men's race and its 15th victory in 17 years. The top American man was Peter Gilmore, in eighth place.
Russia's Lidiya Grigoryeva captured the women's crown in 2:29:18, winning by 20 seconds and sending Latvia's Jelena Prokocuka to her second consecutive second-place finish. Grigoryeva, who set the course record in Los Angeles last year, veered to the stands to grab a Russian flag just before crossing the finish line. She didn't notice organizers were playing the wrong Russian national anthem as she wore the victor's olive wreath and accepted her trophy. Mexico's Madai Perez finished third. Top American hope Deena Kastor fell back after stomach problems diverted her from the course for a minute near the midpoint. Kastor, the defending London champion, American record-holder and Olympic bronze medalist, still finished first in the U.S. national championships, a race within a race that carried a $25,000 bonus.
Wakako Tsuchida of Japan won the woman's wheelchair division, while Masazumi Soejima, also of Japan, won the men's wheelchair division. Both are two-time winners of the Honolulu Marathon. Defending men's wheelchair champion Ernst Van Dyk, who was trying for record-tying seventh consecutive win, finished third behind Krige Schabort. US astronaut Sunita Williams, on the International Space Station, set a new sporting record by running the distance of the Boston Marathon on a treadmill while in space. She finished, unofficially, 4 hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds later as the station traveled over Russia.
With the victory, Cheruiyot earned $100,000 and all but clinched the race for a $500,000 bonus in the World Marathon Majors points race. Prokopcuka has a slimmer lead in the women's race, 55 points to 35 for 2006 Boston champion Rita Jeptoo, with 25 points still available for a victory in London, Osaka, Berlin, Chicago or New York.
5471. wonkers2 - 4/18/2007 11:21:30 PM Tiger Town 5472. wabbit - 4/19/2007 2:05:56 PM Nice tigers! 5473. wabbit - 4/19/2007 2:06:13 PM  After 12 straight seasons without a postseason appearance, the Golden State Warriors snapped the streak on the final day of the regular season. And on the road, no less. Davis had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, and the Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-98 Wednesday night to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 1994. Golden State (42-40) claimed the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and will indeed be the underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks , who have the league's best record at 67-15. The Warriors went into the season finale against the Trail Blazers one game up on the Los Angeles Clippers , but made sure the Clippers' game against New Orleans didn't matter.
Bernie Bickerstaff had just lost a heartbreaker in his final game as Charlotte's coach, but his eyes dampened as he came back onto the court to be honored for building the third-year expansion team. He stood with his wife as a video montage showed old highlights and relayed messages from people ranging from Jerry West to commissioner David Stern. In his final game, the Bobcats didn't give up. They ran out of bodies. Eddy Curry scored 28 points and tipped in a miss with 0.6 seconds left to give the New York Knicks a 94-93 victory on Wednesday night. Steve Francis added 24 points for the Knicks, who snapped a five-game losing streak and avoided their second straight 50-loss season. After Raymond Felton 's three-point play gave Charlotte the lead with 9.9 seconds left, Nate Robinson raced the ball up the floor and fed Malik Rose. He missed a baseline jumper, but Curry tipped it in from the weak side.
Flip Murray hit the winning shot just before the buzzer and Amir Johnson set career highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds, leading the Pistons to a 91-89 win over the Boston Celtics in the season finale for both teams on Wednesday night. After Rajon Rondo tied it at 89 with two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Murray took the inbound pass, dribbled toward the free-throw line and nailed an 18-foot jumper with 0.1 seconds left. Murray finished with 16 points for the Pistons, who closed out the regular season with two straight wins. Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell each had 11 for Detroit. Afterward, the Pistons retreated to their locker room to check scores and their playoff fate. When it was determined Detroit will face Orlando in the first round, the locker room emptied. Rondo and Ryan Gomes led Boston with 19 apiece. Allan Ray scored 18 and Al Jefferson added 17 for the Celtics, who lost eight of nine to finish with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second worst in the NBA.
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