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6285. wabbit - 2/16/2009 9:30:49 PM 
Long ago broken apart, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant were together again Sunday. Just like the good ol' days, they were winners - and the only sign of any feuding was when they playfully fought over the MVP trophy they shared. Bryant led all scorers with 27 points, O'Neal partied his way back onto the All-Star stage with 17 in just 11 minutes, and the Western Conference beat the East 146-119. Back on the same team for the first time in nearly five years, they helped the West get untracked after an awful start, then teamed up for a few buckets that helped blow it open in the third quarter. [ … ] It was their first time on the floor as teammates since the 2004 NBA finals. O'Neal was traded to Miami that summer, breaking apart a duo that produced three straight titles but was perhaps better known for the bickering that made the breakup inevitable. They joined Bob Pettit, who won four times, and Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson as the only three-time All-Star MVPs.
Amare Stoudemire scored 19 for the West, which bounced back from its loss last year in New Orleans, when Bryant was limited to just a few minutes of action while resting a dislocated pinkie finger. LeBron James led the East with 20 points. Paul Pierce and Dwyane Wade each scored 18.
The weekend festivities were a welcome distraction for Phoenix basketball fans, whose disappointing Suns were apparently in the process of dismantling their team while the fun was going on around them. Phoenix coach Terry Porter was fired Monday and replaced by assistant Alvin Gentry. Stoudemire, who started for the West, is the biggest name involved in trade rumors ahead of next week's deadline. Just in case he won't be seen again for a while, Stoudemire earned a pair of loud ovations before the game from the celebrity-filled crowd that included Muhammad Ali, plus Sen. John McCain sitting four seats away from director Spike Lee.
O'Neal also could be moved, and he showed he's still got plenty of game left if somebody wants him.
6286. wabbit - 2/20/2009 2:53:14 AM [ ... ] It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a non-conference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the two schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry that spanned two states.
The teams planned to get together after the game and share some pizzas and soda. But the game itself almost never took place.
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. "He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn't have time to grieve."
Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.
Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.
The Knights had possession, so Womack called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.
"We got back to playing the game and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench," Womack said during a telephone interview.
"No," Franklin replied. "I want to play."
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, `We're not taking it, we're not taking it," Womack said. "The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand… Coach Rohlman was right when he said, "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."6287. wabbit - 3/1/2009 6:01:14 PM I figured the Patriots would trade Matt Cassel if they thought Tom Brady was going to be 100% in September, but I was surprised to see Mike Vrabel as part of the deal. Especially for what the Pats got from KC — a second-round draft pick? Is Belichick just doing Scott Pioli and Cassel a favor by going so low? Brady better get that honeymoon out of the way and get down to business.
So Michael Vick gets to go home because there is no room at the halfway house, no doubt filled with those crazy, violent pot smokers. [ … ] Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said earlier this month that the Falcons will try to trade the contract rights on Vick to another team. Vick, once the highest-paid player in the NFL and among its most popular, has a contract that runs to 2013 and calls for him to receive a base salary of $9 million and a bonus of $6.43 million in 2009. The remainder of the contract is worth $45.11 million, with an additional possible $3 million in Pro Bowl bonuses.
Officials of some other NFL teams have said they are not interested in Vick… When are sports teams going to learn how to write a contract? If you dog it to get out of your contract (think Manny Ramirez), you are in violation and can be let go with no further obligation on the part of the franchise. If you get caught fighting and killing dogs, you are in violation and can be let go with no further obligation on the part of the franchise.
Is it really so difficult? Why must athletes be coddled? If I'm hired to do a job and I don't do it, or I'm out sick 20% of the time, or I'm caught stealing or convicted of a felony, I'm history with no multi-year contract to fall back on. Why not apply the same rules to athletes and corporate honchos that the rest of us are subject to? These folks are long overdue for a reality check.6288. wabbit - 3/1/2009 6:01:46 PM Speaking of Manny, the Dodgers' latest offer is like their original offer in that it's for $45 million over two years, but the new twist is that Ramirez could opt out after one year. Ramirez would be paid $25 million in 2009 and $20 million next season if he exercises his player option. This proposal may be more enticing for Ramirez because it would give him the ability to become a free agent next winter while allowing him the option of staying two years. It is believed the opt-out was added at Ramirez's reqest. There's another upgrade to this offer, as well. In the Dodgers' original $45 million proposal, he was to be paid $15 million the first year and $22.5 million the second year, with a team option for $22.5 million with a $7.5 million buyout for the third year. Ramirez was initially thought to be seeking a four- or five-year deal, starting at $25 million per season. Ramirez rejected a one-year, $25 million proposal from Los Angeles three weeks ago. Uh, how about you don't play ball with him and let him see if some other team is willing to knuckle under? Sheesh, people, grow a friggin' backbone, huh??
In other former-Red Sox player-news, free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez is staying busy. The three-time Cy Young Award winner threw a simulated game on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic and is on track to start for the country's World Baseball Classic squad in the team's first exhibition game on March 3, according to the Dominican newspaper Hoy. According to the report, Martinez's velocity ranged from 88-92 mph in the 43-pitch outing at Baseball City, a sports complex near Boca Chica. The Dodgers, Pirates and Indians are interested in signing Martinez, but the right-hander has not received an official offer… I love Theo Epstein.
Thank god baseball is back. Ok, it's the preseason, but it's baseball. The month or so between football and baseball seems very long.
A-Rod has a cousin problem on top of the steroid thing. Rodriguez homered and walked twice in his first pre-season game, then got into a car driven by Yuri Sucart, identified as the cousin who provided Rodriguez with performance-enhancing drugs obtained in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez admitted using steroids while playing for Texas from 2001-03, though to date nobody has figured out why. Rodriguez acknowledged to the Yankees that having the cousin meet him at the ballpark in Dunedin was a mistake, the person who told The Associated Press about the situation said. All together now ... what a maroon. 6289. wabbit - 3/1/2009 6:02:12 PM 
Tiger is back, getting ready for Augusta. Meanwhile, Geoff Ogilby is in the Match Play final for the third time in four years. He appears to be entering his prime.
Ogilvy has looked like a world-beater ever since he stole the 2006 U.S. Open out from under the embarrassed noses of Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie. Three years later, Ogilvy seems to be hitting his stride. He is, indeed, starting to beat the world on a semi-regular basis. Ogilvy won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2006, and he won the World Golf Championship's CA Championship last year (ending Tiger Woods's winning streak in the process).
Ogilvy played his best golf of the week Saturday, winning a pair of matches to advance into the 36-hole championship match on Sunday against Paul Casey, a friend and fellow Scottsdale resident who is also a member of Whisper Rock, an elite club in Scottsdale where several pros are members…
6290. wabbit - 3/1/2009 6:13:25 PM  Yann Danis made 31 saves for his second straight shutout at home, and Sean Bergenheim scored twice in the New York Islanders' 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. The Sabres remained tied with Carolina for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Patrick Lalime made 32 saves for the Sabres. The Islanders are 5-1-3 in their last nine games at Nassau Coliseum. The Sabres took seven of the first eight shots of the game, but none of them got by Danis, nor did the other two they had in the scoreless first period…
Alexander Semin let loose an 80-foot slap shot and improved the Washington Capitals' longshot chances of catching the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference. Semin scored from well outside the blue line on the first shot of overtime Saturday to give the Capitals a 4-3 victory over Boston and help them gain a point on the Bruins in the race for home ice in the East. Washington, which trails Boston by eight points, has won three of the teams' four meetings this year. Zdeno Chara scored his 100th career goal with 4:37 left in regulation to force overtime, but it didn't last long. Soon after the first faceoff, Semin brought the puck over the red line and launched a hard but seemingly harmless slapper at the net that hit off Tim Thomas' glove and trickled through for the winner. Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 45th goal of the season for the Capitals, and Jose Theodore made 34 saves. But Theodore let Chara's shot sneak inside the post on his glove side to allow Boston to force overtime and keep the Capitals from gaining two points in the standings…
Coach Barry Trotz wasted little time giving his Nashville Predators a reality check. As giddy as they might have been in shutting down the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings 8-0 in front of a vocal capacity crowd Saturday night crowd, Trotz put it all in perspective. It was the fourth straight win for the Predators, 11-5-1 since the All-Star break. Jason Arnott scored three goals for Nashville's first hat trick of the season. Rookie Pekka Rinne stopped all 30 shots he faced for his sixth shutout of the season. It was the first time the Red Wings have been shut out this season. He completed the month of February with a 9-2-0 record…
NHL scores
6291. wabbit - 3/1/2009 6:25:00 PM  Lindsey Vonn joined Picabo Street on Saturday as the only Americans to win two straight World Cup downhill championships. The 24-year-old Vonn clinched her second straight title by finishing 12th at a race in Bulgaria to match the feat first achieved by Street in 1995 and 1996. "It's so cool to join Picabo as the only American to win the downhill title twice." Vonn said. "It really doesn't seem like all that long ago when I met her at a poster signing in Minnesota and since then I've always looked up to her." Vonn was well down the field on Saturday, but her time of 1 minute, 48.0 seconds was enough to win her the title with only one downhill remaining on the circuit…
Debbie McCormick was rock solid on her last roll. Because of it, her team is sliding on to the 2010 Vancouver Games, securing their bid by beating Patti Lank's squad 8-5 in the finals of the U.S. Olympic curling trials on Saturday. McCormick sealed the win for her team with a dazzling shot on the match's final rock, sending two of Lank's stones careening harmlessly out of the way. On the men's side, John Shuster's squad earned a spot at the Olympics by beating Tyler George's team, 10-9. Shuster is making his second straight Olympic appearance, the first time as the leader of a team. He was a member of the bronze-medal winning squad at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Justyna Kowalczyk won her second gold medal at the Nordic skiing world championships on Saturday, winning the women's 30-kilometer cross-country race 1 hour, 16 minutes, 10.6 seconds. Kowalczyk secured the freestyle race by pulling away from seven rivals in a tough uphill climb less than a mile from the finish. Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva won a sprint for silver, finishing 8.8 seconds behind. Ukraine's Valentina Shevchenko was another 0.5 seconds back. Kowalczyk also won the 15K skiathlon pursuit last Saturday, after taking bronze in the opening 10K classical race.
6292. wabbit - 3/11/2009 3:35:28 PM The World Baseball Classic arrived Tuesday night. Baseball became a truly global game when the Netherlands, the international baseball version of Buster Douglas, the 1980 U.S. hockey team and the Milan Indians rolled into one, put the tournament on the map by upsetting the heavily favored, star-studded Dominican Republic team, 2-1. Talk about shocking the world. Go crazy, Rotterdam, go crazy.
The Netherlands is a country that may be the best baseball Europe has to offer, but is a country that has never finished higher than fourth in the history of IBAF World Cup competition. Its WBC roster included just one major leaguer. A 29-year-old third baseman named Yurendell DeCaster, with the grand sum of zero major league hits, became their Lorenzo Charles with a two-out infield grounder to first base -- it was scored an error by Willy Aybar -- to cap a two-run, bottom of the 11th rally for the historic 2-1 victory. The winning run was scored by Eugene Kingsale, a 32-year-old outfielder who had washed out of the major leagues and had escorted home the go-ahead run in the top of the inning for the Dominicans with a misplay in right field. It was a single by the redemptive Kingsale that had tied the game… 6293. wabbit - 3/11/2009 3:38:02 PM  The Iditarod started this past weekend. This year's race along the Southern route will cover 1131 miles. Fewer teams are racing this year — 79 registered and 68 are still in the race. The first five mushers as of now are Aaron Burmeister, Hugh Neff, Sebastian Schnuelle, Lance Mackey, and Jeff King. Mackey has won the last two Iditarods and finished in the top ten the previous two. Since his third race in 1992, Jeff King has finished out of the top ten only once, in 2005, and has won four times. He finished second last year. Schnuelle finished tenth last year.
Strategy starts to come into play today, when the teams arrive in Takotna and decide whether to stay for 24 hours or push on to Ophir. The rules state that a musher must take one mandatory twenty-four (24) hour stop during the race. The twenty-four (24) hour stop may be taken at the musher’s option at a time most beneficial to the dogs [...] In addition to the mandatory twenty-four (24) hour stop, a musher must take one eight (8) hour stop on the Yukon and one eight (8) hour stop at White Mountain. None of the two (2) mandatory stops may be combined. Time differentials are adjusted to account for these required stops.
There isn't a lot of money in sled dog racing. In this Iditarod, a purse of $610,000 will be shared among those placing in the top thirty (30). Every effort will be made to supplement this baseline purse. In addition, beginning with 31st place, $1,049.00 will be paid to each remaining finisher.
6294. wabbit - 3/16/2009 12:59:31 AM Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth hit and killed a pedestrian with his Bentley Saturday morning on a busy causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach, police said. Stallworth was headed toward the beach when he hit a 59-year-old man around 7 a.m., said Miami Beach police spokesman Juan Sanchez. Mario Reyes was taken to a nearby trauma center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. He was near a crosswalk but it’s not clear if he was crossing legally. Stallworth, 28, was cooperating and no charges have been filed…
Defending champion Lance Mackey is maintaining his lead in the Iditarod with one-third of the race to go. Mackey reached Eagle Island at 8:33 a.m. Saturday after a 60-mile ride from Grayling. That means he has covered 701 miles, with 421 left to go. Mackey overcame a mistake Friday that he said could have cost him the race. After leaving the Shageluk checkpoint, he dozed off and took a wrong turn. He was forced to backtrack, costing him two hours. Mackey arrived at Eagle Island four hours ahead of Sebastian Schnuelle and Aaron Burmeister, both of whom had yet to complete a mandatory 8-hour rest on the Yukon. Mackey completed the requirement in Anvik. Schnuelle, winner of last month's 1,000-mile Yukon Quest race, is in second place. Jeff King has moved into third place, just ahead of Mitch Seavey and Hugh Neff…6295. wabbit - 3/16/2009 1:00:53 AM Mike Aviles hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh, triggering the tournament's 10-run rule, and Jimmy Rollins, David Wright and their United States teammates found themselves shuffling off the field in the seventh inning Saturday night. Puerto Rico scored four times in the seventh to complete an 11-1 victory that left Team USA on the ropes in round two of the World Baseball Classic. Carlos Beltran and Felipe Lopez homered, and Puerto Rico rocked Jake Peavy for six runs in the first two innings to send the U.S. team into the loser's bracket. Roy Oswalt will start for the Americans when they face the Netherlands in an elimination game Sunday night. To cap a Classic blowout, Mike Aviles hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh, triggering the tournament's 10-run rule and sending Puerto Rico players pouring out of the dugout in jubilation. Several players on both teams said they didn't realize the game was over, including Puerto Rico's hot-hitting Ivan Rodriguez…
Manny Ramirez was removed from Sunday's Dodgers game in the fourth inning after re-injuring his left hamstring. Ramirez said he felt the hamstring issue while running into the left-field corner trying to cut off a double by Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki. Ramirez was playing the outfield for the first time this spring. Earlier in the game, Ramirez grounded out in his only at-bat, running easily to first base. He also ran gingerly after a sinking fly ball by Joe Koshansky that fell at his feet. On Thursday, Ramirez was scratched from the starting lineup when he felt his hamstring tighten during baserunning drills. Ramirez played in his first game Friday as designated hitter, walking twice with a single and a run scored. Ramirez reported to training camp 2 1/2 weeks after the rest of the club, not agreeing to a new $45 million, two-year contract until 10 days ago…
The Red Sox officially announced on Sunday that they have agreed on a five-year contract with Jon Lester worth a reported $30 million and including a $14 million team option for 2014. Lester, 25, finished 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA last season, his first full season in the big leagues. A cancer survivor, he has since developed into one of the top left-handers in the game. The contract, rumored for most of last week, marks the third that the Sox have handed to their homegrown players this offseason. In December, Epstein inked second baseman Dustin Pedroia to a six-year, $40.5 million deal, a month after Pedroia won the American League MVP Award. Then, in January, the Sox locked up first baseman Kevin Youkilis to a four-year deal worth $40 million… 6296. wabbit - 3/18/2009 3:37:25 PM  Lance Mackey remained in the lead in the 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as his team turned in the direction of the finish line in Nome but it was Mother Nature that controlled the race on Tuesday.
Sebastian Schnuelle and John Baker were still hours behind Mackey, but ahead of a storm that trapped other mushers farther back on the trail.
Thirteen mushers, including four-time champions Jeff King and Martin Buser, were holed up at the checkpoint in Shaktoolik, stopped by 40 mph winds and wind chill driving temperatures to more than 50 below. Temperatures were expected to be even colder overnight Tuesday.
Mushers Aaron Burmeister and 2004 winner Mitch Seavey spent the night in a shelter cabin but were back on the trail on Tuesday afternoon, moving with another pod of mushers toward the Koyuk checkpoint, 48 miles away from Shaktoolik.
Mackey, who described the run from Shaktoolik to Koyuk as "brutal," arrived at the checkpoint in Golovin, less than 100 miles from the finish line in Nome, and continued on his way Tuesday, barely stopping in his old hometown where his father, Dick Mackey, winner of the 1978 Iditarod, once managed the village fish cooperative.
By early afternoon, if he maintains his current pace, Mackey should have won his third Iditarod.
6297. wabbit - 3/30/2009 4:44:38 PM  He's baaaack. Tiger Woods had not felt such an adrenaline rush in nine months, especially when he stood over a 12-foot birdie putt Sunday at Bay Hill with only enough sunlight remaining for one last shot.
It made Woods forget that it had been nine months since he played under so much pressure.
And then he made golf remember the magic it had been missing.
With cameras flashing in the approaching darkness, Woods delivered another rock-star moment by making a birdie on the final hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot and match the largest comeback in his PGA Tour career.
“It feels good to be back in contention, to feel the rush,” Woods said. “It's been awhile, but God, it felt good.”
It sure looked that way.
Just like last year, when Woods made a 25-foot birdie on the final hole at Bay Hill to win by one, he crouched and backpedaled as the putt rolled toward the cup. But instead of slamming his cap to the ground, he gave a roundhouse fist pump and ran into the arms of caddie Steve Williams, who lifted him off the ground in celebration.
Welcome back, Tiger.
6298. wabbit - 3/30/2009 4:45:11 PM 
The Men's Final Four are set.
With bodies clogging the lane and 3-pointers clanging off the rim, Scottie Reynolds made a half-court dash for a last-second basket to give Villanova 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh and send the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 1985, when Patrick Ewing's Georgetown beat St. John's in the semis before losing to Villanova in an epic championship game. Rollie Massimino's Wildcats were a No. 8 seed -- the lowest ever to win it all. Reynolds scored with 0.5 seconds left to help the Wildcats (30-7) beat one conference rival and join another on its way to Detroit.
North Carolina rolled past Blake Griffin and Oklahoma with a total team effort. Ty Lawson scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina overcame a quiet game from Hansbrough to beat the Sooners 72-60 Sunday in the South Regional final. North Carolina (32-4) advanced to the Final Four for the second straight year and will play Villanova in the national semifinals.
6-foot-1 freshman Kemba Walker matched a career high with 23 points as the top-seeded UConn Huskies held off Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. A.J. Price added 18 points and was named most outstanding player of the West region. But the difference was Walker, who deftly handled the Tigers' pressure defense.
The Michigan State Spartans gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52 Sunday to win the Midwest Regional. Goran Suton had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Spartans (30-6) played the pace game to perfection and reached their fifth Final Four in 11 years -- the most trips of any team in the nation during that span. Only 90 miles from their campus in East Lansing, the Spartans will play Connecticut on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. A crowd of 72,000, the largest ever for college basketball's signature event, is expected for each game.
6299. wabbit - 3/30/2009 5:14:52 PM  Alysheba, winner of the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness and 1988 Horse of the Year, has died. The champion stallion was 25.
Dubbed "America's Horse" by racing fans, Alysheba was euthanized Friday night following a fall in his stall at the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions, where he was buried Saturday.
The son of racing legend Alydar became a sensation for trainer Jack Van Berg and owners Dorothy and Pamela Scharbauer during a brilliant career that included a win in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic. He retired as horse racing's all-time money winner with more than $6.6 million in earnings from 11 victories in 26 lifetime starts.
Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron, who piloted Alysheba to victory in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, called him "the most talented horse I ever rode."
The stallion fell in his stall, injuring his right hind femur, and was euthanized Friday night at a medical center in Lexington. Kathy Hopkins, director of equine operations at the horse park, said Alysheba fell due to a chronic degenerative spinal condition. "Complicated by his advanced age, this trauma resulted in severe pain," Hopkins said. "The resulting pain and suffering, and the inability to stand unaided, led to a joint decision for euthanasia."
Alysheba is the second champion horse to be euthanized in the past two weeks. Lil E. Tee, who upset heavily favored Arazi to win the 1992 Kentucky Derby, was put down at Old Frankfort Stud in Lexington on March 18 at age 20.
6300. wabbit - 3/30/2009 5:15:17 PM  The highly anticipated showdown between Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) winner Quality Road and undefeated Dunkirk in the $750,000 Florida Derby (G1) lived up to expectations on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Quality Road, Theregoesjojo, and Dunkirk surged into the stretch three abreast. Theregoesjojo got pinched back between horses at the top of the lane, setting up a duel between Dunkirk and Quality Road. Dunkirk pushed a head in front and appeared poised to power past Quality Road, but the Elusive Quality colt battled back determinedly to regain command and shook free in the final furlong en route to a 1 3/4-length win. Making his first start around two turns, Quality Road set a track record at Gulfstream Park by completing 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.72 on a track rated as fast. The winning time narrowly eclipsed the previous record on 1:47.79 set by Brass Hat in the Donn Handicap (G1) on February 4, 2006.
Well Armed ran away with the $6 million Dubai World Cup on Saturday and claimed the richest prize in horse racing in an upset that left the favorites deep in the pack. The 14-length victory -- nearly double the record Dubai World Cup margin set last year by Curlin -- was so comfortable that jockey Aaron Gryder patted the 6-year-old gelding's neck 10 strides before the finish. Brazil-bred Gloria de Campeao was the distant runner-up, with Saudi-owned Paris Perfect third. The pre-race favorites for the World Cup -- American-trained Albertus Maximus and Asiatic Boy, last year's runner-up -- never seriously challenged in the 11/4-mile race on dirt softened by intermittent rain. Albertus Maximus was sixth and Asiatic Boy was 12th in the 14-horse field. It was just the seventh win in 23 starts for Well Armed, trained by Eoin Harty and owned by Kentucky's WinStar Farms. But it was huge. Well Armed broke for the lead from the gate and led at the halfway mark. With 600 yards left, he began to pull away with each stride.
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has long said the Derby is one of the missing jewels for his storied Godolphin Racing operation. His stable's 1-2 finish in the $2 million UAE Derby possibly raises the stakes for a strong bid at Churchill Downs on May 2. Regal Ransom, ridden by Alan Garcia, held off a late charge by Desert Party to win by a half length and avenge two runner-up finishes to the 3-year-old son of Street Cry - considered one of Godolphin's top Derby prospects.
6301. wabbit - 4/8/2009 4:27:27 PM Mon Mome, a 100-1 shot, won the Grand National at Aintree by 12 lengths Saturday, with the world's most famous steeplechase again marred by a horse death. Mon Mome was ridden by Liam Treadwell over the grueling 4 1/2 miles. The 9-year-old matched Foinavon in 1967 as the biggest long shot to win this race. Mon Mome, 10th last year, is trained by Venetia Williams, whose career as an amateur jockey ended shortly after falling in the 1988 Grand National. Williams became only the second woman after 1983 and 1995 winner Jenny Pitman to train a National winner.
Forty horses started the 162nd running of the race, which was delayed by two false starts. The winner pulled away after jumping the last of the 30 fences. Comply or Die, a 14-1 shot who won last year, was second. My Will finished third, ahead of State of Play.
Hear The Echo collapsed and died a few hundred yards from the finish. He was the fifth horse to die this year in the three-day meet. Butler's Cabin, one of the pre-race favorite, also collapsed and had to be given oxygen. Last year, a horse had to be put down after it unseated the jockey, then crashed into a barrier. Not counting Saturday's race, the British charity Animal Aid has determined that a dozen horses have died during the Grand National. 6302. wabbit - 4/8/2009 4:27:43 PM 
Two California horses racing at opposite ends of the country each solidified their status as Kentucky Derby favorites on Saturday. Pioneerof the Nile won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby by a length over Chocolate Candy on Santa Anita's artificial surface. Pioneerof the Nile gave Bob Baffert a record fifth Santa Anita Derby victory, and will be the white-haired trainer's first Kentucky Derby starter since 2006. Baffert has won the Run for the Roses three times. The Pamplemousse was scratched because of a tendon problem hours before Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, in which he was the 9-5 morning line favorite. He will not run in the Kentucky Derby.
In New York, California-based I Want Revenge overcame a horrible start and rallied to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial by 1-1/2 lengths on the dirt. Their victories pointed both colts squarely on a collision course for the May 2 Kentucky Derby. Under Joe Talamo, who flew in from Santa Anita to ride, I Want Revenge got around a wall of horses in the stretch to win.
Also in the Derby picture is Musket Man, who used a big stretch run to win the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne by two lengths. Musket Man was in fifth place approaching the final turn when jockey Eibar Coa maneuvered him into position on the far outside for a dynamic stretch run. Trainer Derek Ryan is wasting no time planning Musket Man's next destination. He plans to send the colt to Churchill Downs on Sunday.
6303. wabbit - 4/8/2009 4:28:04 PM  The Tampa Bay Rays got an early reminder that reaching the playoffs for a second straight time will be at least as hard as the first. Josh Beckett struck out 10 in seven innings of two-hit ball to lead the Red Sox to a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday in a makeup of their rained-out opener and a rematch of the AL championship series that the Rays won to reach the franchise's first World Series. AL MVP Dustin Pedroia homered on the second pitch he saw this season, and Jason Varitek also homered to help Boston get off to a fast start against the team that edged it by two games for the AL East title last year. For Beckett, who was recovering from a side strain when he faced the Rays in the playoffs, it was a chance to show the form that made him a 20-game winner and Cy Young contender in 2007.
Jair Jurrjens and four relievers combined on a six-hitter, Kelly Johnson and Chipper Jones hit solo homers and the Atlanta Braves beat the defending World Series champions 4-0 on Tuesday night. The Phillies are off to an 0-2 start for the fourth straight year. They'll receive their 2008 championship rings Wednesday before trying to avoid a three-game sweep. Jurrjens (1-0) beat a guy twice his age. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up four hits and walked three in 5 2-3 impressive innings. Jeff Bennett gave up a single to the only batter he faced before Eric O'Flaherty got the next four outs. Rafael Soriano pitched the eighth and Mike Gonzalez finished.
The Minnesota Twins finally got their offense going in the ninth inning - with a big assist from Seattle closer Brandon Morrow. Alexi Casilla's two-run single capped Minnesota's three-run rally with two outs in the ninth and the Twins beat the Mariners 6-5 on Tuesday night. Brought in to protect a 5-3 lead, Morrow (0-1) retired his first two batters before walking the bases loaded. Miguel Batista relieved and Denard Span chopped an RBI infield single to third that made it 5-4. Casilla lined the next pitch from Batista up the middle, scoring Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher.
MLB news
6304. wabbit - 4/8/2009 4:28:31 PM  Unbeaten, unchallenged and national champions. After one last blowout, Connecticut could finally exhale and take its place in basketball history. Tina Charles had 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds Tuesday night as UConn routed Louisville 76-54 and captured the Huskies' sixth title. UConn won every one of its 39 games by double digits, a first in college basketball.
Charles was the star of the final victory. She commanded both ends of the floor and Louisville, which lost badly to UConn for the third time this season, had no one who could stop her. Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma had said before the tournament that his junior center would be the key to UConn winning the title. A year after he benched her in the NCAAs for inconsistent play, Charles delivered, 11-for-13 from the field, and fell just one rebound short of becoming only the second player ever in a championship game to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. She was named the outstanding player of the Final Four.
Maya Moore and Montgomery each added 18 points for the Huskies. Angel McCoughtry finished off her stellar career for Louisville with 23 points. Candyce Bingham was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points as Louisville (34-5) shot a dismal 31 percent from the floor.
NCAA Womens basketball
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