In just three weeks, we’ve

seen enough craziness in college

football to bring back memories of

the lunacy that ruled 2007.

Fortunately, we have some sanity:

four of the top seven teams in The

Associated Press poll are from the

SEC, winners of the past three BCS

national championships. Until fur-

ther notice, we’ll all follow the big,

bad league and hope for the best.

OVERRATED No. 1 Florida. The Gators need

injured WR Deonte Thompson

(hamstring) to get healthy and

provide a deep threat.

No. 5 Penn State. After three

uninspiring tuneups, the Lions

better find another gear this week

against Iowa.

UNDERRATED No. 14 Cincinnati. Convincing

road wins over Rutgers and Oregon

State have the Bearcats primed for

another Big East championship.

No. 25 Nebraska. Lose by

one on the road to No. 11 Virginia

Tech—and fall six spots.— Matt Hayes

Again, Romo takes blame, Page 6

JAY METZ / SEC

Florida WR Deonte Thompson

SEC’s strength provides sanity

Legends Poll17 coaching greats cast votes

for Sporting News Today.

1. Florida (17)2. Texas3. Alabama4. Penn State5. Cal

More, Page 26

MONDAY

SEPTEMBER 21, 2009

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 61

ScoreboardNFL Atlanta 28, Carolina 20Minnesota 27, Detroit 13Cincinnati 31, Green Bay 24Arizona 31, Jacksonville 17Oakland 13, Kansas City 10N.Y. Jets 16, New England 9New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 22Houston 34, Tennessee 31Washington 9, St. Louis 7Buffalo 33, Tampa Bay 20San Francisco 23, Seattle 10Chicago 17, Pittsburgh 14Denver 27, Cleveland 6Baltimore 31, San Diego 26N.Y. Giants 33, Dallas 31

Baseball American LeagueL.A. Angels 10, Texas 5Boston 9, Baltimore 3Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 1Kansas City 2, Chicago White Sox 1Detroit 6, Minnesota 2Oakland 11, Cleveland 4Seattle 7, N.Y. Yankees 1

National LeagueCincinnati 8, Florida 1N.Y. Mets 6, Washington 2Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 2San Diego 4, Pittsburgh 0Milwaukee 6, Houston 0Colorado 5, Arizona 1L.A. Dodgers 6, San Francisco 2Chicago Cubs 6, St. Louis 3, 11 innings

NHL PreseasonSchedule, results, Page 41

WNBA PlayoffsSchedule, results, Page 42

RECRUITING > 4 NFL > 5 COLLEGE FOOTBALL > 25 MLB > 31 NHL > 39 NBA > 42 COLLEGE BASKETBALL > 43 NASCAR > 44QUICK LINKS:

Follow Sporting News Today attwitter.com/sninsider

More for MarkMartin expands Chase lead with win at LoudonPage 44

Tigers dodge sweepDetroit earns 3-game

margin with win over Minnesota, Page 33

BY ALBERT BREERabreer@sportingnews.com

ARLINGTON, TEXAS—This NFC East show-down might have been held in a brand-spanking-new $1.15 billion palace, but the end result revealed that little has changed in the division.

The Cowboys remain loaded with tal-ent, flash and tantalizing potential.

The Giants, while not always pretty, still grind down opponents and win games the fourth quarter. And they did it again in front of a record 105,121 fans at Cowboys Stadium, with Lawrence Tynes collecting the winning points on a 37-yard field goal as time expired to punctuate a 33-31 win.

Perhaps the greatest testament was the atmosphere in the huddle as the Giants embarked on an 11-play, 66-yard drive to set up that kick.

“Just business,” is how Eli Manning described it. “We don’t say a whole lot. It’s not rah-rah. We call the play, we go and we try to make some plays.”

The Cowboys made the wrong kinds of plays. The party hosts rushed for 251 yards and held the Giants’ vaunted

running game in check. But the defense couldn’t get the big stops, and Romo was intercepted three times. “I really cost us this one,” Romo said.

More highlights from Week 2:Rex in effect. Rex Ryan and the Jets

backed up a week of bluster, holding the high-flying Patriots to three field goals and Tom Brady’s completion percentage under 50 in a 16-9 win. “We’re a good football team,” Ryan said. “That’s the statement we made last week. That’s the statement we made this week.”

Falcons flying. Atlanta goes to New England next week at 2-0, and Matt Ryan’s continued ascension is the pri-mary reason. He was 21 of 27 for 220 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Carolina. Tony Gonzalez was asked if he’d ever had a QB as poised: “I might’ve seen one on TV, but not any-body I’ve ever been around.”

Kurt response. The Cardinals bounced back from a loss to the 49ers by winning at Jacksonville, and Kurt War-ner set a record in completing 92.3 per-cent of his passes.

Home wreckers ‘Just business’ Giants spoil Cowboys’ house party

NFL: WEEK 2

Giants K Lawrence Tynes silenced a record crowd with his game-winning kick as time expired.

DONNA MCWILLIAM / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 2See a Different Game

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ON NEWSSTANDS NOW

In need of a college basketball fix amid all the baseball and football? The new issue of SN Magazine ranks the nation’s top 10 players at all five positions.

Tune In TodayA quick look at the best sports on TV

— all times Eastern

NFL

Colts at Dolphins8:30 p.m., ESPN

The Dolphins were last year’s super-surprise team, but they’ve stumbled out of the gate this season in the face of a very tough schedule. The Colts, who also play next Sunday night, won’t give them any breaks, because Peyton Manning is keeping them together despite a coaching change and several injuries.

— Vinnie Iyer

CINEMA

A League of Their Own5:30 p.m., Oxygen

For all you guys fearing to watch this channel, here’s your permission slip, courtesy of Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Jon Lovitz and Rosie O’Donnell. Jimmy Dugan (Hanks), an ex-major leaguer who likes the booze, manages the Rockford Peaches, who are part of a newly-formed All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Crying in baseball ensues, but the big conflict of this movie involves the relationship between sisters Kit (Lori Petty) and Dottie (Davis).

— Roger Kuznia

NASCAR

This Week in NASCAR8 p.m., Speed

It’s not often that NASCAR president Mike Helton speaks to the media, but when he does, you listen. Helton is tonight’s special guest, and he’ll field a num-ber of questions from the panel, including whether the Chase needs tweaking, whether the car needs its own changes, and other relevant topics. Steve Byrnes will be joined by Chase driver Greg Biffle, Michael Waltrip and Jimmy Spencer as they also recap New Hampshire and look ahead to Dover.

— Roger Kuznia

GUIDENFL8:30 p.m.ESPN—Indianapolis at Miami

WNBA10 p.m.ESPN2—Playoffs, Western Conference semifinals, game 3, San Antonio at Phoenix

After all the years of dreaming and scheming to build Cowboys Stadium, Jerry Jones is ready to see his $1.15 billion masterpiece in all its glory.

About 75,000 folks went to their seats and another 30,000 scrambled for the best spots to stand and watch, either on the humongous video boards hanging over the field or directly down on the turf. By game time, 105,121 were in place to watch Dalla’; 33-30 loss to the Giants—an NFL regular-season record.

The largest crowd for an NFL regular-season game was 103,467 for Arizona-San Francisco in Mexico City in 2005. The record for a game in the United States is 103,985 for the Super Bowl between Steelers and Rams at the Rose Bowl in January 1980. The record for any NFL game is 112,376 for a preseason game between the Cowboys and Houston Oilers in Mexico City in 1994; that’ll probably hold until the Super Bowl comes to this building in February 2011.

A new piece of artwork in the lobby of the

Nebraska athletic department office building will commemorate the Cornhuskers’ 300 con-secutive football sellouts and serve as a conver-sation piece for visitors and prospective recruits. The mural, to be unveiled Thursday, measures 22-by-28 feet and is made up of 616 mosaic tiles depicting a full stadium with play-ers celebrating and red balloons taking flight to signal the Huskers’ first touchdown of a game.

A proposed casino at the Kansas Speed-way received a new brand when the company operating the Kansas City-area NASCAR track took on a new partner for its project, changing from Hard Rock to Hollywood. For the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board, more than a name or theme is at stake. Chairman Matt All said the issue is whether one brand name is bet-ter at drawing customers than another—and whether the state stands to get more revenues either way—from what already will be a nota-bly different project.

— Compiled by staff with wire reports

Record crowd turns out at ‘The House Jerry Built’OFF THE FIELD

By the time attendance was counted, an NFL regular-season record 105,121 packed the stands at Cowboys Stadium.

SHARON ELLMAN / AP

YOUR TURN Are you convinced Florida is

the best team in college football after Saturday’s performance against Tennessee? Or is there another team you think can claim the title of the nation’s top team? Tell us your thoughts in 150 words or less and we’ll run some of the best responses in a future issue of Sporting News Today. Send your email, along with your name and hometown, to yourturn@sportingnews.com.

What’s it like playing alongside Ray Lewis or rushing Peyton Manning in practice? If you have a question for Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs, Indianapolis’ Dwight Freeney, Tampa Bay’s Byron Leftwich or Minnesota’s Jared Allen, we want to hear it. Send your question, along with your name and hometown, to yourturn@sportingnews.com and we’ll have them answer the best ones in a future issue of Sporting News Magazine.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com My Profile

Todd ReesingKansas quarterback

(What you won’t find on Facebook …

even if you are approved as a friend)

Born: Sept. 20, 1987, in Austin, Texas Status: Single Alma mater: Lake Travis High (Austin) What’s on TV: Entourage, Dexter, The

Tudors, Nip/Tuck What’s in my iPod: Tiesto, Armin Van

Buuren, Benny Benassi, Above and Beyond

What I drive: 2003 GMC Yukon Favorite flick: Green Street Hooligans What I’m reading: Shantaram, by Gregory

David Roberts Magazine subscription: The Economist Bookmarks: southwest.com, tiesto.com Superstition: Keeping the same routine Love to trade places for a day with … My

roommate. He gets to sleep in and doesn’t have to go to practice every day.

First job: Lifeguard. 15 years old. Saving lives.

Talent I’d most like to have: Sing/dance/play an instrument

Favorite meal: Anything Mexican Favorite athlete to watch in another sport:

Roger Federer Favorite team as a kid: Texas Longhorns Favorite city to visit: Copenhagen Favorite value in others: Humor Dream date: Too hard to pick just one My greatest love: Music My heroes: My parents My bucket list: Step foot on every continent My motto: Life is good.

— Jeff D’Alessio

STEVE POPE / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 4Next Gen: Recruiting

1. Marcus Lattimore, RB6-0/207,

Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) Considering: North

Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Penn State, Auburn

2. Lache Seastrunk, RB5-10/183,

Temple (Texas) Considering: Auburn,

Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, USC

3. Seantrel Henderson, OL6-8/301,

Cretin-Derham Hall

(St. Paul, Minn.) Considering: Florida, Ohio

State, USC, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Minnesota

4. Matt Elam, DB6-1/205,

Dwyer (Palm Beach

Gardens, Fla.) Committed to: Florida

5. Justin McCay, WR6-4/200,

Bishop Miege

(Shawnee Mission, Kan.) Committed to: Oklahoma

6. Corey Nelson, LB6-1/200,

Skyline (Dallas) Committed to: Texas A&M

7. Gabe King, DL/LB6-5/260,

Northern Guilford

(Greensboro, N.C.) Considering: Alabama,

California, Oregon, Tennessee

8. Jackson Jeffcoat, DL6-4/233,

Plano West Senior

(Plano, Texas) Considering: USC, Texas,

Oklahoma, Arizona State, Houston

9. Demarco Cobbs, WR6-2/200

Tulsa Central (Tulsa, Okla.) Committed to: Tennessee

10. Trey Hopkins, OL6-4/260,

North Shore

(Galena Park, Texas) Committed to: Texas

11. Malcolm Jones, RB/LB6-0/210,

Oaks Christian

(Westlake Village, Calif.) Considering: Stanford,

UCLA

12. Michael Dyer, RB5-10/195,

Little Rock Christian

Academy (Little Rock, Ark.) Considering: Arkansas,

Auburn, Oklahoma, Notre Dame

13. Zack McCray, DL6-4/235,

Brookville (Lynchburg, Va.) Committed to: Virginia

Tech

14. Xavier Grimble, TE6-5/245,

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Committed to: USC

15. Jake Heaps, QB6-2/195,

Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) Committed to: BYU

16. Christian Jones, LB6-4/215,

Lake Howell (Winter Park, Fla.) Considering: Florida State,

Alabama, Florida, USC

17. Chris Martin, DL6-4/222,

The Hun School

(Princeton, N.J.) Committed to: Notre

Dame

18. Brennan Clay, RB6-0/190,

Scripps Ranch (San Diego) Committed to: Oklahoma

19. Phillip Sims, QB6-2/215,

Oscar Smith

(Chesapeake, Va.) Committed to: Alabama

20. Erik Kohler, OL6-5/265,

Oaks Christian

(Westlake Village, Calif.) Committed to:

Washington

21. Eduardo Clements, RB5-11/185,

Booker T. Washington (Miami) Considering: Miami,

Georgia, Michigan

22. Lamarcus Joyner, DB5-9/162,

St. Thomas Aquinas

(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) Considering: Florida State,

Ohio State, Florida

23. Devin Gardner, QB6-4/196,

Inkster (Mich.) Committed to: Michigan

24. Jamel Turner, DE6-2/205,

Ursuline (Youngstown, Ohio) Committed to: Ohio State

25. Blake Bell, QB6-6/215,

Bishop Carroll

(Wichita, Kan.) Committed to: Oklahoma

— Brian McLaughlin

RECRUITING DISH CLASS OF 2010

TOP 25 RECRUITS

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com

Top 100 recruits: sportingnews.com/blog/TheRecruitnik/tag/160168/sn100

COURTESY OF ERIK KOHLER

Erik Kohler

Missouri found out over the weekend that one of its early 2010 commitments needs more time to think, while another big prospect told the staff he plans to sign on the dotted line in February.

Angleton (Texas) athlete Henry Josey (5-10, 200) committed to Mis-souri after also seriously consider-ing TCU and UTEP.

“I’m real tight with the coaches,” Josey told Rivals.com. “I know a lot about the school from talking to people and doing research. I real-ized that if I get injured this season, I knew they’d be a school to stand by me. This is a lot of pressure off me.”

Trinity Catholic (St. Louis) ath-lete Marquise Hill no longer is commit-ted to the Tigers, though he’s still considering them. He also will be checking out Arkansas, Minnesota and Iowa in the next several months.

Hill (6-0, 175) is rated a three-star prospect by two recruiting services.

Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.) athlete Brendon Felder has committed to North Carolina, Scout.com reported. He said recently the Tar Heels, Illinois, Pitt, Boston College, Maryland and Syracuse made up his top six.

Felder (5-10, 165) might play wide receiver at the next level but is multi-dimensional. He is rated a three-star prospect by two recruit-ing services.

As a junior, Felder rushed for 500 yards and 14 touchdowns, but

he was even more impressive as a receiver with 28 receptions for 545 yards and two touchdowns.

He also excelled on defense as a cornerback and had more than 40 tackles last season.

Christian County (Hopkins-ville, Ky.) OLB Malcolm McDuffen has committed to Kentucky, Rivals.com reported. He also reported scholar-ship offers from Ball State, Purdue and Western Kentucky, among others.

McDuffen (6-3, 205) is rated a three-star prospect by two recruit-ing services.

“Me and coach (Joker) Phillips had a real good talk, and he told me he really wanted me to join their pro-gram if I was ready,” McDuffen told Rivals.com. “But he said he wanted

to make sure I was 100 percent sure. He said it was like putting a ring on a girl’s finger. He didn’t want to pressure me into anything if I still wanted to go out and date other girls.

“... I told him I didn’t want to visit any other schools. I want to be at Kentucky.”

Lake Dallas (Corinth, Texas) DT Josh Tauaefa has pledged to Min-nesota, becoming the Golden Gophers’ 13th commitment for the class of 2010.

Tauaefa (6-2, 265) was coming off a weekend visit to the campus. He had taken another visit to UTEP last week, and also reported schol-arship offers from Houston, Louisi-ana Tech and UNLV.

— Brian McLaughlin

Missouri adds recruit, but another backs off pledge

JEFF ROBERSON / AP

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel has taken a commitment from Angelton (Texas) athlete Henry Josey.

WEEK 2 CHECKDOWN

WHAT WE LEARNED AND WHAT IT ALL MEANSOPENING DRIVE

The best two units in the league so far unquestionably are the Saints’ offense and the Jets’

defense.“If you look

at our skill group, each game no guy ever knows whose day it’s going to be,” Brees said after his team has combined

to score 93 points in two wins. “Each guy knows it’s their job to open things up for everyone else.”

We knew about Brees, but now the running game and defense also are proving capable of big plays.

In New York, the Rex Ryan effect has been immediate, with the Jets allowing no offensive touchdowns to either the Texans or Patriots. It’s like the Ravens Redux, with aggressive pres-sure packages creating take-aways and Mark Sanchez simply playing the role of Joe Flacco ’08.

We’ll see who gets the better of the best when the Saints play host to the Jets in Week 4.

COACHES’ CORNERRavens offensive coordinator

Cam Cameron has balanced this once defense-heavy team, rolling up 38 and 31 points in starting 2-0. The Ravens’ staple is still their ground game with Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and

Le’Ron McClain. For most of two games, Cameron have called plays to produce good gains on first and second down, giving Flacco manageable third downs and making the passing situations less predictable.

THE HOT SEAT

Winless Tennessee must forget about duplicating its 13-3 season. “We’ve got some work to do,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said after the tough Texans loss at home.

The tough road in the ultra-competitive AFC just got tougher. The Titans face the Jets, Colts and Patriots in the next four weeks before a Week 7 bye.

TREND SPOTTINGBoth the Bengals (17 sacks)

and the Broncos (26) had anemic pass rushes last season. In the early going, they’ve both been great pressure defenses.

Cincinnati’s Antwan Odom sacked Aaron Rodgers five times in the upset at Green Bay, increasing his total to seven and the team’s to nine. For Denver, Elvis Dumervil dropped Cleveland’s Brady Quinn four times Sunday.

With solid linebackers, now featuring promising rookie Rey Maualuga, Marvin Lewis has the best 4-3 talent during his tenure in Cincinnati. The Broncos, meanwhile, are benefiting from Mike Nolan’s

aggressive 3-4 play-calling.

INJURY REPORTSeahawks QB Matt Hassel-

beck. He hopes to be fine after hurting his ribs in a Donovan McNabb-like scare at San Francisco. If he’s not, it will be on Seneca Wallace to beat the Bears’ defense next week.

THE HANGOVERPittsburgh, Green Bay, New

England and San Diego all had intense, thrilling, last-minute nighttime victories in Week 1. All four were favored Sunday, but all were on the losing end of one-possession games in Week 2.

DOWN-AND-DISTANTCleveland has started with

two Brownouts. The notable numbers: Only 143 yards rushing and a combined 6-for-26 on third down.

Although the Chiefs out-gained Oakland 409 yards to 166 and limited JaMarcus Russell to a dismal 7-for-24 passing day, the Chiefs contin-ued to have costly turnover and coverage lapses in letting the Raiders steal a 13-10 win.

MONDAY NIGHT LIGHTSArizona, Houston and

Chicago all responded in near must-win situations, and Miami has a great opportunity in front of its home crowd. The Dolphins should be able to stuff the Colts’ run and turn around and rush well with Ronnie Brown.

viyer@sportingnews.com

7-ON-7: SUNDAY’S BIG PLAYMAKERS

1.Frank Gore, 49ers. Mike Singletary’s plan is to run the ball and play sound defense. It’s easy to execute with a healthy Gore, who proved as explosive as ever with TD runs of 79 and 80 yards in tallying 246 total yards from scrimmage vs. Seattle.

2.Chris Johnson, Titans. He dashed through open field for touchdowns of 57, 69 and 91 yards vs. Houston, but his 284 yards accounted for 63 percent of Tennessee’s offense in a 34-31 loss. The team can’t rely on him to fly solo in future shootouts.

3.Darren Sproles, Chargers. With LaDainian Tomlinson banged up, the Chargers have become a pass-heavy offense with Sproles as the ideal sparkplug. He burned the Ravens for an 81-yard catch-and-run and a 53-yard kickoff return. If L.T. is out for extended time, coach Norv Turner should be wary of overworking Sproles.

4.Andre Johnson, Texans. The key is the offensive line giving Matt Schaub time to get Johnson the ball, and that’s what happened against Tennessee. His 19- and 72-yard TD grabs allowed Houston to keep up with the other Johnson early.

5.DeSean Jackson, Eagles. Donovan McNabb missed the Saints’ loss, and Brian Westbrook hasn’t been at 100 percent. That has forced the Eagles to be more creative, but Jackson needs every touch he can get after following up last week’s 85-yard punt return TD with a 71-yard scoring reception.

6.Terrell Owens, Bills. The threat of Owens stretched the field and opened up underneath throws for QB Trent Edwards. And Buffalo’s strong running game has allowed both Lee Evans and Owens to become factors downfield, including T.O.’s 43-yard TD to put away Tampa Bay.

7.Felix Jones, Cowboys. His runs of 24 and 56 yards kept the Giants’ defense off-balance. The Cowboys definitely missed his special burst as a change of pace to Marion Barber in the second half last season.

WADE PAYNE / AP

Tennessee enjoyed three lengthy touchdowns from Chris Johnson, but the rest of the offense sputtered.

Vinnie IyerPRO FOOTBALL

MIKE ROEMER / AP

Bengals DE Antwan Odom turned in a season’s worth of sacks against Green Bay.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 5NFL

Brandon Jacobs didn’t have his best effort Sunday night—going for 58 yards on 16 car-ries—but he and his teammates did enough to squeeze out a 33-31 win over Dallas, and then he spoke with Sporting News Today’s Albert Breer.

Q: What do you take from this, ugly as it was?

A: A “W”, in a new stadium. Cowboys Stadium debut, that’s

all we really wanted, to come in and win. And that we did. We didn’t play as good as we could. But we got the “W”.

Q: Was it a motivator that they picked you to play

there first?

A: Oh, definitely. It’s like you’re picking your homecoming

team, coming and picking a team you can beat. That got a lot of guys up, that’s like saying they don’t respect us. That’s really something bad to tell somebody. You can’t tell another grown man, or 53, that you don’t respect them. You don’t do that.

Q: What encouraged you about tonight?

A: Fighting back and winning as ugly as we did, not playing as

well as we could and still pulling away with the “W”. That’s impres-sive. We have a lot of getting better to do and play better football on the offensive side of the ball.

Q: What’s in Eli’s eyes on that last drive?

A: He has that fire in his eyes, he wasn’t worried, not one bit. He

knew he could get us down there. He did a really good job of doing that.

Q: What does having two division wins mean?

A: It’s very, very, very special, to play two tough

teams—Washington last week, Dallas this week in a hostile environ-ment in a new stadium—it’s very big to get these wins early like this.

Q: Does winning with guys injured help?

A: No question. Knowing that our team can stick together

and deal with the adversity. We’ve got depth. We’ve got a lot of guys that can play. Tuck’s a great, great player, tough on that edge, but Kiwanuka played very well. We got a bunch of guys.

Q: Do you think Mario and Steve answered the

questions at receiver?

A: No, because we’re the New York Giants. We’ll never get

the respect we deserve. They definitely played well and did enough to earn that respect. But I’m gonna say no, because that’s just how people are.

Q: Were you surprised by Mario’s production?

A: I knew Mario had a lot of talent. But he did a damn good

job for us today. He had 150 yards receiving and he had a touchdown. He came through big for us.

Q&A with … Giants RB Brandon Jacobs

‘We’ll never get the respect we deserve’

LM OTERO / AP

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs can feel good about Sunday’s victory, at least.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS—Too often the scene unfolds the same way for the Dallas Cowboys.

Crushing loss. Depressed locker room. And there’s Tony Romo, the quarterback to which this fran-chise’s hopes are pinned, at his

stall, slowly get-ting dressed and trying to take in where it all came undone.

This time, it so happened to occur during the grand opening of the new $1.15 bil-lion home,

against the team that took NFC East title from the Cowboys last year. On a night Jerry Jones and his franchise tried to make extraordi-nary possible, the manner of losing was strikingly ordinary for Dallas.

Romo made big mistakes, and the team paid for them. His three interceptions were the biggest rea-son why the Giants hung in to finally throw the knockout blow in a 33-31 win. Just like his big mis-takes cost the team dearly in losses last December to Pittsburgh and Baltimore that knocked Dallas out of the playoff picture.

“Our team played some really good football, and I think that my mistakes put us in a hole and allowed them to capitalize on some things,” Romo said. “I thought the defense played great for us. I think offensive line played wonderful. We had some guys who made some plays tonight.

“I really cost us this one.” And here’s how:

Romo’s first interception, which he threw behind and over the head of Patrick Crayton, was intercepted by undrafted rookie Bruce Johnson and retuned for a touchdown, giving the Giants a 10-7 lead.

His second interception was a throw behind Jason Witten that he barely got a hand on and then bounced off Witten’s foot and into the hands of Kenny Phillips inside the Dallas 30. If the referee hadn’t had a quick whistle, Phillips would’ve had a touchdown, too. Three plays later, the Giants scored anyway, to take a 20-14 lead.

Phillips—whom Romo said he didn’t see—fielded the third inter-ception as if it was a punt, as the quarterback floated the ball deep to Sam Hurd. The line of scrimmage on the play was the Giants’ 46. It was first-and-10, and the Cowboys led 24-20. And the Giants took the ball and went 73 yards in four plays to score and regain the lead.

So, to summarize, the Cowboys held a lead as Romo threw each of his three interceptions, and the end result of all three was Dallas losing that lead. And, as the quarterback said, it’s not as if the Cowboys weren’t battling through the problems. It’s just that, eventually, those catch up with a team.

“It doesn’t feel like a wasted effort, man,” Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton said. “Just have to eliminate turnovers. That told the tale of the ballgame.”

At the end of the game, the two

sides traded blows. The Giants pushed the lead to 30-24 with a field goal, the Cowboys responded by going 71 yards in seven plays for a touchdown, and the Giants finally finished Dallas off with an 11-play, 56-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal.

But both sides knew how they got there. The Cowboys controlled the line of scrimmage with sur-prising ease, rushing for 251 yards and holding the Giants’ running game in check.

The difference was plain and simple.

“We knew coming in they were an explosive offense, and we had to get turnovers,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. “(The defense) did a great job scoring and getting those interceptions.”

If there’s an upside for Dallas, it’s that Romo took the problem head on, saying, “I’m really not OK with it, and I’ll try to rectify it tomorrow and get better and improve.”

Simple enough to say that. As history shows, it’s much

harder to actually do it. abreer@sportingnews.com

N.Y. Giants 33, Dallas 31

Same ol’ Romo: Big plays and big errors

LM OTERO / AP

It took two tries, but Lawrence Tynes (9) kicked the game-winning field goal to beat Dallas.

Albert BreerPRO FOOTBALL

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 6NFL

ARLINGTON, TEXAS—Antonio Pierce laughed off all the hype for this Sep-tember Super Bowl, or whatever the Dallas Cowboys considered the opener of their $1.15 billion stadium.

To the New York Giants, this was just another division game, one they had to win. And they did—dramatically.

Lawrence Tynes kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Giants a 33-31 victory over turnover-prone Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, sending home the largest regular-season crowd in NFL history muttering about what might’ve been.

Former President George W. Bush, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and LeBron James were among a packed house of 105,121 that saw eight lead changes, with neither team ever ahead by more than six. The lead switched three times in the final quarter and had a doubly exciting finish because after Tynes made the kick, he had to do it again; Dallas had called a timeout just before the snap.

His second try was even better than the first and all those fans got awfully quiet.

“People were talking about this like it was the Super Bowl in the sec-ond week of the season,” said Pierce, a Giants linebacker. “We just came here to win a football game.”

Eli Manning was 25 of 38 for 330 yards with 22-yard touchdowns to Mario Manningham and Steve Smith. Each caught 10 passes, with Manningham’s covering 150 yards and Smith’s going for 134. It was quite a way for the Giants to end a 13-game stretch without a single 100-yard receiver.

“The whole team did a good job of

gutting it out,” Manning said. “This is a good thing to build from.”

New York relied on Manning’s arm because Dallas limited Brandon Jacobs to 58 yards and Ahmad Brad-shaw to 37. However the Giants did it, the reigning NFC East champions are now 2-0 with both wins against division foes.

“Everybody makes a big deal because we spoiled their little party,” said defensive end Justin Tuck, who hurt a shoulder and missed the sec-ond half. “Every other game we play in the NFC East will be just as big.”

The Cowboys (1-1) went ahead for the final time 31-30 on a 7-yard touchdown run by Felix Jones with 3:40 left.

It turned out to be plenty of time for Manning. He got out of a first-and-20 at his own 15 and kept it going with two third-down

conversions, the second coming on a tipped pass caught by Manningham.

“Well, we just knew we had to go and get in field goal range,” Manning said. “We had enough time, we had timeouts.”

In one of the biggest settings of his career, Romo turned in one of his worst outings: 13 of 29 for 127 yards with a touchdown and three inter-ceptions, all of which resulted in New York touchdowns.

— The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA—Without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles tried every-thing they could on offense. Drew Brees and the Saints stuck to what they do best.

Brees tossed three more touch-down passes Sunday, helping the Saints beat Philadelphia 48-22.

Brees had six TD passes last week as the Saints (2-0) routed Detroit. He picked up where he left off, picking apart Philadelphia’s secondary and completing 25-of-34 passes for 311 yards and one interception.

“If you look at our skill group, each game no guy ever knows who’s day it’s going to be,” Brees said. “Each guy knows it’s their job to open things up for everyone else.”

Making his first NFL start for an injured McNabb, Kevin Kolb threw for 391 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard scoring pass to DeSean Jackson. Kolb also threw three interceptions, though, includ-ing one returned 97 yards for a TD by Darren Sharper in the final minute.

“I’ve got to cut those turnovers out,” Kolb said. “I know better than that. I will do it.”

McNabb sat out with a cracked rib. With the five-time Pro Bowl QB in street clothes, the Eagles (1-1) showed off their creativity on offense.

Coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg used several variations of the Wild-cat formation with three different players taking snaps. Both tackles were split wide one time with only three linemen blocking. Kolb threw an incomplete pass on a reverse flea-flicker, and running back

Brian Westbrook had an incompletion.

It could get even wackier next week vs. Kansas City when Michael Vick is expected to play his first regular-season game since Dec. 31, 2006.

“It looked like they were clicking on all cylinders at times, but Dono-van is one of the top quarterbacks in the league,” Sharper said. “He would’ve made the game look a lit-tle different.”

The Saints took advantage of a fumble recovery and interception to turn a four-point halftime lead into a 31-13 advantage in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter.

Ellis Hobbs fumbled the second-half kickoff, and Chris Reis recov-ered at the Eagles 22. Two plays

later, Brees tossed an 11-yard TD pass to fullback Heath Evans, who broke a couple tackles, tiptoed along the sideline and dove over the orange pylon.

On Philadelphia’s next posses-sion, Scott Shanle stepped in front of Kolb’s ill-advised pass to a well-covered Jackson for an easy inter-ception. Mike Bell ran in from the 7 to make it 31-13.

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 7NFL

N.Y. Giants 33, Dallas 31 New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 22

‘This is a good thing to build from’

Giants CB Bruce Johnson, right, runs back one of three interceptions by Dallas QB Tony Romo for a touchdown.

LM OTERO / AP

N.Y. Giants 10 10 0 13 — 33Dallas 7 10 7 7 — 31

First QuarterNYG: FG Tynes 30, 8:59.Dal: Barber 2 run (Folk kick), 4:11.NYG: B.Johnson 34 interception return (Tynes kick), 2:46.Second QuarterNYG: FG Tynes 28, 13:31.Dal: Witten 1 pass from Romo (Folk kick), 9:04.NYG: Manningham 22 pass from Manning (Tynes kick), :46.Dal: FG Folk 47, :01.Third QuarterDal: Romo 3 run (Folk kick), 3:32.Fourth QuarterNYG: Smith 22 pass from Manning (Tynes kick), 13:24.NYG: FG Tynes 36, 7:37.Dal: Jones 7 run (Folk kick), 3:40.NYG: FG Tynes 37, :00.A: 105,121.

NYG DalFirst downs ...............................................19 ....................................23Total Net Yards ........................................427 ................................. 378Rushes-yards ...................................... 26-97 ............................29-251Passing ....................................................330 ................................. 127Punt Returns ......................................... 3-21 ..................................1-4Kickoff Returns ...................................... 5-90 ..............................7-163Interceptions Ret. ................................. 3-56 ..................................0-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................25-38-0 .......................... 13-29-3Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................0-0 ..................................0-0Punts .................................................. 5-37.2 .............................4-48.8Fumbles-Lost ...........................................0-0 ..................................1-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 4-40 ................................4-50Time of Possession ...............................34:49 .............................. 25:11

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: N.Y. Giants, Jacobs 16-58, Bradshaw 9-37, Manning 1-2. Dallas, Barber 18-124, Jones 7-96, Crayton 1-20, Choice 2-8, Romo 1-3.PASSING: N.Y. Giants, Manning 25-38-0-330. Dallas, Romo 13-29-3-127.RECEIVING: N.Y. Giants, Manningham 10-150, Smith 10-134, Brad-shaw 2-8, Boss 1-13, Hixon 1-13, Hagan 1-12. Dallas, Witten 5-33, Barber 2-31, Austin 1-20, R.Williams 1-18, Bennett 1-11, Hurd 1-7, Crayton 1-4, Choice 1-3.MISSED FIELD GOAL: N.Y. Giants, Tynes 29 (WL).

New Orleans 10 7 17 14 — 48Philadelphia 7 6 7 2 — 22

First QuarterNO: Colston 15 pass from Brees (Carney kick), 10:54.Phi: D.Jackson 71 pass from Kolb (Akers kick), 9:03.NO: FG Carney 23, 1:54.Second QuarterPhi: FG Akers 23, 2:38.NO: Colston 25 pass from Brees (Carney kick), :43.Phi: FG Akers 32, :00.Third QuarterNO: H.Evans 11 pass from Brees (Carney kick), 13:39.NO: Bell 7 run (Carney kick), 11:39.NO: FG Carney 25, 4:10.Phi: Avant 3 pass from Kolb (Akers kick), :29.Fourth QuarterNO: Bush 19 run (Carney kick), 9:36.Phi: Team safety, 3:35.NO: Sharper 97 interception return (Carney kick), :55.A: 69,144.

NO PhiFirst downs ...............................................23 .............................. 23Total Net Yards ........................................421 ............................ 463Rushes-yards ....................................29-133 .........................21-85Passing ....................................................288 ............................ 378Punt Returns ....................................... 2-(-3) .............................2-5Kickoff Returns ...................................... 3-72 .........................8-186Interceptions Ret. ............................... 3-100 .............................1-3Comp-Att-Int ...................................25-34-1 .....................31-52-3Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 2-23 ...........................2-13Punts .................................................. 3-52.0 ........................5-45.0Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-0 .............................1-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 3-13 ...........................7-45Time of Possession ...............................30:26 .........................29:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: New Orleans, Bell 17-86, Bush 10-33, Meachem 1-15, Brees 1-(minus 1). Philadelphia, Westbrook 13-52, McCoy 5-18, D.Jackson 3-15.PASSING: New Orleans, Brees 25-34-1-311. Philadelphia, Kolb 31-51-3-391, Westbrook 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: New Orleans, Colston 8-98, Shockey 4-49, Hender-son 3-71, Bush 3-42, D.Thomas 2-19, H.Evans 2-16, Meachem 1-11, Bell 1-9, P.Thomas 1-(minus 4). Philadelphia, Celek 8-104, Avant 7-79, D.Jackson 4-101, McCoy 4-37, Curtis 3-44, Westbrook 3-14, Maclin 2-12.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Eagles offense can’t keep up with Saints

MEL EVANS / AP

Mike Bell had a TD run and 86 yards rushing on top of his solid Week 1 performance.

Asked about his relationship with wide

receiver Marques Colston, Saints quarter-

back Drew Brees said, “I trust him more

than I’ve ever trusted anybody out on that

field.” Sporting News Today’s Clifton Brown

talked with Colston after his two-TD game

in Sunday’s 48-22 victory over the Eagles.

Q: After being plagued by injuries last season, how

enjoyable is it to be healthy?

A: I was playing beat up last year. I was about 80 or 90

percent all year. The knee is 100 percent better. Just having confi-dence in it makes a world of difference.

Q: What is it like playing with a quarterback like

Brees?

A: He knows where everybody is on every play. He prides

himself on being the hardest-work-ing guy on the team. It shows on Sunday.

Q: Is there a healthy competition among the

Saints’ receivers?

A: We all pride ourselves on making the plays when

they’re there. Today was my day. Next week, who knows? We feel confident as a unit. That comes from the work we put in. Our practice tempo is up all week, and that makes Sundays fun for us. We’ve got weapons all over the field and a guy who’s going to pull the trigger at the right time.

Q: How much did this team talk about getting off to

a fast start this season?

A: It was a point of emphasis, after the tough season we

had last year. Being 2-0 is great, but we know we still have 14 games left. The next opponent is Buffalo, on the road. We’ve got to put in a great week of preparation.

Q: The T-shirt you are wearing says “SB 44”. I

assume that means Super Bowl 44?

A: Absolutely. If you play in this league and it’s not your

goal, there’s something wrong with you.

Q&A with ... Saints WR Marques Colston

Ultimate trust has evolved between quarterback and his favorite target

MEL EVANS / AP

Marques Colston caught two touchdown passes during Sunday’s victory.

PHILADELPHIA—Drew Brees is on a pace to throw 72 touchdown passes this season.

That tells you how potent the Saints’ offense is. They steamrolled the Eagles, 48-22, as Brees (25 for 34, 311 yards, three touchdowns,

one interception) made the Eagles look like they were playing with only 10 defenders.

“Drew Brees is an animal,” Eagles corner-back Joselio Han-son said. “We

couldn’t stop them once they got down in our end.”

The 2009 season still is in its infancy, but the Saints’ offense is fully grown. When Brees shredded the Lions for six touchdown passes in Week 1, you could blame it on Detroit’s defensive deficiencies. But by torching the Eagles on their home turf, the Saints (2-0) sent a signal that they intend to be in the NFC playoff picture.

Questions remain about the Saints’ defense, but offensively they have all the pieces. They have a great quarterback, he has a ton of playmakers, the running game is improved and coach Sean Payton is an innovative play-caller. Brees sensed during preseason that this could be a special year for the Saints, similar to 2006, when they reached the NFC championship game.

“Obviously, we have very high expectations for ourselves,” Brees said. “We see this window of oppor-tunity that we have. I would say the confidence level right now is way

higher than it was in 2006.“Believe it or not, I still think we

can get better. That’s a lot of points against a pretty good defense, on the road, in a hostile environment. Then again, we believe every time we touch the ball, we’re going to go and get points.”

Brees completed passes to nine receivers Sunday, and Marques Colston caught two touchdown

passes. In the Saints’ locker room after the game, both Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey (four catches, 49 yards) said they felt healthier than they had in years. Eagles fans greeted Shockey with boos, still holding hostility toward him from his days with the Giants. Shockey rather enjoyed it, and he enjoyed the victory even more.

“I think some people in this locker

room don’t realize how hard it is to win in this place,” Shockey said. “We did a great job.”

The Saints’ offense is playing with swagger. The Eagles are still searching for it.

Without Donovan McNabb (frac-tured rib), the Eagles went wild with the Wildcat formation. They started Kevin Kolb at quarterback but gave the Saints more looks than Beyonce gets walking down Fifth Avenue. In the first half, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Jer-emy Maclin and Kolb all took direct snaps from center. Was it entertain-ing? Yes. Was it effective? Not always.

When it was over, Eagles coach Andy Reid said Kolb (31-for-51, 391 yards, two touchdowns, three inter-ceptions) would start next week vs. Kansas City if McNabb is not ready. But it is clear that Wildcat or no Wildcat, McNabb or no McNabb, the Eagles (1-1) are still a work in progress.

“There were too many mistakes, and that’s my responsibility,” Reid said. “It wasn’t right today, any phase of it. It was an absolutely hor-rendous performance.”

Things will get even more inter-esting this week when Michael Vick is activated. Imagine some of the plays Reid might draw up with Vick in the lineup.

Vick and the Eagles will be dis-cussed plenty during the week, but Sunday was the Saints’ day. Through two weeks, they have the most potent offense in the NFL.

“I take my hat off to (Brees),” Eagles safety Quintin Mikell said. “We got our butts kicked today.”

cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com

New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 22

Brees proving to be the unstoppable force of ’09

Clifton BrownPRO FOOTBALL

Saints QB Drew Brees carved up the Eagles with 311 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Brees is on pace to throw 72 touchdown passes after two games.

MICHAEL PEREZ / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 8NFL

After a slow start, rookie Mark Sanchez

played smart and efficient football

Sunday, completing 14-of-22 passes for

163 yards and the game’s only touchdown

in the Jets’ 16-9 victory over the Patriots.

Afterward he talked with Sporting News

Today’s Bill Eichenberger about the vic-

tory that improved the Jets’ record to 2-0

and snapped an eight-game losing streak

against the Patriots at Giants Stadium.

Q: What was going through your mind when you

were hit and fumbled on the first play of the game?

A: More than anything, I just knew I needed to relax and

that we would find our game.

Q: What was different in the second half for you

personally?

A: We opened things up. We threw the ball a little more.

It balanced up our attack, rushes and passes.

Q: How important was it to not turn the ball over?

A: In a game like this, that is crucial. Whether that

means checking it down, throwing it away or just giving guys a chance like on the (touchdown pass) to Dustin Keller, that’s what it needed to be.

Q: How would you assess the play of the offensive

line?

A: Up front offensively, are you kidding me? On that touch-

down pass, I held the ball. I reset it. I reset it again. I patted it twice and

finally I ended up throwing it. That’s unbelievable against a great defense.

Q: With the success you’ve had already, do you still

feel like a rookie?

A: I don’t know what a rookie is supposed to feel like. I feel

like these guys have confidence in me, and I feel like I am getting more and more comfortable with the game plan each passing week. But the most important thing is to understand that we haven’t arrived yet. We have a long season still to go.

Q&A with ... Jets QB Mark Sanchez

‘I don’t know what a rookie is supposed to feel like’

KATHY WILLENS / AP

In his first meeting with the powerhouse Patriots, Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez emerged victorious.

BY BILL EICHENBERGERbeichenberger@sportingnews.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—The Jets’ defense was so disruptive in their 16-9 victory Sunday that rookie quarterback Mark San-chez said he actually felt sorry for Tom Brady as Brady tried to combat multiple looks and relentless pressure.

“I felt for Tom,” Sanchez said of his counterpart, who completed only 23-of-47 passes for 216 yards and failed to produce a touch-down despite three trips to the red zone. “You could see his tim-ing was disrupted a little bit. And you could tell it was because of our pressure, because of all the looks that we gave him.”

Asked if the Jets succeeded in making Brady uncomfortable in the pocket, linebacker Bart Scott said with a straight face: “I don’t know. You’d have to ask him. Maybe he likes people around his feet or people hitting him in the chest, or throwing people in front of him to the ground. Some people might not be uncomfort-able in that situation.”

Defensive end Shaun Ellis, who returned from a one-game suspension, was not as coy. He said he saw confusion in Brady’s eyes. “He was trying to figure out where everyone was coming from. We had him throwing off his back foot a lot.’’

Even though the Jets did not sack Brady, they hurried him 15 times and knocked him down another five while using six or seven men to rush the passer.

“This guy is the best in the

business,’’ Jets coach Rex Ryan said of Brady. “And you can’t just line up and play traditional against him. You have to be mul-tiple and give him different looks.’’

Clearly, Brady missed posses-sion receiver Wes Welker, who was inactive because of a knee injury. But because of the pres-sure Brady faced, Sanchez said the Patriots’ timing appeared to be off on all their routes.

Also critical to the Jets’ success was the play of cornerback Dar-relle Revis, who limited Randy Moss to four catches for 24 yards after holding the Texans’ Andre Johnson to four catches for 35 yards in the Jets’ season-opening win.

Revis’ task was made easier by the Jets’ decision to go after Brady. “In the past, in the second half, we would have been more laid-back,” Ellis said. “But with Rex, we were not going to sit back one bit. In the Patriots’ Buf-falo game last week, they made plays down the stretch. We were not going to let that happen to us.”

Safety Kerry Rhodes, who said during the week that he wanted to not only beat the Patriots but embarrass them, said the fact the Jets have yet to allow a touch-down should not be a surprise, given the resume of their new head coach.

“That’s his reputation,’’ said Rhodes, who led the Jets with six tackles and two assists. “We know he’s going to give us the stuff we need to get to the quarterback.’’

N.Y. Jets 16, New England 9

Jets control Brady with relentless pressure

KATHY WILLENS / AP

Jets DBs Kerry Rhodes (25) and Jim Leonhard (36) combined to keep Randy Moss from making this catch.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 9NFL

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Rex Ryan sent a message to the fans. His Jets delivered one of their own.

Rookie Mark Sanchez outplayed a Super Bowl champion quarter-back and the Jets backed up their big talk, shutting down Tom Brady and the Patriots 16-9 on Sunday.

“We believe that we are the better team today,” Ryan said. “We went out and showed it. I think our fans are huge in this victory.”

So huge, in fact, that Ryan said he was giving the fans a game ball that would be placed in the team’s tro-phy case. “I thought they were the difference,” Ryan said.

The victory was the first for the Jets (2-0) over Brady at home, and the first over the Patriots (1-1) at the Meadowlands since 2000. And, it came after a week during which Ryan reiterated his offseason com-ments that he didn’t come to “kiss Bill Belichick’s rings” and sent a voicemail to season ticket holders, urging them to be loud.

The fans clearly answered the call, causing a tough time for the Patriots’ offense all game. Brady was forced into consecutive delay-of-game penalties in the third quarter.

“I’ve got to do a better job,” Brady said. “They don’t come up very often, but when they do, they hurt. And they hurt us today.”

Ryan also said the Patriots had the better coach and quarterback coming in.

Hold on, Rex. Don’t sell yourself short. “The big deal is, we’re a foot-ball team that should be respected,” Ryan said. “Sometimes we talk a little bit, but only because we have confidence in our football team.”

Earlier in the week, Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said New York wanted to “embarrass” New Eng-land. “Kerry made a statement, we stood behind him, and we had his back,” defensive end Shaun Ellis said.

Sanchez came out throwing in the second half after a quiet first two quarters and connected with tight end Dustin Keller on a go-ahead touchdown, and the Jets’ defense clamped down on the Patriots.

Brady had a chance to tie it for the Patriots, getting the ball at the Patriots’ 10 with 1:48 left, but the Jets’ defense stopped him as corner-back Dwight Lowery knocked away a pass to Joey Galloway on fourth down.

Brady had beaten the Jets in 12 of the previous 14 games he had faced them overall. “It’s frustrating,” he said. “I think we had really high expectations for this game. We just didn’t put it together very well.”

The Patriots managed only three field goals a week after the Jets’ defense held the high-scoring Tex-ans without an offensive touch-down in a 24-7 win.

“That’s a statement not just to us,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said, “but to the league that every week we’re going to come out here and try to get a shutout.”

—The Associated Press

ATLANTA—Matt Ryan has a new favorite receiver. No surprise who it is.

Ryan threw three touchdown passes, hooking up with Tony Gonzalez for the second week in a row, and the Falcons held off the Panthers 28-20 on Sunday.

Through his first two games with the Falcons, Gonzalez has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Just what Atlanta had in mind when it dealt for a tight end who will end up in Can-ton—and starting 2-0 is what Gon-zalez had in mind when he asked to be traded by lowly Kansas City.

The Falcons already have matched the Chiefs’ win total for all of last season. “Not a bad start at all,” Gonzalez said. “It’s just great to be part of a team like this.”

Ryan had a big first half, which included a brilliant fingertip grab by Gonzalez on a 24-yard score. Jason Snelling and Roddy White also hauled in TD passes, giving Atlanta a 21-13 lead at the break.

Ryan completed 13 straight passes at one point and finished 21 of 27 for 220 yards, though he did have his first interception of the season. Gonzalez led the Falcons again with seven receptions for 71 yards.

“He’s one of the greatest tight ends of all time,” Ryan said.

Jake Delhomme played much better for the Panthers, looking nothing like the quarterback who had 11 turnovers in his last two games. But his 25-of-41, 308-yard passing performance was marred by that familiar problem—an interception with 2 1/2 minutes remaining near the Atlanta end

zone—and the defending NFC South champions are off to an 0-2 start.

“It couldn’t be any worse than last week,” said Delhomme, refer-ring to his four-interception, one-fumble fiasco in a 38-10 loss to Philadelphia. “I felt good out there today. Last week, I put too much pressure on myself. This week, I got back to being just plain Jake.”

The Falcons appeared to be in good shape after Michael Turner powered over from the 1 with 12:27 remaining, stretching the lead to 28-13 lead.

Back came Delhomme and the Panthers. A 10-play, 80-yard drive made it 28-20, and Carolina was in position to force overtime with a touchdown and a two-point conversion after driving to the Falcons’ 17. But three straight incompletions were followed by an interception by cornerback Chris Houston.

—The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 10NFL

N.Y. Jets 16, New England 9 Atlanta 28, Carolina 20

Jets back up words with actions

Jets TE Dustin Keller pulled down the game’s only touchdown on a nine yard pass from Mark Sanchez in the third quarter.

WR Dwayne Jarrett and the Panthers had a shot until the game’s final play.

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

DAVE MARTIN / AP

New England 3 6 0 0 — 9N.Y. Jets 0 3 10 3 — 16

First QuarterNE: FG Gostkowski 45, 6:50.Second QuarterNE: FG Gostkowski 25, 11:30.NYJ: FG Feely 33, 5:59.NE: FG Gostkowski 29, :17.Third QuarterNYJ: Keller 9 pass from Sanchez (Feely kick), 13:57.NYJ: FG Feely 24, 8:22.Fourth QuarterNYJ: FG Feely 39, 9:48.A: 78,312.

NE NYJFirst downs ...............................................18 .............................. 14Total Net Yards ........................................299 ............................ 254Rushes-yards ...................................... 20-83 .......................31-117Passing ....................................................216 ............................ 137Punt Returns ............................................2-3 ...........................2-25Kickoff Returns ...................................... 5-99 .........................4-127Interceptions Ret. ....................................0-0 .............................1-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................23-47-1 .....................14-22-0Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................0-0 ...........................2-26Punts .................................................. 6-36.8 ........................5-41.8Fumbles-Lost ...........................................0-0 .............................2-1Penalties-Yards ................................... 11-89 ...........................8-55Time of Possession ...............................30:50 .........................29:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: New England, F.Taylor 8-46, Maroney 6-23, Faulk 3-8, Morris 2-4, Brady 1-2. N.Y. Jets, Washington 14-58, Jones 14-54, B.Smith 1-7, Sanchez 2-(minus 2).PASSING: New England, Brady 23-47-1-216. N.Y. Jets, Sanchez 14-22-0-163.RECEIVING: New England, Edelman 8-98, Galloway 5-53, Moss 4-24, Watson 3-23, Morris 1-14, Faulk 1-3, Baker 1-1. N.Y. Jets, Cotchery 4-87, Stuckey 4-37, Keller 3-22, Washington 2-18, Jones 1-(minus 1).MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Carolina 3 10 0 7 — 20Atlanta 7 14 0 7 — 28

First QuarterCar: FG Kasay 38, 9:52.Atl: Gonzalez 24 pass from Ryan (Elam kick), :37.Second QuarterCar: D.Williams 3 run (Kasay kick), 12:25.Atl: Snelling 10 pass from Ryan (Elam kick), 5:10.Car: FG Kasay 50, 1:49.Atl: White 7 pass from Ryan (Elam kick), :50.Fourth QuarterAtl: Turner 1 run (Elam kick), 12:23.Car: Rosario 11 pass from Delhomme (Kasay kick), 6:45.A: 67,313. Car AtlFirst downs ...............................................24 .............................. 23Total Net Yards ........................................440 ............................ 371Rushes-yards ....................................25-144 .......................37-151Passing ....................................................296 ............................ 220Punt Returns ......................................... 2-17 .............................0-0Kickoff Returns .........................................0-0 .........................3-102Interceptions Ret. ................................. 1-13 .............................1-4Comp-Att-Int ...................................25-41-1 .....................21-27-1Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 1-12 .............................0-0Punts .................................................. 2-25.5 ........................3-49.7Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-1 .............................1-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 6-35 ...........................6-40Time of Possession ...............................28:28 .........................31:32

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Carolina, D.Williams 16-79, Stewart 9-65. Atlanta, Turner 28-105, Snelling 6-37, Norwood 1-6, Ryan 2-3.PASSING: Carolina, Delhomme 25-41-1-308. Atlanta, Ryan 21-27-1-220.RECEIVING: Carolina, Smith 8-131, Muhammad 4-47, D.Williams 3-32, Rosario 3-31, Stewart 3-14, King 2-38, Jarrett 1-9, K.Moore 1-6. Atlanta, Gonzalez 7-71, White 6-53, Jenkins 3-33, Booker 2-42, Snelling 1-10, Finneran 1-6, Turner 1-5.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Ryan relishes new target in 3-TD outing

Although the Panthers fell to 0-2 with a 28-20

loss at Atlanta, Jake Delhomme played a whole lot

better, throwing for 308 yards, one touchdown and

one interception. He had come under fire after hav-

ing five turnovers in a blowout loss to the Eagles in

the opener. After Sunday’s defeat, he spoke with

Sporting News Today’s Ryan Fagan about his confi-

dence-boosting performance, his team’s slow start

and the Falcons’ offense.

Q: Do you feel you had a better offensive performance this

week?

A: It couldn’t get any worse than last week. I had a strong idea that we

would play better offensively than last week, but it wasn’t enough. They are a really good football team. They are extremely talented offensively. They did a good job of controlling the ball in the second half. In the end, we didn’t do enough.

Q: How important was it for you to boost your confidence early?

A: I don’t think there is any doubt. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you.

Last week, I couldn’t throw it in the ocean, but this week I felt really good out there on the field. I look to build on it and get ready for next week.

Q: How worried are you guys about your 0-2 start?

A: It’s not something you want, but that’s where we are. We can’t do

anything about that but go back and work and see what we can do. It’s still a long season, and certainly we will get questions about the 0-2 start but that is what it is. We just have to go back to work and find a way to get one win.

Q: Talk about the next-to-last series of the game. (The

Panthers advanced to the Falcons’ 17, where the drive stalled with the three

incomplete passes and an interception by cornerback Chris Houston on fourth down).

A: The defense did a good job of getting the ball back for us, and we

went down the field and we just stayed in tens: first and 10, second and 10, third and 10 and on fourth down we were anticipat-ing a little pressure so we went with the play-action. There was nothing there (on fourth down). I tried Jeff King and then (Muhsin) Muhammad and then came back to Steve (Smith). It’s fourth down and you have to try and make a play. They made more plays than us.

Q: Do you feel better after today’s game?

A: Somewhat, but this league is not about moral victories. If you are

looking for a moral victory, you have to do something else. We will go watch film tomorrow and move on.

Q&A with … Panthers QB Jake Delhomme

‘This league is not about moral victories’

JOHN BAZEMORE / AP

Panthers QB Jake Delhomme bounced back after his five turnovers in the opener, throwing for 308 yards.

BY RYAN FAGANrfagan@sportingnews.com

ATLANTA—The thought that he hadn’t cleanly plucked the football off the turf at the Geor-gia Dome never even occurred to Tony Gonzalez.

The perennial Pro Bowler was in the end zone, ball in hand, ready to celebrate his second touchdown midway through the second quarter of the Falcons’ eventual 28-20 victory against the Panthers. The referees, though, were back near the 10-yard line, waving their arms to signal an incomplete pass.

“I didn’t know they’d called it incomplete,” Gonzalez said. “In fact, I thought (the defender) hadn’t even touched me. To tell you the truth, I thought it was a touchdown. I thought it was a catch.”

It was hard to blame the refs for initially missing that one. There didn’t seem any way that Gonzalez—who dove for the ball, rolled over and then raced into the end zone—could have kept that low pass from Matt Ryan from at least grazing the artificial turf. It seemed to be a reasonable, believable decision by the refs.

Until Gonzalez saw their call and protested.

And, let’s be honest, if Tony Gonzalez—the all-time leader in receptions by a tight end—says he caught the ball, chances are he caught the ball. If Tony Gonzalez—the future Hall of Famer who joined the Falcons

this offseason via a trade from the Chiefs—points to the giant video board and implores his coach to watch the replay and then throw the challenge flag, chances are the coach shouldn’t even bother to look up at the screen. Just throw the flag and find something more produc-tive to do with those extra 10 seconds of your life.

The red flag from Falcons coach Mike Smith didn’t take long to hit the ground. Replays showed that Gonzalez, as he has many, many times in his career, slipped his hand into the tiny sliver of air between

the football and the ground, cradled the pass and had indeed made a legal 9-yard reception.

“I saw it coming down low and just went down there and tried to do what I’ve done in the past, just scoop it up,” he said. The call was reversed, and Gonzalez had yet another no-he-didn’t moment to add to his collection.

That was on third and 7 and kept the hope for better things alive. Instead of settling for a field goal, the chance for a touchdown became a real pos-sibility. And two plays later,

Ryan connected with third-string running back Jason Snel-ling for a touchdown that put the Falcons ahead 14-10, a lead they would not relinquish.

“He was a huge pickup for us,” Ryan said. “He’s done a great job, and he’s going to make plays for us throughout the year in different situations when we need him to.”

Gonzalez led the Falcons with seven catches and 71 yards. The only pass Ryan threw his way that wasn’t com-pleted was a third and goal from the 5; on that play, Gon-zalez drew a pass interference call that gave the Falcons a first down and led directly to a 1-yard run by Michael Turner that put the Falcons ahead 28-13.

Turner finished with 105 yard rushing as part of a very balanced offensive effort by the Falcons. Ryan completed 21-of-27 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, and seven different receivers caught passes. “We have a lot of weap-ons on this team,” Turner said. “And we understand that. We try to get everybody the football.”

The Falcons were a pretty good team before Gonzalez arrived, carving out an unex-pected 11-5 campaign in Ryan’s rookie season. Gonzalez’s arrival is perhaps the best hope for even better things. Instead of settling for making the play-offs, the Falcons have a chance to do some real damage in the postseason this year.

Atlanta 28, Carolina 20

Gonzalez in Hall-of-Fame form for Falcons

DAVE MARTIN / AP

A 10-time Pro Bowler, Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez had a TD among his seven catches.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 11NFL

Anquan Boldin caught eight passes for 69 yards

against Jacksonville in the Cardinals’ first win

since the NFC championship game early this year.

Afterward, Sporting News Today’s Brian McLaughlin

talked to Boldin about Kurt Warner’s big day, the

Cardinals’ offensive improvement from Week 1 and

playing in his home state.

Q: Seven of the last eight Super Bowl runners-up haven’t made

it back to the postseason. How do you think you guys can buck that trend?

A: With us, we still have a bad taste in our mouth from last year. Getting to

the Super Bowl and not being successful in it and not winning it left that bad taste in our mouth. So for us, our goal is to get back to it and win it. You want to play well in the regular season, of course, but the main thing for us is to get in there and get it done.

Q: Kurt Warner set an NFL record for completion

percentage (92.3 percent) against the Jaguars. Why did that happen today of all days?

A: Guys were open, and he was just finding open receivers. That’s not out

of his character, really, so I’m not surprised with it. If you give him time and let him stand up, he’ll pick apart any defense.

Q: Well, you were a pretty successful quarterback down at

Pahokee (Fla.) High School. How tough would it have been to get 92.3 percent?

A: Oh man, that would be tough. It must be tough, you know, because

as you can see, he’s the only person who has ever done it. But he’s a guy who takes pride in knowing where his receivers are and reading defenses and getting the ball out to the open man.

Q: So what was the difference between last week’s loss to San

Francisco and this week’s win? What changed in the last week?

A: Oh, it’s just attention to detail. Last week we came out a bit sluggish

and everybody wasn’t on the same page, especially on the offensive side of the ball. We focused on that in practice this week, making sure that didn’t happen and we didn’t kill ourselves with self-inflicted penalties.

Q: So what’s it like to get your first official win since the NFC

championship game?

A: We weren’t really worried about that at all—weren’t even thinking about it.

Q: So it doesn’t mean anything to you at all?

A: Well, it’s just good to get a win—period. Any time. It doesn’t matter

when. It’s tough to get a win in this league, so we’ll take it.

Q: How often does an NFL team trot out its backup quarterback

(Matt Leinart) in the third quarter like you guys did today, without there being an injury or something?

A: That is pretty weird. But it shows just how good we played in the first

half. Even though we were up big, we felt like we still left some plays out there on the field. We left some good opportunities out there.

Q: It’s always nice to play in your home state, right?

A: Definitely. I had a bunch of guys up here (from Pahokee). I had to get

like 110 tickets.

Arizona 31, Jacksonville 17 Q&A with … Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin

‘If you give him time, he’ll pick apart any defense’BY BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN

bmlaughlin@sportingnews.com

JACKSONVILLE—Kurt Warner said the Car-dinals weren’t “meshing” after last week’s loss to San Francisco. Something seemed to be missing, he said—the magic that guided the Cardinals to Super Bowl 43 was noticeably absent.

Of course, it was only one disappointing game—hardly a reason to dismantle the franchise for spare parts.

It’s a good thing they didn’t change any-thing, because if they had, Warner wouldn’t have broken a 16-year old NFL record for single-game pass completion percentage Sunday—and more important, the Cardinals wouldn’t have rebounded with a 31-17 road win at Jacksonville.

Warner, whose well-chronicled career has seen him go from Division I-AA to gro-cery store stocker to the Arena League to leading one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses ever with the St. Louis Rams, sim-ply seems to bounce back and redeem him-self as well as anybody. He helped send an already sparse Jacksonville crowd home early Sunday.

In Week 1, Warner threw two intercep-tions in a four-point loss. Then this week, he sets the NFL record for pass completion percentage at 92.3 percent—breaking Vinny Testaverde’s 1993 one-game record of 91.3 percent when he was with Cleve-land. Warner also tied Jake Plummer’s 1998 franchise-record mark of 15 consecu-tive pass completions. Go figure.

Warner rebounds better than an NBA power forward.

“I guess this probably means people will think I’m a little bit younger than I was last year,” said Warner, 38. “It was nice the way I played last week to come back and have this kind of game.”

Warner was so efficient, backup QB Matt Leinart got some quality playing time.

Frankly, the game was over by the third quarter and Warner was able to relax and check out the vast number of empty seats all around him. Keep in mind, this isn’t junior varsity or college football where a team is trying to get a redshirt freshman a couple snaps—this is the NFL, where start-ers rarely leave the field when playing well. Still, Warner sat for an entire quarter.

For the game, he completed 24-of-26 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. With good health, there’s a good chance he’ll surpass 30,000 passing yards and 200 passing touchdowns marks this year.

“Kurt’s found the fountain of youth somewhere,” Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “I don’t know where it is,

but we’re just blessed to have his services and he played error-free football to put our offense in a great position. When he’s back there in that kind of rhythm, it’s hard to deal with him.”

No one knows what to expect when it comes to Warner and his career. He didn’t go to a big college, but it hardly mattered less than a decade later when he was throwing for what seemed like a zillion yards with St. Louis. After St. Louis, his career appeared to be winding down, until last season.

One can be sure, he won’t be stocking cans of Campbell’s Soup and boxes of pow-dered sugar again. Instead, he’ll be rewrit-ing record books.

Cards ‘blessed’ to have Warner on the rebound

PHIL COALE / AP

Kurt Warner’s near-perfect day (24 of 26, 243 yards) set a single-game record for completion percentage.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 12NFL

JACKSONVILLE—With a huge lead, an NFL record and a sore right shoul-der, Kurt Warner headed to the bench late in the third quarter against Jacksonville.

He never expected he might have to re-enter the game. Warner com-pleted his first 15 passes and broke the NFL’s single-game record for completion percentage, and the Cardinals dominated the Jaguars in a 31-17 victory Sunday.

“Kurt’s found the fountain of youth somewhere,” teammate Larry Fitzgerald said. “I don’t know where it is, but we’re blessed to have his services. He played error-free football to put our offense in a great position. When he’s back there in that kind of rhythm, it’s hard to deal with him.”

Jacksonville trailed 24-3 after two quarters and was down 28 points before mounting a mild comeback. The only good news for the Jaguars (0-2)? Hardly anyone in Jacksonville saw it. The game was blacked out on local television, and the stands were half full.

They missed Warner put on quite a show for Arizona (1-1). He was 24 of 26 passing for 243 yards, with two touchdowns, no turnovers and no sacks. He was much sharper than he was in the opener, when he threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.

“It was nice the way I played last week to come back and have this kind of game,” Warner said.

Warner tied Jake Plummer’s franchise record by opening the game with 15 consecutive comple-tions. By completing 92.3 percent of his passes, he broke the previous NFL record set by Vinny Testaverde

in 1993. Testaverde, playing for Cleveland, completed 21-of-23 passes against the Rams.

“We didn’t let nothing go over the top,” Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis said. “If he would hit 20 balls deep, then that’s something we don’t want to be a part of. But we wanted him to check the ball down. We just have to tackle better.”

Warner hooked up with Jason Wright for a 5-yard score late in first half, then found Larry Fitzger-ald for a 22-yarder to make it 31-3 late in the third.

Not wanting to risk injury, coach Ken Whisenhunt replaced Warner with former first-round draft pick Matt Leinart. But Leinart strug-gled, and Jacksonville rallied with two David Garrard TD passes to make 31-17.

With the Jaguars driving again, Warner started getting ready. But

Garrard’s fourth-down pass into the end zone bounced off wideout Nate Hughes’ shoulder pads.

The Cardinals were finally able to celebrate after Dominique Rod-gers-Cromartie intercepted Gar-rard’s pass with 2:25 to play.

“Obviously, we weren’t making the plays necessary to continue drives,” said Garrard, who was sacked four times and fumbled three times. “We can’t keep shooting our-selves in the foot. We were the ones pretty much stopping ourselves.”

— The Associated Press

DETROIT—Brett Favre is thankful to still be playing and winning in the NFL. Adding a league record to his overflowing collection is merely a bonus.

Favre set another mark with his 271st straight start in the regular season, then threw two touchdown passes to help the Vikings (2-0) beat the Lions 27-13 on Sunday.

“Every game I play in at this point, I’m pretty grateful,” he said. “I know how difficult it is.”

The Lions, meanwhile, know how tough it is to simply win a game. They haven’t done it in almost 21 months.

Detroit looked like it might finally earn a victory with a 10-0 lead mid-way through the second quarter, but mental and physical miscues led to their 19th straight loss to match the second-longest skid in league history.

“We can’t keep making mistakes, and we can’t keep taking penalties,” center Dominic Raiola said. “We were fine in the first half, and then we stunk in the second half. I’m not pointing fingers at any one guy. This is on all of us.”

Detroit, which became the NFL’s first 0-16 team last season, desper-ately hopes it doesn’t approach Tampa Bay’s record of 26 losses in a row set during the 1976-77 seasons.

Kevin Smith blamed himself for letting the latest game slip away, setting up Adrian Peterson’s go-ahead, 27-yard TD midway through he third quarter.

“It starts with my fumble,” Smith said. “It was 10-10, and I can’t fum-ble the ball. I give it up and A.P. comes back and scores.”

After rookie quarterback

Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson to put Detroit ahead 10-0, the Vikings responded with Favre’s toss to Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone.

Favre continues to play a young man’s game less than a month away from his 40th birthday. “Can you please stop calling him Brett Favre? It’s the Silver Fox,” teammate Jared Allen joked.

Favre was 23 of 27 for 155 yards with TD passes to rookie Percy Har-vin and Shiancoe. He appeared to hurt his right hand when he got hit just before connecting with Harvin midway through the fourth quarter.

“It’s all right,” Favre insisted.On his first snap, the three-time

MVP set another NFL mark. Defen-sive end Jim Marshall had the pre-vious mark for consecutive starts,

270 games in a row for Minnesota from 1961-1979.

Minnesota shut down Stafford after he and the Lions had some success early, taking control in the second half on Peterson’s TD, Favre’s second pass for a score and Ryan Longwell’s field goals.

Stafford, the No. 1 pick in the draft, was 18 of 30 for 152 yards with a TD and two interceptions. “Matt Stafford is our starting quar-terback,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said, when asked about a possible quarterback change.

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 13NFL

Arizona 31, Jacksonville 17 Minnesota 27, Detroit 13

Warner’s record day lifts Cards

Cardinals S Antrel Rolle (21) returned a blocked field goal 83 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson rushed 15 times

for 92 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

PHIL COALE / AP

DUANE BURLESON / AP

Arizona 10 14 7 0 — 31Jacksonville 3 0 7 7 — 17

First QuarterAri: Hightower 1 run (Rackers kick), 8:07.Jac: FG Scobee 30, 4:41.Ari: FG Rackers 45, :03.Second QuarterAri: Rolle 83 blocked field goal return (Rackers kick), 11:30.Ari: Wright 5 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), :55.Third QuarterAri: Fitzgerald 22 pass from Warner (Rackers kick), 5:28.Jac: Lewis 25 pass from Garrard (Scobee kick), 1:31.Fourth QuarterJac: Sims-Walker 19 pass from Garrard (Scobee kick), 7:11.A: 46,520.

Ari JacFirst downs ...............................................22 .............................. 18Total Net Yards ........................................383 ............................ 372Rushes-yards ....................................28-118 .........................20-92Passing ....................................................265 ............................ 280Punt Returns ............................................2-0 ...........................1-11Kickoff Returns ...................................... 2-51 ...........................4-85Interceptions Ret. ....................................1-7 .............................0-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................27-32-0 .....................23-43-1Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................0-0 .............................4-2Punts .................................................. 3-46.3 ........................4-45.3Fumbles-Lost ...........................................5-2 .............................4-2Penalties-Yards ..................................... 7-58 ...........................8-50Time of Possession ...............................31:21 .........................28:39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Arizona, Hightower 15-72, B.Wells 7-44, Boldin 1-4, Stephens-Howling 1-2, Warner 1-(minus 1), Leinart 3-(minus 3). Jacksonville, Jones-Drew 13-66, Garrard 4-27, Jennings 2-1, Owens 1-(minus 2).PASSING: Arizona, Warner 24-26-0-243, Leinart 3-6-0-22. Jackson-ville, Garrard 23-43-1-282.RECEIVING: Arizona, Boldin 8-69, Breaston 5-83, Fitzgerald 4-34, Hightower 3-12, Urban 2-25, Stephens-Howling 2-14, Becht 1-16, Spach 1-7, Wright 1-5. Jacksonville, Sims-Walker 6-106, Holt 6-65, Jones-Drew 4-17, Lewis 3-62, Williamson 2-24, Hughes 2-8.MISSED FIELD GOALS: Arizona, Rackers 48 (WR). Jacksonville, Scobee 46 (BK).

Minnesota 0 7 10 10 — 27Detroit 3 7 0 3 — 13

First QuarterDet: FG Hanson 30, 5:05.Second QuarterDet: C.Johnson 8 pass from Stafford (Hanson kick), 5:40.Min: Shiancoe 1 pass from Favre (Longwell kick), 1:04.Third QuarterMin: FG Longwell 26, 8:38.Min: Peterson 27 run (Longwell kick), 7:45.Fourth QuarterMin: FG Longwell 46, 9:56.Min: Harvin 3 pass from Favre (Longwell kick), 5:58.Det: FG Hanson 48, 2:37.A: 56,269.

Min DetFirst downs ...............................................18 .............................. 17Total Net Yards ........................................265 ............................ 265Rushes-yards ....................................25-112 .......................34-129Passing ....................................................153 ............................ 136Punt Returns ......................................... 2-22 .............................1-7Kickoff Returns ...................................... 3-79 ...........................6-96Interceptions Ret. ................................. 2-49 .............................0-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................24-28-0 .....................18-30-2Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 3-16 ...........................2-16Punts .................................................. 4-42.0 ........................4-37.5Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-1 .............................2-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 5-43 ...........................6-45Time of Possession ...............................29:35 .........................30:25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Minnesota, Peterson 15-92, Harvin 2-14, Taylor 4-8, Tahi 1-1, Jackson 3-(minus 3). Detroit, K.Smith 24-83, C.Johnson 2-16, Morris 2-15, Brown 4-10, Stafford 1-7, Figurs 1-(minus 2).PASSING: Minnesota, Favre 23-27-0-155, Jackson 1-1-0-14. Detroit, Stafford 18-30-2-152.RECEIVING: Minnesota, Berrian 6-46, Harvin 5-41, Peterson 4-24, Rice 3-29, Taylor 3-20, Kleinsasser 2-8, Shiancoe 1-1. Detroit, C.Johnson 5-51, Pettigrew 4-40, Northcutt 2-15, Heller 2-10, K.Smith 2-10, Felton 1-21, Brown 1-3, FitzSimmons 1-2.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

‘Silver Fox’ rallies Vikings on road

Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin now

has two touchdowns in his first two NFL

games. That’s not a bad pace for the Vikings’

first-round pick. Harvin chatted with Sporting

News Today’s Craig Custance following the

Vikings’ 27-13 win over the Lions.

Q: The offense showed good patience in the

comeback win. Does that come from Brett Favre?

A: It’s a little bit of everybody. We know Favre is not all

the way acclimated with us yet; we still know it’s a work in progress. They blitzed us a lot, got to us in the first half. We were able to come in the second half as we did last week and got it corrected.

Q: How close were you to breaking a couple of those

kickoff returns? It looked like you were close to popping one.

A: Yeah, I actually ran into my own man and he was going

to get the kicker, and as he came across he hit my thigh. That’s one thing we’re going to keep working every week, that’s going to be a good part of our game. Hopefully, it’ll be a big part of my game to help get the team started on the short side of the field.

Q: What was it like to get the wildcat formation

some live action?

A: It’s just another weapon we have, just to throw the team

off track a little bit. It still needs a little work; we’re just putting it on tape and seeing what it looks like.

Q: How big for the confidence of the

offense was the touchdown drive before halftime?

A: It was huge. It was almost like a repeat of last week—

was able to get it going, come into halftime readjust and get back out there and stay right in rhythm. That drive was huge for us.

Q: Was it motivation not to be the first team to lose

to the Lions?

A: For us, I don’t think that’s the fact. We want to win

every game we play—definitely the road games, which is tough playing in someone else’s stadium. Us losing to the Lions, being the first team wasn’t on our mind. We want to win every game.

Q&A with ... Vikings WR Percy Harvin

‘It was almost like a repeat of last week’

DUANE BURLESON / AP

Vikings rookie Percy Harvin has scored a TD in each of his first two NFL games.

BY CRAIG CUSTANCEccustance@sportingnews.com

DETROIT—To give the record some perspective, Vikings coach Brad Childress personalized it. Follow-ing Minnesota’s 27-13 win Sunday over Detroit, Childress told every-one in the visitor’s media room to think back to where they were in 1992.

He paused briefly to let it sink in.

“A long time,” he concluded.That year, 1992, was when Brett

Favre’s steak started. On Sunday, Favre started his 271st consecutive NFL game, breaking the record held by defensive end Jim Mar-shall. The record itself didn’t seem to impress the quarterback too much. He said he was grateful, and when asked if he felt like Cal Rip-ken he basically shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess,” Favre said.He seemed more impressed

when he was told it was the 30th time he’d beaten the Lions, count-ing regular-season games and the playoffs.

“How many times?” Favre asked, surprised by the number. “Don’t blame me. I’m just doing what I should be doing. I’m more amazed that it’s been that many games.”

And ultimately that’s how the Favre experiment will be judged in Minnesota. Not games played. Wins. And not just against the Lions.

The Favre era is off to a good start, with the 2-0 Vikings alone in first place in the NFC North. He was efficient Sunday, completing 23-of-27 attempts with 155 yards.

He threw two touchdowns and wasn’t intercepted despite constant pressure from the Lions’ aggres-sive blitzing defense.

Favre the game-manager, not Favre the gunslinger, is what’s winning for the Vikings.

“I just think he’s playing within the system. I see him doing the things he needs to do,” Childress said. “It’s not like we put a new chip in his head or anything like

that.”But the win was more than Favre

handing off to Adrian Peterson and checking down to Percy Har-vin. When the Lions jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, it was Favre’s sense of urgency and experience that led them on their biggest scoring drive of the game.

Play in 271 consecutive games, and you get a feel for how a game is going. When the Lions seized

momentum on Matthew Stafford’s first career touchdown pass, Favre got a sick feeling. He’d been there before.

“I don’t want to be a part of one of these,” Favre said he thought early in the game. “For whatever reason, it was not our type of game.”

Favre made it their game. Before halftime, he led the

Vikings on a 10-play, 76-yard drive that lasted 4:36. He capped it with a touchdown pass to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. From then on, they rolled. The Vikings’ offense put up 27 consecutive points and that growing feeling that an upset was brewing, shrunk with every correct read Favre made.

With Stafford, starting his sec-ond career game, forcing throws that resulted in back-breaking turnovers, Favre’s decision-mak-ing and experience was amplified. Two-hundred and seventy-one consecutive starts, each one build-ing Favre into a quarterback who looks capable of leading these Vikings a long way.

“It’s a special day for him. I’m glad to be able to get him a win,” Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen said. “As a fan and a fan of his, it’s cool to be a part of. I can tell my kids that one day—unless he keeps on playing.

“He’s old man. That dude—can we please stop calling him Brett Favre? It’s the Silver Fox. That’s his name: ‘The Silver Fox.’ That’s a feat that I’ll never see, I’ll tell you that right now. The guy has been doing it at such a high level for so many years. He takes a big hit sometimes and keeps on going.”

Minnesota 27, Detroit 13

Nearing 40, Favre embracing role as game-manager

CARLOS OSORIO / AP

Vikings QB Brett Favre, who turns 40 on Oct. 10, set a record Sunday with his 271st straight start.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 14NFL

CHICAGO—Hounded in the opener and harassed in the early going again Sunday, Jay Cutler simply wanted a shot at redemption. He got it and finally lived up to his lofty billing.

Cutler made a big pass to Devin Hester, and Robbie Gould booted a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bears to a 17-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cutler hit rookie Johnny Knox with the tying touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. After Jeff Reed missed his second field goal of the period, a 43-yarder, Cut-ler helped set up Gould’s winning kick with a 5-yard pass to Hester on third-and-4 at the Steelers 39 that kept the winning drive going.

“I always hope to get a chance,” Cutler said. “I always think we’re going to get a chance if it’s 3 minutes or if it’s 30 seconds. All we want is a shot.”

Both teams were missing their defensive stars, with Chicago’s Brian Urlacher out for the rest of the season with a dislocated right wrist and the Steelers’ Troy Polamalu out three to six weeks with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee. The Bears also saw defensive end Alex Brown get helped off the field with a sprained left ankle with just over four minutes remaining after collecting two sacks.

Cutler, however, came through like a star on a rainy afternoon in which he was pressured and had several passes dropped. Despite all that, his first home game with the Bears (1-1) was a big improvement over his debut with them.

He finished with 236 yards and two

touchdowns, with no interceptions, after being picked off a career-high four times in a season-opening loss at Green Bay. Knox, a rookie, was impres-sive, too, with six catches for 70 yards.

That was enough to beat the defending champions and offset solid performances by Ben Roeth-lisberger and Santonio Holmes.

“In the face of pressure he made great decisions, put the ball in some good locations and guys converted third downs,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “They did enough to win, we didn’t. We accept responsi-bility for that.”

Roethlisberger threw for 221 yards and Holmes caught five passes for 83, yet Reed’s problems in the fourth quarter gave the Bears the opening they needed.

“I’m just embarrassed, you know,

because these guys fight their tails off to win the game,” Reed said. “If there is one player that can single-handedly lose the game, I’ll take credit for it.”

The Steelers weren’t about to do that.

“Not even a blink in our eyes that we’re concerned about what Jeff did,” Holmes said.

There were large seams on the field after it was re-sodded follow-ing back-to-back U2 concerts the previous weekend, a short turn-around that left Bears players sing-ing a familiar tune about the surface at the stadium owned by the Chi-cago Parks District.

— The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO—Ray Lewis took a chance, and what a chance it was.

The star linebacker shot the gap and met Darren Sproles head-on on fourth-and-2 in the closing sec-onds, with brute strength winning out over speed and shiftiness.

A game that seemingly was going to be decided by Philip Riv-ers instead was sealed by Lewis, whose big play saved a 31-26 win for the Baltimore Ravens over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

“That was probably one of the greatest plays of my career because of my team, because of what we did as a team,” said Lewis, a for-mer Super Bowl MVP, 10-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL Defen-sive Player of the Year.

The Chargers needed a touch-down to win and had the ball on Baltimore’s 15 with 33 seconds left. Lewis came in unblocked and slammed the little running back to the ground for a 5-yard loss, and the Ravens (2-0) ran out the clock.

The Chargers ran the play ear-lier but Lewis missed making the tackle. Knowing the consequences of letting the Chargers convert, Lewis said he needed to shoot the gap—and find the ball carrier.

“When the game was on the line, as soon as Philip dropped down, I shot and he was there. He was there, man,” Lewis said.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the Chargers know how to win games at the end. “I guess Ray Lewis knows a little more, he knows a little better,” Harbaugh

said. “He made the greatest foot-ball play I’ve ever seen.”

Rivers almost single-handedly kept the short-handed Chargers (1-1) in the game, throwing for a career-high 436 yards and two touchdowns. But he also had two interceptions, and San Diego had to settle for field goals four times when it had the ball at the Ravens 10 or closer.

Rivers said the Chargers ran the play they felt gave them the best chance for a first down.

“You can’t keep throwing it, throwing it and throwing it—well, you can,” Rivers said. “It was a play that we didn’t execute. It’s tough to end that way.”

Rivers tied Hall of Famer Dan Fouts for third-most passing yards in a game.

Baltimore’s Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes and Willis McGahee ran for two more.

One killer for the Chargers was their inability to score touchdowns.

The Chargers got to the Ravens 5, 2 and 1 in the first half, and had to settle for field goals each time.

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 15NFL

Chicago 17, Pittsburgh 14 Baltimore 31, San Diego 26

Kick caps Cutler-fueled comeback

Bears K Robbie Gould, right, did what his counterpart could not—make a clutch FG.

Ravens LB Ray Lewis, right, showed off his 10-time Pro Bowl pedigree on the game’s key play.

NAM Y. HUH / AP

CHRIS PARK / AP

Pittsburgh 7 0 7 0 — 14Chicago 0 7 0 10 — 17

First QuarterPit: Spaeth 1 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 4:58.Second QuarterChi: K.Davis 6 pass from Cutler (Gould kick), :19.Third QuarterPit: Roethlisberger 2 run (Reed kick), 5:26.Fourth QuarterChi: Knox 7 pass from Cutler (Gould kick), 6:21.Chi: FG Gould 44, :15.A: 62,231.

Pit ChiFirst downs ...............................................21 ....................................17Total Net Yards ........................................308 ................................. 275Rushes-yards ....................................22-105 ..............................18-43Passing ....................................................203 ................................. 232Punt Returns ......................................... 6-36 ................................2-14Kickoff Returns ...................................... 3-60 ................................3-53Interceptions Ret. ....................................0-0 ................................1-14Comp-Att-Int ...................................23-35-1 .......................... 27-38-0Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 2-18 ..................................1-4Punts .................................................. 3-54.3 .............................6-45.8Fumbles-Lost ...........................................1-1 ..................................1-0Penalties-Yards ..................................... 6-52 ..............................10-80Time of Possession ...............................30:26 .............................. 29:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Pittsburgh, Parker 14-47, Mendenhall 3-39, Moore 2-13, Roethlisberger 3-6. Chicago, Forte 13-29, Peterson 3-16, Cutler 2-(minus 2).PASSING: Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 23-35-1-221. Chicago, Cutler 27-38-0-236.RECEIVING: Pittsburgh, Ward 6-57, Holmes 5-83, Miller 3-27, Moore 3-15, Wallace 2-13, Spaeth 2-10, Mendenhall 1-13, Parker 1-3. Chi-cago, Knox 6-70, K.Davis 5-38, Forte 5-33, Hester 4-21, Olsen 3-41, Bennett 2-22, Peterson 2-11.MISSED FIELD GOALS: Pittsburgh, Reed 38 (WL), 43 (WL).

Baltimore 7 14 7 3 — 31San Diego 10 6 7 3 — 26

First QuarterSD: Sproles 81 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 9:18.Bal: McGahee 5 run (Hauschka kick), 4:49.SD: FG Kaeding 29, :44.Second QuarterBal: McGahee 3 run (Hauschka kick), 10:50.SD: FG Kaeding 22, 3:00.Bal: K.Washington 27 pass from Flacco (Hauschka kick), 1:38.SD: FG Kaeding 23, :08.Third QuarterBal: Heap 9 pass from Flacco (Hauschka kick), 8:24.SD: Jackson 35 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 2:26.Fourth QuarterSD: FG Kaeding 25, 7:11.Bal: FG Hauschka 33, 2:54.A: 66,882.

Bal SDFirst downs ...............................................22 .............................. 20Total Net Yards ........................................311 ............................ 474Rushes-yards ....................................32-130 .........................21-53Passing ....................................................181 ............................ 421Punt Returns ............................................0-0 .............................0-0Kickoff Returns .................................... 6-152 .........................5-150Interceptions Ret. ................................. 2-12 ...........................1-22Comp-Att-Int ...................................18-27-1 .....................25-45-2Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................1-9 ...........................2-15Punts .................................................. 4-41.5 ........................2-37.5Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-0 .............................1-0Penalties-Yards ..................................... 4-32 .........................12-85Time of Possession ...............................28:41 .........................31:19

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Baltimore, McGahee 15-79, Rice 8-36, L.McClain 4-12, Flacco 5-3. San Diego, Sproles 10-26, Bennett 4-19, Rivers 4-10, Hester 2-3, Naanee 1-(minus 5).PASSING: Baltimore, Flacco 17-26-1-190, Clayton 1-1-0-0. San Diego, Rivers 25-45-2-436.RECEIVING: Baltimore, Rice 5-46, K.Washington 4-58, Mason 3-31, L.McClain 2-16, McGahee 2-10, Clayton 1-20, Heap 1-9. San Diego, Sproles 7-124, Jackson 6-141, Gates 5-78, Chambers 2-30, Bennett 2-3, Floyd 1-45, Naanee 1-8, Manumaleuna 1-7.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Lewis still Ravens’ man on the spot

GREEN BAY—Watching the clock about to tick down to 0:02, Aaron Rodgers took the snap, faked a spike and looked to the end zone.

For a split second, it looked like the Bengals were about to blow their second last-minute lead in as many weeks—and Rodgers was about to pull off his second late comeback of the season.

But the Bengals (1-1) were bailed out by a false-start penalty and barely salvaged a 31-24 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

“We didn’t do enough to win the game last week, and you get what you deserve,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “Today, we were able to make one or two more plays and win the football game and that’s what counts. I think our football team understands that.”

One week after a gut-wrenching last-minute loss to Denver on a deflected pass that went for a touch-down in their opener, the Bengals nearly outdid themselves by blow-ing a 10-point lead in the final min-ute Sunday.

The Packers (1-1) kicked a late field goal to cut the lead to a touchdown and then recovered an onside kick.

“The crowd cheered and I was like, ‘Come on, now,’ “ Bengals rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga said. “It was kind of deja vu all over again. But with the defense out there, everyone holding their ground, we did a great job.”

Rodgers then marched the Pack-ers to the Cincinnati 10-yard line with the clock running down, but Green Bay was called for the false start to end the game. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said officials told

him the call was on wide receiver Greg Jennings.

“I was surprised by that, to say the least,” McCarthy said.

The Bengals were cruising to a win until then, breaking a 21-all tie when Chad Ochocinco caught a 13-yard TD pass from Carson Palmer in the third quarter and delivered on his promise to perform a “Lambeau leap.”

Ochocinco ran toward the stands and spotted a small group of fans in Bengals orange in the front row near the end zone, then leaped into them.

“It was fun,” Ochocinco said. “I had a little indecision on where to jump at first. I didn’t want to disre-spect their tradition, so I was ask-ing as I went along the line. I saw

some Bengals fans that said it was OK.”

Defensive end Antwan Odom tied a single-game team mark with five sacks, three of which came after Packers left tackle Chad Clif-ton injured his ankle and was carted off early in the third quarter.

Pass protection also was an issue in the Packers’ Week 1 victory over Chicago.

“He’s a good player,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “But we’ve got to protect better, myself included.”

— The Associated Press

NASHVILLE—Don’t call the Hous-ton Texans a finesse team. Not after standing toe to toe with the Tennessee Titans and pulling a victory out of a slugfest.

Matt Schaub overshadowed Chris Johnson’s career day by throwing for four touchdowns to go with 357 yards.

Kris Brown kicked a 23-yard field goal in the closing minutes, and Houston ruined Tennessee’s home opener with a 34-31 victory Sunday.

Johnson scored three touch-downs and ran for 197 yards.

The Texans spent the past week answering questions about their toughness after being embar-rassed by the Jets 24-7. Coach Gary Kubiak said the win didn’t answer any questions about Houston’s toughness, though what he liked best Sunday was how Houston battled back after trailing 21-7 early in the second quarter.

“It says a lot about what your guys stand for,” Kubiak said.

The celebration inside the Tex-ans’ locker room easily could be heard outside before the doors opened.

“It started off ugly, but we talked last night as a team and we said all we have was each other,” Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson said. “No one was giving us a chance to win this game.”

They also sent the Titans (0-2) skidding a different direction after starting 10-0 last season.

“We’ve got some work to do,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.

After Brown kicked the go-ahead field goal with 2:55 left, the defending AFC South champs had

one last chance—until Kerry Col-lins dropped the ball with 1:32 left and Jeff Zgonina recovered for Houston.

That ruined Chris Johnson’s career day. He also had 87 yards receiving.

The game was a shootout with the score tied four different times—and a slugfest with Titans defen-sive tackle Jason Jones ejected for throwing a punch in a sideline scrum in the fourth quarter. He left to cheers from fans upset with the officiating.

“I was told he went into the bench swinging, and if he does he should be kicked out and should be fined substantially if he did it,” Fisher said. “I have to find out. I didn’t see it.”

Houston sacked Collins once

and intercepted him once. Tennessee kept Steve Slaton

from reaching 100 yards on its defense for a third consecutive game, holding him to 34 yards on 17 carries. But the Titans couldn’t get to Schaub enough, and he repeatedly found open receivers downfield.

Schaub threw two touchdowns to Andre Johnson and completed 25-of-39 passes as Houston looked like the offense that was the NFL’s third-best in 2008.

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 16NFL

Cincinnati 31, Green Bay 24 Houston 34, Tennessee 31

Blitzing Bengals hold off Packers

Bengals RB Cedric Benson (32) pounded on the Packers’ defense, carrying 29 times for 141 yards.

Texans WR Andre Johnson (80), being tackled by CB Nick Harper, riddled the Titans’ defense with 149 receiving yards and two TDs.

ANDY MANIS / AP

WADE PAYNE / AP

Cincinnati 7 14 7 3 — 31Green Bay 14 7 0 3 — 24

First QuarterCin: Coles 5 pass from C.Palmer (Graham kick), 8:31.GB: Driver 3 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick), 3:23.GB: Grant 4 run (Crosby kick), 2:22.Second QuarterCin: C.Palmer 1 run (Graham kick), 10:21.GB: Woodson 37 interception return (Crosby kick), 7:46.Cin: Henry 5 pass from C.Palmer (Graham kick), 1:24.Third QuarterCin: Ochocinco 13 pass from C.Palmer (Graham kick), 1:09.Fourth QuarterCin: FG Graham 40, 1:56.GB: FG Crosby 45, :45.A: 70,678.

Cin GBFirst downs ...............................................19 .............................. 22Total Net Yards ........................................319 ............................ 311Rushes-yards ....................................34-151 .........................18-89Passing ....................................................168 ............................ 222Punt Returns ....................................... 5-114 .............................0-0Kickoff Returns ...................................... 3-67 .........................5-113Interceptions Ret. ....................................0-0 ...........................2-59Comp-Att-Int ...................................15-23-2 .....................21-39-0Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 2-17 ...........................6-39Punts .................................................. 4-46.3 ........................6-43.2Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-0 .............................2-1Penalties-Yards .................................13-100 .........................11-76Time of Possession ...............................33:48 .........................26:12

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Cincinnati, Benson 29-141, Scott 2-7, Coles 1-2, C.Palmer 2-1. Green Bay, Grant 14-46, Rodgers 4-43.PASSING: Cincinnati, C.Palmer 15-23-2-185. Green Bay, Rodgers 21-39-0-261.RECEIVING: Cincinnati, Ochocinco 4-91, Coats 2-26, Leonard 2-17, Caldwell 2-16, Coles 2-9, Foschi 1-12, J.Johnson 1-9, Henry 1-5. Green Bay, Driver 6-99, Finley 4-56, D.Lee 4-28, Grant 3-22, J.Jones 2-24, Havner 1-21, Nelson 1-11.MISSED FIELD GOALS: Green Bay, Crosby 55.

Houston 7 17 7 3 — 34Tennessee 14 10 7 0 — 31

First QuarterTen: Johnson 57 run (Bironas kick), 8:31.Hou: A.Johnson 19 pass from Schaub (K.Brown kick), 2:13.Ten: Johnson 69 pass from Collins (Bironas kick), 1:19.Second QuarterTen: Washington 8 pass from Collins (Bironas kick), 12:00.Hou: A.Johnson 72 pass from Schaub (K.Brown kick), 11:44.Hou: Jones 29 pass from Schaub (K.Brown kick), 10:35.Hou: FG K.Brown 38, 2:13.Ten: FG Bironas 40, :02.Third QuarterTen: Johnson 91 run (Bironas kick), 9:53.Hou: Daniels 1 pass from Schaub (K.Brown kick), 1:15.Fourth QuarterHou: FG K.Brown 23, 2:55.A: 69,143.

Hou TenFirst downs ...............................................19 .............................. 19Total Net Yards ........................................420 ............................ 449Rushes-yards ...................................... 29-63 .......................26-240Passing ....................................................357 ............................ 209Punt Returns ......................................... 3-14 ...........................4-25Kickoff Returns ...................................... 3-50 .........................7-136Interceptions Ret. ................................. 1-13 .............................0-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................25-39-0 .....................21-33-1Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................0-0 .............................1-7Punts .................................................. 6-51.8 ........................5-47.8Fumbles-Lost ...........................................3-0 .............................3-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 6-40 ...........................8-64Time of Possession ...............................34:03 .........................25:57

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Houston, Slaton 17-34, C.Brown 8-25, Schaub 4-4. Tennessee, Johnson 16-197, White 6-25, Washington 1-14, Col-lins 3-4.PASSING: Houston, Schaub 25-39-0-357. Tennessee, Collins 21-33-1-216.RECEIVING: Houston, A.Johnson 10-149, Daniels 6-72, Dreessen 3-31, Slaton 3-25, Jones 2-73, Anderson 1-7. Tennessee, Johnson 9-87, Crumpler 4-44, Washington 4-36, Gage 2-27, Britt 2-22.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Texans torch Titans with passing game

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y.— One moment it appeared as if Terrell Owens would be a non-factor in his second game with the Bills. The next, fans were celebrating by spilling popcorn all over Ralph Wilson Stadium.

With the Bills offense needing a spark, Owens provided it by scor-ing on a 43-yard touchdown catch five minutes into the fourth quarter, helping cap a 33-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

With the help of an opportunistic defensive effort led by safety Donte Whitner, the Bills put aside the lin-gering frustrations that followed last week’s season-opening 25-24 loss to New England in which Buf-falo squandered an 11-point lead in the final 2:06. Running back Fred Jackson added a career-best 163 yards rushing on 28 carries.

Owens didn’t stick around after the game to talk about it. He’s appar-ently unhappy with how he was questioned by some members of the media when he refused to talk fol-lowing the loss to the Patriots.

T.O.’s teammates were excited after seeing Owens’ deep-threat presence finally pay off—the touch-down coming after he’d been lim-ited to two catches for 9 yards and after the Bills had nearly blown a 17-0 lead of their own.

“I was excited and he was excited,” quarterback Trent Edwards said. “I don’t really recall what was said, but I’m honestly hoping that that continues to happen. I think that’s why we have him.”

Edwards showed faith in Owens by hitting him in stride at the goal line, a step ahead of cornerback Aqib Talib.

For Edwards, it was a sign that he

is beginning to shed the label of “Captain Checkdown” he earned this preseason. Showing he wasn’t afraid to go deep, Edwards also hit Lee Evans on a 32-yard touchdown to open the scoring and finished 21 of 31 for 230 yards with two touch-downs and an interception.

“It comes down to opportunities. I think Trent wasn’t afraid to take any chances,” Evans said. “You always have to have that threat of the deep play. I think we put it on the table today that we would.”

The win ended Buffalo’s five-game home losing streak, and came in Owens’ first game at home since signing a one-year deal in March.

It helped that the Bills capitalized against a once-respected Bucca-neers defense that continues to give up deep passes following a 34-21 loss to Dallas in Week 1.

In two games under rookie head coach Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay has allowed 900 yards of offense, including 438 against Buffalo.

“They dialed up some things on us that we should have stopped but we didn’t,” veteran cornerback Ronde Barber said. “Ask the coaches that. I’m not willing to make a state-ment on that.”

— The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO—Frank Gore kept an eye on the scoreboard as he ran like mad, making sure nobody caught him on the way to the end zone.

And it wasn’t even close.“Yeah, I was looking up there,”

Gore said with a grin of his regu-lar practice. “I ran all day.”

Gore’s spectacular afternoon single-handedly re-established the run game for San Francisco.

Gore had touchdown runs of 79 and a career-best 80 yards and fin-ished with 207 yards on 16 carries, and the 49ers beat the Seattle Sea-hawks 23-10 to take an early hold atop the NFC West standings.

“I told myself, ‘I’m not looking back,’” Gore said. “I told myself: ‘Hey, if they’re going to catch me, they’re going to catch me. I’m just going to look straight ahead.’”

Gore nearly reached his franchise mark of 212 yards set in 2006 before leaving the game in the fourth quar-ter with a sprained right ankle that wasn’t considered serious. He became only the second player in NFL history to have two TD runs of 79 or more yards in the same game, joining Barry Sanders. Sanders had runs of 80 and 82 yards at Tampa Bay on Oct. 12, 1997.

“Hey, I’m happy. I didn’t know that,” Gore said. “We’re 2-0 in our division. We proved to a lot of peo-ple we’re getting better and better.”

Seattle (1-1), coming off a 28-0 season-opening win at St. Louis, took a big blow losing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to a rib injury just

before halftime following a hard hit near the goal line by Patrick Willis. Hasselbeck didn’t return after completing 10-of-18 passes for 97 yards and no touchdowns.

He was taken to a hospital for X-rays and a CT scan. X-rays were negative while the CT scan was inconclusive and Hasselbeck rejoined his teammates for the 2-hour flight home.

“It is a rib bruise at this point,” coach Jim Mora said. “He’s doing much better ... he’s feeling much more comfortable. We believe at this point, and it’s very prelimi-nary, that he’s going to be OK.”

Gore also posted just the third 200-yard rushing game in team history. His 246 total yards from scrimmage Sunday were a career high, topping the 238 he had in that ’06 game with the Seahawks.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen any-thing like that,” quarterback Shaun Hill said. “He was moving.”

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 17NFL

Buffalo 33, Tampa Bay 20 San Francisco 23, Seattle 10

T.O.’s show arrives just in time

After spending nearly two full games as a nonfactor, Bills WR Terrell Owens came up big.

49ers RB Frank Gore (21) turned in touchdown runs of 79 and 80 yards.

MIKE GROLL / AP

MARCIO SANCHEZ / AP

Tampa Bay 0 14 0 6 — 20Buffalo 17 3 0 13 — 33

First QuarterBuf: Evans 32 pass from Edwards (Lindell kick), 11:31.Buf: Whitner 76 interception return (Lindell kick), 6:16.Buf: FG Lindell 31, :09.Second QuarterTB: Winslow 42 pass from Leftwich (Nugent kick), 12:55.Buf: FG Lindell 43, 9:50.TB: Williams 8 pass from Leftwich (Nugent kick), :27.Fourth QuarterBuf: FG Lindell 27, 11:23.Buf: Owens 43 pass from Edwards (Lindell kick), 9:16.TB: Stevens 6 pass from Leftwich (pass failed), 5:27.Buf: FG Lindell 20, 1:57.A: 70,318.

TB BufFirst downs ...............................................19 ....................................25Total Net Yards ........................................353 ................................. 438Rushes-yards ...................................... 19-57 ............................35-218Passing ....................................................296 ................................. 220Punt Returns ............................................1-5 ................................3-31Kickoff Returns .................................... 5-132 ................................4-71Interceptions Ret. ................................. 1-25 ..............................2-103Comp-Att-Int ...................................26-50-2 .......................... 21-31-1Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................2-0 ................................2-10Punts .................................................. 6-43.0 .............................3-47.3Fumbles-Lost ...........................................1-0 ..................................1-1Penalties-Yards .................................13-112 ................................7-55Time of Possession ...............................30:27 .............................. 29:33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Tampa Bay, Ward 9-32, Graham 2-16, Williams 7-9, Leftwich 1-0. Buffalo, Jackson 28-163, Edwards 3-24, Owens 1-13, Omon 2-9, Parrish 1-9.PASSING: Tampa Bay, Leftwich 26-50-2-296. Buffalo, Edwards 21-31-1-230.RECEIVING: Tampa Bay, Winslow 7-90, Williams 7-56, Stovall 3-80, Stevens 3-24, Clayton 2-27, Stroughter 1-10, Ward 1-5, Graham 1-3, Smith 1-1. Buffalo, Schouman 6-62, Jackson 6-25, Reed 4-46, Owens 3-52, Evans 1-32, Nelson 1-13.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Seattle 0 10 0 0 — 10San Francisco 10 3 7 3 — 23

First QuarterSF: FG Nedney 37, 5:38.SF: Gore 79 run (Nedney kick), 2:36.Second QuarterSea: FG Mare 36, 10:04.SF: FG Nedney 42, 2:57.Sea: J.Jones 1 pass from S.Wallace (Mare kick), :22.Third QuarterSF: Gore 80 run (Nedney kick), 14:49.Fourth QuarterSF: FG Nedney 39, 6:53.A: 69,732.

Sea SFFirst downs ...............................................19 .............................. 16Total Net Yards ........................................283 ............................ 379Rushes-yards ...................................... 23-66 .......................29-256Passing ....................................................217 ............................ 123Punt Returns ......................................... 4-40 ...........................5-35Kickoff Returns .................................... 6-112 ...........................1-20Interceptions Ret. ....................................0-0 .............................1-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................25-41-1 .....................19-27-0Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................1-7 ...........................4-21Punts .................................................. 7-52.1 ........................6-46.8Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-0 .............................2-0Penalties-Yards ..................................... 6-45 ...........................6-54Time of Possession ...............................25:29 .........................34:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Seattle, Forsett 5-35, Hasselbeck 3-12, J.Jones 8-11, James 2-6, S.Wallace 4-1, Griffith 1-1. San Francisco, Gore 16-207, S.Hill 1-17, Norris 2-16, Coffee 9-13, Spurlock 1-3.PASSING: Seattle, S.Wallace 15-23-1-127, Hasselbeck 10-18-0-97. San Francisco, S.Hill 19-26-0-144, Spurlock 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: Seattle, Forsett 6-57, Carlson 6-46, Houshmandza-deh 4-62, Burleson 4-46, J.Jones 3-(minus 2), Butler 1-15, Griffith 1-0. San Francisco, Gore 5-39, Bruce 4-35, Norris 3-17, V.Davis 2-32, Coffee 2-16, Robinson 2-4, Battle 1-1.MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

‘I ran all day:’16 carries, 207 yards for Gore

LANDOVER, MD.—After the final whistle, after an afternoon with as many boos as cheers from the home fans, the Redskins retreated to a quiet locker room.

Anyone walking in would think they had lost.

As tight end Chris Cooley put it: “Everyone was a little down in here.”

Then special teams coach Danny Smith spoke up.

“In the middle of Danny Smith’s speech, he said: ‘Well, we kicked three damn field goals,’ ” Cooley said. “And everyone laughed.”

The Redskins narrowly avoided an unthinkable meltdown Sun-day, beating the rebuilding Rams 9-7 in a result that leaves serious doubt whether Washington can be competitive in the tough NFC East.

Failing to score a touchdown against a team with only two vic-tories since the beginning of last season was no reason to celebrate.

“We did what we had to do to win this game,” center Casey Rabach said. “You can’t keep on doing this, that’s for sure.”

Shaun Suisham kicked field goals of 21, 28 and 23 yards as the Redskins (1-1) had four drives of more than 60 yards that faltered inside the 10. They put the game away—more or less—with a 78-yard drive that ended on fourth down at the 2 with less than two minutes to play, leaving the Rams (0-2) with too far to go and not enough time to get there.

But that wasn’t enough to sat-isfy the fans, who booed even as the Redskins kicked the field goal

that gave them the lead for good in the third quarter.

“I understand that they want us to beat the Rams by 40,” said Cooley, who led the Redskins with seven catches for 83 yards. “But we still won, and if we continue to win games, that’s great. The boo-ing was unnecessary.”

The Redskins also took a hit to their thin offensive line. Right guard Randy Thomas strained his right triceps in the first half, an injury that appears serious.

He will be re-evaluated today, but his teammates spoke as if he won’t be playing again anytime soon.

The Rams, who got one of their two wins last season in a stunning victory at Washington, were the only team in the NFL not to score last week.

— The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY—On one of the most miserable days of his career, JaMa-rcus Russell got more than a win. He also put his name in the Raid-ers’ history book.

Missing high, low and every-where in-between, the No. 1-overall pick of the ’07 draft completed only 7-of-24 passes for 109 yards. But Russell came into focus when he had to, engineering a 69-yard scor-ing march in the final two minutes for a wildly improbable 13-10 vic-tory over mistake-prone Kansas City.

The Chiefs outgained the Raiders 409-166 as Russell became just the second quarterback since the start of the ’97 season to attempt 20-plus passes and complete less than 30 percent of them and still win.

And it’s the first time in the Raid-ers’ 50-year history they’ve emerged with a victory after giving up more than 400 yards and gain-ing fewer than 200.

“I felt really good. The ball was just coming out different for me,” Russell said. “Other than that, I felt good.”

Russell’s teammates knew it was a fight from start to finish.

“From the first quarter all the way to the fourth quarter it was a struggle for us, until the last two or three minutes left in the game,” said Darren McFadden, whose 5-yard touchdown run around left end with 1:07 left made the difference. “It’s probably one of the strangest wins. But a win is a win.”

Matt Cassel, making his long-awaited Kansas City debut after being out a month with a knee injury, had given the Chiefs (0-2) the lead with a 29-yard touchdown

strike to Dwayne Bowe with 2:38 to go. Cassel wound up throwing for 241 yards.

Oakland’s victory might not have seemed so improbable to coach Todd Haley.

“When you have nine penalties, two turnovers and a couple other lapses, you’re not going to win most of the time,” Haley said. “We didn’t get the result we wanted. We’re going to have a smart team here. Nine penalties and a couple of those things don’t reflect a smart team.”

While Cassel clearly outplayed Russell, he did make one mistake Russell did not. Russell avoided interceptions while two of Cassel’s passes wound up in the arms of Oakland safety Michael Huff.

Russell hit Louis Murphy for 19 yards and connected with Todd Watkins for 28 on the nine-play touchdown drive. McFadden took a pitch and sped untouched around the right side of the Chiefs defense.

— The Associated Press

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 18NFL

Washington 9, St. Louis 7 Oakland 13, Kansas City 10

Sputtering Redskins ‘a little down’

Redskins TE Chris Cooley (47) had seven catches, but couldn’t get to this one in the end zone.

Raiders RB Darren McFadden (20) scored the winning touchdown with 1:07 to play.

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / AP

ED ZURGA / AP

St. Louis 0 7 0 0 — 7Washington 3 3 3 0 — 9

First QuarterWas: FG Suisham 21, 4:57.Second QuarterWas: FG Suisham 28, 7:58.StL: Robinson 2 pass from Bulger (Jo.Brown kick), 3:56.Third QuarterWas: FG Suisham 23, 6:27.A: 87,780. StL WasFirst downs ...............................................14 ....................................21Total Net Yards ........................................245 ................................. 362Rushes-yards ....................................21-126 ............................33-125Passing ....................................................119 ................................. 237Punt Returns ......................................... 2-13 ................................1-15Kickoff Returns ...................................... 4-55 ................................2-44Interceptions Ret. ....................................0-0 ..................................0-0Comp-Att-Int ...................................15-28-0 .......................... 23-36-0Sacked-Yards Lost ....................................1-6 ..................................1-5Punts .................................................. 4-43.3 .............................2-48.0Fumbles-Lost ...........................................2-1 ..................................2-1Penalties-Yards ..................................... 6-45 ................................5-35Time of Possession ...............................25:07 .............................. 34:53

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: St. Louis, Jackson 17-104, Darby 2-13, Bulger 2-9. Wash-ington, Portis 19-79, Campbell 7-28, Betts 4-13, Mason 3-5.PASSING: St. Louis, Bulger 15-28-0-125. Washington, Campbell 23-35-0-242, Portis 0-1-0-0.RECEIVING: St. Louis, Robinson 6-54, Jackson 4-15, Burton 2-38, McMichael 2-14, Avery 1-4. Washington, Cooley 7-83, Kelly 4-41, Randle El 4-39, Moss 3-35, Portis 2-9, Betts 1-25, Sellers 1-12, Davis 1-(minus 2).MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Oakland 0 3 3 7 — 13Kansas City 3 0 0 7 — 10

First QuarterKC: FG Succop 23, 2:01.Second QuarterOak: FG Janikowski 48, 4:45.Third QuarterOak: FG Janikowski 54, 8:33.Fourth QuarterKC: Bowe 29 pass from Cassel (Succop kick), 2:38.Oak: McFadden 5 run (Janikowski kick), 1:07.A: 69,169.

Oak KCFirst downs ...............................................11 .............................. 25Total Net Yards ........................................166 ............................ 409Rushes-yards ...................................... 25-67 .......................38-173Passing ......................................................99 ............................ 236Punt Returns ............................................2-0 ...........................6-57Kickoff Returns ...................................... 2-41 .............................0-0Interceptions Ret. ....................................2-8 .............................0-0Comp-Att-Int .....................................7-24-0 .....................24-39-2Sacked-Yards Lost ................................. 2-10 .............................2-5Punts .................................................. 7-56.9 ........................5-43.6Fumbles-Lost ...........................................1-0 .............................1-0Penalties-Yards ..................................... 7-45 ...........................9-70Time of Possession ...............................21:21 .........................38:39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Oakland, McFadden 12-35, Bush 9-35, O’Neal 1-0, Russell 3-(minus 3). Kansas City, L.Johnson 24-78, Cassel 5-34, Savage 3-26, Battle 5-19, Lawrence 1-16.PASSING: Oakland, Russell 7-24-0-109. Kansas City, Cassel 24-39-2-241.RECEIVING: Oakland, Murphy 2-26, McFadden 2-20, Watkins 1-28, Heyward-Bey 1-18, Bush 1-17. Kansas City, Wade 6-72, Savage 6-43, Bowe 5-56, L.Johnson 3-41, Cox 1-16, Engram 1-12, Ryan 1-7, Battle 1-(minus 6).MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.

Raiders overcome Russell’s struggles

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 19NFL

DENVER—The Denver Broncos didn’t need a miracle finish to beat the Cleve-land Browns—just a defense that’s gone from deplorable to dominant.

Pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil tied a franchise record with four sacks—all in the second half—and linebacker Andra Davis had 10 tackles against his old team in leading Denver to a 27-6 win Sunday.

Dumervil also forced a fumble as the Broncos (2-0) caused three turn-overs and bottled up Brady Quinn.

“Man, that was amazing. You don’t see a guy get four sacks in one half,” Davis marveled. “He really turned it on.”

The entire defense did, limiting the Browns, who have scored just one touchdown in their last 33 quarters, to 200 yards of offense, just 56 of that on the ground.

The Broncos, who beat Cincinnati last week on Brandon Stokley’s 87-yard touchdown catch with 11 sec-onds left, are unbeaten under new coach Josh McDaniels, who worked with Browns coach Eric Mangini in New England. Mangini’s new team is 0-2.

Despite appearances, Dumervil said he’s still a work in progress in the Broncos’ new 3-4 scheme.

“Yeah, I guess I’m a linebacker now,” he said. “It’s fun, though. I get to play linebacker and I still get to do what I love—rush the passer. I’ve found my niche. ... It makes me a com-plete player.”

Dumervil said he has a long way to go to feel comfortable in the 3-4, but it’s proving the perfect fit for this unorthodox player who has long arms for a man who stands just 5-11, as Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas saw over and over Sunday.

“You are reaching for him but he can get his hands on you first and he’s got leverage and he can get under-neath you and just push you back to the quarterback,” McDaniels said. “His skills set is pretty much alone in this league.”

So, Dumervil often finds himself standing over a crumpled quarter-back with a big lineman sprawled out behind him.

“I’ve been going through it all my life,” Dumervil said. “It’s easy for me. I have instant leverage, I guess.”

Quinn finished 18 of 31 for 161 yards and an interception on his final toss.

“They’re tough,” Quinn said. “Across the board they have a lot of talent. Schematically, they do a good job game-planning.”

Denver quarterback Kyle Orton, who completed 19-of-37 passes for 263

yards and a touchdown, was having another ordinary day until he hit Jabar Gaffney with a 49-yard pass that led to Peyton Hillis’ 2-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter.

That broke open a 13-6 game and atoned for Hillis’ lost fumble on the opening kickoff.

Running back Correll Buckhalter then broke free for a 45-yard touch-down rumble that made it 27-6.

Asked if he was tempted to bench Quinn, who’s been sacked nine times already, in favor of Derek Anderson, Mangini said: “What I’m looking to do is play better across the board.”

— The Associated Press

Standings

Schedule

AFCEast W L T Pct PF PA Home Away AFC NFC Div

N.Y. Jets 2 0 0 1.000 40 16 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0New England 1 1 0 .500 34 40 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-1-0Buffalo 1 1 0 .500 57 45 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0Miami 0 1 0 .000 7 19 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0

South W L T Pct PF PA Home Away AFC NFC Div

Indianapolis 1 0 0 1.000 14 12 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0Houston 1 1 0 .500 41 55 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-0Jacksonville 0 2 0 .000 29 45 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0Tennessee 0 2 0 .000 41 47 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

North W L T Pct PF PA Home Away AFC NFC Div

Baltimore 2 0 0 1.000 69 50 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0Pittsburgh 1 1 0 .500 27 27 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-0-0Cincinnati 1 1 0 .500 38 36 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0Cleveland 0 2 0 .000 26 61 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0

West W L T Pct PF PA Home Away AFC NFC Div

Denver 2 0 0 1.000 39 13 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0San Diego 1 1 0 .500 50 51 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-0Oakland 1 1 0 .500 33 34 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-1-0Kansas City 0 2 0 .000 34 51 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

NFCEast W L T Pct PF PA Home Away NFC AFC Div

N.Y. Giants 2 0 0 1.000 56 48 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 2-0-0Dallas 1 1 0 .500 65 54 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0Philadelphia 1 1 0 .500 60 58 0-1-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0Washington 1 1 0 .500 26 30 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

South W L T Pct PF PA Home Away NFC AFC Div

Atlanta 2 0 0 1.000 47 27 2-0-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0New Orleans 2 0 0 1.000 93 49 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 0-0-0Carolina 0 2 0 .000 30 66 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-1-0Tampa Bay 0 2 0 .000 41 67 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-0

North W L T Pct PF PA Home Away NFC AFC Div

Minnesota 2 0 0 1.000 61 33 0-0-0 2-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0Green Bay 1 1 0 .500 45 46 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0Chicago 1 1 0 .500 32 35 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0Detroit 0 2 0 .000 40 72 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

West W L T Pct PF PA Home Away NFC AFC Div

San Francisco 2 0 0 1.000 43 26 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-0 2-0-0Seattle 1 1 0 .500 38 23 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 0-0-0 1-1-0Arizona 1 1 0 .500 47 37 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0St. Louis 0 2 0 .000 7 37 0-0-0 0-2-0 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

Today’s gameIndianapolis at Miami, 8:30 p.m.Sunday, Sept. 27Washington at Detroit, 1 p.m.Tennessee at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.Green Bay at St. Louis, 1 p.m.Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

San Francisco at Minnesota, 1 p.m.Jacksonville at Houston, 1 p.m.Atlanta at New England, 1 p.m.N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.Kansas City at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.Chicago at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.New Orleans at Buffalo, 4:05 p.m.

Miami at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.Denver at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 4:15 p.m.Indianapolis at Arizona, 8:20 p.m.Monday, Sept. 28Carolina at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

Denver 27, Cleveland 6

Cleveland 6 0 0 0 — 6Denver 7 3 3 14 — 27

First QuarterCle: FG Dawson 22, 12:22.Den: Scheffler 2 pass from Orton (Prater kick), 8:03.Cle: FG Dawson 47, 1:49.Second QuarterDen: FG Prater 23, 11:42.Third QuarterDen: FG Prater 38, 10:39.Fourth QuarterDen: Hillis 2 run (Prater kick), 12:18.Den: Buckhalter 45 run (Prater kick), 8:24.A: 73,931.

Cle DenFirst downs ..................................................11 ................................. 25Total Net Yards ...........................................200 ............................... 449Rushes-yards ......................................... 21-54 ......................... 37-186Passing .......................................................146 ............................... 263Punt Returns ............................................ 2-24 ..............................3-10Kickoff Returns ......................................... 3-60 ..............................2-46Interceptions Ret. .......................................0-0 ................................1-3Comp-Att-Int ......................................18-31-1 ........................19-37-0Sacked-Yards Lost .................................... 4-15 ................................0-0Punts ..................................................... 6-45.3 ...........................2-54.5Fumbles-Lost ..............................................2-2 ................................1-1Penalties-Yards ........................................ 4-43 ..............................5-50Time of Possession ..................................27:16 ............................32:44

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING: Cleveland, Lewis 14-38, Harrison 3-8, Quinn 3-4, Cribbs 1-4. Denver, Buckhalter 9-76, Moreno 17-75, Jordan 7-19, Marshall 1-14, Hillis 1-2, Orton 2-0.PASSING: Cleveland, Quinn 18-31-1-161. Denver, Orton 19-37-0-263.RECEIVING: Cleveland, Edwards 6-92, Cribbs 5-22, Harrison 4-24, Royal 1-13, Lewis 1-8, Furrey 1-2. Denver, Stokley 5-70, Gaffney 3-82, Marshall 3-34, Royal 3-20, Moreno 2-22, Buckhalter 1-30, Graham 1-3, Scheffler 1-2.MISSED FIELD GOALS: Denver, Prater 39 (WL), 37 (WL).

Dumervil’s four sacks highlights defensive effort

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

Denver’s Elvis Dumervil reached Cleveland QB Brady Quinn in the backfield four times.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 20NFL

MIAMI—Pat White never pinch-hit in high school because he was always in the starting lineup.

Drafted by the Angels, Reds and Yan-kees, White eventually decided to focus on football instead of baseball, and now he has a pinch-hitting role with the Miami Dolphins.

The rookie quarterback came off the bench three times in the season opener, taking one snap each time with the Dolphins looking for a home run. The latest wrinkle in the Dol-phins’ innovative offense failed to generate points, and Miami will need to be more pro-ductive tonight to keep up with Indianapolis and Peyton Manning.

“With our offense, there’s a lot of big-play potential,” White said.

It went unrealized in the first game, a 19-7 loss at Atlanta. The offense was a flop even though the Dolphins dipped into their expanding bag of tricks, which includes the Wildcat package that revital-ized the franchise last year as Miami made an improbable run to the playoffs.

The formation takes advantage of the Dol-phins’ depth at running back by getting Ron-nie Brown, Ricky Williams and Patrick Cobbs on the field at the same time.

“They like getting their athletes out there to make guys miss,” Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “You’ve got to account for everybody.”

The Wildcat’s popularity rapidly spread in the NFL last season, but the Indy defense never faced a significant test from the for-mation. And now Miami has a new wrin-kle with the addition of White, the former West Virginia star who set an NCAA record for rushing yardage by a quarterback.

At Atlanta, White served as a triggerman in the Spread offense, a cousin of the Wildcat. While his three plays netted 1 yard—an aver-age of 12 inches per snap—his potential in the role was evident when the Falcons’ defense,

worried about White’s running, allowed receiver Ted Ginn Jr. to slip two steps behind the secondary.

White overthrew Ginn by 5 yards.“We had a chance,” Sparano said.“I missed a wide open receiver,” White

said. “You can’t get it back. You’ve got to work on making it better.”

Sparano said White’s role is challenging because he’s coming off the bench cold—like a pinch hitter. Throwing on the side-line might tip the defense about what’s coming, but White said he found other ways to prepare.

“You stay moving and try to keep a sweat going,” he said. “I’m staying loose, staying warm and ready any time they call on me.”

White will hardly be the best-known Dolphins newcomer at the team’s home opener. Expected to attend are Serena and Venus Williams, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Jimmy Buffett, and Emilio and Glo-ria Estefan, who have all forged partner-ships with owner Stephen Ross since he

completed his purchase of the franchise in January.

Some of the VIPs will make their pregame arrival on a new celebrity orange carpet with Hollywood trappings, and Buffett is expected to perform for tailgaters.

Once the game begins, it’s not certain White will be active—he’s actually No. 3 on the depth chart behind starter Chad Pennington and heir apparent Chad Henne. But the Dolphins are eager to give White more opportunities after his limited trial at Atlanta.

“There were some things we were try-ing to get to, but the bottom line is we didn’t for some reason or another,” Sparano said.

The Dolphins are desperate for more offen-sive fireworks, which is why they embraced the Wildcat last year. While the base offense often found itself forced to grind out long drives, the Wildcat—with direct snaps to running back Brown—produced scores of 62, 53, 51 and 44 yards.

“When we introduced it,” Sparano said,

“there were a lot of people mocking it. Now I think there are a lot of people trying to run it. I find that kind of interesting.”

By the end of last season, more than a dozen teams had tried the Wildcat, but with three-time NFL MVP Manning at quarterback, the Colts have yet to use it. And their defense wasn’t tested by it last year, in part because opponents had so much success running against Indy, they didn’t need trickery.

The Colts did face the Wildcat last week, stuffing running back Maurice Jones-Drew after he took the snap on a two-point conversion try in a 14-12 victory over Jacksonville.

“There’s not too much difference from defending regular running plays, because there are only so many things they can do out of it,” defensive tackle Ed Johnson said.

Some doubt the Wildcat’s staying power, but the Dolphins’ decision to take White in the second round of the draft suggests they’re committed to keeping the spread offense in their playbook. White wasn’t widely projected as a top NFL prospect in a traditional quarterback role, and his throws were often erratic during training camp.

But he passes better than Brown, creating pressure on the defense in new ways.

“Pat’s a dynamic threat that we’re very fortunate to have,” receiver Davone Bess said. “He can hurt you running the ball or throwing it.”

The NFL’s an ongoing chess match, and the Dolphins enjoyed a clear advantage when they first unveiled the Wildcat last year, scoring four touchdowns from the for-mation to upset New England 38-13.

— The Associated Press

The line: Indianapolis by 3 (O/U 42)

INJURY REPORTIndianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins—

COLTS: DNP: WR Anthony Gonzalez (knee), CB Tim Jennings

(not injury related), G Jamey Richard (shoulder), S Bob Sanders

(knee), TE Tom Santi (ankle). FULL: T Charlie Johnson (back),

CB Jamie Silva (abdomen). DOLPHINS: FULL: LB Akin Ayodele

(back).

INDIANAPOLIS AT MIAMI Tonight, 8:30 ET (ESPN)

White, Dolphins hope to untame Wildcat

In three attempts, Miami QB Pat White (6) had just one yard in the Wildcat offense last week.J PAT CARTER / AP

Baltimore Ravens — Mike Preston

Starting CB Fabian Washington left the game with a concussion in the second half, and the

Ravens don’t know how serious the injury might be. They replaced Washington with Frank Walker, who knocked down a potential winning touchdown pass by Chargers QB Philip Rivers late in the fourth quarter. Losing Washington would be a serious blow. The secondary hasn’t played well, and the Ravens gave up 436 passing yards in the win at San Diego. The bigger Chargers receivers outmuscled the Ravens’ smaller cornerbacks. With Walker in the lineup as the starter opposite Domonique Foxworth, the nickel job would fall to rookie Lardarius Webbbecause nickel CB Samari Rolle will be out four more weeks with a neck injury. The Ravens will spend a lot of time this week looking over the Chargers game film and might have to play more two-deep coverage in the secondary . The Ravens gave up receptions of 81, 38, 37 and 45 yards against San Diego.

Buffalo Bills — Allen Wilson

RT Brad Butler suffered what looks like a significant right knee injury during the Bills’ win over

Tampa Bay. Butler went down in pass pro-tection when a Bucs defensive lineman rolled into the back of his legs. Butler, who started the last two years at right guard, was moved to right tackle, his natural posi-tion, during the offseason. It is a setback for a young line that has played just two games together. Butler was replaced by Jonathan Scott, a journeyman who signed with the team late last year. He has good size and long arms but is limited athletically and will have trouble against fast pass rushers. It is possible the Bills could go with veteran

Kirk Chambers, who was the team’s No. 3 tackle the previous two years. He’s not a great athlete and is vulnerable in pass pro-tection but is smart and uses good tech-nique. … Starting TE Derek Schouman suffered a right knee injury, but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as Butler’s. Initial exams did not reveal a torn ligament, but Schouman could still miss some time . Behind Schou-man are talented but inexperienced Derek Fine and Shawn Nelson .

Cincinnati Bengals — Chick Ludwig

Despite the offensive fireworks from QB Carson Palmer, RB Cedric Benson and WR Chad Ochocinco, a

mistake-filled road victory over the Pack-ers wouldn’t have been accomplished with-out RE Antwan Odom and PR Quan Cosby. Odom’s five-sack performance, which tied Eddie Edwards’ club record set in 1980, can be credited to his offseason workout regimen and good health. Odom bulked up 15 pounds to 280, and his increased strength helped him overpower Packers LTs Chad Clif-ton and Daryn Colledge. Odom is difficult to block one-on-one because he gets good sep-aration with his long arms and quick hands and has great closing speed. His seven sacks lead the NFL. Cosby had five punt returns for a 22-yard average, and his 60 yarder set up a 1-yard TD run by Palmer. Cosby is far from the swiftest player on the team, but his quickness, vision and change-of-direction ability lead to productive returns .

Cleveland Browns — Steve Doerschuk

Brady Quinn had a miserable sec-ond start in Sunday’s embar-rassing loss at Denver, raising

doubt as to whether coach Eric Mangini picked the right quarterback as his starter. Quinn seemed skittish against a Denver pass rush that gained steam as the day wore on. He still seemed determined after the game, but that counts for only so much with a fran-chise whose offense has produced one touchdown in the last eight games . Quinn’s opportunities were limited, but he didn’t take advantage when a few arose, such as hurrying a third-and-goal pass on the first

series and throwing high to WR Mike Furrey on a play that would have put the Browns in the red zone on a key series in the fourth quarter. Quinn dropped back 35 times, pro-ducing just 161 yards and taking four sacks. There are no signs Mangini is on the verge of switching to Derek Anderson, but Mangini never shows his hand on such matters.

Denver Broncos — Lee Rasizer

The Broncos have exceeded early expectations, particularly on defense. After finishing 29th

last season in yards allowed and 30th in points allowed, the Broncos have yielded one touchdown and 13 points during the 2-0 start. A key reason has been the experi-enced players who were added in the off-season, especially in the secondary. FS Brian Dawkins, SS Renaldo Hill, CB Andre Goodman, OLB Mario Haggan and ILB Andra Davis have 46 years of experience combined. So even though the team is using a new 3-4 scheme, it hasn’t been hurt by the mental errors characteristic of teams with such big

changes. The group has played with a swarming mentality and done a good job of tackling, a significant problem during the 2008 meltdown.

Houston Texans — John McClain

The Texans beat the Titans but lost LG Chester Pitts, who has started every game in franchise

history, a streak of 114 games. Pitts suffered a sprained right MCL in the second quarter and said he could be out 3-4 weeks and maybe more depending on the results of an MRI. Kasey Studdard, a three-year veteran, replaced Pitts and performed admirably. Because Pitts missed camp and the first two preseason games because of a knee injury, Studdard got a lot of playing time. He doesn’t have Pitts’ athleticism, but Stud-dard has the kind of nastiness that assistant head coach/offense Alex Gibbs likes up front. The Texans were able pull off the second-largest come-from-behind victory in team history, and Studdard played a key role. He didn’t allow a sack in a game in which Matt

Schaub was 25 of 39 for 357 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts — Mike Chappell

It will be interesting to see how quickly WR Hank Baskett can con-tribute to the passing game. The

former Eagle was signed to help fill the void created by the loss of WR Anthony Gonzalez, who is expected to miss at least a month after spraining a ligament in his right knee. The team considered signing Taj Smith off the practice squad but opted for experience. Baskett has three years of experience and outstanding size (6-4, 220). What he lacks , of course, is experience in the Colts’ system. Manning stayed after practice the last few days of the week to get Baskett up to speed so he might contribute tonight at Miami. It will be critical for Baskett to know his responsibilities because the Colts’ passing game is all about timing and receivers being where they’re supposed to be. Until Baskett has a full grasp of the offense, Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie will be the main com-plements to star Reggie Wayne.

Jacksonville Jaguars — Michael C. Wright

No. 2 WR Troy Williamson sus-tained a sprained right shoulder in the loss to the Cardinals, but

it’s unknown whether he will be out a sig-nificant stretch of time. Williamson is the team’s fastest receiver and most dynamic deep threat. If he’s forced to miss time, the Jags will replace him with WR Mike Sims-Walker. Sims-Walker was originally the No. 2 receiver before an ankle injury forced him out of the first three weeks of the preseason. Though Williamson is faster, Sims-Walker is a more polished route runner and has more consistent hands. Williamson will undergo and MRI today. Depending on the significance of the sprain, the club will likely activate rookie WR Mike Thomas next week at Houston. Thomas is a slot receiver whose strength is running after the catch. … Rookie CB Derek Cox suffered a concussion in the first half but was able to return in the second half. Cox should be fine to play Sunday.

Jaguars WR Mike Sims-Walker (11) scored from 18 yards out on this play; Sims-Walker’s role could be expanding.

JOHN RAOUX / AP

AFCINSIDE DISH

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 21NFL

Kansas City Chiefs — Adam Teicher

Dantrell Savage is a curious choice to be the featured back in crunch time. Savage inherited the

role from Jamaal Charles, who was inactive Sunday. Savage (5-8, 182) is more reliable than Charles, who is prone to mental mistakes, but Savage’s size is a problem. He is a willing pass blocker but can be overwhelmed by bigger defenders. He also is a hard runner but can be taken down in the open field. Savage lacks Charles’ breakaway speed. His inexperience showed late in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Oakland. The Chiefs had the ball at the Oakland 9 with 14 seconds but were out of timeouts, meaning a receiver had to either catch the ball in the end zone or be certain he could get out of bounds. Savage caught a pass in the flat but was tackled in-bounds, and the Chiefs were unable to get a field goal. The Chiefs take Larry Johnson out of the game in most obvious passing situations because he’s a liability as a pass blocker.

Miami Dolphins — Jeff Darlington

Outside of a back injury that caused starting ILB Akin Ayodeleto sit out of Saturday’s practice

(he’s questionable for today’s game against Indianapolis), the Dolphins are healthy. Still, Ayodele’s absence could put some strain on a position with little depth. It could be especially critical since ILB Channing Crowder will be tied down with difficult coverage responsibilities, considering Colts QB Peyton Manning is likely to target TE Dallas Clark quite often over the middle. Regardless of whether Ayodele plays, Crowder will need a lot of help from SS Yeremiah Bell, who will have to deal with another elite tight end after facing Tony Gonzalez in Atlanta. Next week, it doesn’t get any easier, since Miami

will travel to San Diego, where Antonio Gates awaits.

New England Patriots — Ian R. Rapoport

QB Tom Brady finished the game by misfiring high and wide to WR Joey Galloway on fourth down.

It was New England’s final chance to mount a comeback in the 16-9 loss to the Jets. In his second game back from knee surgery, it was like that all game. For all you heard about the Jets tenacious ‘D’, Brady wasn’t sacked one time. He was just uneven and inconsistent. The ’07 league MVP completed only 23-of-47 passes for 216 yards with one interception. There were times when Brady stepped into throws, but just as often he appeared unsettled and rattled. Sure, he’s still getting used to playing again. And he didn’t have Wes Welker (knee). But he must find Randy Moss for more than four receptions for 24 yards. And Galloway must contribute more than 53 receiving yards. Perhaps a renewed commitment to the run would help loosen up defenses. But mostly, Brady must accelerate his acclimation process.

New York Jets — J.P. Pelzman

Yes, the Jets have benefited in each game by an injury to the opponent’s complementary

receiver. In the opener, it was Houston’s Kevin Walter. On Sunday, it was New England’s Wes Welker. Their absences allowed the Jets to pay even more attention to elite receivers Andre Johnson and Randy Moss. Moss had only four receptions for 24 yards as the Jets forced aging Joey Galloway and untested Julian Edelman, Welker’s replacement. CB Darrelle Revis had Moss man-to-man much of the time, although the Jets obviously rolled coverages toward Moss. Still, Revis’ ability as a lockdown corner enables the Jets to take more blitz chances, confident in his ability to prevent big plays. New England had only one completion of more than 29 yards against the Jets.

Oakland Raiders — Steve Corkran

LG Robert Gallery is expected to miss at least a month with a broken left fibula sustained

Sunday. Gallery hurt his leg earlier in

the game but felt it break on a crack-back block with a little more than two minutes left. C Chris Morris replaced Gallery at guard, with backup C Samson Satele taking over for Morris. Gallery’s injury is a huge blow on several fronts. He is their best offensive lineman, and Morris had played well at center. Morris earned the job, in part, because Satele struggled during camp and exhibition games. So, now the Raiders are forced to play Satele. The Raiders likely will run more to the right side in Gallery’s absence and possibly rely upon their passing game more than desired. Gallery likely will miss at least four or five games.

Pittsburgh Steelers — Gerry Dulac

The Steelers could have more problems in their secondary if SS Tyrone Carter doesn’t respond

from a left thigh injury sustained in the second quarter Sunday. Carter finished the game but was unable to run well and blamed himself for not calling a timeout before the play on which he was beat for the

tying touchdown in man-to-man coverage. Carter is the replacement for Pro Bowl SS Troy Polamalu, who is expected to miss at least two more games with a sprained knee. The Bears appeared to attack Carter, too, completing eight passes to tight ends in the middle of the field, several for long gains. If Carter is unable to play, backup FS Ryan Mundy, an ’08 seventh-round pick, would move over. Mundy is faster and more athletic than Carter but doesn’t play as well near the line of scrimmage in run support.

San Diego Chargers — Kevin Acee

The Chargers will bring in free-agent DT Alfonso Boone today and could sign him to

shore up a thin and young defensive line. As for Boone, he never has played in a 3-4 defense but played in Chicago for defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and line coach Don Johnson. ... The Chargers’ biggest concern is on the offensive line, where injuries have created a void that left QB Philip Rivers battered and bruised Sunday. The Chargers likely will be without C Nick Hardwick another week, though RG Louis Vasquez probably will return this week vs. Miami. ... OLB Shawne Merriman did not play in the final series with a groin strain, but it is not considered serious. His groin has bothered him off and on all summer.

Tennessee Titans — Jim Wyatt

Members the defense had their egos battered and bruised Sunday by allowing 420 yards

to Houston. ... Titans P Craig Hentrich’s availability for upcoming games is in doubt after sustaining a calf injury in the second half. Hentrich had to leave the game and afterward was barely able to walk in the locker room. K Rob Bironas punted in the fourth quarter with his lone attempt going 40 yards. Hentrich is not expected to play any time soon, but it’s unclear if his injury will end his season. The Titans could turn to A.J. Trapasso, who punted for the Titans during the preseason.

Chiefs RB Dantrell Savage (29) was counted on in crunch time, but failed to get out of bounds in the final seconds and cost his team a chance at a game-tying field goal.

CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP

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Arizona Cardinals — Kent Somers

QB Kurt Warner aggravated a shoulder stinger injury, but he’s expected to be ready to play

Sunday night against the Colts. Warner suffered the injury in the opener, and it caused his right hand to go numb for a short time. He took a hit early in the win at Jacksonville but continued to play. The injury didn’t seem to affect him as Warner completed 24-of-26 passes, setting an NFL record for completion percentage (92.3). RT Levi Brown suffered an ankle injury in the first half, but X-rays were negative and Brown returned to the game. The Cardi-nals have activated just seven linemen in the first two games, so a couple of injuries there could be devastating. FS Antrel Rollesuffered a left knee injury but never left the game. He said afterward the knee was sore and stiff.

Atlanta Falcons — D. Orlando Ledbetter

Rookie DT Peria Jerry left the game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a left

knee injury. He was assisted from the field by trainers and left the field in a cart, but the team did not announce the extent of the injury. It was his third injury since being taken with the 24th overall pick. He suffered a right knee injury in mini-camp and a rib/chest injury in Week 1. If he is out for an extended period of time, Thomas Johnson and Trey Lewis will get shots at nose tackle. Reserve DE Chauncey Davisalso got some snaps at tackle against Car-olina. Johnson and Davis have been sturdy inside but have not shown Jerry’s explosiveness. Lewis appeared to be a real comer in 2007 but was inactive for the first two games. Practice squad player Vance Walker, a seventh-round pick, is

another option to provide depth.

Carolina Panthers — Darin Gantt

Not only did the Panthers drop to 0-2 with a loss at Atlanta, but they also were hit with some

injuries they couldn’t really afford. The worst was sustained by DT Louis Leonard, who left on crutches with a left ankle prob-lem . He was forced into the lineup at the team’s thinnest position because starter Nick Hayden (toe) didn’t dress for the game. That left the Panthers threadbare at defensive tackle, with just veteran Damione Lewis and recent wavier pickuk Ra’Shon Harris to finish the game. FB Brad Hoover had to leave the game after his back “locked up” on him while SLB Na’il Diggs left with sore ribs. They have decent if inexperienced replacements

in FB Tony Fiammetta and LB James Anderson . … The defense sprung leaks against the Fal-cons. QB Matt Ryan, who was not sacked and barely pressured, completed 21-of-27 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns . Fran-chise RE Julius Peppers produced two tackles and no pressures.

Chicago Bears — Gene Chamberlain

The Bears badly needed another wideout to step up and become a threat for Jay Cutler, and

they seem to have found him in rookie Johnny Knox. In the win over Pittsburgh, Knox caught six passes for 70 yards, including a 7-yard scorig pass that tied the game at 14. In Week 1, he had a 68-yard catch. With defenses focusing on the Bears’ tight ends, Cutler has had to find other targets and

Knox has stepped up. The addition of another threat to complement Devin Hester and Earl Bennett could free up TE Greg Olsen . Knox has 4.3 speed, so the Bears have the ability to go deep on both sides of the field—with Hester and the rookie. … The Bears lost RE Alex Brown to a left ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. He was hobbled after the game but said he thought he would be fine. The Bears are deep at end, and if they lose Brown for a few games, Mark Anderson can step in as a starter.

Dallas Cowboys — Jean-Jacques Taylor

QB Tony Romo had one of his worst days as a pro, completing just 13-of-29 passes for 129 yards

and three interceptions. It would be different if the Giants’ defensive line dominated the game, but the Cowboys rushed for 251 yards and Romo wasn’t sacked. He just played poorly, which kept the Giants in the game. New York scored 20 points off turnovers in the Cowboys 33-31 loss to New York. Romo sprained his foot in the win over Tampa Bay last week, but it didn’t appear to affect his mobility. This season is supposed to be all about Romo after the Cowboys released WR Terrell Owens and vowed to make the offense more Romo-friendly. Last week, he struggled in the first half but put together a strong sec-ond half on his way to a career-high 353 yards. But he was erratic all game, and blamed himself for the loss afterward.

Detroit Lions — Tom Kowalski

LB Ernie Sims, who was second on the team in tackles with nine and recovered a fumble in Sun-

day’s loss to Minnesota, suffered a shoulder injury in the second half that appeared to be fairly serious. Sims, who will have an MRI, had to be helped off the field. Undersized at 6-0, 230 pounds, Sims has a history of shoulder problems but has played through most of them. If Sims is gone for several weeks, second-year player Jordon Dizon would likely step into his starting spot. Dizon already plays in the nickel defense, so the Lions would probably use ILB Larry Footemore in those packages. Dizon is a solid

tackler but is also undersized at 6-0, 232 pounds and isn’t a big-time hitter like Sims. Detroit’s front seven, which played extremely well against Adrian Peterson, would lose some muscle without Sims, but Dizon is good in sideline-to-sideline pursuit.

Green Bay Packers — Tom Silverstein

LT Chad Clifton left the game in the third quarter with an ankle sprain and did not return. The

already shaky line got worse almost immedi-ately in the loss to Cincinnati. LG Daryn Colledge, who had missed time in practice with a foot sprain, had to take over and gave up four sacks to Odom. Though X-rays were negative on Clifton’s ankle, the fact he was carted off suggest the injury is serious and he will miss some time. The loss of Clifton exposes a void G.M. Ted Thompson left at left tackle. Clifton had surgeries on both knees and both shoulders during the offseason, and it’s not surprising he was inured. Colledge is an average left tackle at best and needs to stay at left guard. The only other option on the roster is rookie Jamon Meredith, but he’s not ready to play. Colledge will have to continue to prepare to play left tackle and may have to hold down the spot as the club plays on the road in domes the next two weeks.

Minnesota Vikings — Rick Alonzo

In the win at Detroit, there was a dearth of deep balls in the pass-ing attack. QB Brett Favre didn’t

take any deep shots downfield until a cou-ple of throws in the third quarter. Favre said the Lions’ pass defense was set up to guard against big plays, which forced more underneath throws. Favre was sacked three times and was under pressure through much of the game. The Lions blitzed a lot, which was expected, and Favre’s longest completion was a 13-yard pass to WR Sidney Rice after Favre changed the play at the line. Favre was efficient, completing 23-of-27 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, with a passer rating of 115.3. But there hasn’t been much pizzazz in the passing game so far, and part of the problem has been inconsistency in pass protection.

Louis Leonard’s departure from Carolina’s loss to Atlanta means more problems for the Panthers’ defensive line.

DAVE MARTIN / AP

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New Orleans Saints — Mike Triplett

RB Mike Bell could miss the next few weeks with a right knee injury he suffered in the fourth

quarter of the victory at Philadelphia. The Saints said they’re waiting for an MRI today, but early indications were that Bell suffered a sprained MCL—the same injury that had sidelined RB Pierre Thomas until Sunday. Typically, MCL sprains sideline players 3-4 weeks. Thomas, meanwhile, said he’s ready to take on a feature role if needed next week at Buffalo. He missed nearly four weeks with his MCL sprain, but he got back on the field briefly Sunday, serving as the up-back on kickoff returns and playing tailback for one series. He caught one swing pass for a 4-yard loss but didn’t carry the ball. He said he felt good, but his bulky knee brace will take some getting used to. He might not be quite full speed until after the Saints’ Week 5 bye.

New York Giants — Paul Schwartz

The Giants played the second half of their victory at Dallas without DE Justin Tuck (shoulder).

Tuck was injured after being tripped by Dallas LT Flozell Adams in the second quarter and spent the second half on the sideline with a sling on his left arm. The Giants expected to have a deep defensive line, but they’ve already lost DT Jay Alford for the sea-son and DT Chris Canty missed Sunday’s game with a strained calf muscle. … It didn’t take long for the Giants to sustain another injury to their receiving unit. Already with-out rookie Hakeem Nicks (foot), they lost starter Domenik Hixon to a sprained right knee in the first quarter. As a result, they used second-year player Mario Manningham in a feature role, and he delivered a career game, with 10 catches for 150 yards and a TD. The

severity of Hixon’s injury was not known immediately after the game, but losing any time will hurt because Nicks will miss at least one more game.

Philadelphia Eagles — Geoff Mosher

In the loss to New Orleans, the Eagles discovered they have a legitimate young backup quar-

terback in Kevin Kolb and probably won’t need to retain Jeff Garcia now that Michael Vickhas completed his two-game suspension. Kolb, replacing Donovan McNabb (rib), passed for 391 yards and two touchdowns in his debut. He also threw three interceptions—two of which led to Saints TDs—but only one came before the game was out of reach. Kolb showed poise, command and leader-ship and generally handled New Orleans’ pressure well . … Coach Andy Reid said there’s no need to panic, but RB Brian Westbrooksprained his right ankle during the game,

the same ankle that underwent surgery in the offseason . It’s not a high ankle sprain, which would be much more severe, but Westbrook’s track record of injuries makes it somewhat worrisome.

St. Louis Rams — Jim Thomas

Pending the results of MRIs today, the Rams could lose both of their big offseason line pick-

ups the next couple of weeks because of knee injuries. In the loss at Washington, rookie RT Jason Smith, the second overall pick in the draft, missed the second half with a cartilage injury in his knee. The extent of the injury was uncertain, but if Smith needs surgery, he could miss a month. Meanwhile, C Jason Brown missed part of the first half with a knee injury; the team thinks is an MCL problem. Although Brown finished the game, he was in pain afterwards and could miss a couple of

weeks pending the results of his MRI. Adam Goldberg, a smart, solid player, would replace Smith at right tackle. Mark Setterstrom, a guard by trade, would take over at center. Setterstrom is an aggressive, effective blocker but has been slowed by injuries the past two years.

San Francisco 49ers — Matt Barrows

RB Frank Gore had a career-long 79-yard run in the first half of the win over Seattle, then topped

that with an 80-yarder on the first play of the second half. Gore, however, gained only one yard after that play and left the game in the fourth quarter with a right ankle sprain. Ankle injuries have slowed Gore in each of the past two seasons, but he insisted that this one is nothing to worry about. He even jogged in place behind the postgame lectern to convince reporters. Gore said he dedi-cated his offseason to recapturing his form of ’06, when he set a franchise record in rushing. Gore said the countergap play the 49ers used on the first long run was virtu-ally the same play that was so successful in ’06 when Norv Turner was offensive coordi-nator. Turner and current coordinator Jimmy Raye have worked together in the past, and their offenses are similar.

Seattle Seahawks — Danny O’Neil

Starting QB Matt Hasselbeck suf-fered what was described as a rib bruise in the final minute of the

first half when he was hit in the back by 49ers LB Patrick Willis . Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck, and though he was more accu-rate than usual—completing 15-of-23 passes—Wallace was not able to sustain drives. The Seahawks were shut out in the second half . Preliminary tests indicated Hasselbeck did not have any fractures. … MLB Lofa Tatupu left the game after the first series with the hamstring injury that con-tinues to bother him and probably will miss a couple of weeks. That would be a serious blow to the defense, which allowed two long TD runs by Frank Gore after Tatupu left the game. Second-year pro David Hawthorne, pri-marily a special teams player, replaced

Tatupu. LT Sean Locklear and CB Josh Wilsonleft the game with ankle injuries. Perennial Pro Bowler Walter Jones (knee) is expected back at left tackle next week. Kelly Jennings is Wilson’s replacement at left corner.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Roy Cummings

The transition to Jim Bates’ defense is moving along a lot slower than anyone on the team

expected. The team was victimized by sev-eral big plays in the passing game in Week 1, and the run defense was blown up during Sunday’s loss to the Bills. After giving up 218 yards rushing against Buffalo, the defense has allowed 339 yards on 59 carries (5.7 yards per carry). The Bucs blame the problems against the run on poor tackling, but you have to wonder if the personnel is a good fit in Bates’ scheme. The problem seems to be up front. Generally, the Bucs are devoting only seven player to stopping the run, but that’s not working. At times, the team has moved an eighth defender into the box, but opponents have exploited that tactic by throwing deep. The problems have to be corrected quickly because this is already beginning to look like a lost season.

Washington Redskins — John Keim

RG Randy Thomas will undergo an MRI today to determine whether his right triceps injury

is a tear or a bad strain. Thomas missed most of the ’07 season with a torn left tri-ceps. When players left the locker room, they anticipated the worst and feared Thomas was lost for the season. If that’s the case, it will be a crippling blow to a line that has little depth; none of the backups played in a game last season. Will Montgomeryreplaced Thomas Sunday and was ade-quate, but he worked more at center this summer. G Chad Rinehart has been inactive for 15 of the first 18 games of his career since being drafted in the third round in ’08. Rinehart is not an athletic guard and strug-gles blocking in space, something Thomas does well. Thomas’ experience is viewed as crucial, especially paired next to inexperi-enced RT Stephon Heyer.

While Philadelphia may have lost to New Orleans, the Eagles got a good look at the future in QB Kevin Kolb.

MEL EVANS / AP

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SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com College Football

ND’s missing DReceiver Michael Floyd is done

for the season, and something’s wrong with Jimmy Clausen’s right foot. But the real problems Notre Dame must confront in the coming days all involve defense. The Irish rank in the bottom half of the coun-try in every major defensive statis-tic. Their 63rd-best scoring defense is especially alarming, given that ND started the season by shutting out Nevada.

The struggles aren’t a huge sur-prise; any team where a true fresh-man is anointed a likely starting linebacker before he hits campus, as ND’s Manti Te’o was, needs help stopping people. And coach Char-lie Weis said Sunday he hopes that help comes from a return to the basics.

“Sometimes, we miss the obvi-ous,” Weis said Sunday. “And the obvious in this case is just a heavy stressing of fundamentals.”

So expect a rough week of prac-tice for the ND defense. And look for a sounder, better tackling group when the Irish take the field Satur-day night at Purdue.

Georgia’s surprising OGeorgia scored 10 points in the

opener at Oklahoma State, and the Bulldogs looked like a team that would rely on defense to win in 2009. So what’s with the combined 93 points the last two Saturdays against South Carolina and Arkansas?

“Not so much in league play, I didn’t think that would happen,” Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. And then Richt pointed to the emergence of several young skill players as reasons for the offensive bump.

Five different players, including receivers Tavarres King and Michael Moore, have caught at least one of Joe Cox’s eight touch-down passes. And don’t lose sight of Cox, who has overcome the ill-ness that hampered him in the opener and learned to manage a cranky shoulder.

Ten offensive scores in two SEC games is good stuff, especially for a team that lost last year’s top quarter-back and running back to the NFL and its starting left tackle to injury.

Back to classAround this time a year ago, col-

lege football buzzed about the suc-cess of Division I-A’s top academic institutions. The optimism is absent this fall, and there’s not much rea-son to think it will return before

Thanksgiving. Vanderbilt, ranked and bowl-bound last fall, has scored 12 points in its two SEC games. Northwestern almost lost to Eastern Michigan, then did lose at Syracuse. Rice, a nine-win team in 2008, ranks last in the nation in scoring defense through three games.

Duke eventually might beat Vir-ginia again this year, but coach David Cutcliffe isn’t pleased. As he began a teleconference Sunday evening, he joked about a message he received before going on the call. “They said if I had any quality problems, I should press star-zero,” he said, alluding to his team’s play. “I need to press star-zero.”

Each team looks a little short on talent for this season, meaning 2009 likely won’t mark a second straight Year of the Eggheads.

WHAT WE LEARNED Sporting News Today’s Dave Curtis analyzes what Sunday’s buzz means to college football.

After an impressive start, Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd’s season is over.

MICHAEL CONROY / AP

College Football: Legends PollSPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 26

Tim Tebow and Florida will take their show on the road the next two weeks—to Kentucky, then LSU.

JOHN RAOUX / AP

More polls, Page 27

Coaches’ corner The Legends

Legends PollPresented by Sporting News

Every Monday, we’ll feature two Legends

Poll voters’ ballots and quick takes.

Featured today: John Robinson (USC) and

John Cooper (Ohio State).

Robinson’s ballot1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Alabama

4. Mississippi

5. Penn State

6. Cal

7. LSU

8. Boise State

9. Miami

10. USC

Robinson on ... Whether Michigan can

run the table: “There is a

chance. Michigan is starting

to get that wheeling and

dealing look West Virginia

had with Rich Rodriguez.”

Georgia Tech’s slumping

offense : “They need better

passing. They’re too one-

dimensional now.”

Cooper’s ballot1. Florida

2. Alabama

3. Texas

4. Cal

5. Miami

6. Mississippi

7. Penn State

8. LSU

9. Boise State

10. Oklahoma

Cooper on ... Cal RB Jahvid Best:

“He’s a smaller version of

LaDainian Tomlinson. He

has that burst of speed.”

The Big East’s team to

beat: “Cincinnati. Tony Pike

is an impressive quarterback.

Going to Oregon State and

winning shows they’ve got a

good team.”

Every weekend, 17 former coaching greats watch games, break down tape, then cast their votes in college football’s most unique Top 25. The panel includes 11 members of the College Football Hall of Fame and six national champs. On Mondays, only in Sporting News Today, we’ll share with you their insights and the results of the Legends Poll.

MORE LEGENDS They blog. They take your questions. Log on to the Legends Channel for more.

legendschannel.com

Gators a unanimous No. 1, for nowBY JEFF D’ALESSIO

jdalessio@sportingnews.com

Florida is No. 1 in the first Legends Poll of 2009. Whether Tim Tebow & Co. are tops in their own conference, the coaching greats aren’t so sure.

“If I’m Florida,” former Ohio State coach John Cooper said, “I’m looking over my shoulder at Alabama.”

Despite a so-so effort in Saturday’s 23-13 win over Tennessee, the Gators picked up all 17 first-place votes from the Legends panel, which includes 11 College Football Hall of Famers.

The debate came at No. 2, where 3-0 Texas edged the 3-0 Crimson Tide. All but three voters had a 1-2-3 that included the Gators, Longhorns and Tide; LaVell Edwards, Dick MacPher-son and George Welsh put Penn State No. 3 on their ballots.

The Nittany Lions were fourth. Cal rounded out the top five.

“It’s very, very cloudy,” former Auburn coach Pat Dye added.

Here’s what else the Legends were talking about Sunday:

USC vs. Cal. A unanimous top-five preseason pick, the Trojans debut in the Legends Poll at No. 8 after Saturday’s 16-13 stunner at Washington. Washington—a team that went 0-12 a year ago. “They beat Ohio State, then lost to a mediocre Washington team,” a stumped R.C. Slocum said.

Slocum still thinks the Trojans are the team to beat in the Pac-10. John Ralston, who coached nine years in the league at Stanford, thinks that distinc-tion might now belong to Cal after a weekend win at Minne-sota pushed their record to 3-0.

Surprise, surprise. Cooper’s biggest Saturday surprise: No. 19 Florida State, which thumped BYU, 54-28, in Provo. “Speed kills,” he said.

Dye cast his vote for No. 15

Cincinnati, 3-0 after snapping Oregon State’s 26-game noncon-ference home winning streak. “I like their quarterback,” Dye said of Tony Pike (332 yards, 2 TDs).

Slocum went with No. 12 Miami, which kicked off the season with ACC wins over Florida State and Georgia Tech. “I think they’ll be pretty good before the year is over,” he said.

The ’Canes. Don’t get too excited, UM fans. The Legends are high on QB Jacory Harris (656 yards, 5 TDs) but most don’t buy ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit’s claim that Miami is a top-five team. Not yet, anyway.

Cooper: “They are one year away yet. But they’re getting their swagger back.”

Slocum: “I’m not sure they’re quite there yet, but they’re certainly on the right track to getting back to the Miami of old.”

Dye: “They could be a top-10 team if the quarterback stays healthy.”

School Points Record

1. Florida (17) 425 3-0

2. Texas 403 3-0

3. Alabama 393 3-0

4. Penn State 368 3-0

5. Cal 337 3-0

6. Mississippi 327 2-0

7. LSU 317 3-0

8. USC 287 2-1

9. Boise State 273 3-0

10. Ohio State 270 2-1

11. Oklahoma 267 2-1

12. Miami 221 2-0

13. Virginia Tech 212 2-1

14. TCU 209 2-0

15. Cincinnati 159 3-0

16. Kansas 133 3-0

17. North Carolina 124 3-0

18. Oklahoma State 123 2-1

19. Florida State 118 2-1

20. Georgia 115 2-1

21. Michigan 99 3-0

22. Houston 98 2-0

23. BYU 53 2-1

24. Nebraska 37 2-1

25. Utah 34 2-1

Also receiving votes: Georgia Tech 21, Notre Dame 21, Pitt 15, Texas Tech 15, Iowa 14, Oregon 11, Missouri 10, Washington 9, Clemson 3, West Virginia 2, Arkansas 1, South Florida 1.

John Robinson John Cooper

NEW YORK—USC dropped nine spots and out of the top 10 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, and Washington moved into the rankings for the first time in six years.

A day after the Huskies upset the Trojans 16-13 on a late field goal, USC fell from No. 3 to No. 12 in the media poll. The Trojans became the second preseason top five team to lose in the first three weeks of the season. Preseason No. 3 Oklahoma lost its opener to BYU.

Washington, ranked for the first time since Sept. 28, 2003, is No. 24.

“We said early on that it wasn’t going to take us very long,” first-year Washington coach Steve Sarki-sian told reporters on Saturday. “I think maybe some people outside our own little domain thought that that was just press conference-speak.”

It was only a week ago that USC, behind freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, was coming off a dramatic comeback victory against Ohio State. Barkley did not play against Washington because of a sore shoulder.

No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas have held firm to their spots all season. No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Missis-sippi moved up one spot in the latest poll, giving the Southeastern Con-ference three of the top four teams in the nation. Penn State remained No. 5.

Florida received 55 of 60 first-place votes. Texas had two and Ala-bama received three.

BYU dropped the farthest this week, from seventh to 19th after a 54-28 home loss to Florida State.

The Seminoles moved back into the rankings at No. 18.

The rest of the top 10 was Califor-nia at No. 6, followed by LSU, Boise State, Miami and Oklahoma.

The Hurricanes made the biggest jump of the ranked teams from last week, moving up 11 spots after a 33-17 victory against Georgia Tech. The loss knocked the Yellow Jackets out of the rankings. Utah also dropped out after a loss.

Miami is in the top 10 for first time since the final regular-season poll of the 2005 season. The Hurri-canes play at No. 11 Virginia Tech on Saturday in a huge ACC game.

— The Associated Press

The Associated Press Record Pts Pvs1. Florida (55) 3-0 1,488 12. Texas (2) 3-0 1,428 23. Alabama (3) 3-0 1,390 44. Mississippi 2-0 1,213 55. Penn State 3-0 1,212 56. California 3-0 1,169 87. LSU 3-0 1,120 98. Boise State 3-0 1,038 109. Miami 2-0 920 2010. Oklahoma 2-1 862 1211. Virginia Tech 2-1 852 1312. USC 2-1 825 313. Ohio State 2-1 810 1114. Cincinnati 3-0 739 1715. TCU 2-0 674 1516. Oklahoma St. 2-1 478 1617. Houston 2-0 455 2118. Florida State 2-1 363 —19. BYU 2-1 349 720. Kansas 3-0 347 2221. Georgia 2-1 318 2322. North Carolina 3-0 271 2423. Michigan 3-0 247 2524. Washington 2-1 194 —25. Nebraska 2-1 132 19

Dropped out: Georgia Tech (14), Utah (18).Others receiving votes: Missouri 115, Georgia Tech 102, Auburn 100, Pitt 91, UCLA 62, Iowa 39, Oregon 30, Texas Tech 19, Notre Dame 16, Utah 12, Clemson 11, Colorado State 4, Oregon St. 4, South Florida 1.

USA Today / Coaches Record Pts Rk1. Florida (59) 3-0 1,475 12. Texas 3-0 1,412 23. Alabama 3-0 1,355 44. Penn State 3-0 1,274 55. Mississippi 2-0 1,182 66. California 3-0 1,149 t77. LSU 3-0 1,122 t78. Boise State 3-0 976 109. Oklahoma 2-1 917 1210. USC 2-1 905 311. Ohio State 2-1 900 1112. Virginia Tech 2-1 853 1413. Miami 2-0 724 2214. TCU 2-0 701 1515. Cincinnati 3-0 580 2116. Oklahoma State 2-1 576 1717. Georgia 2-1 457 2018. North Carolina 3-0 445 1919. Kansas 3-0 381 2320. BYU 2-1 279 921. Missouri 3-0 214 2522. Michigan 3-0 205 —23. Houston 2-0 160 —24. Nebraska 2-1 158 1825. Florida State 2-1 154 —

Dropped out: Georgia Tech (13), Utah (16), Oregon State (24).

Others receiving votes: Georgia Tech 148, Pitt 68, Utah 63, Auburn 6, Iowa 58, Washington 42, Notre Dame 38, UCLA 38, Oregon 34, Texas Tech 22, Kentucky 16, South Florida 12, South Carolina 7, Oregon State 6, Colorado State 4, Wisconsin 2, Min-nesota 1.

Sporting News Record Pvs1. Florida 3-0 12. Alabama 3-0 43. Texas 3-0 34. California 3-0 55. LSU 3-0 76. Mississippi 2-0 67. Virginia Tech 2-1 118. Penn State 3-0 109. Boise State 3-0 1310. Cincinnati 3-0 1511. USC 2-1 212. Ohio State 2-1 1213. Miami 2-0 1714. BYU 2-1 915. Oklahoma 2-1 1416. Nebraska 2-1 —17. Georgia 2-1 1618. TCU 2-0 2019. Kansas 3-0 2220. Houston 2-0 1821. North Carolina 3-0 2122. Michigan 3-0 2423. Georgia Tech 2-1 824. Oklahoma State 2-1 1925. Oregon 2-1 —

Dropped out: Utah (23), Oregon State (25)

Week 4 schedule

Top 25 Thursday

No. 5 Mississippi at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.Saturday

No. 1 Florida at Kentucky, 6 p.m.

No. 2 Texas vs. Texas El-Paso, 3:30 p.m.

No. 3 Alabama vs. Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.

No. 5 Penn State vs. Iowa, 8 p.m.

No. 6 California at Oregon, 3:30 p.m.

No. 7 LSU at Mississippi State, 12:20 p.m.

No. 8 Boise State at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.

No. 9 Miami at No. 11 Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m.

No. 12 USC vs. Washington State, 10:15 p.m.

No. 13 Ohio State vs. Illinois, 3:30 p.m.

No. 14 Cincinnati vs. Fresno State, noon

No. 15 TCU at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.

No. 16 Oklahoma State vs.Grambling State, 7 p.m.

No. 17 Houston vs. Texas Tech, 9:15 p.m.

No. 18 Florida State vs. South Florida, noon

No. 19 BYU vs. Colorado State, 6 p.m.

No. 20 Kansas vs. Southern Miss, noon

No. 21 Georgia vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m.

No. 22 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, noon

No. 23 Michigan vs. Indiana, noon

No. 24 Washington at Stanford, 9 p.m.

No. 25 Nebraska vs. Louisiana Lafayette, 7 p.m.

ThursdaySOUTHMississippi at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

FridayEASTBrown at Harvard, 7 p.m.

FAR WESTMissouri at Nevada, 9 p.m.

SaturdayRhode Island at Connecticut, NoonDartmouth at New Hampshire, NoonBryant at Robert Morris, NoonBuffalo at Temple, NoonCornell at Yale, NoonCent. Connecticut St. at Columbia, 12:30 p.m.Princeton at Lehigh, 12:30 p.m.Marist at Bucknell, 1 p.m.St. Francis, Pa. at Wagner, 1 p.m.Wake Forest at Boston College, 2 p.m.Howard at Georgetown, D.C., 2 p.m.W. Kentucky at Navy, 3:30 p.m.Northeastern at Villanova, 3:30 p.m.Sacred Heart at Albany, N.Y., 4 p.m.Fordham at Colgate, 6 p.m.Penn at Lafayette, 6 p.m.Stony Brook at Massachusetts, 6 p.m.Maine at Syracuse, 7 p.m.Iowa at Penn St., 8 p.m.

SOUTHSouth Florida at Florida St., NoonNorth Carolina at Georgia Tech, NoonLSU at Mississippi St., 12:20 p.m.TCU at Clemson, 1 p.m.Marshall at Memphis, 1 p.m.Butler at Morehead St., 1 p.m.North Greenville at Charleston Southern, 1:30 p.m.Georgia Southern at Elon, 1:30 p.m.Arkansas at Alabama, 3:30 p.m.Samford at Appalachian St., 3:30 p.m.UCF at East Carolina, 3:30 p.m.Rutgers at Maryland, 3:30 p.m.Pittsburgh at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.VMI at Richmond, 3:30 p.m.Florida A&M vs. Tennessee St. at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m.McNeese St. at Tulane, 3:30 p.m.Miami at Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m.Ark.-Pine Bluff at Alabama A&M, 4 p.m.Savannah St. at Concordia-Selma, 4 p.m.Louisiana-Monroe at Florida Atlantic, 4 p.m.Towson at Morgan St., 4 p.m.Jacksonville St. at Nicholls St., 4 p.m.Bethune-Cookman at Norfolk St., 4 p.m.Alabama St. vs. MVSU at Chicago, 5 p.m.Wofford at Chattanooga, 6 p.m.Delaware St. at Hampton, 6 p.m.Florida at Kentucky, 6 p.m.Monmouth, N.J. at Old Dominion, 6 p.m.Winston-Salem at S. Carolina St., 6 p.m.Furman at W. Carolina, 6 p.m.Ball St. at Auburn, 7 p.m.E. Illinois at Austin Peay, 7 p.m.N. Carolina A&T at Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m.N.C. Central at Duke, 7 p.m.Toledo at Fla. International, 7 p.m.Arizona St. at Georgia, 7 p.m.

James Madison at Liberty, 7 p.m.Alcorn St. at Southern U., 7 p.m.SE Missouri at Tenn.-Martin, 7 p.m.Ohio at Tennessee, 7 p.m.Presbyterian at The Citadel, 7 p.m.Delaware at William & Mary, 7 p.m.E. Kentucky at Murray St., 8 p.m.

MIDWESTFresno St. at Cincinnati, NoonSouthern Miss. at Kansas, NoonIndiana at Michigan, NoonMinnesota at Northwestern, NoonMichigan St. at Wisconsin, NoonYoungstown St. at Indiana St., 12:05 p.m.Duquesne at Dayton, 1 p.m.N. Iowa at Missouri St., 2 p.m.Carthage at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.Tennessee Tech at Kansas St., 2:10 p.m.Akron at Cent. Michigan, 3:30 p.m.Idaho at N. Illinois, 3:30 p.m.Illinois at Ohio St., 3:30 p.m.SE Louisiana at South Dakota, 5:05 p.m.Boise St. at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.Army at Iowa St., 7 p.m.Miami (Ohio) at Kent St., 7 p.m.Louisiana-Lafayette at Nebraska, 7 p.m.N. Dakota St. at S. Illinois, 7 p.m.Hofstra at W. Michigan, 7 p.m.S. Dakota St. at Illinois St., 8 p.m.Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m.

SOUTHWESTUTEP at Texas, 3:30 p.m.Troy at Arkansas St., 4:30 p.m.

Northwestern St. at Baylor, 7 p.m.Glenville St. at Cent. Arkansas, 7 p.m.Middle Tennessee at North Texas, 7 p.m.Grambling St. at Oklahoma St., 7 p.m.North Dakota at Stephen F.Austin, 7 p.m.UAB at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.Texas Southern at Texas St., 7 p.m.Sam Houston St. at Tulsa, 7 p.m.Vanderbilt at Rice, 8 p.m.Texas Tech at Houston, 9:15 p.m.

FAR WESTSan Diego St. at Air Force, 2 p.m.UNLV at Wyoming, 3 p.m.California at Oregon, 3:30 p.m.Montana St. at N. Colorado, 3:35 p.m.Weber St. at Portland St., 4:05 p.m.Cent. Washington at Idaho St., 5:35 p.m.Colorado St. at BYU, 6 p.m.Montana at N. Arizona, 6:05 p.m.Arizona at Oregon St., 7:30 p.m.Louisville at Utah, 7:30 p.m.Cal Poly at San Jose St., 8 p.m.S. Utah at Utah St., 8 p.m.Washington at Stanford, 9 p.m.W. Oregon at UC Davis, 9 p.m.E. Washington at Sacramento St., 9:05 p.m.New Mexico St. at New Mexico, 10 p.m.Washington St. at Southern Cal, 10:15 p.m.

POLLS

Washington enters poll for first time since 2003

DREW PERINE / AP

Steve Sarkisian has Washington ranked for the first time in six seasons.

Conference standings, Page 30

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 27College Football

Washington fans will recall Erik Folk’s game-winning field goal as the memorable play in Saturday’s 16-13 upset of USC. But the ball got into in kicking range only after QB Jake Locker hit WR Jermaine Kearse for the biggest 19-yard completion of the season. Two Huskies shared details of that pass play with Sporting News Today’s Dave Curtis.

INDIVIDUAL

Rushing Yards Per Game Car Yds Avg Yds PgMathews,Fres 49 447 9.1 149.0Bolden,Purdue 62 421 6.8 140.3Best,Cal 53 412 7.8 137.3Turbin,UtahSt 26 269 10.3 134.5Grigsby,Ariz 49 400 8.2 133.3Lewis,Pitt 67 398 5.9 132.7Helu,Neb 58 381 6.6 127.0Webb,UAB 57 367 6.4 122.3Tate,Aub 59 349 5.9 116.3Hardesty,Tenn 64 345 5.4 115.0

Passer Rating Att Cp Yds Tds PtsMallett,Ark 61 38 717 6 193.5Clausen,NDame 91 62 951 9 188.6Harris,MiaFla 59 41 656 5 184.1Keenum,Hou 76 55 725 7 180.3Alexander,Hawai 116 78 1234 9 178.8Riley,Cal 71 46 698 5 170.6Tebow,Fla 58 39 540 5 170.4Moore,Boise 80 53 685 8 168.7Wilson,N.C.St 80 53 647 8 167.2Grothe,SoFla 59 43 512 5 167.0

Receiving Yards Per Game Gms Ct Yds YdsPgSalas,Hawaii 3 20 479 159.67Brown,SDSt 3 24 424 141.33Decker,Minn 3 27 415 138.33Sanders,SMU 3 35 392 130.67Null,Hawaii 3 18 381 127.00Wright,Ark 2 10 247 123.50Floyd,NDame 3 13 358 119.33Williams,Syr 3 23 357 119.00White,MichSt 3 22 342 114.00Barnes,BGreen 3 42 336 112.00

Scoring TD XP FG Pts PtPgBest,Cal 9 0 0 54 18.00Spann,NIll 7 0 0 42 14.00Broyles,Okla 7 0 0 42 14.00Jackson,Clem 0 8 11 41 13.67Gilyard,Cin 6 0 0 36 12.00Williams,VaTech 6 0 0 36 12.00Lewis,Pitt 6 0 0 36 12.00Sharp,Kansas 6 0 0 36 12.00Tiffin,Ala 0 11 8 35 11.67Forbath,UCLA 0 6 9 33 11.00

All-Purpose Runners Rush Rec PR KOR Yds YdsPgSmith,Md 51 273 0 423 747 249.00Spiller,Clem 176 71 182 201 630 210.00Cooper,MiaFla 124 56 0 238 418 209.00Johnson,Tulsa 82 181 120 237 620 206.67Michael,TexA&M 187 35 0 170 392 196.00Guy,Louv 4 81 35 270 390 195.00Brown,SDSt 0 424 28 123 575 191.67West,WMich 168 39 17 340 564 188.00Locke,Ky 133 47 0 191 371 185.50Bolden,Purdue 421 127 0 0 548 182.67

TEAM

Total Offense Plays Yds Yds PgTexas A&M 175 1179 589.5Arkansas 134 1076 538.0Kansas 226 1613 537.7Florida 205 1610 536.7Houston 153 1050 525.0Cincinnati 219 1550 516.7Hawaii 186 1546 515.3Auburn 236 1545 515.0Alabama 218 1537 512.3Fresno St. 211 1486 495.3

Rushing Offense Car Yds Yd PgAir Force 206 1033 344.3Florida 123 868 289.3Michigan 127 812 270.7Fresno St. 130 809 269.7Alabama 136 803 267.7Auburn 152 791 263.7Army 163 773 257.7Arizona 118 759 253.0Arkansas St. 91 501 250.5California 126 751 250.3

Passing Offense Att Cp Yds Yds PgTexas Tech 173 120 1333 444.3Arkansas 80 51 855 427.5Hawaii 117 79 1270 423.3Houston 90 64 813 406.5Cincinnati 120 84 1079 359.7Texas A&M 84 53 683 341.5BYU 106 75 1015 338.3Miami (FL) 59 41 656 328.0SMU 149 91 979 326.3Notre Dame 96 66 972 324.0

Scoring Offense G Pts AvgHouston 2 100 50.0California 3 146 48.7Mississippi 2 97 48.5Cincinnati 3 145 48.3Florida 3 141 47.0South Fla. 3 134 44.7Texas 3 134 44.7Arkansas 2 89 44.5Arizona St. 2 88 44.0TCU 2 86 43.0

Total Defense Plays Yds Yd PgArizona St. 103 299 149.5North Carolina St. 167 505 168.3Alabama 164 556 185.3Boston College 198 563 187.6Tennessee 168 592 197.3North Carolina 181 596 198.6Penn St. 171 637 212.3TCU 114 426 213.0Oklahoma 202 670 223.3Louisville 113 447 223.5

Rushing Defense Car Yds Yds PgOklahoma 101 122 40.7Alabama 83 126 42.0TCU 57 87 43.5Penn St. 88 139 46.3Southern California 94 153 51.0Southern Miss. 97 155 51.7North Carolina 85 157 52.3Kansas 78 173 57.7Texas 87 180 60.0California 93 190 63.3

Passing Defense Att Cp Yds Tds PtsArizona St. 43 19 168 2 64.45Clemson 80 30 349 3 66.52South Fla. 67 32 253 0 73.51Boston College 79 43 270 1 77.19Florida 92 47 387 0 77.73Eastern Mich. 46 23 234 0 79.69UCLA 106 52 530 2 82.19Boise St. 96 51 464 1 82.58Ohio 70 33 325 3 83.14Mississippi 70 38 350 0 84.86

Scoring Defense G Pts AvgOklahoma 3 14 4.7Penn St. 3 20 6.7South Fla. 3 20 6.7Florida 3 22 7.3Arizona St. 2 17 8.5Kansas 3 26 8.7Nebraska 3 28 9.3North Carolina St. 3 28 9.3Mississippi 2 20 10.0Boston College 3 32 10.7

Turnover Margin Gained Lost Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot MarArizona St. 2 6 8 0 0 0 4.00Auburn 2 8 10 2 1 3 2.33Colorado St. 5 5 10 0 3 3 2.33Air Force 6 3 9 2 0 2 2.33Cincinnati 1 7 8 0 2 2 2.00Houston 6 1 7 2 1 3 2.00California 4 3 7 1 0 1 2.00Texas A&M 4 0 4 0 0 0 2.00Louisville 3 4 7 1 3 4 1.50Mississippi 4 4 8 3 2 5 1.50

PLAY OF THE DAY

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 28College Football

‘I just knew he was going to throw it to me’

THE HUDDLEUW attacked the entire final drive, even

after it began with a 12-yard loss on a sack. So with 41 seconds remaining and the ball at the USC’ 35-yard-line—the brink of Folk’s range—the Huskies weren’t sur-prised to hear another pass call.

The mood was confident —Locker and Kearse hooked up for 21 yards on a third-and-15 earlier in the drive—and light, with Kearse teasing other receivers about their drops earlier in the game.

“Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) talked about staying relaxed all week,” Kearse said. “So we tried to do that. Treat it like any other game.”

THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGEThe Huskies lined up with three receiv-

ers, including Kearse in the right slot, and Locker under center. Washington needed 6 yards for a first down, but offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said the play, like many on the winning drives, featured vertical routes. He anticipated and got a one-high safety look from USC—and the safety wasn’t All-American Taylor Mays, who sat out with a knee injury.

The play call, Nussmeier said, was Sluggo Special.

“We liked the protection,” said Nuss-meier, whose call featured a tight end on the left and back Chris Polk to help block if necessary. “And we thought we could make a play down the field.”

THE PLAYLocker took a seven-step drop and saw

USC linebacker Michael Morgan, one of five Trojans to rush on the play, collapse the pocket from the middle. As Locker rolled right to escape, Kearse, expected to run a seam route between the hash marks, peeled off his route and mimicked Locker’s move toward the Huskies’ sideline.

“Then it was like we made eye contact through our facemasks,” Kearse said. “It was amazing. I just knew he was going to throw to me.”

With USC’s Averell Spicer bearing down, a sprinting Locker launched a line drive that covered 33 yards in the air. Kearse snagged it and tapped both feet inbounds in front of safety Drew McAllister.

“Jermaine made the adjustment,” Nussmeier said, “and just a great job by Jake to create something.”

THE AFTERMATHKearse went out of bounds at the USC 16,

and a roughing the passer call on Spicer pushed the ball to the 8. Polk ran for 4 yards, and UW called its final timeout with seven ticks left. Folk booted the 22-yarder, jump-starting a Seattle celebration. Kearse, who called the catch “top two” for his career (his first TD grab, last year vs. BYU, is Saturday’s competition), said he had 40 text messages waiting when he retrieved his cell phone.

“It was a great moment,” said Kearse, who finished with three catches for 70 yards. “It’s a big win; it should tell people we’re getting Washington football back where it should be.”

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Washington QB Jake Locker (10) celebrated with WR Jermaine Kearse after the pivotal 19-yard pass.

NCAA statistical leaders

Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews

INSIDE DISH

South Florida senior QB Matt Grothe will miss the rest of the sea-son with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Grothe was injured in the second quarter of Saturday’s 59-0 win over Charleston Southern. He had started 41 consecutive games for the Bulls and is the Big East confer-ence career leader in total offense with 10,875 yards.

“Obviously, I am disappointed because you never think this could happen to you,” Grothe said in a statement released by the school on Sunday. “It’s a team game and I am still going to be very involved with my teammates and the coaches.”

Redshirt freshmen B.J. Daniels will replace Grothe for Saturday’s game at No. 18 Florida State.

“That’s a shame,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said Sunday during his teleconference. “I’ve been watching him for the past two years. He’s one of the best I’ve seen.”

Notre Dame likely will be with-out WR Michael Floyd for the rest of the regular season, and QB Jimmy Clausen might not be 100 percent for Saturday’s game at Purdue.

Floyd, who currently leads the team with 358 receiving yards and five touchdown catches, had sur-gery Sunday for a broken left collar-bone. Coach Charlie Weis told reporters he hasn’t been told how long Floyd will be out, but he expects to be without him the rest of the way.

Weis said Floyd, injured in Sat-urday’s win over Michigan State, might be available for a bowl game

“if we chose to go in that direction.”Clausen injured his right foot Sat-

urday when he was sacked in the

second quarter.Weis said it appeared Clausen

has something between a turf toe

and an arch injury. Clausen will undergo an MRI “so we know exactly what we have there,” Weis said.

“Might he be hobbled some? We’ll have to wait and see,” Weis said. “But Jimmy’s a tough guy, and unless there’s a serious injury, he’s going to do all he can to play.”

Clausen is second in the nation in pass efficiency with a rating of 188.55. He has completed 62-of-91 passes for 951 yards and nine touch-downs with no interceptions.

The Irish struggled last season after Floyd injured his left knee on the third play against Navy and then missed the next two games against Syracuse and USC.

Florida LB Brandon Spikes, who missed much of the Tennessee game with Achilles’ tendonitis, is probable for Saturday’s game against Kentucky.

Coach Urban Meyer said Sunday in a report by the Orlando Sentinel that Spikes’ injury will be less about structural damage and more about managing pain from week to week. Spikes missed Sunday’s practice and likely wear a protective boot.

Meyer also said Sunday that he was concerned about a flu bug that has affected his team, noting that RB Jeff Demps, TE Aaron Hernandez and DE Jermaine Cunningham were all fighting the flu symptoms and were isolated in the days leading up to the game.

“It is a panic level of proportion I’ve never seen before,” Meyer said Sunday. “My wife, with her great insight, said, ‘Do you realize the swine flu and everything is hitting

the Florida campus last week.’ My gosh.”

Demps, Cunningham and Her-nandez all played against Tennes-see, but none was particularly effective.

Alabama WR Julio Jones is likely to play this weekend against Arkan-sas after sitting out Saturday’s game against North Texas because of a badly bruised kneecap.

“Julio can probably play in this next game,” Tide coach Nick Saban said in a report by the Mobile Press-Register.

While Jones dressed and stood on the sideline, RB Roy Upchurch was not in uniform Saturday with a high ankle sprain.

Saban said Upchurch is “proba-bly about 80 to 85 percent” after a week of rest. “If he continues to respond,” Saban said, “maybe he can (play against Arkansas), too.”

Clemson RB C.J. Spiller, who left Saturday’s win over Boston College in the third quarter to protect his bruised right big toe, said he plans to play this weekend when the Tigers host No. 15 TCU.

Spiller said he has been only about 85 percent since injuring his toe in the opener against Middle Tennessee.

“I’m not going to sit out any games,” Spiller said in a report by The State of Columbia, S.C. “I’m going to go as long as I can go and then let our other two guys go in there.”

“It’s something I can’t control. All I can do is try to get healthy.”

Perhaps more troubling was an

injury Saturday to LT Chris Hairston. An MRI determined Hairston did not tear any ligaments, and teammates told the newspaper the injury initially was thought to be a sprained MCL.

Hairston’s questionable status comes as the Tigers prepare for TCU DE Jerry Hughes, who led the nation in sacks last season.

Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant and CB/KR Perrish Cox both left Sat-urday’s game against Rice with injuries, but coach Mike Gundy said he didn’t have any updates on their status.

The Cowboys were without RB Kendall Hunter (ankle) and DE Jermiah Price (hand) in the 41-24 win over the Owls.

“We’ve had a number of injuries and so we’re working in young players and players that don’t have as much experience,” Gundy said. “Because of that, it takes more time for them to progress. That’s just the way it is.

Gundy also said backup safeties Victor Johnson and Johnny Thomas were held out of Saturday’s game for breaking team rules.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation named Georgia QB Joe Cox offensive player of the week and Washington LB Donald Butler defen-sive player of the week.

Cox completed 18-of-26 passes for 375 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes as the Bulldogs beat Arkansas, 52-41.

Butler recorded a game-high 12 tackles, forced a fumble and made one interception as the Huskies upset USC, 16-13.

South Florida takes big hit with QB Grothe done for season

CHRIS O’MEARA / AP

Matt Grothe tore the ACL in his left knee in Saturday’s win over Charleston Southern.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 29College Football

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 30College Football

Conference standingsACC BIG TEN CONFERENCE USABIG EAST BIG 12 MAC

Atlantic Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAClemson 1 1 52 37 2 1 89 51N.C. State 0 0 0 0 2 1 113 28Wake Forest 0 0 0 0 2 1 80 48Maryland 0 0 0 0 1 2 82 119Boston College 0 1 7 25 2 1 95 32Florida St. 0 1 34 38 2 1 107 75

Coastal Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAMiami 2 0 71 51 2 0 71 51Georgia Tech 1 1 47 60 2 1 84 77North Carolina 0 0 0 0 3 0 83 33Virginia Tech 0 0 0 0 2 1 92 59Duke 0 0 0 0 1 2 67 87Virginia 0 0 0 0 0 3 62 93

Saturday’s gamesSouth Florida at Florida St., NoonNorth Carolina at Georgia Tech, NoonWake Forest at Boston College, 2 p.m.TCU at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.Rutgers at Maryland, 3:30 p.m.Pittsburgh at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.Miami at Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m.N.C. Central at Duke, 7 p.m.

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PACincinnati 1 0 47 15 3 0 145 36Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 3 0 119 44South Florida 0 0 0 0 3 0 134 20Connecticut 0 0 0 0 2 1 63 50West Virginia 0 0 0 0 2 1 98 81Louisville 0 0 0 0 1 1 57 41Syracuse 0 0 0 0 1 2 64 85Rutgers 0 1 15 47 2 1 83 69

Saturday’s gamesFresno St. at Cincinnati, NoonRhode Island at Connecticut, NoonSouth Florida at Florida St., NoonRutgers at Maryland, 3:30 p.m.Pittsburgh at N.C. State, 3:30 p.m.Maine at Syracuse, 7 p.m.Louisville at Utah, 7:30 p.m.

East Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PASouthern Miss. 1 0 26 19 3 0 115 53UAB 1 1 77 59 1 2 91 86Marshall 0 0 0 0 2 1 58 90East Carolina 0 0 0 0 1 2 66 90Memphis 0 0 0 0 1 2 69 90UCF 0 1 19 26 2 1 70 67

West Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PASMU 1 0 35 33 2 1 93 86Tulsa 1 0 37 13 2 1 81 68Houston 0 0 0 0 2 0 100 42UTEP 0 0 0 0 1 2 62 69Tulane 0 1 13 37 0 2 16 91Rice 0 1 24 44 0 3 58 140

East Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAOhio 0 0 0 0 2 1 75 63Akron 0 0 0 0 1 2 69 69Bowling Green 0 0 0 0 1 2 61 58Buffalo 0 0 0 0 1 2 67 94Kent St. 0 0 0 0 1 2 39 68Temple 0 0 0 0 0 2 30 58Miami (Ohio) 0 1 26 48 0 3 26 138

West Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAW. Michigan 1 0 48 26 1 2 74 80Cent. Michigan 0 0 0 0 2 1 83 46N. Illinois 0 0 0 0 2 1 89 56Toledo 0 0 0 0 1 2 85 128Ball St. 0 0 0 0 0 3 43 67E. Michigan 0 0 0 0 0 3 55 99

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAIndiana 0 0 0 0 3 0 80 53Iowa 0 0 0 0 3 0 79 36Michigan 0 0 0 0 3 0 114 58Penn St. 0 0 0 0 3 0 90 20Wisconsin 0 0 0 0 3 0 106 65Minnesota 0 0 0 0 2 1 64 68Northwestern 0 0 0 0 2 1 108 75Ohio St. 0 0 0 0 2 1 84 45Illinois 0 0 0 0 1 1 54 54Michigan St. 0 0 0 0 1 2 101 65Purdue 0 0 0 0 1 2 109 97

Saturday’s gamesIndiana at Michigan, NoonMinnesota at Northwestern, NoonMichigan St. at Wisconsin, NoonIllinois at Ohio St., 3:30 p.m.Iowa at Penn St., 8 p.m.Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m.

North Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAKansas 0 0 0 0 3 0 127 26Missouri 0 0 0 0 3 0 116 41Iowa St. 0 0 0 0 2 1 71 66Nebraska 0 0 0 0 2 1 102 28Colorado 0 0 0 0 1 2 79 77Kansas St. 0 0 0 0 1 2 45 57

South Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PATexas 1 0 34 24 3 0 134 54Texas A&M 0 0 0 0 2 0 79 36Oklahoma St. 0 0 0 0 2 1 100 79Oklahoma 0 0 0 0 2 1 122 14Baylor 0 0 0 0 1 1 46 51Texas Tech 0 1 24 34 2 1 117 57

MOUNTAIN WEST

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAAir Force 1 0 37 13 2 1 122 33Colorado St. 0 0 0 0 3 0 82 60TCU 0 0 0 0 2 0 86 35BYU 0 0 0 0 2 1 96 70UNLV 0 0 0 0 2 1 93 59Utah 0 0 0 0 2 1 83 62San Diego St. 0 0 0 0 1 2 69 86Wyoming 0 0 0 0 1 2 39 87New Mexico 0 1 13 37 0 3 29 122

Saturday’s gamesSan Diego St. at Air Force, 2 p.m.UNLV at Wyoming, 3 p.m.TCU at Clemson, 3:30 p.m.Colorado St. at BYU, 6 p.m.Louisville at Utah, 7:30 p.m.New Mexico St. at New Mexico, 10 p.m.

PAC-10

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAStanford 1 0 39 13 2 1 98 54Washington 1 0 16 13 2 1 81 67California 0 0 0 0 3 0 146 41UCLA 0 0 0 0 3 0 75 38Ariz. St. 0 0 0 0 2 0 88 17Arizona 0 0 0 0 2 1 70 50Oregon St. 0 0 0 0 2 1 75 56Oregon 0 0 0 0 2 1 77 79Southern Cal 0 1 13 16 2 1 87 34Washington St. 0 1 13 39 1 2 63 104

Saturday’s gamesCalifornia at Oregon, 3:30 p.m.Arizona St. at Georgia, 7 p.m.Arizona at Oregon St., 7:30 p.m.Washington at Stanford, 9 p.m.Washington St. at Southern Cal, 10:15 p.m.

SEC

East Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAGeorgia 2 0 93 78 2 1 103 102Florida 1 0 23 13 3 0 141 22Kentucky 0 0 0 0 2 0 73 27South Carolina 0 1 37 41 2 1 82 60Tennessee 0 1 13 23 1 2 91 49Vanderbilt 0 2 12 38 1 2 57 38

West Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PAAuburn 1 0 49 24 3 0 127 67LSU 1 0 23 9 3 0 85 35Mississippi St 1 1 39 52 2 1 84 59Alabama 0 0 0 0 3 0 127 45Mississippi 0 0 0 0 2 0 97 20Arkansas 0 1 41 52 1 1 89 62

SUN BELT

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PALa.-Lafayette 0 0 0 0 2 1 62 65Middle Tenn. 0 0 0 0 2 1 77 82Arkansas St. 0 0 0 0 1 1 70 38La.-Monroe 0 0 0 0 1 2 92 97North Texas 0 0 0 0 1 2 57 94Troy 0 0 0 0 1 2 47 101Fla. International 0 0 0 0 0 2 29 63Fla. Atlantic 0 0 0 0 0 2 19 87W. Kentucky 0 0 0 0 0 3 27 126

Saturday’s gamesW. Kentucky at Navy, 3:30 p.m.Louisiana-Monroe at Florida Atlantic, 4 p.m.Troy at Arkansas St., 4:30 p.m.Toledo at Fla. International, 7 p.m.Middle Tennessee at North Texas, 7 p.m.Louisiana-Lafayette at Nebraska, 7 p.m.

WAC

Conference All Games W L PF PA W L PF PABoise St. 1 0 51 34 3 0 118 42Idaho 1 0 21 6 2 1 78 68Hawaii 0 0 0 0 2 1 96 74Louisiana Tech 0 0 0 0 1 2 75 82Nevada 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 70Utah St. 0 0 0 0 0 2 47 73San Jose St. 0 0 0 0 0 3 34 122Fresno St. 0 1 34 51 1 2 116 85New Mexico St. 0 1 6 21 1 2 39 77

Friday’s gameMissouri at Nevada, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesFresno St. at Cincinnati, NoonIdaho at N. Illinois, 3:30 p.m.Boise St. at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.S. Utah at Utah St., 8 p.m.Cal Poly at San Jose St., 8 p.m.New Mexico St. at New Mexico, 10 p.m.

INDEPENDENTS

W L PF PAArmy 2 1 70 66Notre Dame 2 1 102 68Navy 1 2 73 72

Saturday’s gamesW. Kentucky at Navy, 3:30 p.m.Army at Iowa St., 7 p.m.Notre Dame at Purdue, 8 p.m.

Listen on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 127, online at SportingNews.com or check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

WEEKDAYS 10AM–1PM ET

Saturday’s gamesSouthern Miss. at Kansas, NoonMarshall at Memphis, 1 p.m.McNeese St. at Tulane, 3:30 p.m.UCF at East Carolina, 3:30 p.m.UTEP at Texas, 3:30 p.m.UAB at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.Sam Houston St. at Tulsa, 7 p.m.Vanderbilt at Rice, 8 p.m.Texas Tech at Houston, 9:15 p.m.

Thursday’s gameMississippi at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesLSU at Mississippi St., 12:20 p.m.Arkansas at Alabama, 3:30

p.m.Florida at Kentucky, 6 p.m.Ohio at Tennessee, 7 p.m.Arizona St. at Georgia, 7 p.m.Ball St. at Auburn, 7 p.m.Vanderbilt at Rice, 8 p.m.

Friday’s gameMissouri at Nevada, 9 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesSouthern Miss. at Kansas, NoonTennessee Tech at Kansas St., 2:10 p.m.UTEP at Texas, 3:30 p.m.UAB at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.

Army at Iowa St., 7 p.m.Northwestern St. at Baylor, 7 p.m.Louisiana-Lafayette at Nebraska, 7 p.m.Grambling St. at Oklahoma St., 7 p.m.Texas Tech at Houston, 9:15 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesBuffalo at Temple, NoonIdaho at N. Illinois, 3:30 p.m.Akron at Cent. Michigan, 3:30 p.m.Ohio at Tennessee, 7 p.m.Toledo at Fla. International, 7 p.m.Ball St. at Auburn, 7 p.m.

Hofstra at W. Michigan, 7 p.m.Miami (Ohio) at Kent St., 7 p.m.Boise St. at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.

Milton Bradley’s season is finished. Perhaps his days with the Chicago Cubs are, too.

The Cubs suspended their volatile outfielder for the rest of the season Sunday, one day after he criticized the team in a newspaper interview.

Bradley was disciplined for conduct detrimental to the team. G.M. Jim Hendry said he decided to send Bradley home after learning of the player’s remarks in the (Arlington Heights, Ill.) Daily Herald. Brad-ley, scratched from Saturday’s lineup with a sore left knee, was quoted as saying “you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here.”

Bradley has two years remaining on a three-year, $30 million contract that he signed as a free agent last offseason. Hendry said he doesn’t know if the relationship can be salvaged.

“The last few days became too much for me to tolerate,” Hendry said. “I just decided late last night that’s what I was going to do, and I didn’t give it a lot of thought what’s going to transpire moving forward.”

Manager Lou Piniella agreed with the move.“Jim made the decision and I support it,” the

manager said. “I really do.”Chicago signed the switch-hitting Bradley to

provide balance in the lineup, but he struggled throughout his first season with Chicago, bat-ting .257 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs. He was booed vigorously by home fans at Wrigley Field.

Rangers 3B Michael Young, out of the lineup again because of a strained left hamstring, told MLB.com Sunday that he’s frustrated because he made the mistake of trying to come back too soon. “What it comes down to is I came back too early and re-aggravated it,” Young said. “It’s frustrating. I knew it was risky but I rolled the dice. We had just been shut out twice and I wanted to play. I’m not back to Square 1, but it’s

not as good as it was when I tried to go back in.” Young, who was told he would be out two to four weeks, returned to the lineup as a DH Tuesday against the A’s—the two-week mark—and aggra-vated the injury when he checked his swing.

Royals ace Zack Greinke says he will make his start Tuesday against the Red Sox after testing his bruised right arm Saturday in Chicago. Greinke, who left his last start after being hit by a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, played catch in the outfield with teammate Luke Hochevar and said he should be ready. “I just did

my regular throwing (session),” Greinke told The Kansas City Star, “and it wasn’t too bad.” The throwing session was monitored closely by man-ager Trey Hillman and pitching coach Bob McClure.

Brewers G.M. Doug Melvin says closer Trevor Hoffman, who has expressed a desire to return to Milwaukee next season, will be welcomed back with open arms. “That always means something when you hear a player say that,” Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We like having him here, too.” Hoffman, 41, can be a free agent after the season. The all-time saves leader has been as effective as ever in his first Milwaukee season, converting 34 of 37 save opportunities entering Sunday’s play.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told the Chi-cago Sun-Times the inflammation in SP Gavin Floyd’s left hip is bad enough to cost him at least one start—and it’s possible he could be shut down for the rest of the season. And Guillen didn’t stop there. If the team continues its losing ways, he added, SP Mark Buehrle could be shut down, too.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia told The Orange County Register that ninth-inning save situations no longer belong exclusively to closer Brian Fuentes. He said it will be “a matchup thing” with his pri-mary setup man, righthander Kevin Jepsen, pitch-ing the ninth at times rather than the lefthanded Fuentes.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that former star P Nolan Ryan will walk away from the Rangers if the new owner doesn’t want to keep him, acknowledg-ing that he only had a handshake deal with current owner Tom Hicks rather than the four-year contract everybody thought he had.

THE LAUNCHING PADWhat to expect in the major leagues today

Twins hit the roadAfter wrapping up their

critical weekend series against the A.L. Central-leading Tigers, the Twins will begin a 10-game road trip tonight in Chicago. Not long ago, this three-game series looked as if it also would be vital for the White Sox. However, Chicago’s post-season chances have taken a hit in recent weeks—in part because of the Twins. Minnesota has won six of the past seven meetings between the teams and leads the season series 9-6. However, the Twins are just 2-5 at U.S. Cellular Field this season. The Twins’ Michael Cuddyer, filling

in for the injured Justin Morneau at first base, will need to continue his recent

hot hitting (and mastery of White Sox pitching). Cuddyer has five homers and 11 RBIs against Chicago this season.

Giants’ chase continuesAs the N.L. wild card-leading Rockies will be quick to point out, overlook-

ing the Diamondbacks is a mistake. After trying to thwart Colorado’s playoff chances over the weekend, Arizona will welcome San Francisco to Chase Field for the start of a three-game series tonight. The Giants have had their way with the D-backs this season, winning eight of the 12 games between them and going 4-2 at Chase Field. First baseman Pablo Sandoval and catcher Bengie Molina have led the way offensively, combining for a .368 batting average, five doubles, five homers and 16 RBIs against Arizona this season.

ALCS preview?Yankees fans don’t often root for the Red Sox, but that might change if

Boston and Los Angeles meet in the ALDS. That is because the Angels have had the Yankees’ number recently. Since 2004, L.A. is 34-21 against New York in the regular season, and the Angels beat the Yankees in the 2005 ALDS. The two teams will meet again tonight at Angel Stadium.

— Chris Bahr

INSIDE DISH

Cubs end Bradley’s season after remarks

Milton Bradley criticized the Cubs in a weekend interview.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP

TwcriagleabetoalobHsa

iMichael Cuddyer has knocked around White Sox pitchers this season.

AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 31Baseball

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 32Baseball

American League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayNew York 95 55 .633 — — 5-5 L-1 52-23 43-32Boston 89 59 .601 5 — 9-1 W-3 52-22 37-37Tampa Bay 77 73 .513 18 13 5-5 W-4 46-26 31-47Toronto 66 83 .443 28½ 23½ 4-6 L-4 38-36 28-47Baltimore 60 89 .403 34½ 29½ 4-6 L-4 36-42 24-47

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayDetroit 79 70 .530 — — 4-6 W-1 48-26 31-44Minnesota 76 73 .510 3 13½ 6-4 L-1 45-33 31-40Chicago 73 77 .487 6½ 17 4-6 L-1 41-34 32-43Cleveland 61 88 .409 18 28½ 1-9 L-8 31-41 30-47Kansas City 61 88 .409 18 28½ 7-3 W-1 30-44 31-44

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayLos Angeles 89 60 .597 — — 5-5 W-1 44-27 45-33Texas 81 67 .547 7½ 8 3-7 L-1 46-32 35-35Seattle 78 72 .520 11½ 12 6-4 W-1 43-32 35-40Oakland 71 78 .477 18 18½ 9-1 W-7 38-36 33-42

National League StandingsEast W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayPhiladelphia 87 61 .588 — — 8-2 W-1 42-32 45-29Florida 80 70 .533 8 5 5-5 L-1 40-35 40-35Atlanta 79 70 .530 8½ 5½ 8-2 L-1 39-35 40-35New York 65 85 .433 23 20 3-7 W-2 38-37 27-48Washington 51 98 .342 36½ 33½ 4-6 L-2 29-43 22-55

Central W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwaySt. Louis 87 63 .580 — — 4-6 L-1 46-32 41-31Chicago 76 72 .514 10 8 5-5 W-1 44-30 32-42Milwaukee 74 75 .497 12½ 10½ 8-2 W-5 37-37 37-38Houston 70 79 .470 16½ 14½ 2-8 L-7 42-33 28-46Cincinnati 69 81 .460 18 16 6-4 W-1 36-39 33-42Pittsburgh 56 91 .381 29½ 27½ 2-8 L-2 37-36 19-55

West W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home AwayLos Angeles 90 60 .600 — — 7-3 W-2 48-30 42-30Colorado 85 65 .567 5 — 5-5 W-2 45-27 40-38San Francisco 80 69 .537 9½ 4½ 4-6 L-2 48-26 32-43San Diego 68 82 .453 22 17 6-4 W-2 39-37 29-45Arizona 65 85 .433 25 20 4-6 L-2 33-42 32-43

z-first game was a win

Pitching Matchups Today’s Games (All times Eastern)

American League The Line

Baltimore (Tillman 2-3) at Toronto (Purcey 0-2), 7:07 p.m. at Tor -140 Bal +130

Boston (Wakefield 11-4) at Kansas City (DiNardo 0-1), 8:10 p.m. Bos -170 at KC +160

Minnesota (Blackburn 10-11) at Chicago White Sox (D.Hudson 0-0), 8:11 p.m. Min -125 at Chi +115

N.Y. Yankees (Pettitte 13-6) at L.A. Angels (J.Saunders 13-7), 10:05 p.m. at LA -125 NY +115

Texas (Millwood 10-10) at Oakland (Ed.Gonzalez 0-2), 10:05 p.m. Tex -120 at Oak+110

National League The Line

San Diego (LeBlanc 2-1) at Pittsburgh (D.McCutchen 0-2), 7:05 p.m. SD -120 at Pit +110

Atlanta (D.Lowe 14-9) at N.Y. Mets (Misch 1-3), 7:10 p.m. Atl -165 at NY +155

Chicago Cubs (Gorzelanny 5-2) at Milwaukee (Looper 13-6), 8:05 p.m. at Mil -140 Chi +130

St. Louis (Lohse 5-8) at Houston (W.Rodriguez 13-10), 8:05 p.m. at Hou -145 STL +135

San Francisco (Zito 10-12) at Arizona (D.Davis 7-13), 9:40 p.m. at Ari -115 SF +105

MORE COVERAGE Get everything you need to

dominate your fantasy league at sportingnews.com/fantasy/baseball

Fantasy Focus Waiver-wire pickups

Barry Zito, SP, Giants. Zito starts this week against the Diamond-backs and Cubs. He has 16 strike-outs in 16 innings in September, and his ERA since the All-Star break is 2.36.

Cliff Pennington, SS, A’s. Penning-ton is making a nice audition for the A’s shortstop job next season. He’s hitting .345 this month, and the A’s have a full slate of games this week.

Miguel Olivo, C, Royals. Olivo is on fire with six home runs in 10 Sep-tember games. Kansas City plays seven games this week against the Red Sox and Twins.

— George Winkler

LEAGUE LEADERSBatting Average

Runs

RBIs

HIts

Doubles

Home Runs

Stolen Bases

Pitching

Strikeouts

Saves

A.L.

Player Team

ISuzuki Seattle 210

Jeter New York 197

Cano New York 193

MiCabrera Detroit 184

AHill Toronto 179

Crawford Tampa Bay 177

Two tied 176

N.L.

Player Team

HaRamirez Florida 190

Braun Milwaukee 180

Tejada Houston 175

FLopez Milwaukee 173

Kemp Los Angeles 172

CaLee Houston 171

Pujols St. Louis 171

A.L.

Player Team

Verlander Detroit 245

Greinke Kansas City 224

Lester Boston 215

FHernandez Seattle 196

Halladay Toronto 193

Beckett Boston 187

Sabathia New York 186

N.L.

Player Team

Lincecum San Francisco 247

JVazquez Atlanta 222

Haren Arizona 208

Gallardo Milwaukee 204

Wainwright St. Louis 193

Jimenez Colorado 181

De La Rosa Colorado 179

A.L.

Player Team

Fuentes Los Angeles 43

Nathan Minnesota 42

MaRivera New York 40

Papelbon Boston 37

Aardsma Seattle 35

Rodney Detroit 33

Jenks Chicago 29.

N.L.

Player Team

HBell San Diego 39

Cordero Cincinnati 38

Franklin St. Louis 37

Broxton Los Angeles 35

BrWilson San Francisco 34

Hoffman Milwaukee 34

Two tied 33

A.L.

Player Team

Teixeira New York 118

Bay Boston 110

Longoria Tampa Bay 108

Lind Toronto 104

Morneau Minnesota 100

CPena Tampa Bay 100

Two tied 98

N.L.

Player Team

Fielder Milwaukee 128

Pujols St. Louis 128

Howard Philadelphia 123

DLee Chicago 103

Braun Milwaukee 102

ADunn Washington 101

Ethier Los Angeles 101

A.L.

Player Team

Figgins Los Angeles 108

Damon New York 105

Jeter New York 104

Pedroia Boston 104

BRoberts Baltimore 103

Scutaro Toronto 100

Two tied 97

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 119

Utley Philadelphia 105

Braun Milwaukee 104

Zimmerman Washington 101

HaRamirez Florida 95

Three tied 94

A.L.

Player Team

Mauer Minnesota .374

ISuzuki Seattle .355

MiCabrera Detroit .332

Jeter New York .329

Bartlett Tampa Bay .323

Cano New York .322

MYoung Texas .322

N.L.

Player Team

HaRamirez Florida .352

Pujols St. Louis .328

Sandoval San Francisco .323

Helton Colorado .315

DWright New York .313

Braun Milwaukee .312

FLopez Milwaukee .311

A.L.

Player Team

CPena Tampa Bay 39

Teixeira New York 37

Bay Boston 35

NCruz Texas 32

AHill Toronto 32

Branyan Seattle 31

Longoria Tampa Bay 31

N.L.

Player Team

Pujols St. Louis 47

Reynolds Arizona 42

Howard Philadelphia 41

Fielder Milwaukee 40

AdGonzalez San Diego 38

ADunn Washington 37

Werth Philadelphia 34

A.L.

Player Team

Ellsbury Boston 63

Crawford Tampa Bay 59

Figgins Los Angeles 42

RDavis Oakland 40

BUpton Tampa Bay 38

Three tied 29

N.L.

Player Team

Bourn Houston 58

Morgan Washington 42

Kemp Los Angeles 34

Rollins Philadelphia 29

Fowler Colorado 27

Pierre Los Angeles 27

Two tied 26

A.L.

Player Team

Sabathia New York 18-7

Feldman Texas 17-5

FHernandez Seattle 16-5

Verlander Detroit 16-9

Beckett Boston 15-6

JerWeaver Los Angeles 15-7

Halladay Toronto 15-10

N.L.

Player Team

Wainwright St. Louis 18-8

CCarpenter St. Louis 16-4

JoJohnson Florida 15-4

De La Rosa Colorado 15-9

Marquis Colorado 15-11

Lincecum San Francisco 14-6

DLowe Atlanta 14-9

A.L.

Player Team

BRoberts Baltimore 54

Butler Kansas City 47

Lind Toronto 46

Cano New York 45

Longoria Tampa Bay 44

Pedroia Boston 44

Two tied 42

N.L.

Player Team

Sandoval San Francisco 42

Ethier Los Angeles 41

Tejada Houston 41

Pujols St. Louis 40

Hawpe Colorado 39

HaRamirez Florida 39

Rollins Philadelphia 39

San Francisco SP Barry Zito

MORRY GASH / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 33Baseball

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Angels 10, Rangers 5

Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Figgins 3b 5 1 1 1 0 1 .295E.Aybar ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 .308Tor.Hunter cf 4 1 0 0 1 2 .308Guerrero dh 4 2 2 0 1 0 .2991-Pettit pr-dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---J.Rivera lf 3 3 1 1 2 0 .291H.Kendrick 2b 5 1 3 5 0 1 .302K.Morales 1b 5 1 1 0 0 4 .298Matthews Jr. rf 3 1 2 3 0 0 .242J.Mathis c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .206Totals 37 10 12 10 4 9

Texas AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Borbon lf 5 1 1 0 0 0 .308Andrus ss 4 1 1 0 0 1 .272Dav.Murphy dh 3 2 1 0 1 0 .268M.Byrd cf 4 0 1 1 0 1 .281Blalock 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .237Kinsler 2b 2 0 1 1 1 0 .253N.Cruz rf 4 0 1 2 0 1 .262C.Davis 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .214I.Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .250Totals 34 5 7 5 2 4

Los Angeles 020 103 310 — 10 12 2Texas 301 010 000 — 5 7 0

1-ran for Guerrero in the 9th. E: E.Aybar (11), K.Morales (8). LOB: Los Angeles 6, Texas 6. 2B: K.Morales (41), Dav.Murphy (20). 3B: H.Kendrick (3). HR: J.Rivera (23), off Holland; H.Kendrick (10), off Holland; Matthews Jr. (4), off Holland; Figgins (4), off D.Mathis. RBIs: Figgins (50), J.Rivera (82), H.Kendrick 5 (60), Matthews Jr. 3 (44), M.Byrd (78), Blalock (60), Kinsler (80), N.Cruz 2 (73). SB: Borbon (15), Andrus (28). S: Andrus. SF: Kinsler. Runners left in scoring position: Los Angeles 2 (Tor.Hunter, K.Morales); Texas 2 (C.Davis, N.Cruz). DP: Texas 2 (M.Byrd, Blalock), (Andrus, Kinsler, Blalock).

Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALackey W, 11-8 6 7 5 4 2 4 102 3.56Bulger 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 3.30Palmer 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 4.02Jepsen 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 4.26Texas IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHolland L, 7-12 5 2⁄3 8 6 6 1 5 93 6.17N.Feliz 1 1 2 2 1 1 23 1.95Grilli 1⁄3 1 1 1 1 1 14 4.24D.Mathis 1 1 1 1 0 1 25 2.85W.Eyre 1 1 0 0 1 1 16 2.35

Inherited runners-scored: Grilli 2-2. HBP: by D.Mathis (E.Aybar), by Holland (Matthews Jr.). PB: J.Mathis. Umpires: Home, Mike DiMuro; First, Ron Kulpa; Second, Dale Scott; Third, Rob Drake. T: 3:06. A: 33,688 (49,170).

Tigers 6, Twins 2

Detroit AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Granderson cf 4 0 0 0 1 1 .248Polanco 2b 4 1 2 3 0 1 .283Thames dh 4 0 1 0 0 2 .254b-A.Huff ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 .245Mi.Cabrera 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .332Ordonez rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .290Thomas rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .244C.Guillen lf 2 0 1 1 0 1 .238a-Raburn ph-lf 3 1 1 1 0 1 .276Inge 3b 3 1 0 0 1 1 .234Laird c 4 1 2 0 1 0 .227Santiago ss 3 1 2 0 0 0 .263Totals 38 6 13 6 3 9

Minnesota AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Span cf 4 0 0 0 0 4 .306O.Cabrera ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 .269Mauer c 4 0 2 0 0 0 .374Kubel rf 3 0 0 1 1 1 .301Cuddyer 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .272Delm.Young lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .268B.Harris dh 3 0 0 0 0 1 .261c-J.Morales ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .367Tolbert 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 .215Punto 2b 3 0 1 1 1 0 .227Totals 32 2 7 2 4 7

Detroit 000 130 020 — 6 13 0Minnesota 100 100 000 — 2 7 1

a-struck out for C.Guillen in the 5th. E: Delm.Young (4). LOB: Detroit 11, Minnesota 7. 2B: Mi.Cabrera (32), Delm.Young (14). 3B: C.Guillen (3). HR: Raburn (13), off Liriano. RBIs: Polanco 3 (68), Ordonez (41), C.Guillen (34), Raburn (40), Kubel (87), Punto (33). SB: Tolbert (6), Punto (12). CS: Punto (3). S: Santiago. SF: Polanco. Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 7 (Mi.Cabrera, Inge, Raburn, Granderson, Ordonez, A.Huff, Laird); Minnesota 3 (Cuddyer, Span, O.Cabrera). DP: Detroit 1 (Santiago, Polanco, Mi.Cabrera).

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAN.Robertson W, 2-2 5 5 2 2 3 6 97 5.13Miner H, 7 2 1 0 0 0 1 36 4.41Seay 1 1 0 0 0 0 8 3.54Rodney 1 0 0 0 1 0 16 3.82Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAS.Baker L, 13-9 4 2⁄3 8 4 4 1 5 86 4.43Mahay 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 5 4.53Crain 2⁄3 1 0 0 0 1 9 5.04Liriano 1 1⁄3 2 2 2 1 1 27 5.79Rauch 1 1 0 0 1 1 20 2.70Keppel 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 4.96

Liriano pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Mahay 2-0, Liriano 1-0, Rauch 1-1. IBB: off Rauch (Granderson). HBP: by Keppel (Inge). Umpires: Home, Chris Guccione; First, Mike Winters; Second, Jerry Layne; Third, Tony Randazzo. T: 3:12. A: 36,335 (46,632).

L.A. Angels 10, Texas 5Detroit 6, Minnesota 2

Kendrick, Matthews carry AngelsTigers avoid sweep, cool off TwinsARLINGTON, TEXAS—Maybe John

Lackey was already thinking about his plans for the evening.

Despite struggling through six innings, Lackey was good enough to pitch the A.L. West-leading Los Angeles Angels closer to the postseason with a 10-5 victory Sunday over sec-ond-place Texas that stretched their division lead to 7½ games with 13 to play.

“I was a little off. I stunk even in the bullpen. It was one of those days,” said Lackey, the native Texan who was headed across the street for the Dallas Cowboys’ home opener in their new stadium Sunday night. “But the boys took care of me for sure and I appreciate it.”

Gary Matthews Jr. snapped out of his September slump with a tiebreaking homer and a two-run single, and Howie Kendrick drove in five runs with a two-run homer and a bases-loaded triple. Juan Rivera and Chone Figgins also homered for the Angels (89-60), who won two of three in the series.

“It’s important to reach our first goal and today got us closer to that,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “To beat the team chasing you is a positive.”

L.A. is closing in on its third straight division title.

Kendrick’s two-run homer tied the game earlier in the sixth. He finished with three hits and is batting .420 (34-of-81) in his last 20 games.

— The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS—The Detroit Tigers gave themselves a little breathing room in the A.L. Central.

Placido Polanco drove in three runs, Detroit’s bullpen pitched four shutout innings and the Tigers avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday to increase their division lead to three games.

Ryan Raburn homered for slumping Detroit, which won for the second time in six games and fourth in 13.

“We needed this one,” pitcher Nate Robertson said. “You play here and the Twins get the first two, they sniff sweep. I’ve seen it a few times.”

Minnesota, which had won six straight, got two hits from Joe Mauer, who increased his batting average to a major league-best .374. The race between the Tigers and Twins is the tightest in any division.

“I guess we’ll have to take two out of three and now go on a long road trip,” Minnesota man-ager Ron Gardenhire said. “We’ll see if we can hang in there until we get back to Detroit and go from there.”

The teams meet again for four games at Comerica Park begin-ning Sept. 28. That will wrap up a 10-game road trip for Minne-sota, and begin a seven-game, final-week homestand for the Tigers, who have three games each in Cleveland and Chicago

before going home.“From the beginning, every

game was important and now it’s even more,” Polanco said. “Every time you beat those guys you don’t have to look at the scoreboard.”

In his fourth start after miss-ing two months following elbow surgery, Robertson (2-2) went deep in the count against many hitters but allowed just five hits and two earned runs in five innings.

Zach Miner, Bobby Seay and Fernando Rodney combined to allow two singles in four score-less innings of relief for Detroit.

“Miner did a hell of a job, and then Bobby got a big double-play ball,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Those key outs came after Mauer led off the eighth inning with a single, and ended the hopes of 36,335 in attendance for a second consecutive rally. Min-nesota scored five runs in the eighth Saturday for a 6-2 win.

Scott Baker (13-9), who was 4-1 in his previous seven starts, allowed eight hits and four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. In three starts against the Tigers this year, Baker has given up 15 earned runs in 15 innings.

“Whatever their numbers are, if you make good pitches you can get those guys out,” he said. “Even though I felt like I threw OK, I just gave up too many hits.”

— The Associated Press

PAUL BATTAGLIA / AP

Twins RF Jason Kubel couldn’t catch Miguel Cabrera’s double in the seventh.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Mariners 7, Yankees 1

New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Jeter ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .329R.Pena ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284Damon lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .288Hinske rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222Teixeira 1b 4 1 3 0 0 0 .292Hairston Jr. 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .242A.Rodriguez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .282Miranda 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000H.Matsui dh 3 0 0 0 1 1 .278Posada c 4 0 1 1 0 0 .281Cano 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .322a-S.Duncan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .143Me.Cabrera rf-lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .273Gardner cf 2 0 0 0 2 1 .281Totals 31 1 5 1 5 5

Seattle AB R H BI BB SO Avg.I.Suzuki rf 3 1 0 0 1 0 .355F.Gutierrez cf 3 1 1 1 1 0 .279Jo.Lopez 2b 3 1 1 1 0 1 .268Griffey Jr. dh 3 2 2 4 1 0 .219Beltre 3b 4 0 1 1 0 2 .260Hall lf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .221Carp 1b 3 1 1 0 1 1 .275Moore c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .111Jo.Wilson ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 .225Totals 29 7 7 7 4 7

New York 000 001 000 — 1 5 0Seattle 250 000 00x — 7 7 0

a-flied out for Cano in the 9th. LOB: New York 8, Seattle 4. 2B: Teixeira 2 (42), Posada (24), Jo.Lopez (38), Griffey Jr. (19). HR: Griffey Jr. (16), off Chamberlain. RBIs: Pos-ada (77), F.Gutierrez (61), Jo.Lopez (91), Griffey Jr. 4 (50), Beltre (40). S: Jo.Wilson. SF: Jo.Lopez. Runners left in scoring position: New York 5 (H.Matsui, A.Rodriguez, Me.Cabrera 2, Posada); Seattle 2 (Jo.Wilson, Beltre). GIDP: Jeter. DP: Seattle 1 (Jo.Wilson, Jo.Lopez, Carp).

New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAChamberlain L, 8-6 3 6 7 7 3 2 69 4.73Mitre 5 1 0 0 1 5 65 6.88Seattle IP H R ER BB SO NP ERASnell W, 5-2 5 1⁄3 4 1 1 4 2 105 4.53Olson 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 25 5.65M.Lowe 1 1 0 0 0 1 11 2.85Aardsma 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 2.03

Inherited runners-scored: Olson 2-0. IBB: off Cham-berlain (I.Suzuki). WP: Chamberlain. Umpires: Home, Chuck Meriwether; First, Laz Diaz; Second, Eric Cooper; Third, Mike Reilly. T: 2:50. A: 35,885 (47,878).

Starters making it easier for Sox

BALTIMORE—As long as Boston’s starters keep throwing effectively, the Red Sox will have an excellent chance to win—even if their oppo-nent isn’t the Baltimore Orioles.

Daisuke Matsuzaka extended an outstanding stretch by Boston’s rotation, and the Red Sox cruised past the Orioles 9-3 Sunday for a three-game sweep.

Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury both homered and drove in three runs for the Red Sox, who cap-tured the season series 16-2 by winning the final eight games.

The victory, combined with the Texas Rangers’ loss to Los Ange-les, reduced Boston’s magic num-ber to win the A.L. wild card to seven. The Red Sox have an eight-game lead over the Rangers.

Pitching for the second time since returning from a three-

month stay on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder, Matsuzaka (3-5) allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. The righthander struck out five and walked one, a suitable follow-up to the six shutout innings he threw against L.A. on Tuesday.

Boston starters have allowed three runs or fewer in 13 straight games, going 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA. That’s one reason why the Red Sox have won 10 of 11, including a 3-1 win Friday night.

“It’s amazing how, when pitch-ing is consistent, everything else seems to have a way of working, even when the bats aren’t maybe alive,” manager Terry Francona said. “It certainly gives you a chance every night to be a good team.”

— The Associated Press

Red Sox 9, Orioles 3

Boston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Ellsbury cf 4 2 3 3 1 1 .304Pedroia 2b 5 1 2 0 0 0 .296V.Martinez 1b 4 1 2 1 1 0 .298Youkilis 3b 4 1 1 0 1 0 .309Lowrie 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .158Bay lf 4 1 2 3 0 2 .268Bri.Anderson lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237J.Drew rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .266a-Reddick ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .233Lowell dh 5 0 1 2 0 1 .295Varitek c 5 1 1 0 0 1 .211Ale.Gonzalez ss 4 2 2 0 0 0 .297Totals 40 9 14 9 3 6

Baltimore AB R H BI BB SO Avg.B.Roberts 2b 5 0 1 0 0 2 .285Pie cf 4 0 0 0 1 3 .258Wieters c 4 2 3 0 0 0 .282G.Rodriguez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Markakis rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .293Scott lf 3 1 1 2 1 0 .257Wigginton dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .268Aubrey 1b 3 0 1 1 1 1 .308Turner 3b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .200C.Izturis ss 4 0 2 0 0 1 .256Totals 34 3 9 3 4 8

Boston 312 101 100 — 9 14 0Baltimore 000 201 000 — 3 9 0

a-flied out for J.Drew in the 9th. LOB: Boston 8, Baltimore 8. 2B: Ellsbury (26), Ale.Gonzalez (8), B.Roberts (54). HR: Bay (35), off Waters; Ellsbury (8), off Bass; Scott (24), off Matsuzaka. RBIs: Ellsbury 3 (55), V.Martinez (98), Bay 3 (110), Lowell 2 (74), Scott 2 (73), Aubrey (4). SB: Ellsbury (63). Runners left in scoring position: Boston 5 (Varitek, Bay, V.Martinez, Lowell 2); Baltimore 4 (Pie 2, Turner 2). GIDP: Lowell, B.Roberts, Turner. DP: Boston 2 (Pedroia, Ale.Gonzalez, V.Martinez), (Youkilis, Pedroia, V.Martinez); Baltimore 1 (Turner, B.Roberts, Aubrey).

Boston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMatsuzaka W, 3-5 5 1⁄3 8 3 3 1 5 110 6.80R.Ramirez 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 2 1 27 2.67Okajima 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 3.36Saito 1 1 0 0 1 2 19 2.44Baltimore IP H R ER BB SO NP ERABerken L, 5-12 3 10 6 6 2 3 68 6.41Waters 2 3 2 2 1 1 44 10.13Bass 2 1 1 1 0 0 13 4.96Sarfate 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 6.00Ji.Johnson 1 0 0 0 0 1 11 3.97

Waters pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored: R.Ramirez 3-1, Bass 3-1. HBP: by Bass (Bay). Umpires: Home, Doug Eddings; First, Brian Knight; Second, Hunter Wendelstedt; Third, Dana DeMuth. T: 2:54. A: 27,546 (48,290).

Boston 9, Baltimore 3

Junior puts Yanks’ plans on holdSEATTLE—When he was younger,

Ken Griffey Jr. put a higher pre-mium on beating the New York Yankees. Even now at 39, Griffey still has a little something left for them.

Griffey homered and drove in a season-high four runs Sunday, putting the Yankees’ playoff party on hold by leading the Seattle Mariners to a 7-1 victory.

The loss prevented New York from clinching a spot in the post-season. The Yankees can secure their 14th playoff berth in 15 years with a victory at the Los Angeles Angels tonight or a Texas loss at Oakland.

“I didn’t really pay attention. I think you all paid more attention to it than I did. Maybe younger I might have,” said Griffey, who later admitted he knew the Yan-kees could have wrapped up a playoff berth Sunday. “Right now, I’m not. (We’re) just trying to get the wins and whoever is out there just happens to be out there.”

This time it was Joba Cham-berlain who was added to Griffey’s ledger. Griffey lined an RBI double in the first inning, then cracked a three-run shot in the second off Chamberlain, making him the 405th pitcher to give up a homer to Griffey.

Seattle took two of three from the Yankees, who lead the A.L. East by five games over Boston with 12 to play. One more win—or a Rangers loss—assures New York of at least the wild card.

— The Associated Press

Seattle 7, N.Y. Yankees 1

During his 17-season major league career, Strawberry

swatted 335 homers and drove in 1,000 runs. His first

eight seasons were with the Mets, and his final five were

with the Yankees. And he still keeps tabs on the New York

teams. Strawberry recently spoke with Buffalo Business

First’s Tim O’Shei about the upcoming postseason and

today’s game.

Q: Who’s your pick to win it all?

A: Yankees.

Q: Who’s the dark horse to get to the World Series?

A: Probably the Dodgers, because they’re young.

Q: Your thoughts on the Mets’ season?

A: Aw (sighs). Heartbreaking. Very heartbreaking.

Q: What player today most reminds you of yourself?

A: (They don’t) really remind me of me, but I admire two players that play the game

the right way. That’s Albert Pujols and that’s Derek Jeter.

Q: Which pitcher today would you least like to face?

A: Today? None. None of them are tougher than Nolan Ryan.

MARC LEVINE / AP

Q&A with ... former MLB greatDarryl Strawberry

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched well enough in his second start since returning from the D.L.

GAIL BURTON / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 34Baseball

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Athletics 11, Indians 4

Cleveland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Brantley cf 4 0 3 0 1 0 .338J.Carroll 2b 3 1 0 0 1 0 .284b-A.Marte ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .225A.Cabrera ss 5 0 2 1 0 0 .306Choo rf 3 1 0 1 1 0 .300Jh.Peralta 3b 3 1 0 0 1 1 .264Hafner dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 .268LaPorta 1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .261Crowe lf 4 0 1 1 0 1 .230Toregas c 3 1 0 0 1 1 .190Totals 34 4 8 4 5 5

Oakland AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Kennedy 3b 5 1 3 3 0 0 .291R.Davis cf 5 2 2 1 0 0 .316R.Sweeney rf 5 0 2 2 0 0 .288K.Suzuki c 4 1 0 0 0 2 .269Cust dh 4 1 2 0 0 1 .2371-E.Patterson pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 .204a-Carson ph-dh 1 0 1 1 0 0 .375M.Ellis 2b 5 1 1 0 0 0 .272D.Barton 1b 2 0 1 1 1 0 .248Hairston lf 3 2 2 1 0 0 .237Pennington ss 4 2 1 1 0 2 .288Totals 38 11 15 10 1 5

Cleveland 000 101 101 — 4 8 2Oakland 050 004 11x — 11 15 1

b-struck out for J.Carroll in the 9th. 1-ran for Cust in the 7th. E: Gosling (1), Crowe (3), K.Suzuki (4). LOB: Cleveland 9, Oakland 7. 2B: Brantley (3), A.Cabrera (39), LaPorta (11), Kennedy (26), R.Sweeney (29), Hairston (13), Pennington (9). 3B: Crowe (3). HR: Kennedy (11), off Carmona. RBIs: A.Cabrera (64), Choo (79), Hafner (43), Crowe (15), Kennedy 3 (59), R.Davis (43), R.Sweeney 2 (51), Carson (1), D.Barton (13), Hairston (35), Pennington (16). SB: J.Carroll (4). SF: Choo, D.Barton, Hairston. Runners left in scoring posi-tion: Cleveland 7 (Choo 3, Crowe, A.Cabrera, Toregas, Jh.Peralta); Oakland 5 (K.Suzuki 3, R.Davis, M.Ellis).

Cleveland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERACarmona L, 3-12 5 2⁄3 10 9 8 1 2 98 6.89Sipp 1 1⁄3 3 1 1 0 2 26 3.25Gosling 1 2 1 0 0 1 23 4.58Oakland IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAEveland W, 2-3 5 5 1 1 2 2 90 6.50Blevins 2 2 2 2 2 0 39 5.65Meloan 2 1 1 0 1 3 43 0.00

Inherited runners-scored: Sipp 1-1. HBP: by Car-mona (K.Suzuki). Umpires: Home, Angel Campos; First, Gerry Davis; Second, C.B. Bucknor; Third, Mike Everitt. T: 2:57. A: 15,430 (35,067).

Royals 2, White Sox 1

Kansas City AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Bloomquist rf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .271Maier lf 3 0 1 1 1 0 .247Butler 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .299Jacobs dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 .229a-Olivo ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 1 .251Callaspo 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .297J.Buck c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .235Lu.Hernandez 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .175Y.Betancourt ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .238J.Anderson cf 3 1 1 0 0 0 .239Totals 30 2 5 1 2 5

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Podsednik dh 4 1 2 0 0 0 .304Beckham 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .266Pierzynski c 4 0 2 1 0 1 .309Konerko 1b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .283Al.Ramirez ss 3 0 0 0 1 2 .279Dye rf 2 0 0 0 1 0 .250Quentin lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .232Getz 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .269Rios cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .242b-Kotsay ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .2801-Wise pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .206Totals 31 1 6 1 4 7

Kansas City 101 000 000 — 2 5 0Chicago 000 100 000 — 1 6 0

b-singled for Rios in the 9th. 1-ran for Kotsay in the 9th. LOB: Kansas City 3, Chicago 8. 2B: Bloomquist (11). RBIs: Maier (27), Pierzynski (48). SB: Bloomquist (21), J.Buck (1), J.Anderson (20), Podsednik (28). CS: Bloomquist (6), Wise (4). Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 1 (Lu.Hernandez); Chicago 5 (Quentin 2, Rios, Dye 2). GIDP: Jacobs, Beckham. DP: Kansas City 1 (Tejeda, Y.Betancourt, Butler); Chicago 1 (Konerko, Al.Ramirez, Konerko).

Kansas City IP H R ER BB SO NP ERATejeda W, 4-1 6 3 1 1 2 5 104 2.94R.Colon H, 5 1 1⁄3 2 0 0 1 1 30 4.73Soria S, 26-29 1 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 23 2.40Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAGarcia L, 2-3 8 5 2 2 1 3 94 4.01Thornton 1 0 0 0 1 2 20 2.69

Inherited runners-scored: Soria 2-0. HBP: by R.Colon (Dye). WP: Tejeda, Garcia. Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Jim Wolf; Third, Dan Bellino. T: 2:40. A: 22,798 (40,615).

Rays 3, Blue Jays 1

Toronto AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Scutaro ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .282Jo.McDonald ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 .235A.Hill 2b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .285Lind lf 3 0 1 0 1 1 .298V.Wells cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .263Encarnacion 3b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .217Barajas c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .235Millar 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 .211b-Overbay ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .268R.Ruiz dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 .272J.Bautista rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .225Totals 32 1 5 1 3 4

Tampa Bay AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Bartlett ss 3 1 0 0 1 0 .323Crawford lf 4 1 2 2 0 1 .307Longoria 3b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .282Zobrist rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .288Burrell dh 3 0 3 0 1 0 .232W.Aybar 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .249Zaun c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .260a-Navarro ph-c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .223Iwamura 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .294B.Upton cf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .233Totals 33 3 11 3 3 4

Toronto 000 100 000 — 1 5 0Tampa Bay 200 000 01x — 3 11 0

a-flied out for Zaun in the 8th. b-singled for Millar in the 9th. LOB: Toronto 7, Tampa Bay 9. 2B: R.Ruiz (2). HR: Encarnacion (4), off Price; Crawford (14), off Hal-laday; W.Aybar (11), off Carlson. RBIs: Encarnacion (12), Crawford 2 (66), W.Aybar (35). SB: A.Hill (5), B.Upton (38). CS: Crawford (15). Runners left in scoring position: Toronto 4 (Encarnacion 2, J.Bautista, V.Wells); Tampa Bay 5 (Zaun, W.Aybar, Bartlett 3).

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHalladay L, 15-10 7 10 2 2 3 4 115 3.01Carlson 1 1 1 1 0 0 15 4.50Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAPrice W, 9-7 6 2⁄3 3 1 1 2 2 107 4.41Balfour H, 17 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 1 16 4.66Shouse H, 10 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 4 5.11Wheeler H, 16 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 10 3.33Springer H, 13 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 6 4.28Howell S, 17-25 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 9 2.88

Inherited runners-scored: Shouse 1-0, Wheeler 1-0. Umpires: Home, Mike Estabrook; First, Dan Iassogna; Second, Larry Vanover; Third, Damien Beal. T: 2:44. A: 20,937 (36,973).

Oakland 11, Cleveland 4Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 1 Kansas City 2, Chicago White Sox 1

Eveland makes most of startMistake costs Halladay again Tejeda wins third straight gameOAKLAND—Dana Eveland

doesn’t mind waiting in the wings but would like the chance to start. Eveland provided a good opening act Sunday.

Eveland pitched five strong innings in his first start since July 7 as the Oakland A’s matched their season high seven-game win streak by defeating the Cleveland Indians 11-4.

The A’s lefthander earned his first win since April 26 to improve to 2-3 for the season. Eveland began the season as one of the A’s starters but lost his job after five starts. He moved to the bullpen but was then shipped to Class AAA Sac-ramento on May 5.

“Sinker, cutter combo,” said Eveland describing what he used to beat the Indians. “I think I threw about eight off speed pitches. I just threw sink-ers and cutters pretty much the entire game.”

Eveland learned how to throw the cutter while in Sacramento.

“It’s been a savior,” said Eve-land. “It’s the missing link in a great career that’s what I’m hop-ing for. It’s been great so far. Throwing it in Triple-A this year and in my last three starts and it’s been wonderful. It’s a lot of outs and soft action which is what you want.”

“Same thing today, I got swings and misses on it and I got soft ground balls and soft fly balls.”

— The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—Roy Halla-day made one bad pitch and that’s all it took for another loss to Tampa Bay.

David Price allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings, Carl Craw-ford hit a two-run homer and the Rays beat Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Sunday.

“The only way to beat a real good pitcher with any kind of consistency is to pitch well,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Mad-don said. “You have to pitch well to beat him and David was very good.”

The Rays are 4-1 against Hal-laday this year, and became the first team to beat the Toronto ace four times during the same season.

“They’re aggressive,” Halla-day said. “They were swinging early today.”

Halladay (15-10) allowed two runs and 10 hits over seven innings. The right-hander has lost five of his last seven starts.

“He’s probably the best in the business, so it feels good to come away with four wins against him,” said Crawford, who has homered twice off Halladay this season.

The Blue Jays have scored just 18 runs in the six games Halla-day started this year against Tampa Bay.

Price (9-7) gave up three hits and has beaten Halladay twice this season. Crawford put the Rays up 2-0 with his 14th homer of the season in the first.

— The Associated Press

CHICAGO—Even with a blis-ter on his right throwing finger and the lack of his usual overpowering fast-ball, Robinson Tejeda still continued his dominance since joining the rotation.

Tejeda won his third straight start, pitching six solid innings and the Kan-sas City Royals beat the Chi-cago White Sox 2-1 on Sunday.

Mitch Maier had an RBI single for the Royals, who have won 10 of their last 13.

Since moving from the bullpen to the starting

rotation on Sept. 4, Tejeda (4-1) is 3-0. He has allowed just two runs over 22 1/3 innings as a starter.

“He (Tejeda) didn’t really have his overpowering fast-ball. It was one of those days like all pitchers have. When you reach back it just doesn’t come out like it (usually) does,” Royals C John Buck said. “But he reached down and really let it go every once in a while when we needed do and really did a good job locating with his fastball both sides of the plate.”

— The Associated Press

JOHN SMIERCIAK / AP

Kansas City CF Josh Anderson, above, robbed Chicago’s Carlos Quentin of a homer in the third inning, which would have tied the game.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 35Baseball

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 36Baseball

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Dodgers 6, Giants 2

San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.A.Torres lf 4 2 2 2 0 0 .257F.Sanchez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .292Winn rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .263Sandoval 3b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .323B.Molina c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .262Uribe ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .289Garko 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .220Rowand cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .265Lincecum p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .148Medders p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000a-Aurilia ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .226Joaquin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 30 2 5 2 2 7

Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Furcal ss 3 2 1 0 1 0 .257Ethier rf 3 1 1 2 1 2 .283M.Ramirez lf 2 0 0 0 2 0 .301Pierre lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .314Kemp cf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .307Loney 1b 2 1 1 0 2 0 .283Blake 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .278Belliard 2b 4 0 1 2 0 2 .259R.Martin c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .255Wolf p 2 1 0 0 1 1 .169Kuo p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Sherrill p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---b-Thome ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .125Broxton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 28 6 5 4 7 8

San Francisco 100 001 000 — 2 5 0Los Angeles 002 210 10x — 6 5 0

a-struck out for Howry in the 8th. b-struck out for Sher-rill in the 8th. LOB: San Francisco 3, Los Angeles 6. 3B: Furcal (5). HR: A.Torres 2 (5), off Wolf 2; Ethier (31), off Lincecum. RBIs: A.Torres 2 (19), Ethier 2 (101), Belliard 2 (36). SB: Furcal (9). S: Blake. Runners left in scoring position: San Francisco 2 (B.Molina 2); Los Angeles 2 (Blake 2). DP: Los Angeles 2 (Belliard, Furcal, Loney), (Blake, Belliard, Loney).

San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERALincecum L, 14-6 4 4 5 5 4 3 86 2.47Medders 2 0 0 0 1 3 33 3.13Howry 1 1 1 1 2 1 23 3.49Joaquin 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 3.12Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAWolf W, 11-6 6 5 2 2 2 3 85 3.24Kuo H, 13 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 2.36Sherrill 1 0 0 0 0 2 13 0.40Broxton 1 0 0 0 0 2 12 2.39

Wolf pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Lincecum pitched to 2 batters in the 5th. Inherited runners-scored: Med-ders 2-1, Kuo 1-0. IBB: off Howry (M.Ramirez, Loney), off Medders (Loney). WP: Medders, Howry. Umpires: Home, James Hoye; First, Tim Tschida; Second, Jeff Nel-son; Third, Bob Davidson. T: 2:38. A: 53,233 (56,000).

Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 1

Colorado AB R H BI BB SO Avg.C.Gonzalez cf-lf 4 0 0 0 1 1 .277S.Smith lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .299Daley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---F.Morales p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400Tulowitzki ss 4 2 2 0 0 1 .289Giambi 1b 4 1 2 2 0 2 .400Fowler cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269Spilborghs rf 4 1 1 0 0 1 .249Torrealba c 4 1 2 1 0 1 .290Stewart 3b 3 0 1 1 1 1 .230Barmes 2b 3 0 2 1 0 0 .241Jimenez p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .236Helton 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .315Totals 33 5 10 5 2 9

Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg.C.Young cf 3 0 0 0 1 2 .205S.Drew ss 3 0 1 0 1 0 .260J.Upton rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .306Montero c 3 0 0 0 1 2 .295Reynolds 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .266G.Parra lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .294R.Roberts 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .277Allen 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .218Haren p 3 0 1 1 0 1 .246D.Cabrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Totals 32 1 5 1 3 11

Colorado 000 000 320 — 5 10 0Arizona 010 000 000 — 1 5 1

E: S.Drew (11). LOB: Colorado 5, Arizona 7. HR: Giambi (2), off Haren. RBIs: Giambi 2 (11), Torrealba (26), Stewart (69), Barmes (73), Haren (10). CS: C.Gonzalez (4). S: Barmes, Jimenez. Runners left in scoring position: Colorado 4 (S.Smith 2, Jimenez, C.Gonzalez); Arizona 5 (Reynolds 2, J.Upton 2, S.Drew). DP: Arizona 1 (Reynolds, R.Roberts, Allen).

Colorado IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAJimenez W, 14-11 7 5 1 1 3 8 121 3.47Daley 1 0 0 0 0 1 17 3.77F.Morales 1 0 0 0 0 2 13 2.84Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHaren L, 14-9 8 8 5 5 2 7 102 2.90D.Cabrera 1 2 0 0 0 2 21 6.34

WP: Jimenez, Haren. Umpires: Home, Angel Hernan-dez; First, Randy Marsh; Second, Lance Barksdale; Third, Marvin Hudson. T: 2:36. A: 29,397 (48,652).

L.A. Dodgers 6, San Francisco 2Colorado 5, Arizona 1

Dodgers hit road, look to clinchGiambi earns his keep, helps Rockies pad leadLOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles

Dodgers may get a chance over the next 1 1/2 weeks to find out if champagne stains come out of gray uniforms easier than from white ones.

Andre Ethier hit a go-ahead two-run homer off Tim Lince-cum, Ronnie Belliard added a two-run single against the reigning N.L. Cy Young Award winner, and the N.L. West lead-ers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 on Sunday to go 30 games over .500 for the first time in almost 24 years.

The Dodgers, who clinched the division title at home last season with three games to spare, now embark on a nine-game road trip through Wash-ington, Pittsburgh and San Diego. They are five games ahead of second-place Colorado with 12 to play, and will finish the regular season at Chavez Ravine with a three-game series against the Rockies—who are 3-12 against them this year.

“We’re going to try to clinch as early as we can. I just want to get this thing over with, and win-ning games is the only way we’re going to do it,” manager Joe Torre said. “If we don’t do it, we don’t deserve it. That’s what it comes down to. I mean, you’re certainly not fearful of anything—but you get what you earn in this game. There are a lot of clubs at this time of year that wish they could control their own destiny, and we’re one of them.”

— The Associated Press

PHOENIX—Jason Giambi has had a big hand in Colorado regaining a firm grip on the N.L. wild card with a dozen games to go.

Giambi homered for the second con-secutive game and Ubaldo Jimenez out-pitched Dan Haren to help the Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Sunday.

“To be frank, I think they showed us why they’re a better team,” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said. “They beat our best, and they did it methodically.”

Colorado expanded its wild-card cushion over its three nearest pursuers because San Francisco, Florida and Atlanta all lost. The Rockies lead the Giants by 4½ games, the Marlins by five and the Braves by 5½.

After winning a franchise-record 40th road game, Colorado opens a nine-game homestand on Tuesday.

The Rockies lost five of six during their road trip but finished 4-5 after con-secutive wins over Arizona. They are in the same place they were when the trip began, manager Jim Tracy noted, 4½ games up in the wild-card race.

“We go back home with nine of our final 12 games left at home,” he said. “You’ve got to feel pretty doggone good about that.”

In the N.L. West race, Colorado remained five games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.

Giambi, who had a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning of Colorado’s 10-4 victory Saturday night, added a two-run shot off Haren in the eighth. That gives him 11 RBIs in his 12 games since joining the Rockies earlier this month.

“This is a great teammate, this is a unique player,” Tracy said. “This is a

guy that lives for this time of the season, and I really think right now he’s in a really good place.”

After being released by Oakland, where he was hitting .193, Giambi was lured to Colorado by the chance to play for Tracy on a team that could contend. His role off the bench suited him perfectly.

“It’s a great team, that’s why I chose to come here,” Giambi said, “Not only the

guys, but the way they played the game, and Jim Tracy was a huge reason.”

— The Associated Press

National Leaguewild card standings W L Pct. GBColorado 85 65 .567 —San Francisco 80 69 .537 4½ Florida 80 70 .533 5Atlanta 79 70 .530 5½

PAUL CONNORS / AP

Yorvit Torrealba, left, scored one of Colorado’s three seventh-inning runs.

NATIONAL LEAGUEBrewers 6, Astros 0

Houston AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Bourn cf 4 0 0 0 0 4 .291K.Matsui 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .252Berkman 1b 3 0 0 0 1 1 .270Ca.Lee lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 .305Pence rf 2 0 1 0 2 1 .289Tejada ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .300Blum 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .254Quintero c 3 0 1 0 0 1 .232F.Paulino p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .045c-Erstad ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .200Brocail p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---W.Lopez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Byrdak p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Gervacio p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 30 0 5 0 4 12

Milwaukee AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Counsell 2b 4 1 1 1 1 2 .282C.Hart rf 4 1 1 2 1 1 .256Braun lf 3 0 2 0 1 0 .312Fielder 1b 2 2 1 1 2 0 .299McGehee 3b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .304Gerut cf 4 1 3 2 0 0 .233Mi.Rivera c 4 0 0 0 0 2 .223A.Escobar ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .286Gallardo p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .172a-C.Patterson ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .120Villanueva p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111b-Gamel ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .227C.Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000d-Catalanotto ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284e-Bourgeois ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .188Burns p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077Totals 32 6 10 6 6 8

Houston 000 000 000 — 0 5 0Milwaukee 300 100 02x — 6 10 0

a-singled for Gallardo in the 5th. b-struck out for Vil-lanueva in the 6th. c-grounded out for F.Paulino in the 7th. d-was announced for C.Smith in the 8th. e-walked for Catalanotto in the 8th. LOB: Houston 7, Milwaukee 8. 2B: Ca.Lee (31), Tejada (41), Quintero (8), Gerut (12). HR: C.Hart (12), off F.Paulino; Fielder (40), off F.Paulino; Gerut (8), off F.Paulino. RBIs: Counsell (35), C.Hart 2 (48), Fielder (128), Gerut 2 (33). CS: Braun (6), C.Patterson (1). Runners left in scoring position: Houston 5 (Blum 2, Tejada 2, Bourn); Milwaukee 5 (McGehee 2, Gamel, C.Hart 2). DP: Milwaukee 2 (A.Escobar, Fielder), (A.Escobar, Counsell, Fielder).

Houston IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAF.Paulino L, 2-10 6 8 4 4 2 7 110 6.06Brocail 1 0 0 0 1 1 20 3.29W.Lopez 2⁄3 2 2 2 1 0 17 11.74Byrdak 0 0 0 0 2 0 14 3.19Gervacio 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 4 2.35Milwaukee IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAGallardo W, 13-12 5 3 0 0 3 7 77 3.73Villanueva 1 1 0 0 1 1 25 5.44C.Smith 2 0 0 0 0 3 19 3.23Burns 1 1 0 0 0 1 18 5.98

Byrdak pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Byrdak 2-1, Gervacio 3-0. Umpires: Home, Ed Rapuano; First, Paul Schrieber; Second, Joe West; Third, Paul Nauert. T: 2:50. A: 30,024 (41,900).

Reds 8, Marlins 1

Florida AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Coghlan lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .310N.Johnson 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .293Ha.Ramirez ss 4 0 1 0 0 2 .352Cantu 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .280Uggla 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .240Jo.Baker c 3 1 1 0 0 0 .271C.Ross cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .273B.Carroll rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .275West p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .069Cr.Martinez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000a-G.Sanchez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .188T.Wood p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500b-Gload ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .271A.Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083Totals 30 1 5 1 0 3

Cincinnati AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Stubbs cf 5 1 2 1 0 1 .265Janish ss 4 1 2 0 1 0 .220Votto 1b 4 1 1 2 0 2 .304B.Phillips 2b 4 1 2 1 0 0 .279Rolen 3b 3 1 1 1 1 0 .250Gomes rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 .264D.McDonald lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 .255C.Miller c 4 1 2 3 0 0 .159K.Wells p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .091Herrera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000c-A.Rosales ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .202Owings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245Totals 33 8 11 8 4 7

Florida 000 000 010 — 1 5 0Cincinnati 001 310 30x — 8 11 0

a-lined out for Cr.Martinez in the 6th. b-grounded into a fielder’s choice for T.Wood in the 8th. c-struck out for Herrera in the 8th. LOB: Florida 4, Cincinnati 6. 2B: Coghlan (25), Stubbs (3), Janish (19). 3B: B.Phillips (4). HR: C.Miller (1), off West; Votto (22), off T.Wood. RBIs: B.Carroll (16), Stubbs (15), Votto 2 (72), B.Phillips (90), Rolen (15), C.Miller 3 (6). SB: Ha.Ramirez (26). S: K.Wells. Runners left in scoring position: Florida 4 (Cantu, N.Johnson 3); Cincinnati 2 (Votto, Gomes). DP: Cincinnati 2 (Janish, B.Phillips, Votto), (B.Phillips, Janish, Votto).

Florida IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAWest L, 7-6 4 1⁄3 5 5 5 3 4 77 4.85Cr.Martinez 2⁄3 2 0 0 0 0 6 5.64T.Wood 2 4 3 3 1 2 37 3.00A.Miller 1 0 0 0 0 1 10 4.74Cincinnati IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAK.Wells W, 2-4 7 5 1 1 0 2 92 4.84Herrera 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 2.87Owings 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 5.21

K.Wells pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Cr.Martinez 2-1, Herrera 2-0. HBP: by K.Wells (Cantu), by Herrera (Coghlan). Umpires: Home, Jim Joyce; First, Bill Miller; Second, Adrian Johnson; Third, Derryl Cousins. T: 2:34. A: 16,186 (42,319).

Phillies 4, Braves 2

Philadelphia AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Rollins ss 4 2 1 0 1 1 .247Victorino cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 .297B.Francisco cf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .270Utley 2b 5 0 1 1 0 2 .294Howard 1b 4 0 1 0 1 3 .271Werth rf 1 1 0 0 3 1 .274Ibanez lf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .277P.Feliz 3b 4 0 2 1 0 1 .264Bako c 4 0 1 0 0 0 .190Cl.Lee p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .241T.Walker p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Escalona p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Condrey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---c-Mayberry ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 .200Madson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 33 4 10 4 5 9

Atlanta AB R H BI BB SO Avg.McLouth cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .269Prado 1b 4 1 1 0 0 1 .298C.Jones 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .271M.Diaz rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .321G.Anderson lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .272Infante ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .293D.Ross c 3 0 2 0 0 1 .268d-K.Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .220Conrad 2b 3 1 0 0 1 2 .234Hanson p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .061a-Church ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .272Medlen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Logan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---b-Norton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .141O’Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000e-McCann ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 .288Totals 34 2 7 2 2 11

Philadelphia 001 210 000 — 4 10 1Atlanta 100 000 001 — 2 7 0

a-struck out for Hanson in the 5th. b-grounded out for Logan in the 7th. c-doubled for Condrey in the 8th. d-grounded out for D.Ross in the 9th. e-singled for O’Flaherty in the 9th. E: Rollins (6). LOB: Philadelphia 9, Atlanta 8. 2B: Rollins (39), B.Francisco (6), Howard (34), Ibanez (32), Mayberry (3), Prado (30), C.Jones (21). 3B: Utley (3). RBIs: B.Francisco (12), Utley (91), Ibanez (87), P.Feliz (70), M.Diaz (52), McCann (88). SB: Werth (14). CS: Victorino (8), P.Feliz (1). S: T.Walker. Runners left in scoring position: Philadelphia 5 (Utley, Ibanez 2, Rollins 2); Atlanta 3 (G.Anderson, M.Diaz, D.Ross). DP: Atlanta 2 (D.Ross, D.Ross, Infante), (Infante, Conrad, Prado).

Philadelphia IP H R ER BB SO NP ERACl.Lee 4 5 1 1 0 2 52 2.65T.Walker W, 2-0 2 1 0 0 1 3 24 2.35Escalona H, 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 10 2.16Condrey H, 7 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 3.29Madson H, 25 1 0 0 0 0 3 15 3.25Lidge S, 31-41 1 1 1 1 1 2 18 7.24Atlanta IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAHanson L, 10-4 5 7 4 4 4 7 97 2.85Medlen 1 1⁄3 1 0 0 0 0 18 4.70Logan 2⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 14 4.96O’Flaherty 2 1 0 0 0 2 23 3.08

Inherited runners-scored: Condrey 1-0. IBB: off Logan (Werth), off Hanson (Howard). HBP: by Escalona (McLouth), by O’Flaherty (B.Francisco). Umpires: Home, Tim Welke; First, Jim Reynolds; Second, Chad Fairchild; Third, Bill Welke. T: 2:46 (Rain delay: 1:51). A: 29,452 (49,743).

Milwaukee 6, Houston 0Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 8, Florida 1

Gallardo, ’pen blank Astros

Phillies getto Hanson

Homers help Reds salvage split

MILWAUKEE—Yovani Gallardo wanted to end his season on a positive note. Thanks to Corey Hart, Prince Fielder and Jody Gerut, that’s what he did.

Fielder hit his 40th homer and Gallardo pitched five strong innings to help Milwau-kee complete a sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-0 win on Sunday. Gallardo will be shut down the rest of the sea-son to keep his innings down.

“To end on a good note is always good and got a win and finished the year off strong,” said Gallardo, who was on a pitch count and would not have gone beyond the fifth inning. “I knew it was the last start.”

Fielder, who came in tied with Albert Pujols with a majors-best 127 RBIs, hit a solo shot in the first and then set a club record in the fifth when he walked for the 100th time this season.

He set a franchise record when he recorded his 127th RBI with a sacrifice fly in the Brew-ers’ win Saturday.

Hart and Gerut also homered Milwaukee as built a 4-0 cush-ion for Gallardo, hoping it was enough to get him through five innings in his 30th and last start of the season.

Gallardo (13-12) became the fourth Milwaukee pitcher with 200 strikeouts in a season and first since Ben Sheets’ 264 in 2004.

— The Associated Press

ATLANTA—The Philadelphia Phillies have one last trip to prove they are the best road team in baseball.

They’re off to a good start.The Phillies ended rookie

Tommy Hanson’s streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings, beating Atlanta 4-2 Sunday and damaging the Braves’ faint N.L. wild-card hopes.

The Phillies won two of three against the Braves to improve to 45-29 away from Philadel-phia for the best road record in the major leagues.

There are seven games remain-ing in the Phillies’ final 10-game road trip. They need only three more wins to match their team-record 48 road wins in 1976.

There was a rain delay of 1 hour, 51 minutes in the middle of the fifth inning, ending Cliff Lee’s start for the Phillies. Lee said he wanted to remain in the game.

“I’m never going to be happy coming out after four innings regardless of what the circum-stances are,” Lee said. “I want to go out there and get deep in games.”

Lee threw briefly in front of the Phillies dugout during the delay, but manager Charlie Manuel said he doesn’t like to send a starter back after delays longer than about 40 minutes.

The N.L. East-leading Phillies took two of three in the series.The Braves fell 5½ games behind wild-card leader Colorado.

— The Associated Press

CINCINNATI—After a string of close games, the Cincin-nati Reds were glad to get a breather.

Corky Miller hit a rare home run to back Kip Wells’ strong pitching and Cincin-nati gained a split of its four-game series against the Florida Marlins by rolling to an 8-1 victory Sunday.

Miller’s three-run shot and Joey Votto’s two-run homer created a cushion for Wells, who put together his longest outing since being acquired by the Reds as a free agent on July 7 and joining the team July 31.

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker was thankful for a blowout win after watching his team play

five consecutive one-run games and eight in a row decided by no more than three runs. The Reds had played 17 straight games that were decided by four runs or less since beating Pittsburgh 11-5 on Sept. 1.

“That was great,” Baker said. “A lot of crooked numbers. Corky Miller had a big day. Kip Wells threw the ball well. He minimized his pitches. Not walking anybody was the key. He didn’t have a lot of strikeouts, but he got a lot of ground balls and balls not hit very hard.”

Wells faced the mini-mum 11 batters through the first 3 2/3 innings.

— The Associated Press

TONY TRIBBLE / AP

Reds 1B Joey Votto blasted a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 37Baseball

NATIONAL LEAGUECubs 6, Cardinals 3, 11 innings

Chicago AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Fukudome cf-rf-cf 3 0 0 0 3 1 .253Scales lf 3 1 0 0 1 2 .243Fuld cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .260g-Miles ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .179S.Marshall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231Heilman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Caridad p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000h-K.Hill ph-c 1 1 0 0 0 0 .236D.Lee 1b 4 0 1 0 2 1 .303Ar.Ramirez 3b 5 1 1 0 1 1 .319M.Hoffpauir rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .244c-Taguchi ph-lf-rf 3 0 2 0 0 1 .500Soto c 5 0 0 0 0 3 .221Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Fontenot 2b 3 1 2 0 0 1 .240e-Theriot ph-ss 2 0 0 0 0 1 .289A.Blanco ss-2b 5 1 2 1 0 1 .270Zambrano p 3 0 0 0 0 2 .203Grabow p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---f-J.Fox ph-lf 1 1 1 2 1 0 .286Totals 42 6 10 4 8 15St. Louis AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Schumaker 2b-rf 6 1 2 0 0 1 .303DeRosa 3b 5 1 1 1 0 1 .229Pujols 1b 3 0 1 1 2 0 .328Holliday lf 2 1 1 0 2 1 .355Ludwick rf 5 0 0 0 0 2 .269M.Boggs p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .071B.Thompson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083Ankiel cf 4 0 1 0 1 2 .234Y.Molina c 5 0 1 1 0 1 .289Br.Ryan ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .291Wainwright p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .145a-Thurston ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .229b-K.Greene ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .206Hawksworth p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---T.Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Motte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000d-Rasmus ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .254D.Reyes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Lugo 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .294Totals 38 3 7 3 6 12Chicago 000 012 000 03 —6 10 1St. Louis 000 020 010 00 —3 7 1a-was announced for Wainwright in the 7th. b-grounded out for Thurston in the 7th. c-singled for M.Hoffpauir in the 8th. d-struck out for Motte in the 8th. e-grounded out for Fontenot in the 9th. f-walked for Gregg in the 9th. g-struck out for Fuld in the 9th. h-grounded into a fielder’s choice for Caridad in the 11th. E: A.Blanco (3), Br.Ryan (8). LOB: Chicago 11, St. Louis 11. 2B: A.Blanco (8), DeRosa (9), Pujols (40). HR: J.Fox (11), off M.Boggs. RBIs: M.Hoffpauir (32), A.Blanco (12), J.Fox 2 (41), DeRosa (22), Pujols (128), Y.Molina (49). SB: Fontenot (4), Y.Molina (9). S: DeRosa. Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 6 (Scales, Fukudome, Soto, Miles, Taguchi 2); St. Louis 6 (Ludwick 4, Br.Ryan, Rasmus). GIDP: Ludwick, Y.Molina. DP: Chicago 2 (A.Blanco, Fontenot, D.Lee), (A.Blanco, Theriot, D.Lee); St. Louis 1 (Br.Ryan, Pujols).Chicago IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAZambrano 6 5 2 2 3 6 102 3.91Grabow H, 23 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.06Gregg BS, 7-30 1 1⁄3 1 1 1 2 3 31 4.72S.Marshall 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4.46Heilman 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 6 4.21Caridad W, 1-0 1 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 2 16 2.03Marmol S, 14-18 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 3.47St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAWainwright 7 5 3 2 2 10 104 2.59Hawksworth 2⁄3 0 0 0 1 0 14 2.31T.Miller 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1.77Motte 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 5 4.92D.Reyes 1 0 0 0 2 1 20 3.05M.Boggs L, 2-3 1 2⁄3 4 3 3 3 2 44 4.37B.Thompson 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 4 4.98T.Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. S.Marshall pitched to 1 batter in the 9th. Inherited runners-scored: Gregg 1-0, Heilman 1-0, Caridad 2-0, T.Miller 1-0, Motte 2-0, B.Thompson 3-1. IBB: off Heilman (Pujols). HBP: by Zambrano (Br.Ryan), by Caridad (Holliday). WP: Gregg, B.Thompson. Umpires: Home, Todd Tichenor; First, Kerwin Danley; Second, Marty Foster; Third, Mark Carlson. T: 3:53. A: 44,937 (43,975).

Padres 4, Pirates 0

San Diego AB R H BI BB SO Avg.E.Cabrera ss 3 1 1 1 1 1 .269Eckstein 2b 5 0 1 0 0 0 .263Ad.Gonzalez 1b 4 0 1 1 0 0 .273Headley 3b 3 2 1 0 1 1 .260O.Salazar lf 4 0 3 1 0 0 .288Ed.Gonzalez rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .211Gwynn cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .261Venable cf-rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .272H.Blanco c 3 0 0 0 1 1 .236Correia p 3 0 0 0 0 0 .122Gregerson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000c-Durango ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 .600Gallagher p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---H.Bell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 33 4 9 3 4 3

Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg.A.McCutchen cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .274Cedeno ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .266Milledge lf 4 0 3 0 0 0 .288Doumit c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .233Moss rf 3 0 2 0 1 0 .246Pearce 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .211N.Walker 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .160L.Cruz 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .179Maholm p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .071a-R.Diaz ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .284Karstens p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .056b-Delw.Young ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .267S.Jackson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Veal p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 33 0 8 0 1 7

San Diego 002 010 001 — 4 9 0Pittsburgh 000 000 000 — 0 8 2

a-grounded out for Maholm in the 6th. b-grounded out for Karstens in the 8th. c-walked for Gregerson in the 9th. E: Doumit 2 (5). LOB: San Diego 8, Pittsburgh 7. 2B: Eckstein (27), Ad.Gonzalez (26), Headley (28), O.Salazar 2 (7), Milledge (9). RBIs: E.Cabrera (30), Ad.Gonzalez (90), O.Salazar (10). SB: Durango (2). CS: Moss (4). SF: E.Cabrera, Ad.Gonzalez. Runners left in scoring position: San Diego 5 (Headley, Correia, Venable, Ed.Gonzalez, Eckstein); Pittsburgh 3 (Moss, N.Walker 2). DP: San Diego 1 (Eckstein, Ad.Gonzalez).

San Diego IP H R ER BB SO NP ERACorreia W, 11-10 7 6 0 0 0 5 95 4.08Gregerson H, 26 1 1 0 0 0 0 16 2.73Gallagher 1⁄3 1 0 0 1 0 9 0.00H.Bell S, 39-44 2⁄3 0 0 0 0 2 12 2.78Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMaholm L, 8-9 6 9 3 2 3 3 101 4.46Karstens 2 0 0 0 0 0 15 5.09S.Jackson 2⁄3 0 1 0 1 0 12 3.44Veal 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 0 2 4.38

Inherited runners-scored: H.Bell 2-0. IBB: off Maholm (H.Blanco). Umpires: Home, Bruce Dreck-man; First, Paul Emmel; Second, Scott Barry; Third, Gary Darling. T: 2:32. A: 24,028 (38,362).

Mets 6, Nationals 2

Washington AB R H BI BB SO Avg.W.Harris cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 .224Desmond ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 .375Zimmerman 3b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .290A.Dunn 1b 4 0 1 1 0 0 .278Willingham lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .274Dukes rf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .259Alb.Gonzalez 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .255e-C.Guzman ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .287J.Burke c 1 0 0 0 1 1 .000b-Orr ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .306Segovia p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Garate p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Kensing p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000Mock p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .095c-J.Bard ph-c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .234Totals 31 2 5 2 2 3

New York AB R H BI BB SO Avg.Pagan lf 5 1 3 0 0 1 .304L.Castillo 2b 3 0 2 0 0 0 .308D.Wright 3b 4 1 0 0 0 2 .313Beltran cf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .337Dan.Murphy 1b 4 1 2 2 0 0 .264Francoeur rf 3 1 0 0 1 1 .279Thole c 2 1 1 1 2 0 .333Schneider c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .201W.Valdez ss 3 0 1 2 1 0 .250Maine p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .174Dessens p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---a-Sullivan ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .252S.Green p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000d-Tatis ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .271Stokes p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Fr.Rodriguez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---Totals 31 6 11 6 5 6

Washington 000 000 002 — 2 5 0New York 013 000 02x — 6 11 0

a-struck out for Dessens in the 7th. b-grounded out for J.Burke in the 8th. c-grounded out for Mock in the 8th. d-walked for S.Green in the 8th. e-struck out for Alb.Gonzalez in the 9th. LOB: Washington 5, New York 7. 2B: Zimmerman (32), Pagan (16), Dan.Murphy (35). 3B: Dan.Murphy (4), W.Valdez (2). RBIs: Zimmer-man (97), A.Dunn (101), Beltran (45), Dan.Murphy 2 (60), Thole (5), W.Valdez 2 (7). SB: L.Castillo (17). CS: W.Valdez (1). S: Mock, L.Castillo. Runners left in scoring position: Washington 3 (W.Harris, Mock, C.Guzman); New York 4 (Beltran 2, Francoeur, Pagan). DP: Washington 2 (Desmond, A.Dunn), (Alb.Gonzalez, A.Dunn).

Washington IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMock L, 3-9 7 9 4 4 2 5 115 5.83Segovia 2⁄3 1 2 2 2 0 26 18.00Garate 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 18.00Kensing 1⁄3 0 0 0 1 1 12 10.43New York IP H R ER BB SO NP ERAMaine W, 6-5 5 2 0 0 1 1 75 4.13Dessens 2 0 0 0 0 0 20 2.90S.Green 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 4.85Stokes 2⁄3 3 2 2 1 1 26 4.31Fr.Rodriguez S, 33-39 1⁄3 0 0 0 0 1 5 3.06

Garate pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. Inherited runners-scored: Garate 2-2, Kensing 1-0, Fr.Rodriguez 2-0. Umpires: Home, Rick Reed; First, Jeff Kellogg; Second, Tim Timmons; Third, Mark Wegner. T: 2:57. A: 38,347 (41,800).

Chicago Cubs 6, St. Louis 3, 11 inningsN.Y. Mets 6, Washington 2

San Diego 4, Pittsburgh 0

Native turning into staff aceMaine glad to

pick up win

Fox’s blast does itPITTSBURGH—Kevin Correia

didn’t expect to become the ace of his hometown team’s pitching staff when he signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent last winter.

Yet that is what the native of San Diego has become, turning in another outstanding Septem-ber start Sunday with seven strong innings as the Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0.

Correia (11-10) allowed six hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five. He is 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four starts this month.

It is a strong finish to a season in which he has set career highs for wins, innings (183) and strikeouts (131) after spending the previous six years bouncing between the starting rotation and various relief roles with San Francisco and winning a total of 14 games.

With Jake Peavy having been traded to the Chicago White Sox on July 31 and the Padres in a youth movement, Correia is their top starter.

“It’s just that I’m the guy with the most experience in the rota-tion and I’m the only guy that’s been in there all year,” Correia said. “I don’t think it’s the posi-tion the Padres wanted to be in but I’m happy to be in the posi-tion to get us some wins.”

Heath Bell struck out the last two batters for his National League-leading 39th save in 44 opportunities.

— The Associated Press

NEW YORK—John Maine man-aged to get his first win since May, even with a pitch count limiting his work. He got a big assist from the free-swinging Washington Nationals.

Maine pitched five shutout innings and Daniel Murphy had two RBIs to lead the New York Mets to a 6-2 win Sunday.

Maine (6-5) got deep enough to get the decision despite being held to 75 pitches in his second start after a three-month stint on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. He allowed two singles and a walk, throwing 50 strikes in his crisp performance.

“They were up there swing-ing, not many foul balls today,” Maine said. “They did put it in play and they did help me out. They helped me get five innings out of my pitch count.”

Nationals manager Jim Rig-gleman saw the same thing, and chided his team for its effort in a brief postgame talk.

“It was just a lackluster per-formance,” Riggleman said. “We can’t have that. That’s not acceptable. You just can’t play with a lack of intensity at this point because it’ll show up.”

Angel Pagan finished with three hits for New York, which won two of three in the week-end series between the bottom two teams in the N.L. East.

— The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS—After delivering a pair of knockout blows, the St. Louis Cardinals were on the receiving end.

Jake Fox hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning and the Chicago Cubs benefited from a wide slide by Matt Holliday in a 6-3 victory Sunday night, keeping the Cardinals’ magic number at four for clinching the N.L. Central. St. Louis won the first two games with ninth-inning hits.

“All three games in the series were nip and tuck,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “Finally, we pulled one out.”

An interference call on Holliday in the ninth cost the Cardinals a chance for a three-game sweep and another dramatic finish.

With the bases loaded and one out, Ryan Ludwick hit a potential double-play grounder. Shortstop Ryan Theriot’s relay was wide and Ludwick eluded the tag, letting the apparent win-ning run score and setting off fireworks over Busch Stadium.

But while several St. Louis players ran onto the field to celebrate, second base umpire Marty Foster said Holliday slid out of the base-path and ruled an inning-ending double play. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa came out to argue, and Foster showed him the dirt path where Holliday slid going after Theriot—it was clearly too wide of the bag.

— The Associated Press

TOM GANNAM / AP

Jake Fox’s two-run homer helped the Cubs snatch a win from the Cardinals.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 38Baseball

INSIDE DISH

Parise embraces trap; Kessel: I didn’t ask for dealNew Jersey F Zach Parise had heard

all those rumors about new coach Jacques Lemaire’s trap-first, shoot-later style. But he told Rich Chere of The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger he arrived at training camp without any pre-formed expectations.

“I wasn’t nervous or scared,” Parise said. “I was more looking forward to it. I talked a little bit with (former Lemaire players) Brian Rol-ston and Jimmy Dowd and they said how much they loved playing for him.”

Still, the idea of playing in a reined-back offense, especially for a player who is coming off a career-best 45-goal breakout season, could be disconcerting.

“Just by the way we’ve been prac-ticing, it seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun, up-tempo with a lot of skating, really aggressive,” Parise said, smiling when asked if the sys-tem will be conducive to a 50-goal season. “I sure hope so. But if I get 50 goals and we don’t make the playoffs, that doesn’t mean anything.”

Jamie Langenbrunner, who enjoyed a career offensive season last year under coach Brent Sutter, also weighed in on the Lemaire debate.

“From what I’ve seen in his coach-ing, he takes what he has in front of him, takes the game and puts the best system in place with the play-ers he has,” Langenbrunner told the newspaper. “If that’s to sit back, it’s to sit back. If that’s to attack, it’s to attack. I think we’re you’re going to see a combination of both from us, like every team in this league.”

While Bruins G.M. Peter Chiarelli was saying young F Phil Kessel didn’t want to play in Boston, triggering Friday night’s trade of his 36-goal scorer to the Maple Leafs, Kessel told the Toronto media that he never asked Chiarelli to deal him.

“I never one time asked to be traded,” Kessel said. “I think it just became a mutual thing that it was best for both parties to move on. That’s basically what happened with that.”

Not that Kessel regrets the oppor-tunity to play in a hockey-crazed Canadian hub.

“It’s the best hockey city in the world,” Kessel said. “The fans here are great. It’s a first-class organiza-tion. They just love hockey here in Toronto. It’s one of the reasons I chose Minnesota in college. In Min-nesota, they love hockey. It’s the No. 1 sport. Here in Toronto, hockey’s it. I want to be part of that. I’m so excited to be here and be part of the organization.”

While Kessel and his former team disagreed on semantics, Toronto G.M. Brian Burke exulted about his newest addition and what he brings to the Maple Leafs..

“The way we play, the way we want to attack and utilize his speed, it’s like someone wrote a script and handed it to Phil,” Burke said. “This is the right team to be on.”

The concussion watch got off to a quick start when New York Islanders F Kyle Okposo and Colum-bus F Jason Chimera were hustled to hospitals after taking tough hits in

games Thursday and Friday night.

Okposo, it turned out, suffered a mild concussion and was a specta-tor Saturday night when the Island-ers played the Calgary Flames. Okposo says he is essentially symp-tom-free but plans to take several more days before resuming light activity.

When asked whether he thinks the hit delivered by Calgary D Dion Phaneuf was clean or dirty, Okposo played diplomat.

“I don’t want to get into whether it was dirty or not,’’ he told Newsday. “It’s part of the game and it’s an unfortunate situation.’’

Chimera’s CT scan was negative and he returned from Minnesota to Columbus, complaining only of a stiff neck.

“I feel pretty good, considering,” he told the Columbus Dispatch via text message. “Rough night at the office.”

“It could have been a lot worse,” G.M. Scott Howson told the newspa-per. “Having said that, we don’t know when he’s going to be able to play.”

The Blues have been cautious in the early going with veteran F Paul Kariya, who is returning from double hip surgery that cost him most of last season. He’s getting his body used to a lengthier skat-ing stride and showed early jump with goals in consecutive pre-season games.

“I feel better every day,” Kariya told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“When I started, my groin and hip-flexor was a little tight. But they’ve loosened up and the hips themselves, the joints feel great.

“The practices are so demand-ing, it’s tough to get an indication of where your legs are. But I’ve felt like I had good jump in the

games. To get a couple games under my belt and have no reper-cussions … the body’s feeling good.”

Devils F Zach Parise, bottom, is coming off a 45-goal season, but he’s unconcerned with new coach Jacques Lemaire’s defense-first reputation.BILL KOSTROUN / AP

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 39NHL

BY CHUCK GORMLEYSporting News Yearbooks

When John Tortorella took over for Tom Renney as coach of the offensively chal-lenged Rangers late last season, he ques-tioned his players’ fitness level and ability to play nasty hockey at breakneck speed.

General manager Glen Sather must have been listening.

In one dizzying midsummer week, Sather replaced underperforming center Scott Gomez with speed demon Marian Gaborik; exchanged agitating forward Colton Orr for heavyweight enforcer Donald Brashear; replaced Nik Antropov and Markus Naslund with shootout specialist Ales Kotalik and hard-hitting winger Christo-pher Higgins; and stocked his blue line with prospect Ryan McDonagh.

Now the onus falls on Tortorella to make it work. The fiery coach pushed enough of the right buttons to get the Rangers in the playoffs last season, but fell one win short of a first-round upset of Washington.

Tortorella plans to install an aggressive, hunt-the-puck offensive scheme that should accentuate Gaborik’s talents.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see how he does with Tortorella’s system,” Sather said. “As Torts has described, we’re going to have a very uptempo, speed game. This guy fits the bill to a T.”

In eight seasons with Minnesota, Gaborik was an offensive dynamo capable of undressing defensemen and goaltenders with his speed and dazzling moves. He has averaged more than a point a game in each of his last four campaigns, but injuries also have forced Gaborik to miss 138 games, including 65 last year for recurring groin, back and hip problems. Gaborik finally

had season-ending hip surgery last Janu-ary and the Rangers believe they will see the 27-year-old Slovakian in his prime.

Sather believed in Gaborik enough to give him a five-year, $37.5 million deal. He freed up that money by shipping Gomez to Montreal in a trade that netted Higgins, McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko, and he later chose to walk away from an arbitra-tion award to underachieving forward Nikolai Zherdev, making him an unre-stricted free agent.

Without Gomez and Zherdev, the Rang-ers will audition gritty center Brandon

Dubinsky and offseason signee Vinny Prospal for first-line work alongside Gaborik. Prospal played for Tortorella in Tampa and can play either center or wing.

Chris Drury, whose play dipped last sea-son, would draw the role of second-line center next to ornery Sean Avery and Kota-lik, while Tyler Arnason and young Artem Anisimov will battle for third-line center duties, perhaps between Brashear and Ryan Callahan.

The relationship between Avery and Tor-torella was put to the test last spring when the coach benched the league’s most publicized

pest, and the two will likely butt heads again. But when emotions are kept on a slow boil, Avery is an effective second-line winger.

Higgins, 26, is a north-south winger who should be a good fit in Tortorella’s system. After netting 20 or more goals in three straight campaigns, his production dipped to 12 goals and 11 assists in 57 games for the Canadiens.

Brashear, who enters the season with 2,561 career penalty minutes, is more than just a thug. He plays a smart, positional game and is well-respected in the locker room.

Kotalik was another nice pickup. The 30-year-old Czech winger has eclipsed the 20-goal mark four times, including last season when he netted 20 for the Sabres and Oilers. Kotalik also holds the NHL record with 11 game-deciding shootout goals, converting 20 of 38 career attempts.

Callahan should provide third-line grit and, after scoring 22 goals last season, will be counted on to provide offensive punch as well. Aaron Voros, Lauri Korpikoski and free-agent newcomer Brian Boyle will bat-tle for time on the fourth line.

While Sather strengthened an offense that finished 14th in the Eastern Confer-ence in scoring and last on the power play, he has holes to fill in his defense.

Veteran Michal Rozsival is coming off a career-worst minus-7 performance, while Wade Redden has become a target for fan derision, leaving much of the defensive burden to developing defensemen Dan Girardi and Marc Staal.

The Rangers could break in as many as two rookies on the blue line and are expect-ing big things from Matt Gilroy. Bobby Sanguinetti, Michael Del Zotto or Ilkka Heikkinen also offer first-year promise.

The Rangers have one of

the best goaltenders in the East in Henrik Lundqvist, who has recorded 30 or more wins and compiled a goals-against average under 2.50 in each of his last four seasons. Lundqvist has played 70 or more games the past three seasons, which resigns backup Steve Valiquette to door-opening duty.— For much more on the Rangers, purchase a copy of Sporting News

Hockey ’09-10 yearbook by calling 1-800-380-7404. Or order it online

at sportingnews.com or streetandsmiths.com

NHL countdown

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 40NHL

NumbersCATEGORY TEAM STATS RANKS

Goals Per Game 2.44 28

Penalty Kill Percentage 87.84 1

Power Play Goals 48 29

Power Play Percentage 13.87 29

Saves 2221 14

Save Percentage .913 6

Shorthanded Goals For 9 9t

Shots Against Per Game 29.67 15

Shots Per Game 32.41 7

Shutouts 4 16t

Total Points 554 27

Faceoff Percentage .508 15

Goals Against Per Game 2.59 6

Power Play Opportunities

346 15

Shorthanded Goals Against

14 2

Times Shut Out 8 4

Offseason moves

AdditionsTyler Arnason, C (Avalanche); Brian Boyle, C (Kings); Donald Brashear, LW (Capitals); Marian Gaborik, RW (Wild); Christopher Higgins, RW (trade, Canadiens); Ales Kotalik, RW (Oilers); Enver Lisin, RW (trade, Coyotes); Vinny Prospal, C (Lightning); Nigel Williams, D (trade, Avalanche).

SubtractionsNik Antropov, RW (Thrashers); Scott Gomez, C (trade, Canadiens), Doug Janik, D (Red Wings); Lauri Korpikoski, LW (trade, Coyotes); Paul Mara, D (Canadiens); Greg Moore, RW (Islanders); Derek Morris, D (trade, Bruins); Markus Naslund, LW (retired); Colton Orr, LW (Maple Leafs); Fredrik Sjostrom, RW (Flames); Nikolai Zherdev, RW (released).

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / AP

Rangers fans can reasonably expect no worse than 30 wins and a 2.50 GAA from G Henrik Lundqvist.

10Every day in September leading into the Oct. 1 season openers, Sporting News Today will preview each of the NHL teams, counting backward from its July 24 Power Poll.

NEW YORK RANGERS 2008-09 record: 43-30-9, 95 points

Last playoff: 2009 (lost in conference quarterfinal)

Coach: John Tortorella

SUMMARIES

Wild enjoy early returns on big additionsMinnesota 3, Chicago 0

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 41NHL

Preseason GlanceAll Times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic Division

W L OT Pts GF GAN.Y. Islanders 2 2 1 5 14 13N.Y. Rangers 1 2 1 3 11 11New Jersey 1 0 0 2 3 2Pittsburgh 1 1 0 2 8 8Philadelphia 0 2 1 1 5 12

Northeast Division W L OT Pts GF GAToronto 3 1 0 6 15 10Boston 3 1 0 6 9 9Montreal 2 2 0 4 7 11Buffalo 1 0 1 3 6 5Ottawa 1 3 0 2 9 8

Southeast Division W L OT Pts GF GAWashington 2 0 0 4 7 5Florida 2 3 0 4 9 14Tampa Bay 1 0 1 3 5 5Atlanta 0 1 1 1 1 7Carolina 0 1 0 0 2 4

WESTERN CONFERENCECentral Division

W L OT Pts GF GANashville 3 0 0 6 12 4Detroit 2 1 0 4 8 7St. Louis 2 1 1 5 12 9Chicago 0 1 1 1 2 6Columbus 0 2 1 1 6 10

Northwest Division W L OT Pts GF GAVancouver 4 0 0 8 14 4Edmonton 3 2 0 6 13 9Minnesota 2 1 0 4 6 3Colorado 2 1 0 4 7 8Calgary 2 2 0 4 13 14

Pacific Division W L OT Pts GF GALos Angeles 2 1 1 5 11 10Phoenix 1 1 3 5 16 18Dallas 2 1 0 4 9 8San Jose 2 1 0 4 9 11Anaheim 2 2 0 4 8 12Two points for a win, one point for over-time loss or shootout loss.

Sunday’s gamesMinnesota 3, Chicago 0Boston 2, Montreal 1N.Y. Islanders 3, Edmonton 1Calgary 5, Florida 2Colorado 2, St. Louis 1, OT

Today’s gamesCarolina at Atlanta, 7 p.m.Buffalo at Washington, 7 p.m.Detroit at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.Minnesota at Columbus, 7 p.m.Pittsburgh at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.Ottawa vs. Tampa Bay at Regina, Saskatch-ewan, 9 p.m.Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m.San Jose at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

MINNEAPOLIS—Martin Havlat’s first two goals in a Minnesota uniform helped the Wild blank the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Sunday.

Havlat, who came to Minne-sota over the summer as a free agent after spending the previ-ous three seasons in Chicago, needed just 84 seconds to score on a tap-in after a pass from Benoit Pouliot. Havlat and newly acquired Petr Sykora also scored in the third period.

Minnesota goalies Nicklas Backstrom and Anton Khu-dobin combined to stop all 18 Chicago shots. Backstrom played the first two periods and stopped 11 shots.

Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were scratched and forward Adam Burish limped off the ice in the first period and didn’t return.

Goalie Antti Niemi started and made 12 saves in the first two periods. Corey Crawford made 2 in the third.

Calgary 5, Florida 2CALGARY—Theo Fleury scored

one goal and set up another for Calgary.

Fleury, who helped the Flames win the 1989 Stanley Cup, played his second game on a free-agent tryout. The crowd of 19,289 chanted his name in appreciation.

Curtis Glencross had a goal and three assists for Calgary. Olli Jokinen added a goal and

two assists against his former team, giving him six points in two exhibition games.

Jarome Iginla and Daymond Langkow also scored for the Flames.

David Booth and Stephen Weiss scored for the Panthers, who played their fifth game in six nights on the road against a Canadian opponent.

Boston 1, Montreal 1QUEBEC CITY—Michael Ryder

and Chuck Kobasew scored for the Bruins.

Boston rookie goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 25-of-26 shots.

The Bruins were officially the home team for the game at the Quebec Colisee, even though most fans appeared to support the Canadiens, the once-bitter rivals of the defunct Quebec Nordiques.

Ryder was on a rush when his wrist shot deflected past goal-tender Jaroslav Halak 4:12 into the game. Kobasew scored over the sprawled Halak at 13:58 of the second period.

Josh Gorges scored on a power play early in the third period for Montreal.

N.Y. Islanders 3, Edmonton 1SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN—John

Tavares assisted on a second-period goal for his first pre-season point.

The first pick in the 2009 draft had been held without a point in the Islanders’ 3-2 win in Edmon-ton four days earlier.

He had an excellent chance late in the second period, but Oilers goaltender Devan Dub-nyk turned aside the breakaway attempt.

Radek Martinek and Josh Bailey scored first period goals for the Islanders. Emdonton’s Patrick O’Sullivan beat Martin Biron in the second period after an Islanders’ defensive miscue left him alone in front of the net.

Biron stopped 23 shots, mak-ing his claim to start in the Islanders’ goaltending carousel which also includes Dwayne Roloson and Rick DiPietro.

Colorado 2, St. Louis 1DENVER—Milan Hejduk scored

48 seconds into overtime to lift the Avalanche.

T. J. Galiardi added a his first goal of the preseason. Darcy Tucker, Chris Durno and Kyle Quincey had assists for Colorado.

Peter Budaj, Colorado’s start-ing goalie for much of the 2008-09 season, had 24 saves.

—The Associated Press

ANN HEISENFELT / AP

Petr Sykora, who recently agreed to terms with Minnesota after two seasons and

a Stanley Cup victory with the Penguins, scored his first preseason goal.

PRESEASONSPOTLIGHT Chicago 0 0 0 — 0

Minnesota 1 0 2 — 3

First Period: 1, Minnesota, Havlat 1 (Pouliot, Johnsson), 1:26. Penalties: Dowell, Chi, major (fighting), 2:28; Smith, Min, major (fighting), 2:28; Bois, Chi, major (fighting), 3:01; Scott, Min, served by Milroy, minor-major (interference, fighting), 3:01; Sifers, Min (high-sticking), 6:26; Johnsson, Min (interference), 7:57; Bickell, Chi (interference), 13:01; Brouwer, Chi (roughing), 13:49; Pouliot, Min (roughing), 13:49; Ladd, Chi (hooking), 17:09; Clutterbuck, Min (charging), 17:09.Second Period: None. Penalties: Lalonde, Chi, major (fighting), 11:37; Cuma, Min, major (fight-ing), 11:37; Bois, Chi (boarding), 11:51; C.Fraser, Chi, major (fighting), 19:11; Sifers, Min, major (fighting), 19:11.Third Period: 2, Minnesota, Havlat 2 (Clut-terbuck, Johnsson), 13:31 (pp). 3, Minnesota, Sykora 1 (Nolan, Brodziak), 17:03. Penalties: Johnson, Chi, major (fighting), 5:06; Kassian, Min, major (fighting), 5:06; Cullen, Chi (high-sticking), 13:06; Johnson, Chi (holding), 13:15; Sykora, Min (hooking), 14:49; Beach, Chi, minor-misconduct (roughing), 19:31.Shots on Goal: Chicago 7-4-7: 18. Minnesota 4-9-4: 17.Power-play opportunities: Chicago 0 of 4; Minnesota 1 of 5.Goalies: Chicago, Niemi 0-1-0 (17 shots-14 saves). Minnesota, Backstrom 2-0-0 (11-11), Khudobin (0:00 third, 7-7).A: 18,064 (18,064). T: 2:20.Referees: Chris Ciamaga, Dan Marouelli. Lines-men: Scott Cherrey, Brad Lazarowich.

Montreal 0 0 1 — 1Boston 1 1 0 — 2

First Period: 1, Boston, Ryder 1 (Wheeler, Wide-man), 4:12. Penalties: Gionta, Mon (hooking), 5:05; Sobotka, Bos (tripping), 8:09.Second Period: 2, Boston, Kobasew 1 (Recchi, Suave), 13:50. Penalties: A.Kostitsyn, Mon, major (fighting), 5:02; LoVecchio, Bos, major (fighting), 5:02; Lehtonen, Bos (holding), 19:11.Third Period: 3, Montreal, Gorges 1 (Latendresse, Plekanec), 1:05 (pp). Penalties: Wheeler, Bos (high-sticking), 14:54.Shots on Goal: Montreal 7-7-12: 26. Boston 10-6-2: 18.Power-play opportunities: Montreal 1 of 1; Boston 0 of 0.Goalies: Montreal, Halak 0-1-0 (18 shots-16 saves). Boston, Rask 2-0-0 (26-25).A: 0 (15,250). T: 2:30.Referees: Stephane Auger, David Banfield. Linesmen: Derek Amell, Steve Barton.

St. Louis 1 0 0 0 — 1Colorado 0 0 1 1 — 2

First Period: 1, St. Louis, Johnson 1 (Oshie, Berglund), 13:32 (pp). Penalties: Reaves, StL (interference), 4:41; Colorado bench, served by Duchene (too many men), 6:41; Wilson, Col (hooking), 13:03; Tucker, Col (tripping), 13:26; Galiardi, Col (delay of game), 15:29; Reaves, StL, major (fighting), 17:34; McLeod, Col, major (fight-ing), 17:34.Second Period: None. Penalties: Berglund, StL (holding stick), 2:21; P.Stastny, Col (holding), 15:30.Third Period: 2, Colorado, Galiardi 1 (Tucker, Durno), 3:09. Penalties: Bell, StL (interference), 7:23; Hejduk, Col (hooking), 14:43.Overtime: 3, Colorado, Hejduk 1 (Wilson, Quincey), :48. Penalties: None.Shots on Goal: St. Louis 13-7-5-0: 25. Colo-rado 9-12-13-1: 35.Power-play opportunities: St. Louis 1 of 6; Colorado 0 of 3.Goalies: St. Louis, Conklin 1-0-1 (35 shots-33 saves). Colorado, Budaj 1-0-0 (25-24).A: 11,288 (18,007). T: 2:20.Referees: Dennis LaRue, Rob Martell. Lines-men: Mike Cvik, Vaughan Rody.

Florida 1 0 1 — 2Calgary 0 3 2 — 5

First Period: 1, Florida, Booth 3 (Timmins, Horton), 5:19. Penalties: Dadonov, Fla (tripping), 6:07; Pardy, Cal (tripping), 9:22; Dawes, Cal (slash-ing), 11:43; Jokinen, Cal (hooking), 14:44.Second Period: 2, Calgary, Glencross 1 (Iginla, Jokinen), 4:15 (pp). 3, Calgary, Iginla 1 (Jokinen, Dawes), 8:32. 4, Calgary, Langkow 1 (Fleury, Glen-cross), 15:04. Penalties: Koistinen, Fla (tripping), 4:06; Jokinen, Cal (hooking), 18:29.Third Period: 5, Florida, Weiss 1 (Koistinen, Seidenberg), :48. 6, Calgary, Jokinen 3 (Bouw-meester, Glencross), 7:28 (pp). 7, Calgary, Fleury 1 (Glencross, Langkow), 7:53. Penalties: Pardy, Cal (tripping), 4:56; McArdle, Fla (interference), 7:03.Shots on Goal: Florida 7-5-14: 26. Calgary 10-12-14: 36.Power-play opportunities: Florida 0 of 5; Calgary 2 of 3.Goalies: Florida, Vokoun 1-2-0 (36 shots-31 saves). Calgary, Kiprusoff 1-0-0 (12-11), Irving (0:00 third, 14-13).A: 19,289 (19,289). T: 2:09.Referees: Kyle Rehman, Steve Kozari. Lines-men: Lonnie Cameron, Thor Nelson.

Edmonton 0 1 0 — 1N.Y. Islanders 2 1 0 — 3

First Period: 1, N.Y. Islanders, Martinek 1 (Tambellini, Comeau), 5:51. 2, N.Y. Islanders, Bailey 1 (Tambellini, Comeau), 13:03. Penalties: MacIntyre, Edm, major (fighting), 2:38; Rechlicz, NYI, major (fighting), 2:38; DiBenedetto, NYI (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:15.Second Period: 3, N.Y. Islanders, Moulson 3 (Tav-ares, Streit), 6:56 (pp). 4, Edmonton, O’Sullivan 4 (Visnovsky, Comrie), 13:38. Penalties: Edmonton bench (too many men), 2:45; Visnovsky, Edm (tripping), 5:32; O’Sullivan, Edm (tripping), 6:41.Third Period: None. Penalties: Comeau, NYI (cross-checking), 12:59.Shots on Goal: Edmonton 7-5-10: 22. N.Y. Islanders 5-13-6: 24.Power-play opportunities: Edmonton 0 of 0; N.Y. Islanders 1 of 1.Goalies: Edmonton, Dubnyk 0-1-0 (24 shots-21 saves). N.Y. Islanders, Biron 1-0-0 (22-21).A: 0 (11,310). T: 2:30.Referees: Chris Ciamaga, Paul Devorski. Lines-men: David Brisebois, Lonnie Cameron.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 42NBA / WNBA

SEATTLE—Retirement will have to wait for another day for Lisa Les-lie—or at least for another two games.

Leslie had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Candace Parker scored 22 points and keyed a sec-ond-quarter run that led the Los Angeles Sparks over the Seattle Storm 75-64 Sunday in the decid-ing third game of the WNBA West-ern Conference semifinals.

It was the second straight year the Sparks eliminated the Storm in the opening round by winning Game 3 at Seattle. L.A. bounced back from Friday’s 75-74 loss in Game 2, in which the Storm scored five points in the final 14 seconds.

“I woke up this morning and I just knew I didn’t want to end my career here,” said Leslie, the three-time MVP and four-time Olympic gold medalist who said prior to the season that this would her last year. “I just said, ‘This can’t be my last game.’ ”

It won’t be. The Sparks advanced to face the Phoenix-San Antonio winner for the conference champi-onship. The Mercury and Silver Stars play Game 3 tonight.

Parker scored six points during an early 13-0 burst that gave the Sparks a big cushion. Tina Thomp-son had 12 points for the Sparks, who were just as effective at the defensive end. L.A. limited Seattle to 32.8 percent shooting (21 of 64).

“Our help defense was much bet-ter tonight,” Leslie said. “Overall, I

think just knowing personnel and having to play a team three times, you kind of figure out what every-one’s tendencies are, more than anything else.”

Added Sparks coach Michael Cooper, “In the first quarter, I thought we came out real focused on defense and what we wanted to accomplish. We forced them to take some tough shots and kept them on the perimeter, took away the inside game.”

Seattle coach Brian Agler agreed. The Storm missed their first seven shots of the game, shot just 6 of 30 (20 percent) during the first half and were bounced in the first round for the fifth straight time since winning the league champi-onship in 2004.

Swin Cash led Seattle with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sue Bird had 15 points for the Storm, who trimmed a 20-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter down to nine inside the final minute.

The loss ended the career of Seat-tle guard Shannon Johnson, who announced her retirement last Fri-day after 10 WNBA seasons and a spot on the 2004 U.S. gold medal Olympic team.

— The Associated Press

Sixers G/F Andre Iguodala, who’s always had a wide array of offensive skills, could see some time at point guard this year, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

In new coach Eddie Jordan’s offense, both guards han-dle the ball. Lou Williams is set to start at point guard this year, but Iguodala said he’d be open to some lead-guard roles. F Thaddeus Young also said he’s worked on his ball-handling and 3-point shooting for the new offense. “It’s definitely going to be rough, learning a new offense,” Young said. “There will definitely be growing pains.”

SF LeBron James has said he wants to keep his options open for next summer, but did he drop a clue that he’ll be staying in Cleveland?

James was signing autographs of his new book Shoot-ing Stars in Westlake, Ohio, on Friday when one fan said, “Don’t leave us, man,” as James scrawled his name. “I ain’t leaving,” James said, smiling. The Cava-liers offered James a contract extension earlier this summer, but he hasn’t signed it yet.

James said he was genuinely touched by the outpour-ing of support at his autograph signing. “It’s humbling for me,” James said. “I can’t ask for more than this.”

Hawks G Jamal Crawford, acquired in a trade with the Warriors, will be counted on to score, and at the age of 29, lead as well. “He could do for us what Jason Terry does for Dallas,” said Hawks GM Rick Sund told hoopshype.com on Sunday. “It’ll be nice to have a guy who can come off the bench and get you some big scoring nights or make some big plays. Jamal is one of the better fourth-quarter scorers in the league. He is a very good one-on-one player and can shoot the three, and we needed those things.”

Although there will be lots of free agents next summer, Mavs owner Mark Cuban says that won’t be the only way to make an acquisition. When asked during a Web chat on The Dallas Morning News’ site whether he’d go after a big-name free agent in 2010, Cuban responded, “We are going to be opportunistic as always. I think we can push to get cap space, or put ourselves in a position to do a sign and trade. I actually think there will be more opportunities via sign and trade than using straight cap space.”

While many sports teams are feeling the impact of the economic downturn—the Heat, for example, recently announced that their basketball operations staff would take large pay cuts—the Cavaliers are doing relatively well financially, with record-level ticket sales. Last sea-son, the team just about broke even operationally, even with a payroll that exceeded $100 million including lux-ury taxes, according to The Plain Dealer.

F/C Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Spain to a 85-63 win over Serbia in the final of the Euro-pean championship Sunday in Katowice, Poland. It gave Spain its first European title after six runner-up finishes.

NBA WNBA

INSIDE DISH

Iguodala open to playing some point

BILL KOSTROUN / AP

Sixers wing Andre Iguodala, left, can expect to handle the ball more.

Playoff glanceFIRST ROUND(Best-of-3)EASTERN CONFERENCEIndiana 2, Washington 0Sept. 17: Indiana 88, Washington 79Sept. 19: Indiana 81, Washington 74, OTDETROIT 2, ATLANTA 0Sept. 16: Detroit 94, Atlanta 89Sept. 18: Detroit 94, Atlanta 79WESTERN CONFERENCESAN ANTONIO 1, PHOENIX 1Sept. 17: San Antonio 92, Phoenix 91Sept. 19: Phoenix 106, San Antonio 78Today: San Antonio at Phoenix, 10 p.m.LOS ANGELES 2, SEATTLE 1Sept. 16: Los Angeles 70, Seattle 63Sept. 18: Seattle 75, Los Angeles 74Sept. 20: Los Angeles 75, Seattle 64SEMIFINALS(Best-of-3)

EASTERN CONFERENCEWednesday: Indiana at Detroit, TBDFriday: Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.x-Saturday: Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.x—If necessary

Los Angeles 75, Seattle 64

Leslie, SparkseliminateStorm again

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Candace Parker, right, joking with teammate DeLisha Milton-Jones, scored 22 for L.A.

Tom Izzo’s new contract will pay him a $1 million bonus for each year he remains at Michigan State.

The $1-million “contingent annual bonus” is a new clause in his contract, and Izzo received the first payment July 31, accord-ing to a report by the Detroit Free Press.

The contract, which was signed Sept. 4, also increased Izzo’s base salary to $375,000 per year from $320,000. His income for television and radio appear-ances, apparel/footwear contracts and other commitments to the university jumped to $1,215,000 from $1,010,000.

The new deal calls for Izzo to receive a performance bonus of $50,000 if Michi-gan State wins a Big Ten regular-season championship, $25,000 for a first-round NCAA Tournament appearance, $25,000 for an NCAA regional berth, $100,000 for a trip to the Final Four and $150,000 for a national championship, the Free Press reported. The bonuses would be cumulative.

The contract also states that the school will offer Izzo a five-year deal within the athletics department with an annual sal-ary of $200,000 upon his retirement as coach.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told Fan-House.com that the school plans to retire Carmelo Anthony’s No. 15 jersey during the 2009-10 season, according to a report by The Post-Standard of Syracuse.

Boeheim said the school is trying to find a date that works for Anthony’s schedule with the Denver Nuggets. “We retire jer-seys, not numbers,” Boeheim told Fan-House.com, but he said it’s unlikely another Orange player will ever wear No. 15.

Anthony’s jersey will join those of Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Vic Han-son, Billy Gabor, Billy Owens, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, Rony Seikaly and Dwayne “Pearl” Washington,

which were previously raised to the rafters of the Carrier Dome.

Anthony, who led the Orange to the 2003 national championship in his only season at the school, is expected to be in Syracuse on Thursday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new $19 million Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.

He donated $3 million to the facility, which will serve as headquarters for Syra-cuse’s men’s and women’s teams and includes two practice courts, a training room, locker rooms and office space.

UMBC sophomore G Chauncey Gilliam has been declared academically ineligible to compete in games during the fall 2009

semester, according to a report by The Balti-more Sun.

Gilliam, who averaged 10.9 points as a freshman, will be allowed to practice with the team. His eligibility status will be reviewed after UMBC’s final exam period concludes Dec. 22.

Jack Graf, an Ohio State star athlete and later an assistant basketball coach, has died. He was 90.

Graf played football and basketball for Ohio State in the late 1930s and early 1940s and lettered in both sports. He was the Big Ten football MVP in 1941 and excelled on both offense and defense, playing quarter-back and fullback.

INSIDE DISH

Izzo will get $1 million for each year he stays

PAUL SANCYA / AP

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo got a significant pay raise when he signed a new contract earlier this month.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 43College Basketball

Sporting News Today’s Mike DeCourcy ranks the best players at each position heading into the 2009-2010 season.

1. Sherron Collins, Kansas. Collins is the Tyler

Hansbrough of short, squat guys. He has been a team-changing player for three seasons and is about to make it four. He could end up winning NCAA titles with two completely different lineups around him.Collins says: “There are some ques-tions out there. All I’m going to do is be myself. Can I run a team? Make better decisions? Can I be a leader? That’s pretty much what I hear.”

2. John Wall, Kentucky. Frequently compared to

Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose, Wall is not as physically powerful—but he enters college with more confidence in his ability to lead. And Wall’s impact will be more immediate.

3. Kalin Lucas, Michigan State. Lucas needs to take greater

control of games, the way Mateen Cleaves did while he ran the Spartans.

4. Devan Downey, South Carolina. He’s on pace to surpass 2,000 points and 500 assists for his career, but this is his last chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament.

5. Kemba Walker, Connecticut. He runs his team beautifully. He gets the ball deep into defenses. Walker understands, though, that he must shoot it better.

6. Nic Wise, Arizona. He shot 41.5 percent on 3-pointers as a complement to two NBA picks.

7. Abdul Gaddy, Washington. He was a 2009 McDonald’s All American.

8. Jon Scheyer, Duke. He made 43.2 percent of his 3s after the switch to point guard last season.

9. Corey Fisher, Villanova. He should increase his 24.3-minute average.

10. Shelvin Mack, Butler. A power point, he averaged 4.4 rebounds as a freshman last season.

RANKING THE POSITIONS

POINT GUARDS

JACK DEMPSEY / AP

Kansas PG Sherron Collins (4) could win a second title with a different cast.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 44NASCAR

Sylvania 300 results

FINISH START CAR DRIVER MAKE POINTS LAPS

1 14 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 190 300

2 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 175 300

3 1 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 175 300

4 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 165 300

5 9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 155 300

6 3 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 155 300

7 18 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 151 300

8 35 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 142 300

9 22 16 Greg Biffle Ford 138 300

10 17 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 134 300

NASCAR Sprint Cup standings (through Sunday’s race)

RK. +/- DRIVER POINTS BEHIND STARTS POLES WINS T-5 T-10

1 -- Mark Martin 5230 Leader 27 6 5 10 15

2 1 Jimmie Johnson 5195 -35 27 1 3 10 16

3 1 Denny Hamlin 5195 -35 27 0 2 10 15

4 7 Juan Pablo Montoya 5175 -55 27 2 0 3 13

5 2 Kurt Busch 5165 -65 27 0 1 7 15

6 -4 Tony Stewart 5156 -74 27 0 3 13 18

7 3 Ryan Newman 5151 -79 27 1 0 5 13

8 -- Brian Vickers 5140 -90 27 6 1 4 13

9 3 Greg Biffle 5138 -92 27 0 0 8 13

10 -4 Jeff Gordon 5128 -102 27 0 1 12 18

11 -2 Carl Edwards 5117 -113 27 0 0 7 11

12 -7 Kasey Kahne 5069 -161 27 0 2 5 10

13 -- Kyle Busch 3350 -1880 27 1 4 8 10

14 -- Matt Kenseth 3259 -1971 27 1 2 4 9

15 -- Clint Bowyer 3193 -2037 27 0 0 4 12

16 -- David Reutimann 3175 -2055 27 2 1 5 8

17 -- Marcos Ambrose 2938 -2292 27 0 0 4 7

18 -- Jeff Burton 2853 -2377 27 0 0 2 6

19 -- Joey Logano 2805 -2425 27 0 1 1 5

20 -- Casey Mears 2763 -2467 27 0 0 0 3

21 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2686 -2544 27 0 0 2 5

22 -- Kevin Harvick 2680 -2550 27 0 0 3 5

23 -- Jamie McMurray 2673 -2557 27 0 0 0 3

24 1 Martin Truex Jr. 2561 -2669 27 2 0 0 3

25 2 Elliott Sadler 2558 -2672 27 0 0 1 4

—Bold line indicates Chase cutoff

MORE COVERAGE from sportingnews.com

Results:sportingnews.com/nascar/article/2009-09-20/sylvania-300-results

Standings: sportingnews.com/nascar/standings

BY REID SPENCERrspencer@sportingnews.com

LOUDON, N.H.—Top seeding in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup must agree with Mark Mar-tin, and on Sunday, he took the first step toward the championship that has eluded him for more than 20 years.

The driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet held off a fero-cious charge by Juan Pablo Montoya on a restart with three laps left in the Sylvania 300 and won the race under caution when NASCAR threw the yellow flag as the lead pack streaked through Turn 4 on the final lap.

With the victory, his first in 26 starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Martin increased his lead in the Cup standings to 35 points over three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, who ran fourth at the Magic Mile in the first race of the Chase, and Denny Hamlin, who finished second.

Hamlin got past Montoya before the final cau-tion to grab the second spot, and Montoya got credit for third. Kyle Busch ran fifth, followed by Chase drivers Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. Elliott Sadler, Chaser Greg Biffle and Clint Bow-yer completed the top 10.

Martin, 50, gave crew chief Alan Gustafson credit for the victory. Under caution on Lap 194 of 300, Gustafson kept Martin on the track with a small group of cars that did not pit. On Lap 204, Martin passed Kurt Busch for the lead and held the top spot until he pitted on Lap 243, earlier than any other top car.

After a cycle of stops that ended when Bobby Labonte pitted from the lead on Lap 272, Martin regained the lead and held it for the remainder of the race, despite a spate of late cautions that neces-sitated three double-file restarts in the final 20 laps.

“Alan won the race,” Martin said, after climb-ing from his car in victory lane. “Alan’s the man. This is a dream come true. … We still have the lotto at Talladega (Nov. 1), and (I) think we’ll run OK at Martinsville. We finished (seventh) in the spring, but I don’t run good there—but this is my hardest place. It’s a tough place.”

Montoya, who climbed seven spots to fourth in

the standings, said he was unprepared for a move that Martin made in the first set of corners on the next-to-last lap. The maneuver probably cost Montoya second place.

“Martin just screwed me—he just stopped the car on the apex, right on the bottom, and I had nowhere to go,” Montoya said. “I could have pushed him out of the way … but I respect him a lot. (Next time) I won’t wreck him, but I will bump him. …

Tony Stewart, the points leader through the first 26 races, dropped four positions to sixth in the standings after a rare glitch dropped him to 14th at the finish.

Stewart lost track position during a 45-second pit stop under caution on Lap 194, as his crew repaired a loose left rear-axle cap. The driver of the No. 14 Chevy restarted 26th on Lap 198, and though he quickly drove up to 20th in the run-ning order, a tight handling condition prevented him from making further headway.Notes: The victory was Martin’s fifth of the

season, a series-best, and the 40th of his career, good for 16th on the career win list. … NASCAR waited to throw the caution on the final lap until it became apparent that AJ Allmendinger -- involved in a multicar incident as the field approached the white flag -- would not be able to clear the accident scene before the leaders arrived. … Late handling problems dropped Jeff Gordon to 15th at the finish. He dropped to 10th in the stand-ings, 102 points behind Martin entering next Sunday’s race at Dover.

Martin expands Chase lead with win at Loudon

3 things to know from New Hampshire The Chase couldn’t have started better for Mark Martin, who won the Sylvania 300

and opened a 35-point lead in the standings over Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. Restarts were the bane of Jeff Gordon, who repeatedly lost positions, fi nished 15th

Sunday and fell 102 points behind Martin. It w ill be a tall order for the four-time champ to climb back into contention.

Kasey Kahne took the most devastating hit on Sunday. His engine expired on Lap 67, a calamity that relegated him to 38th. Now 12th in the standings, Kahne trails Martin by 161 points.

— Reid Spencer

Mark Martin, bottom, picked up his fifth victory of the season and moved a step closer to his first Sprint Cup title.

SANDY MACYS / AP

BY BOB POCKRASSSceneDaily.com

LOUDON, N.H.—Pat Tryson days at Penske Racing are numbered. That number is nine—as in he will only go to the team’s shop the next nine Tuesdays.

Tryson, who is leaving Penske and driver Kurt Busch at the end of the season to crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. at Michael Wal-trip Racing, confirmed Sunday that he will go to the shop only for the competition debriefing on Tuesdays and stay at home the rest of the week.

“I was in the shop all this week, but they want me to focus on this year’s stuff and they’ve got stuff going on at the shop for next year, so they’re going to work on that,” Tryson said prior to Sunday’s Sylvania 300. “And I’ll be communicating by e-mail and phones and I’ll be in there for driver debrief on Tuesdays. … Tuesday is the only day I’m welcome.”

Penske Racing vice president of operations Mike Nelson said the team was trying to find a balance in involving Tryson for the rest of this season but not having him involved in any future plans.

“Going forward, he’s coming to the shop on Tuesday when we do

our postrace debrief,” Nelson said. “It’s not a, ‘You can’t come to the shop type thing.’

“It really breaks down to 2009 vs. 2010. He’s not there for the discus-sions that we have about 2010. That’s a lot of what we’re doing at the shop right now. The 2009 stuff … that’s something that he needs to be involved with and there’s no change in his involvement with Kurt. That’s the meeting that Kurt comes in for on Tuesdays. We’re trying to leave that part of it seamless.”

Tryson wouldn’t comment on how he felt about the decision.

“It’s their decision and I’m going to live with it,” he said.

Can he and Busch win the title with him only being in the shop for a Tuesday meeting that looks back at the previous week and looks ahead to the upcoming race?

“We’ll find out,” Tryson said. “I don’t know for sure, but we’re going to find out. We’re going to try hard to win a championship. It is what it is.

“I don’t see why we can’t as long as me and Kurt and Dave (Winston) our engineer, everybody is working together. … I want to win the cham-pionship, so I’m going to work hard to do that. Whatever we’ve got to do to do it is what we’ll do.”

bpockrass@streetandsmiths.com

BY BOB POCKRASSSceneDaily.com

LOUDON, N.H.—NASCAR waited until the leaders were between Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap of the Sylvania 300 to throw the caution flag as Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger sat stalled on the frontstretch of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway track.

NASCAR vice president of com-petition Robin Pemberton indicated that NASCAR did everything it could to finish Sunday’s Sprint Cup race under green-flag conditions.

“We were waiting to see if (All-mendinger) could get going and get out of the way, and we realized there was a potential blocking of part of the racetrack,” Pemberton said. “You know when the cars are going to get there, and you wait as long as you can to try to not affect the outcome of a race. We felt like we had adequate time when we threw the caution.”

Pemberton said NASCAR often waits as long as possible through-out a race.

“We don’t like the race to end under caution,” Pemberton said. “We felt like we gave enough time for safety’s sake, and it is what it is. I believe we wait as long as we can. There are times during the middle of the race when a car will turn around and we bide some time to see if it gets going. It happens quite a bit. It just gets more noticed when it’s the last lap of the race.”

Race winner Mark Martin got hit from behind as he slowed but others didn’t. Martin said the call was a good one because Allmendinger pos-sibly could have gotten restarted, and he said at a place such as Daytona

International Speedway, if a car is flipping, they wouldn’t need to wait.

“I knew it was supposed to be over. AJ was getting going and I felt pretty confident and comfortable about where he was going to stay, so I picked up the speed, which is not the thing that we’re supposed to do.”

Martin’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon said he never was told about the caution.

“All I know is my spotter was saying there was a car down low on the front straightaway stopped, and I never heard them say, ‘Caution,’ ” Gordon said. “So everybody was still going, and I saw the caution out of the corner of my eye. I said, ‘I never heard the caution’ and (my spotter) said, ‘That’s because it didn’t come out until just now’ and I was surprised by that.”

bpockrass@streetandsmiths.com

NASCAR defends its decision on waiting to wave final caution

JON PIERRE LASSEIGNE / AP

Jeff Gordon and other drivers weren’t pleased with NASCAR’s late move.

Tryson’s shop time is limited because of imminent departure

Hamlin happy to end up in second place

Clearly, Mark Martin did what he wanted to do in Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

But so did Denny Hamlin, who ran second at New Hampshire in the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Despite being pinned to the inside on a succession of late restarts, Hamlin powered his way past Juan Pablo Montoya during a three-lap run to the finish to claim the runner-up position. The result left him tied for second in the standings with Jimmie Johnson, 35 points behind Martin.

Hamlin took advantage of Mar-tin’s conservative run into Turn 1 on the next-to-last lap, a circum-stance that kept Montoya on the inside lane.

“I was the same way,” Hamlin said. “I was stuck in third on every single restart and the 48 (Johnson) was on the outside, and I kept running into him because I was trying to gain positions, but the air is so bad down there that you can’t go anywhere.”

Brian Vickers fought back for an 11th-place finish, good for eighth in the standings, after having trouble in the pits Sunday. Vick-ers’ crew had to push his car back-wards to fasten a dropped lug nut under caution on Lap 142. Vick-ers, who raced his way into the Chase on Sept. 12 at Richmond, restarted 30th on Lap 147 and raced his way up from there.

“I didn’t have reverse,” a

frustrated Vickers radioed to crew chief Ryan Pemberton after the stop. “I blew it out the first time I tried to back it up. When you’re asking me to back it up, and you don’t see the car moving, that’s your sign to push it.”

Kasey Kahne was the first casu-alty among the Chase drivers. On Lap 67, one circuit short of a green-flag pit stop, Kahne’s engine exploded as he rolled through Turn 4.

“I’m having a problem—I’m blowing up,” Kahne radioed to crew chief Kenny Francis, who asked if it might be that the No. 9 Dodge was out of fuel.

“No, it was shaking inside. I could feel it the last lap,” Kahne responded, before taking the car to the garage, doomed to a 38th-place finish. Kahne is 12th in the standings, 161 points behind Martin.

In post-race inspection, NASCAR discovered a ride height violation on the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch, who finished fifth in Sunday’s race. The car measured below tolerances on the left front, according to NASCAR spokes-person Ramsey Poston. If penalties are warranted, they will be announced later in the week.

— Compiled by Reid Spencer

DAVID BOE / AP

Kurt Busch, left, hasn’t been seeing as much of Pat Tryson lately.

INSIDE DISH

HAROLD HINSON FOR SN

Denny Hamlin is now tied for second in the Chase standings.

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 45NASCAR

SPORTING NEWS TODAY www.sportingnews.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 46Back Page

CONCORD, N.C.—Cory McClenathan and Robert Hight shot up the play-off rankings by winning their first races of 2009 Sunday at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway.

McClenathan won Top Fuel with a pass of 3.857 seconds at 312.64 mph to beat rookie Shawn Langdon and take over first place in the Countdown to 1.

With his 31st career win, McClenathan has pulled even with Doug Kalitta as the second win-ningest driver in NHRA history to have never won an NHRA champi-onship (Kurt Johnson, 39).

Hight flew from 10th to third by beating another rookie, outpacing Matt Hagan in 4.097 seconds at 307.02 mph in his Funny Car.

Regular season champ Tony Pedregon remained in first place and Ashley Force Hood moved up a spot to second place.

Mike Edwards won Pro Stock in 6.618 seconds at 209.39 mph to take over the top spot for the first time all season. Hector Arana won Pro Stock Motorcyle when Karen Stof-fer red-lighted in the final.

The Countdown to 1 continues this weekend in Dallas.

TrackJOHANNESBURG—South Africa’s

government received support on Sunday for its demand that the country’s top athletics official be axed after he admitted lying about gender tests conducted on 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya.

Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene apologized Satur-day, saying he had lied to protect the 18-year-old’s privacy.

The sports ministry called on the ASA to fire Chuene.

“If they fail to do so, they run the risk of being led by a liar,” Gert Oosthuizen, the deputy sports minister, said in a statement.

Semenya won the 800 at the world championships in Berlin in 1 minute, 55.45 seconds on Aug. 19, finishing 2.45 seconds ahead of her closest competitor in the fastest time at the distance this year.

Hours before the final, the Inter-national Association of Athletics Federations announced it had ordered tests done on the runner. It said questions had been raised about her muscular physique, run-ning style and recent stunning improvement in times.

The IAAF has refused to confirm or deny Australian media reports earlier this month that Semenya has both male and female charac-teristics, saying it is reviewing test results and will issue a decision in November on whether the athlete will be allowed to continue to com-pete in women’s events.

GolfSAN DIEGO—Na Yeon Choi of South

Korea lost her seven-stroke lead, then rallied to shoot 1-under 71 to win the Samsung World Champion-ship, her first LPGA Tour victory. Choi finished at 16-under 272 and held off runner-up Ai Miyazato of Japan, who shot a 69, the low round of the day at Torrey Pines.

CONOVER, N.C.—Jay Haas over-came a slow start to shoot a 7-under 65, winning his second Greater Hickory Classic by two shots over Russ Cochran and Andy Bean. Haas, who also won the Champions Tour event in 2005, set a tourna-ment-record of 18-under 198 at Rock Barn Golf and Spa’s Robert Trent Jones course. His three-day total broke the mark set by R.W. Eaks in 2007 by one shot.

LUSS, SCOTLAND—Scott Hebert won all five of his matches, and the U.S. club pros dominated Great Britain & Ireland in singles for a 17½-8½ victory in the PGA Cup. The Americans won 8½ points from the 10 singles matches, beating by one point their largest margin of victory on foreign soil set in 1983 at Muirfield. The United States has twice won by 12 points playing at home.

BASEBALL

National League

CHICAGO CUBS: Suspended OF Milton Bradley for

the rest of the season for conduct detrimental

to the team.

HOCKEY

National Hockey League

ANAHEIM DUCKS: Assigned LW Matthew

Beleskey, G Timo Pielmeier and RW Dan Sexton

to San Antonio (AHL).

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Re-assigned F Trevor

Frischmon, F Pascal Pelletier, D Brent Regner and

D Andrey Plekhanov to Syracuse (AHL) and F Dar-

ren Archibald to Barrie (OHL) and F Scott Tanski

to Brampton (OHL). Released F Jon Mirasty, F

Kevin Harvey, F Daniel Steiner, F Jared Aulin, F

Ian Duval, D Dylan Reese.

EDMONTON OILERS: Assigned D Johan Motin,

LW Viacheslav Trukhno, LW Geoff Paukovich,

RW Colin McDonald and LW Charles Linglet to

Springfield (AHL).

LOS ANGELES KINGS: Assigned C Justin Azevedo,

C Corey Elkins, LW Bud Holloway, LW Dwight

King, C Andrei Loktionov, LW David Meckler, C

Juraj Mikus, C Oscar Moller, D Patrick Mullen, C

Jordan Nolan, RW Scott Parse, F Michael Pelech,

D Viatcheslav Voynov, RW Geoff Walker, G Jeff

Zatkoff to Manchester (AHL). Returned D Colten

Teubert to his junior team. Released F Dennis

McCauley.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Assigned F Hugh

Jessiman, F Ryan Maki, F Ian McKenzie, F Mark

Santorelli, D Robert Dietrich, G Chet Pickard and

G Jeremy Smith to Milwaukee (AHL). Released

D Scott Ford, D Mark Matheson and D Russ

Sinkewich from professional tryout agreements

and assigned them to Milwaukee.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Assigned G Dave Caruso, G

Mike McKenna, D Matt Cohen, D Matt Taormina,

F Eric Castonguay, F Kevin Cormier, F Stephen

Gionta, F Brad Mills, F Kory Nagy, F Nathan

Perkovich, F Louis Robitaille, F Brad Snetsinger

and F Myles Stoesz to Lowell (AHL). Returned D

Matt Delahey to Regina (WHL), D Harry Young

and F Adam Henrique to Windsor (OHL), F Ashton

Bernard to Cape Breton (QMJHL) and F Jean-

Sebastien Berube to Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL).

PHOENIX COYOTES: Assigned G Joel Gistedt, G

Josh Tordjman, D Jonas Ahnelov, D Chris Frank, D

Nick Ross, D Sean Sullivan, D Sean Zimmerman,

F Justin Bernhardt, F Mitch Fritz, F Colin Long, F

Stefan Meyer, F Andrew Orpik, F Matt Watkins to

San Antonio (AHL). Released D Ross Lupaschuk

and F Aaron Downey.

SAN JOSE SHARKS: Assigned G Tyson Sexsmith,

C Andrew Desjardins, D Joe Loprieno, C Stephen

Zalewski, LW Kevin Henderson and LW John

McCarthy to Worcester (AHL).

TRANSACTIONSIN BRIEF

Major League Soccer All Times ET

EASTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAColumbus 11 4 10 43 38 28Chicago 10 6 10 40 36 31D.C. 8 6 12 36 39 38New England 9 8 7 34 29 33Toronto FC 9 10 7 34 33 38Kansas City 8 11 6 30 28 34New York 4 17 5 17 21 43

WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GAHouston 12 8 7 43 35 26Los Angeles 10 5 11 41 33 29Seattle 9 6 11 38 31 24Colorado 10 8 7 37 39 31Chivas USA 11 9 4 37 25 24Real Salt Lake 9 10 7 34 38 31FC Dallas 7 12 6 27 41 43San Jose 5 12 6 21 28 41

NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.

Sept. 18New York 1, New England 1, tieSan Jose 1, Colorado 1, tieSept. 19Seattle FC 0, Chivas USA 0, tieKansas City 3, FC Dallas 2Houston 3, Real Salt Lake 2Los Angeles 2, Toronto FC 0Sunday’s gameChicago 2, Columbus 2, tieWednesday’s gameSan Jose at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday’s gamesSeattle FC at New England, 7:30 p.m.Los Angeles at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.Toronto FC at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.Real Salt Lake at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.Colorado at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.New York at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m.Sept. 27San Jose at D.C. United, 3 p.m.

McClenathan, Hight pick up key wins

NHRA Carolinas Nationals resultsSundayAt zMax Dragway, Concord, N.C.

FinishTOP FUEL1, Cory McClenathan. 2, Shawn Langdon. 3, Tony Schumacher. 4, Doug Foley. 5, Larry Dixon. 6, Rod Fuller. 7, Doug Herbert. 8, Terry McMillen. 9, Doug Kalitta. 10, Clay Millican. 11, Pat Dakin. 12, Spencer Massey. 13, Brandon Bernstein. 14, Antron Brown. 15, Morgan Lucas. 16, Terry Haddock.FUNNY CAR1 Robert Hight, Ford Mustang. 2, Matt Hagan. 3, Ashley Force Hood. 4, Cruz Pedregon. 5, Bob Tasca III. 6, Jack Beckman. 7, Jim Head. 8, Jeff Arend. 9, Mike Neff. 10, Jerry Toliver. 11, Bob Gilbertson. 12, Tony Pedregon. 13, John Force. 14, Ron Capps. 15, Tim Wilkerson. 16, Del Worsham.PRO STOCK1, Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP. 2, Greg Stan-field. 3, Allen Johnson. 4, Steve Spiess. 5, Tom Hammonds. 6, Kurt Johnson. 7, Johnny Gray. 8, Jason Line. 9, Ronnie Humphrey. 10, Jeg Coughlin. 11, Rodger Brogdon. 12, Greg Anderson. 13, Warren Johnson. 14, Larry Morgan. 15, Ryan Ondrejko. 16, Vinnie Deceglie.PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE1, Hector Arana. 2, Karen Stoffer. 3, Eddie

Krawiec. 4, Shawn Gann. 5, Michael Phil-lips. 6, Douglas Horne. 7, Steve Johnson. 8, Junior Pippin. 9, Andrew Hines. 10, Craig Treble. 11, Matt Smith. 12, LE Tonglet. 13, Angie McBride. 14, Jim Underdahl. 15, Joe DeSantis. 16, Bailey Whitaker.

FINAL RESULTSTop Fuel: Cory McClenathan, 3.857 sec-onds, 312.64 mph, def. Shawn Langdon, 3.980 seconds, 280.49 mph.Funny Car: Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.097, 307.02, def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.103, 308.07.Pro Stock: Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.618, 209.39, def. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.650, 207.75.Pro Stock Motorcycle: Hector Arana, Buell, 7.004, 189.31, def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul.Top Alcohol Dragster: Bill Reichert, 5.270, 268.97, def. Ken Perry, 5.397, 260.46.Top Alcohol Funny Car: Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.541, 261.22, def. Mick Snyder, Ford Mustang, 5.597, 255.29.Competition Eliminator: Rick Brown, Chevy S-10, 8.563, 126.28, def. Kyle Kore-tsky, Chevy Cavalier, foul.Stock Eliminator: Todd Hoven, Pontiac GTO, 11.425, 110.02, def. Jeff Strickland, Chevy Camaro, 10.947, 114.63.Super Comp: Joe Flynn, Dragster, 8.904, 173.16, def. Brian Forrester, Dragster, 8.940, 159.38.Super Gas: Steve Furr, Chevy Camaro,

9.905, 157.06, def. John Stover, Chevy Corvette, 9.897, 153.44.

POINT STANDINGSTop Fuel1, Cory McClenathan, 2,162. 2, (tie) Antron Brown, 2,152. Tony Schumacher, 2,152. 4, Larry Dixon, 2,141. 5, Shawn Langdon, 2,113. 6, Brandon Bernstein, 2,098. 7, Spencer Massey, 2,076. 8, Morgan Lucas, 2,065. 9, Doug Kalitta, 2,042. 10, Clay Mil-lican, 2,031.Funny Car1, Tony Pedregon, 2,148. 2, Ashley Force Hood, 2,147. 3, Robert Hight, 2,120. 4, Ron Capps, 2,115. 5, Bob Tasca III, 2,112. 6, Jack Beckman, 2,103. 7, Tim Wilkerson, 2,076. 8, John Force, 2,070. 9, Del Worsham, 2,053. 10, Mike Neff, 2,045.Pro Stock1, Mike Edwards, 2,198. 2, Jeg Coughlin, 2,142. 3, (tie) Jason Line, 2,136. Greg Stan-field, 2,136. 5, Allen Johnson, 2,128. 6, Greg Anderson, 2,092. 7, Kurt Johnson, 2,079. 8, Johnny Gray, 2,053. 9, Ron Krisher, 2,040. 10, Rickie Jones, 2,020.Pro Stock Motorcycle1, Hector Arana, 2,194. 2, Eddie Krawiec, 2,185. 3, Andrew Hines, 2,125. 4, Douglas Horne, 2,101. 5, Karen Stoffer, 2,094. 6, Matt Smith, 2,093. 7, Shawn Gann, 2,092. 8, Michael Phillips, 2,085. 9, Craig Treble, 2,072. 10, Matt Guidera, 2,020.

— The Associated Press

Robert Hight picked up his first win of the season and moved to third in the Funny Car standings.

TERESA LONG / AP

TennisGENOA, ITALY—Roger Federer gave

Switzerland a spot in next year’s Davis Cup world group by beating Potito Starace for an insurmountable 3-1 lead against Italy.

The top-ranked Federer kept his focus through a two-hour rain delay before completing a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 win

to clinch the best-of-five playoff series.In another Sunday match, Israel’s

Harel Levy beat Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the final reverse singles, Israel’s only win in a 4-1 decision by Spain, the defending champion. Spain gained its seventh final and will host the Czech Republic.

— The Associated Press