Sports News

BRISTOL, Conn. - Major League Baseball and ESPN signed a new digital rights agreement that will allow the sports network to put baseball content on multiple platforms, including video game consoles and portable players such as iPods.

Garret Anderson swung, and that made all the difference.

Even with Brett Myers getting his first shutout in four years, the Philadelphia Phillies couldn't pick up a game on the division-leading New York Mets. This time, it was because Mike Pelfrey was just as good.

NEW YORK - Baseball umpires and management signed an agreement Wednesday that will allow the sport to start using instant replay to help determine calls on the field. Major League Baseball still hasn't determined when the use of replays will start.

LOS ANGELES - Brad Hawpe had three RBIs, including singles that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, and the Colorado Rockies capitalized on four errors by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 4-3 victory on Wednesday night.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime head of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Gene Upshaw has died after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the NFLPA announced on Thursday. He was 63.

ASHBURN, Va. - They were two Washington Redskins defensive starters with wrecked knees, spending long days together in rehab in the offseason. They supported each other and pushed each other, yet they were also subtly trying to beat each other in the race back to football health.

NEW YORK - Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.

ST. LOUIS - Rams running back Steven Jackson ended his holdout on Wednesday and St. Louis appeared on the verge of signing him to a new multiyear contract.

CINCINNATI - Chris Henry's return hasn't made much of an impact on his Cincinnati Bengals teammates, who have tried many times already to help the troubled receiver change his life. Now, they say it's entirely up to Henry to make good on his latest, unexpected chance.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Clay Bennett's ownership group has reached a final settlement with the city of Seattle, allowing the former SuperSonics franchise to move to Oklahoma City.

BEIJING (AFP) - A US team of highly-paid NBA stars are tasting gold as they head into Wednesday's Olympic basketball medal round aiming to redeem themselves for a dismal bronze at Athens four years ago.

BEIJING (AFP) - America's NBA stars showed Germany on Monday why they are gold medal favorites at the Beijing Olympics, dispatching a team led by Dirk Nowitzki 106-57.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Germany's Dirk Nowitzki said he planned to retire from international basketball -- at least for a few years -- after his team was knocked out of the Olympics tournament.

BEIJING (AFP) - An acrobatic team of US NBA stars showed Germany Monday why they are gold medal favorites at the Beijing Olympics, dispatching a team led by Dirk Nowitzki 106-57.

LONDON (AFP) - Fabio Capello insists England are ready for next month's World Cup qualifiers despite his side's lacklustre display in a 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic.

GLASGOW (AFP) - Rangers signed Fulham midfielder Steven Davis for an undisclosed fee on Thursday.

LONDON (AFP) - Australia defender Lucas Neill has started talks with West Ham over a new contract.

LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Everton midfielder Tim Cahill won't rush his return from a broken foot because the Australian wants to make an immediate impact for club and country.

LONDON (AFP) - FA chief executive Brian Barwick believes he will leave English football in rude health after announcing he is set to step down at the end of the year.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Scott Gordon faced a probing question in the time between accepting the job as head coach of the New York Islanders and his introductory news conference.

EVELETH, Minn. - Brett Hull and longtime New York Rangers Brian Leetch and Mike Richter are members of the 2008 class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Predators have signed center Jerred Smithson to a two-year, $1.4 million contract extension through 2011.

CHICAGO - Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman is joining the Chicago Blackhawks as a senior adviser for hockey operations.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Mark Parrish's homecoming didn't work out. The Minnesota Wild bought out the final three years of the right winger's contract on Wednesday, ending Parrish's frustrating return to his hometown market. Parrish cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent.

STATESBORO, Ga. - Eight Georgia Southern players, included two projected starters, were suspended for the season opener against No. 1 Georgia for undisclosed violations of school rules.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The NCAA put New Mexico's football program on three years of probation Wednesday and cut five scholarships as punishment for academic violations involving two former assistant coaches.

STORRS, Conn - Connecticut has officially released Elena Delle Donne from her basketball scholarship, a move that could allow the former top-rated recruit to play at Delaware.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Former Marshall football coach Bob Pruett has denied allegations he was involved in an academic scandal or made athletes lie about a jobs program that drew NCAA sanctions in 2001.

INDIANAPOLIS - New Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean got the job security he wanted, signing a 10-year contract worth at least $23.6 million.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AFP) - Second seed Daniela Hantuchova earned a dramatic victory here on Wednesday to slip into the quarter-finals of the WTA and ATP tournament.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt said Wednesday he had withdrawn from this month's US Open after having surgery for a nagging hip injury.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Rafael Nadal, of Spain, will be the top seed in a grand slam for the first time in his career at this year's US Open.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Juan Martin del Potro won his fourth title in as many weeks by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-3 in the final of the 500,000 dollar Legg Mason Classic on Sunday.

PARIS (AFP) - Spain's Rafael Nadal has replaced Roger Federer as the new world number one in the ATP rankings released on Monday.

JUPITER, Fla. - A home being built for the son of Jack Nicklaus in Jupiter, Florida, has been destroyed by fire.

PINEHURST, N.C. - Robbie Fillmore, who never touched a club during two years away from golf, shot 5-under 65 on Tuesday to win the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Amateur.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Carl Pettersson joined the Wyndham Championship's board of directors to bring a player's perspective to its setup. He backed the move to Sedgefield Country Club because he figured the traditional-style course would attract a larger audience.

SUNRIVER, Ore. - Even with a widening lead in the final found of the JELD-WEN Tradition, Fred Funk pretended he was trailing.

OTTAWA - Australia's Katherine Hull won the Canadian Women's Open on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, taking advantage of Yani Tseng's final-round meltdown for a one-stroke victory at Ottawa Hunt.

LAS VEGAS - So that's why every welterweight in the world was so scared of Antonio Margarito.

NEW YORK - Police say a promising New York City boxer is dead after being shot during a fight in the Bronx.

NEW YORK - Gov. David Paterson has selected longtime boxing judge Melvina Lathan to head the New York State Athletic Commission, which regulates professional boxing in New York.

BRISTOL, Tenn. - There's no stopping Kyle Busch.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - A Team Penske transporter, carrying the primary cars for Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe to Infineon Raceway for this week's IndyCar Series race, caught fire Wednesday on Interstate 80, west of Cheyenne, Wyo.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - NASCAR's latest attempt to reel in the rule-breakers aimed at an unfamiliar target: the normally squeaky-clean Joe Gibbs Racing.

ATLANTA - Three NASCAR tracks will swap dates on the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule.

NEWTON, Iowa - The Iowa Speedway in Newton will host a NASCAR Nationwide Series race next season.

NEW YORK - Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.

BEIJING - Losing for the first time since 2000, the U.S. softball team was denied a chance for a fourth straight gold medal Thursday, beaten 3-1 by Japan in the sport's last appearance in the Olympics for at least eight years — and maybe for good.

BEIJING - IOC president Jacques Rogge criticized Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on Thursday for showing a lack of respect to other competitors after his record-breaking gold medal performances in the 100 and 200 meters.

BEIJING - Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor were prepared for the downpour, just as they were for a young Chinese team that was the latest to challenge their four-year reign over women's beach volleyball.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Jamaica made a clean sweep of Olympic sprint golds on Thursday with victory in the women's 200 meters humbling the United States, the traditional track and field superpower.

BEIJING - Losing for the first time since 2000, the U.S. softball team was denied a chance for a fourth straight gold medal Thursday, beaten 3-1 by Japan in the sport's last appearance in the Olympics for at least eight years — and maybe for good.

BEIJING - Outplayed and overwhelmed for most of the night, the Americans got the only shot they needed.

BEIJING - Tyson Gay reached back to grab the baton "and there was nothing." He's not the only American track favorite who will leave Beijing empty-handed. The American men's and women's 400-meter relay teams both misconnected on the final handoffs in their preliminaries Thursday, a pair of stunning setbacks that made it that much easier for the Jamaicans to say the Bird's Nest is really their house.

BEIJING - The U.S. women's basketball team passed its first test of the Olympics, beating Russia in its closest contest in Beijing. Now it's on to a fourth straight gold medal game.

BEIJING - Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor were prepared for the downpour, just as they were for a young Chinese team that was the latest to challenge their four-year reign over women's beach volleyball.