Sports News
May 15, 2008Here are the sports results from Thursday:
MINNEAPOLIS - Pinch-hitter Joe Inglett sliced a two-out, bases-loaded single through the infield in the 11th inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays over the Minnesota Twins 3-2 Thursday for a three-game sweep.
Scott Rolen started the 11th against Jesse Crain (1-2) with a double into the right-field corner that Michael Cuddyer couldn't quite catch. Lyle Overbay was walked intentionally with two outs, and pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun drew a walk.
TORONTO - Leo Rautins and his Canadian men's basketball team have dubbed themselves the "Road Warriors" for all the games they've played abroad, in another country's gym.
That's about to change as the Canadians will host Lebanon and New Zealand in a five-game exhibition series in Toronto and Hamilton, part of the team's preparations for its last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament in July.
PHILADELPHIA - Wayne Gretzky never got to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mario Lemieux never skated for the Montreal Canadiens. Jarome Iginla ended up on the enemy side of his childhood Alberta heroes.
Not every kid ends up playing for the very NHL team that adorned his bedroom walls in posters and pennants. "I definitely feel privileged, lucky and honoured," Ryan Malone said Thursday after the pre-game skate at Wachovia Center.
INDIANAPOLIS - Michael Andretti is hoping to bring open-wheel racing back to the city where he posted seven victories of his own.
Andretti Green Promotions announced Thursday that it has formed a wholly-owned Canadian company, Andretti Green Toronto, and completed the purchase of the assets of the Grand Prix Association of Toronto, which owned and operated the race left off the 2008 schedule after Champ Car was absorbed into the IRL.
LAS VEGAS - Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a US$400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised Thursday to repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges.
"My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it." Barkley was responding to comments by Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who said prosecutors would file a criminal complaint if he did not pay the debt cited by the Wynn Las Vegas resort.
The athletics team Canada will send to this summer's Paralympic Games in Beijing will be as strong as the group that competed in Athens, but may find it tougher to win medals, says head coach Bruce Pirnie.
An increase in the number of countries participating in the Paralympic movement plus China's emergence as a sport power will increase the level of competition.
ROME - Defending champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and 2002 winner Serena Williams advanced to the Italian Open quarter-finals Thursday.
The fourth-seeded Jankovic routed Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-1, 6-1 and Williams overcame some erratic moments before eliminating Italian wild card Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3. Also advancing was 2005 runner-up Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who edged last year's Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli of France 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
HAMBURG, Germany - Defending champion Roger Federer breezed past Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Hamburg Masters.
The top-ranked Federer is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg and will next play Fernando Verdasco of Spain, who upset fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain 7-6 (2), 6-2.
ROME - Maria Sharapova will assume the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis as a result of Justine Henin's retirement.
Henin, who announced her retirement Wednesday at the age of 25, has asked to be removed from the rankings, the WTA Tour said Thursday. That means Sharapova will automatically become No. 1 when the next rankings are released Monday.
MILWAUKEE - Ryan Braun grinned. He had just agreed to the largest contract in Milwaukee Brewers' history.
"I really believe in the direction this franchise is headed," the NL Rookie of the Year said Thursday after his US$45 million, eight-year deal was announced. "I'm extremely excited in our future." Braun's contract, which runs through 2015, replaces the $455,000, one-year renewal the Brewers gave him in spring training. It includes a $2.3 million bonus this season and could increase to $51 million through escalators.
NEW YORK - A horse by any other name simply wouldn't have worked for UPS.
Capitalizing on the buzz around thoroughbred racing's biggest event, UPS has inked a sponsorship deal with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, who was named in honour of the shipping giant known for its distinctive brown trucks and uniforms.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - An autopsy reveals that euthanized filly Eight Belles had no pre-existing bone abnormalities that caused her to break down after the Kentucky Derby.
The tests were performed by chief Kentucky veterinarian Lafe Nichols. It confirms compound fractures of both front legs at the fetlock joints.
HALIFAX - Ken Hitchcock knew he was leaving Halifax. He just didn't know what mode of transportation he'd be taking.
The Canadian coach went through some nervous moments during an 8-2 quarter-final win over Norway at the IIHF World Hockey Championship on Wednesday. The victory earned his team a semifinal game with Sweden a few hours away in Quebec City.
NEW YORK - The memories are painful - and liberating - for Tonya Harding.
They also fill a new book, "The Tonya Tapes," in which she speaks frankly, if a bit confusingly, about the Tonya and Nancy scandal. And about being abused during childhood, contemplating suicide, having a gun placed to her head and getting raped. She says she paid a price for not fitting the mould of American figure skaters.
DALLAS - Maybe it was payback, maybe it was just good fortune. The Dallas Stars aren't going to quibble.
All that matters is Tomas Holmstrom's rear end - and possibly his reputation - cost the Detroit Red Wings a goal and the Stars took full advantage, avoiding the humiliation of getting swept out of the Western Conference finals.
MINNEAPOLIS - The Toronto Blue Jays are starting to catch some breaks.
Fredericton's Matt Stairs hit a grand slam and Roy Halladay rebounded from a shaky start to help the Blue Jays beat the Twins 6-5. "You got to get some breaks. There's no questions about that," said Toronto manager John Gibbons, whose team took advantage of several Twins' miscues for the second straight night. "More importantly, you need to take advantage of them."
Tom Glavine earned his first win for Atlanta in six years on Wednesday night.
Glavine pitched 5 2-3 effective innings and the Braves held on for an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. "The mistake I made is when I went out there in the sixth inning, I pitched to the score," said Glavine, who hadn't won a game with the Braves since beating the Phillies on Sept. 19, 2002.
