Sports News
May 15, 2008Here are the sports results from Thursday:
MINNEAPOLIS - Still stuck in last place and minus injured leader Vernon Wells, the streaky Toronto Blue Jays needed to reconstruct their confidence.
This was a successful first step: A three-game sweep at Minnesota. Dustin McGowan survived his wildness without much damage, the bullpen was spotless and Joe Inglett picked up his first career pinch-hit to lift the Blue Jays past the Twins 3-2 Thursday for their fourth straight victory.
BALTIMORE - Before anointing Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown the next coming of Secretariat, consider this: The colt enters Saturday's Preakness off a two-week turnaround, the shortest of his career; he's got problem front feet; and there are 12 horses with connections eager to show Big Brown can be beaten.
None of those factors has dimmed trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.'s massive confidence one bit.
CLIFTON, N.J. - The Annika Sorenstam goodbye tour is off to a great start.
Two days after announcing this would be her final season on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead in the Sybase Classic. Two-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa was a stroke back.
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.
KITCHENER, Ont. - The Kitchener Rangers restored their confidence and the faith of their fans in time for the Memorial Cup.
The host club opens the 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Friday (7 p.m. ET) against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques. The Rangers faced a deflating scenario heading into Monday's Game 7 of the Ontario Hockey League final against the Belleville Bulls.
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.
INDIANAPOLIS - A group of antsy drivers got their wish Thursday, with a dry track allowing them to finally get some work done at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After rain the previous day washed out all but about an hour of the opening day of the second week of practice for the May 25 Indianapolis 500, 35 drivers took advantage of the cool, dry afternoon to get on track. Despite sometimes gusty wind, they turned a total of 2,628 incident-free laps on the 2 1/2-mile oval, making it easily the busiest day since the track opened for practice May 7.
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.
