The NBA fined SuperSonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon $250,000 two weeks after he said his group didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle. League spokesman Mark Broussard confirmed the penalty Thursday, but said he did not immediately know the reason the fine was imposed. The comments of McClendon, an Oklahoma City energy tycoon, were at odds with commissioner David Stern’s stated hope of keeping…
Butch van Breda Kolff, who coached the Los Angeles Lakers to two NBA finals appearances and won 482 games as a college coach, has died after a long illness. Van Breda Kolff, 84, died Wednesday afternoon at a nursing home in Spokane, his daughter, Kristina van Breda Kolff, said. His son, Jan, also played professionally and coached at Cornell, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine and St.
Before committing to making Dave Trembley the manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, Andy MacPhail wanted to see how the team reacted to failure. MacPhail, the club’s president of baseball operations, never got much of a chance. After the Orioles bounced back from three straight losses to Seattle this month to win two of three against both Boston and New York, the two best teams in the AL East,…
The rare chance to relax came early for Carlos Silva and the Twins. Minutes into Wednesday’s matinee against Seattle, their ragged offense broke loose for a seven-run first inning fueled by Michael Cuddyer’s grand slam. “I’m going to sound like a broken record again,” Cuddyer said, smiling. “Hopefully, we can sustain this, and hopefully we can carry it into the next series and be able to put some…
England close day two of the final Test 640 runs behind at 24-1 after Anil Kumble hits a maiden century in India’s mammoth 664.
With a boost from Andy Pettitte, Joe Torre climbed another spot on the New York Yankees’ wins list. Pettitte won his fifth consecutive start and New York salvaged the finale of its three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels with an 8-2 victory Wednesday night. The win was Torre’s 1,150th as manager of the Yankees, giving him sole possession of second place on the franchise chart behind Joe…
Cliff Floyd is finding himself in the middle of a lot of winning rallies, and keeping the Chicago Cubs in the thick of a pennant race. Floyd led off the 10th inning with a double, and after he was replaced by pinch runner Felix Pie, Jason Kendall drove in the go-ahead run in the Cubs’ 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa scored 30 points, and Brazil held off Canada 75-67 Wednesday night in the FIBA Americas tournament opener for both teams. Barbosa, the NBA’s top sixth man last season, helped Brazil finally shake free by hitting two free throws and adding a floater, pushing the lead to 69-62 with 2:26 left.
Brandon Webb felt relieved when his shutout streak ended at 42 innings Wednesday night. The Arizona ace allowed a run in the first but won his sixth consecutive start to lead the Diamondbacks past the Milwaukee Brewers 3-2. “I was feeling it a little earlier in the day with all the attention,” said Webb, the reigning NL Cy Young winner.
Before the game, Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge explained that he put Franklin Gutierrez in the lineup to create more offense. Gutierrez did just that, hitting a three-run homer to help Cleveland rebound from a tough loss and beat the Detroit Tigers 11-8 on Wednesday night. Gutierrez also doubled to start a four-run rally in the fourth inning.
