Daunte Culpepper cleanly handled his first snap for a change and did plenty else right, too. Cast off by Miami a month ago, Culpepper is doing his best to win the starting job in Oakland. Culpepper threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry and looked sharp in his first preseason start, leading the Raiders to a 20-10 victory over the St.
Being a celebrity dad seems to be suiting Tom Brady just fine. He just doesn’t want to talk about it — even with his teammates. Two days after Brady missed practice to fly to Los Angeles where his ex-girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan, gave birth to their son, Brady returned to the Patriots and was nearly flawless in New England’s 24-7 exhibition win over the Carolina Panthers on Friday.
Breathe easy Titans fans, Vince Young found his shake-and-bake groove Friday. His passing game didn’t look bad, either. Playing only the first half, Young went 13-of-19 for 162 yards passing and a touchdown, and also scored a TD rushing in a 28-17 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills. It was a much-needed performance from Young and a starting offense that had failed to produce a score in eight…
SARATOGA SPRINGS, New York (Ticker) — Street Sense headlines the field for Saturday’s $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Jered Weaver didn’t pitch as long as Roy Halladay did — just better. Weaver threw six scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Angels got RBI singles from Vladimir Guerrero, Maicer Izturis and Orlando Cabrera to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 Friday night. “It kind of raises your level of intensity going up against a guy like that,” Weaver said.
Sean Marshall is enjoying his first pennant race. Thanks to him, the Chicago Cubs opened up a little daylight between themselves and Milwaukee in the NL Central. Marshall gave up one run in six innings, Jacque Jones had four hits and the Cubs defeated Arizona 6-2 on Friday night in a showdown of NL division leaders.
John Smoltz handled one of the teams that has given him the most trouble over the years, helping the Atlanta Braves end a three-game losing streak. Smoltz worked eight innings for the second straight start and Mark Teixeira drove in his 29th run in 22 games with the Braves in a 7-2 victory over the St.
Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Schobel signed a contract extension with the Buffalo Bills on Friday that is potentially worth about $50.5 million over the seven-year deal. The deal includes $20 million in guaranteed money and locks Schobel up through 2013, extending his current contract for four additional years.
The Green Bay Packers are hopeful that wide receiver Donald Driver’s foot injury is not too serious. Driver was hurt on Thursday night in the Packers’ 21-13 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars after making a 12-yard reception late in the second quarter. Jaguars safety Sammy Knight rolled up on Driver’s right leg and the Packers two-time Pro Bowler immediately reached for his foot.
Racetracks across Australia were all but shut down Saturday, the country’s richest horse race is in doubt and losses could total more than a billion dollars after an outbreak of equine influenza. The highly contagious equine virus was discovered in 11 non-racehorses at the Centennial Park complex adjoining Sydney’s Royal Randwick racecourse.
