Brady Quinn says he’s ready to make an impact for the Cleveland Browns and he did in the preseason finale. When his next opportunity comes remains to be seen. The rookie from Notre Dame was efficient, if unspectacular, leading the Browns to a touchdown in a 19-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
Eli Manning appears ready for the regular season. Tom Brady had better be. Manning had his third straight solid exhibition tuneup while Brady watched from the sidelines wearing a ball cap as the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants 27-20 Thursday night. Now they’ll get ready for their Sept. 9 openers — the Patriots at the New York Jets and the Giants at the Dallas Cowboys.
David Stern defended his current referees, blasted a pair of former ones, and vowed to wait until a review of the NBA’s officiating program is finished before he decides on any punishments stemming from gambling activities. The commissioner was in Las Vegas on Thursday to watch the United States play Argentina in the FIBA Americas tournament, and it wasn’t long before questions turned to gambling.
Rookie Mark Reynolds had three hits and a career-high five RBIs to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-7 win over San Diego on Thursday night, regaining the NL West lead from the Padres. The Diamondbacks, who trailed San Diego by one percentage point coming into the game, held on for the win after taking an 8-0 lead.
Matt Murton’s just glad to play any role for the Chicago Cubs as they go after a playoff berth, especially since he spent time in the minors this season. And Alfonso Soriano is relieved to be back from the disabled list, even if he’s not completely healthy. They teamed up Thursday night, hitting back-to-back homers off Chris Capuano with two outs in the sixth inning as Chicago beat the Milwaukee…
The Tennessee Titans desperately want to roll into the season with some momentum. That means they take the preseason very seriously. Vince Young threw for a touchdown and ran for another for a second straight week, LenDale White added 77 total yards, and they helped the Titans wrap up the preseason by beating Favre and the Green Bay Packers 30-14 Thursday night.
Larry Johnson got the break-in work he needed while supplying a lackluster Chiefs-Rams preseason finale with just a smidgen of star power. Johnson, who ended a 25-day holdout earlier in the month, was the only starter of substance for either team who got on the field in St. Louis’ 10-3 victory Thursday night.
St. Louis Rams offensive lineman Todd Steussie broke his left foot in the first half of Thursday night’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Steussie, 36, is entering his 14th season and has missed only two games since joining the league in 1994. He made 15 starts last year for the Rams, filling in due to injuries with eight starts at left guard and seven at left tackle.
Human error was likely responsible for the spread of equine influenza which has hit two Australian states, curtailing horse racing and costing millions of dollars in lost jobs and revenue, Australia federal agriculture minister Peter McGauran said Friday. “It’s going to be human error, there’s no question, but were the quarantine procedures adequate?” McGauran said in a radio interview.
Fun Logic rallied to beat Dona Amelia by 1 3/4 lengths Thursday in the $104,820 Adoration Handicap at Del Mar. With Joe Talamo aboard, Fun Logic ran a mile in 1:39.64, and paid $8.60, $4.60 and $3. Dona Amelia returned $4.80 and $2.80, and Screen Giant paid $2.60 to show. Fun Logic earned $69,012 to increase her career total to $342,772.
