Flyers rookie Steve Downie was suspended 20 games by the NHL on Friday for his hit on Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond that gave the center a concussion and knocked him out of action indefinitely. McAmmond was taken off the ice on a stretcher in the second period of Tuesday’s preseason game. Downie received a match penalty and was automatically suspended until Friday’s hearing.
An Indiana bank sued suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for not repaying loans involving a car rental business. 1st Source Bank of South Bend said in a federal lawsuit it suffered damages of at least $2 million because Vick and Divine Seven LLC of Atlanta had refused to pay for the vehicles.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer could miss the start of training camp next week while his son recovers from a bone-marrow transplant in Miami. Camp starts Tuesday and runs through Oct. 6 in Boise, Idaho. “As soon as my son is home from the hospital and stable, I will join my teammates,” Boozer said in a statement released by the team Thursday.
The union for baseball umpires will not contest the season-ending suspension given to Mike Winters for using a profanity aimed at San Diego’s Milton Bradley last weekend. The World Umpires Association issued a contrite statement Thursday, and union spokesman Lamell McMorris said the WUA would not challenge the penalty handed down by Major League Baseball a day earlier.
Soldier of Fortune wins the Prix Niel at Longchamp, a trial for next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
An ex-New York Knicks executive was fired over her own failings and office politics, not because she dared to accuse head coach Isiah Thomas of abusing her with crude language, a defense lawyer said Thursday in closing arguments at a sexual harassment trial. The plaintiff in the $10 million lawsuit, Anucha Browne Sanders, refused to adapt to an organizational shake up that began with Thomas’s…
Cleveland pitcher Paul Byrd likes the idea of playing meaningful games this time of year. Of course, the Indians would prefer to win them. The Seattle Mariners beat the Indians 4-2 on Thursday night, their second straight win over Cleveland to deny the Indians sole possession of the best record in the American League.
Most of the Colorado Rockies are involved in a pennant race for the first time. It seems to be bringing out their best. Garrett Atkins had four hits, including a home run, and Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton homered as the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 on Thursday night to sweep the three-game series and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 11 games.
The Philadelphia Phillies are done chasing. After 159 games, the Phillies are finally atop the division standings — albeit tied with the free-falling New York Mets. Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer, Pat Burrell also connected and the Phillies roughed up John Smoltz, before hanging on for a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.
Saints running back Deuce McAllister had surgery Thursday to repair ligaments he tore in his left knee during Monday night’s 31-14 loss to Tennessee. Dr. James Andrews, in Birmingham, Ala., repaired McAllister’s anterior cruciate ligament and then cleaned up his right knee, which had been surgically repaired following a similar tear in October 2005, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said.
