Shawn Marion had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Phoenix Suns as they opened the preseason with a convincing 110-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night. With Grant Hill getting 17 points and eight rebounds in his first game in a Phoenix uniform, the Suns were off and running from the start, outscoring the Kings 29-18 in the first quarter and led the rest of the way.
Bobby Kielty will start in right field instead of J.D. Drew for the Boston Red Sox in Friday night’s AL championship series opener because of his success against Indians starter C.C. Sabathia. “He was brought in here to give us some right-handed punch,” Boston manager Terry Francona said Thursday. Kielty, a switch-hitter, is 9-for-29 with two homers and four strikeouts in his career against the…
Julio Lugo has one of Manny Ramirez’s baseball cards hanging by his locker, only there’s something out of place: The slugger is wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform. It’s Ramirez, all right, the same guy now batting cleanup for Boston. He played his first 6 1/2 years for the Indians before signing with the Red Sox in 2000.
If the Yankees plan to keep calling on Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning, they might want to think carefully about who would be handing him the ball. Rivera isn’t happy that Joe Torre could be out as manager in New York and said the team’s decision will be factored into whether he returns. “I don’t feel good about it,” Rivera said Wednesday, two days after the Yankees’ third straight exit in the…
Tomas Vokoun finally showed why Florida traded for him in the offseason. In the process, he helped his new team get its first victory of the season. After struggling in his first two outings of the season, Vokoun stopped 29 shots in the Florida Panthers’ 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
In facing the Eastern Conference champions, Peter Laviolette wanted the Carolina Hurricanes to remember that they are essentially the same team that won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. Erik Cole scored twice and Chad Larose had three assists, helping Carolina end Ottawa’s season-opening five-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory over the Senators on Thursday night.
After two straight losses to start the season, Ryan Miller was determined to get his slumping team in gear. Miller made 20 saves for his fifth career shutout, Tim Connolly and Brian Campbell each had a goal and two assists and the Buffalo Sabres got their first win of the season, 6-0 over winless Atlanta on Thursday night.
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Erasmus James was listed on Thursday’s injury report with a shoulder injury, one day after reportedly getting into a fight with teammate Chester Taylor in the locker room. James, who has been out since a knee injury in Week 2 of last season, has been steadily working his way back into playing shape and was considered a candidate to be activated on Sunday against…
The last two years, Derrick Burgess has been the Raiders’ most productive defensive lineman. But with a lingering calf injury that began nearly a month ago, the Pro Bowl end is lucky just to get on the practice field. He’s not the only Oakland defensive lineman hurting, either. Gerard Warren, who leads the team with three sacks and has been a force in the middle since moving into the lineup in Week…
Yao Ming scored 21 points and had eight rebounds to help the Houston Rockets beat Euroleague champion Panathinaikos of Greece 107-70 in an exhibition game Thursday night. The Rockets played without star forward Tracy McGrady, who had a sore left knee. Club officials said he bumped it slightly in practice Wednesday and they decided at game time to hold him out.
