The ball flew back at Tim Wakefield, faster than the knuckleballs he serves to baffled batters. He tried to squeeze it — just like his catcher tries to close the mitt around his floating pitch. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, like Tuesday night, it ticks off the glove, extending an inning and costing his team the game.
Kenny Lofton stole his 34th career base in the postseason Tuesday night, breaking Rickey Henderson’s mark. Lofton hit a two-out single to left-center for Cleveland in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the American League championship series. Then, with Casey Blake batting, he stole second on Boston Red Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen.
The season was sweet, just the ending was sour. The Arizona Diamondbacks seem loaded for the future after a surprising run to the NL championship series ended in a four-game sweep by the Colorado Rockies. The youngsters who played key roles in the team’s strong season gained invaluable experience in the playoffs.
Bill Stoneman spent so much time building the Angels into a perennial contender that he knew when he didn’t have enough energy to stay on as the team’s general manager. Stoneman stepped down Tuesday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife, Diane. He was replaced by player development director Tony Reagins.
A lawyer for baseball players says George Mitchell never told the union before last week that he was willing to show its members evidence of doping allegations against them. Mitchell, who has spent 1 1/2 years investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, said Friday that he asked players to meet with him “for the purpose of directly providing them with the evidence about the…
The first guy to get a shot at replacing Michael Vick already flunked the test. Next up, Byron Leftwich. The Atlanta Falcons switched quarterbacks on Wednesday, hoping Leftwich can spark an offense that struggled for points with Joey Harrington as the starter. Coach Bobby Petrino said he intends to keep it that way the rest of the season.
The Stanley Cup champions are getting lots of help from their young newcomers. Just two nights after defenseman Kent Huskins scored his NHL first goal in a win over Detroit, forwards Petteri Wirtanen and Drew Miller both netted their first Wednesday to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-1 victory against the Nashville Predators.
The St. Louis Blues were surging even before their power play started to click. Keith Tkachuk had one of two St. Louis’ man-advantage goals and added an assist, and Manny Legace stopped 28 shots as the Blues posted their fourth straight win, 3-1 over the Chicago Blackhawks. Paul Kariya had the Blues’ other power-play goal as St.
The Boston Celtics’ new highlight video isn’t a collection of great plays from their NBA-record 16 championships. Not a series of clips from their more recent, forgettable seasons, either. Instead, the theme was “a very eventful offseason,” with scenes from the news conferences where Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — and Scot Pollard and Eddie House — were unveiled as the saviors of the once-proud…
A woman has accused NBA star Jason Kidd of harassing and groping her this month at a trendy Manhattan nightspot. Kidd spokesman Scott Miranda said the accusation was “a complete fabrication and it is sad that someone would make something like this up.” The New York Police Department confirmed Wednesday the 23-year-old woman filed a complaint against another club-goer on Oct.
