Ask anyone who watched Don Mattingly hit and they’d probably say he could be great at anything. Bat resting peacefully on his left shoulder, knees dropping him slowly into a comfortable crouch, his entire torso poised to uncoil like a hungry cobra. He pounced on pitches. High heat, soft stuff, didn’t matter.
Trot Nixon, the former Red Sox outfielder who helped beat Boston with an extra-inning single in Game 2, was back in Cleveland’s starting lineup Saturday night for the sixth game of the AL championship series. The Red Sox also made a lineup change, putting rookie Jacoby Ellsbury in center field in place of Coco Crisp, who was batting .143 in the series with six strikeouts.
Aaron Cook pronounced himself ready to return to the Colorado Rockies rotation after pitching a simulated game Saturday. Whether the Rockies decide to add him to their World Series roster is still uncertain. Cook hasn’t pitched in a major league game since Aug. 10, sidelined by a strained muscle in his side, and had mixed results against the Rockies’ regulars.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa expects to return for a 13th season with St. Louis, and may commit to the team before it selects a new general manager. La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’d be back barring complications in discussions with team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. His three-year deal expired at the end of the season.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison remains questionable for the Indianapolis Colts’ game against Jacksonville on Monday night because of a bruised left knee. Colts coach Tony Dungy said before practice Saturday that Harrison would probably be a game-time decision in the AFC South clash between the Colts (5-0) and Jaguars (4-1).
Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith was suspended for the first three games of the regular season “for conduct detrimental to the team.” Nuggets player personnel director Mark Warkentien declined on Saturday to specify Smith’s transgression. “I take full responsibility for my actions that led to this suspension,” Smith said in an apology distributed by the team.
Sacramento Kings reserve center Justin Williams and his girlfriend had consensual sex with the woman who is accusing him of sexual assault, his attorney said Saturday. “In no way, shape or form did anything wrong happen,” William Portanova said in a telephone interview. “Unequivocally, 100 percent, nothing wrong.” Police announced Thursday they were investigating allegations that Williams had…
Allan Houston ended his comeback attempt with the New York Knicks on Saturday, saving Isiah Thomas from possibly having to cut one of the top scorers in franchise history. Houston rejoined his former team late last week, two years after he was forced to retire because of chronic knee pain. However, the Knicks already had the maximum 15 players under contract, and Thomas said he only gave the…
The good news for the drivers chasing Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the Nextel Cup Series championship is that five opportunities remain to cut into their lead and ruin their season-long domination.
The good news for the drivers chasing Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the Nextel Cup Series championship is that five opportunities remain to cut into their lead and ruin their season-long domination.
