The last time Troy Smith played a significant football game, he was vying for a national championship. In his NFL debut Monday night, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner will be competing for a job. Smith and former UCLA standout Drew Olson are seeking to begin the season as the Baltimore Ravens’ third-string quarterback behind Steve McNair and Kyle Boller.
Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps to win the NASCAR Trucks Series’ Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday night.
Rick Ankiel has a simple message for St. Louis Cardinals fans. “Don’t hold me to days like this,” he said. Ankiel homered twice and drove in three runs, the latest power display by the former pitcher, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Saturday. Ankiel, who scored three times, hit the first pitch he saw in the first and seventh innings to right field, giving him three home…
With another strong performance at Boston’s favorite home away from home, Josh Beckett became the first major leaguer to reach 15 wins. His only regret was that he couldn’t finish what he started. Beckett came within one out of his third career shutout, and Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew each drove in two runs to help the Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-2 Saturday.
Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis is no longer worried about losing his job to a rookie or about wanting a new contract. His new concern is whether he may be forced to retire because of an injury. Ellis tore his left Achilles’ tendon last November and went through an aggressive rehabilitation to trim a few months off the usual 12-month recovery so he could be back for the start of training camp.
Three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, trying to end his run of futility at the Road America circuit, captured pole position for Sunday’s Generac Grand Prix here Saturday.
A day after rain washed out his chances of making Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen International, Boris Said and his legion of wig-wearing “Said heads” were wearing huge smiles.
Jim Leyland usually gives his players all the credit for victories. Saturday, he gave it to someone else. “Dave Dombrowski showed today why he’s such a good general manager,” the Detroit Tigers manager said after a 5-2 win over Oakland on Saturday night. “He knows what we need and he takes care of it.” The Tigers came into the game with their bullpen in tatters after allowing 37 runs in four games,…
