I made reviews some good recalls pitches early " Marcum said it was extra special to beat his hometown team " I' ve always been a Royals fan my whole life, so to beat them is pretty special. The savings will help Ratner avoid paying the NBA luxury tax. I didn' t really think too much into it as far as who started the green- white game[ Saturday] and we' ll see what the decision is for Cleveland " It was unclear Tuesday night who might have the inside track as neither quarterback has distinguished himself so far. Running backs Steve Slaton of Houston, Tim Hightower of Arizona, Ray Rice of Baltimore, Jonathan Stewart of Carolina, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice of Dallas, Peyton Hillis of Denver, Kevin Smith of Detroit and Jamaal Charles of Kansas City all were contributors. Wichita State( 13- 17) advances to face Creighton( 19- 10) in a quarterfinal game Friday.

He threw 96 pitches- 57 for strikes- before giving way to the bullpen " I threw more pitches than I have liked after six innings " Cook said " But it worked out and I' ll take the win any time " Cook went to the mound for the first time with a 2- 0 lead . For the second start in a row, Harang didn' t give them much of a chance The right- hander was sidelined from July 13 to Aug 9 with a sore right forearm . Game notesOkur was 3- for- 4 from 3- point range and added eight rebounds . But the Jets have been a franchise seeking an identity for years, playing in a stadium named after the other team in the area . They' re last in the league in home runs, and the fundamentals the franchise has long depended on- sound fielding and smart, aggressive baserunning- have been frequently missing over the past few weeks " If it happens, it happens " Ponson said, when asked if he thought he was pitching for his job " I' m not going to sit here and put more pressure on me " Durbin, who allowed six runs in each of his first two appearances this season but has been better over the past two weeks, had no trouble pitching with his big lead. He did a good job " Toronto scored the decisive run in the eighth off reliever Sean Green( 5- 2.

Currently, Reebok' s leading endorser among NBA players is Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers Reebok shares closed up 51 cents at$ 37 75 in trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange . Rockies manager Clint Hurdle did, however " Basically, he just took a stand. If he doesn' t go it' s more than likely that he' s not going to be able to function at a high enough percentage to where it' s going to matter if he plays or not " The good news, Kander said, is it wasn' t a high- velocity injury- the kind that can cause a track sprinter to immediately seize up " This was just stretch- related " Kander said " He went a little beyond his normal range . We weren' t consistently throwing strikes, and things piled up " Traber said . He had left runners in scoring position twice, once with the bases loaded, in four hitless at- bats before coming up in the ninth inning Monday night with the score tied against the Arizona Diamondbacks .

95 ERA in nine starts at home " It seems like every time we come in here the Royals play us tough " Radke said " You don' t want to lose a lot of games going into the All- Star break . Game notes The Phillies began a stretch in which they are scheduled to face four lefty starters in a row . The hearing was watched by Will Griffin, a lawyer for Browning, which is based in Mountain Green, Utah . He' s hoping to stay in the game a while in his final outing of the spring, which will come during the first few days of April " I need to get my pitch count up, because I only threw 20- something pitches last time out " he said " I need to get in some pitches next time out " Game notes Astros 1B Lance Berkman was not in the lineup for the second consecutive game because of biceps tendinitis in his left arm He' s expected to return Tuesday against the Braves The Astros assigned RHP Chad Paronto to minor league camp Six of the Blue Jays' seven hits off Moehler were doubles The other was a single . The officer also said the cars almost crashed into each other " I don' t know about the almost crash " McCray said " I' ve never been in an accident before . Detroit hopes OF Marcus Thames can play Wednesday " He' s sick with a fever and a sore throat " Leyland said. Brian also has met with representatives of the commissioner.

That' s the thing that aggravates me about it, because I thought this game should be more important than other things " All- Star center Mehmet Okur, who became a father for the first time on Wednesday, missed his first five shots and finished 1- for- 7 with four points and six rebounds . The lead would eventually reach 20, and the Memphis reserves cut it to 110- 101 in the closing minutes " We emphasized in the halftime speech that the offense wasn' t going to win it . Statements to police from other suspects indicate they were enticed to commit the crime after one of them attended a birthday party at the home and saw large sums of cash there Cirque du Soleil - Zumanity - zumanity . Borowski looked fine starting the ninth with a strikeout and pop out . Ramirez The offer is for two years and$ 45 million, but it is structured differently than the Dodgers' previous offer at those numbers Cirque du Soleil - Zumanity .

At a news conference in July when Bryant denied raping his 19- year- old accuser, his wife sat next to him and held his hand, contending he was guilty only of adultery for having consensual sex with the young woman He apologized to his wife at the time, choking back tears . 500 in front of them, and his hometown fans, he graciously consented to a postgame interview after going 0- for- 3 with a strikeout . But at least it' s a proactive attempt to finally get on the same page with the union and say' There' s no place for it' Eight years they' ve been testing. He had two strikeouts and no walks " That' s what we' re looking for " McLaren said " He' ll get a good look next spring, that' s for sure " He really threw some nice games for us early in the season . Updated: October 21, 2004, 8: 22 PM ET Thorn has chance to rebuild Email Print Share Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N .

The 14- year veteran, a former All- Star whose career was derailed by alcoholism and problems with depression, did not play in any of Minnesota' s first six games . 3, and now acknowledges the decision wasn' t all about his health. Vick' s agent, Joel Segal, said " Absolutely no comment " NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith met with Vick on Tuesday night in the Washington, D . Cirque du Soleil - Zumanity tickets New York' s win, combined with losses by Detroit and Minnesota, assured the Yankees home- field advantage throughout the postseason " We got our 10th man " Sheffield said " It' s big in the playoffs, and as loud as these guys get, they' re going to pull us all the way through " Mike Mussina( 15- 7) tuned up for his start in Game 2 of the playoffs by allowing one run and two hits in six innings, Jorge Posada hit a two- run homer and Alex Rodriguez had three hits for the Yankees, a major league- best 97- 63 Cirque du Soleil - Zumanity - zumanity . Then after about three innings, you get pretty dry- mouthed out there " Indians starter Tomo Ohka( 0- 2) needed 27 pitches to record an out in the second inning. Williams had 89 carries for 330 yards and two touchdowns in 25 games with the Bills.

But he reiterated what he' s said in the past about Collins, who finished with a 58 . Gorzelanny walked Adam Dunn and David Ross singled with one out, before Belisle failed twice to put down a squeeze bunt . The loss to the Braves with two outs in the ninth inning was the second time in four games the Phillies lost after leading 5- 0 . He left Miami after the 2002- 03 season- which he missed with the kidney problems- and signed a$ 22 . The Falcons' brass worried they would wait another week, only for Spagnuolo to perhaps remain in New York. Melvin said that the team was still in the running for the left- hander " Until we' re told we' re no longer involved, I take it that we have a chance " Melvin said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel " Teams can pull out, too I don' t know what else is out there.

Ruckriegle did not immediately rule on the confidentiality question . The presentation was made before Friday' s game during a ceremony along the left field foul line Since that July 23 gem, Buehrle has won only once He may make one more start this season . Hughes scored 12 points in the second quarter on 5- for- 7 shooting, but the Cavaliers were outscored 35- 27 and the Sixers led 66- 57 at halftime . I really wanted to go out there and be aggressive and help us get this win " Carter, who averages 24 . Sojo sees it as a chance to end his career on the right note " They released me last year in spring training.

Myers threw 118 pitches and struck out eight of 11 batters during one stretch that included an intentional walk . Cabrera capped the four- run third with a two- run homer- a pitch after Thames' RBI double- on a swing that looked simply effortless . He hit a two- run homer in the eighth, and Ethier added a two- run double before Mota drove in his first run since 2004 with a long single . Hitting wide open shots and driving through the lane to set up easy perimeter shots against what is usually a tough defensive team, the Bulls increased the lead to 84- 59 after three when Chris Duhon sank a 3- pointer at the buzzer " We work on it a lot, the draw- and- kick . Baltimore coach Brian Billick said he didn' t have an update on Smith immediately after the game. 3 quarterback all season, has apparently gotten more work with the first team this week.

It allows his receivers time to get open and create plays in the passing game . Hudson credited first- year pitching coach Roger McDowell with making a slight change in the right- hander' s delivery, which is producing big results . Beasley said he did not know the full story behind the now- infamous photo " I didn' t know what was in the picture " Beasley said " Had I have known, the picture wouldn' t have gone up I saw the picture I tried to analyze the picture myself I couldn' t tell what was in it To this day, I don' t know what was in it But it wasn' t mine That was just me not being aware of my surroundings . Manager Grady Little denied he was punishing his slugger for going out when he was supposed to be sick in bed " He is available to DH today, but my decision to wait is: I like the way our club has responded the last few days' Little told reporters before the game " I' m putting the team out there that I feel gives us the best chance to win' Asked if Ramirez was being disciplined, Little said " No, I' m trying to win the game' Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein supported Little' s decision " Grady' s going with a lineup that gives us the best chance to win as a team, and tonight, that does not include Manny, despite his availability to DH " Epstein said in a statement " Manny' s a big part of this ballclub, and we all look forward to getting him back on the field very soon and watching him help this team win some important ballgames " Ramirez called in sick for Friday night' s game against the New York Yankees and was said to have pharyngitis- the same ailment that forced pitcher Pedro Martinez to miss a start the previous week . 8 seconds left to keep control, then rebounded a 3- point attempt from Jasmine Mosley to effectively close the door North Carolina- which has been a No. This could have a tremendous sting right here this weekend " The seventh inning Sunday was even wilder than Saturday' s with the Tigers scoring five runs against Pittsburgh' s usually reliable bullpen before the Pirates came back with six runs to get within a run " After we jumped out 9- 2, a lot of teams would have shut it down but they didn' t " the Tigers' Vance Wilson said.