He made surveys his fortune defines as founder of Livonia- based Quicken Loans Inc, which includes Rock Financial. Yao The Rockets announced shortly before tip- off that Dikembe Mutombo would start in Yao' s place Yao, a 7- foot- 6 center, is averaging 19 7 points and 9 6 rebounds in his seventh NBA season. The New York Mets optioned their top prospect back to Triple- A Buffalo on Friday and recalled outfielder- first baseman Nick Evans before hosting Tampa Bay in the opener of a 10- game homestand Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. 1 North Carolina' s game against Chaminade on Monday night in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

He' s got to do what' s best for him " If the money were not so great, Beasley would probably be very inclined to stay in school " He just absolutely loves it " Martin said " He kind of gets that stage to be a celebrity . Miller popped free off a screen set by Foster, took a pass from Jamaal Tinsley and buried his 3 to make it 77- 74 " All I need is to have a half- second of daylight " Miller said " Law of averages You' re either a hero or goat It' s a 50- 50 shot, and I' ll take my chances . The Rays already have two academies in Latin America, in Venezuela and in the Dominican Republic . Last week, Speaks put on another great performance, recording seven tackles( four solo) with two tackles for loss as Jackson State defeated Stillman College 17- 7 in the first annual W C Gorden Classic . 5 car at Homestead Comment Email Print Share By David NewtonESPNArchive HAMPTION, Ga- Hendrick Motorsports is considering a plan that would put Mark Martin in the No. He finished 15- of- 32 to record the 64th 40- point game in his 10- year career. His only Daytona pole came in July 2005, when he won his first race at NASCAR' s most famous track.

It was the 41st career trucks series victory and second win of the season for Hornaday- and his second career victory in a trucks race at Milwaukee, where he also won in 1997 . Team spokesman Peter Chase said in an e- mail that nobody connected with the team had heard of the wall or wanted to talk about it . Prince, formerly an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at Virginia, replaced Snyder in December . The final bubble spots went to Villanova, a 12th seed in the Midwest, and St . Richard Hamilton scored the first four points of the fourth, putting the Pistons up by 11 and both teams went to their benches for the last nine minutes Detroit led by as many as 22 down the stretch. The Bobcats' had only their fifth sellout in 39 home games " I hate the fact that I' m not in the lineup because people do pay to see you play " Allen said " But sometimes you just can' t control it. In that matchup of quick- strike offenses, USC outgained Arizona State 446- 243 " We just stunk it up in that game last year " Koetter said " We totally got our butt kicked " With College GameDay making a rare West Coast jaunt and a crowd expected to eclipse 70, 000, this one feels like a marquee showdown, perhaps the Pac- 10 game of the year.

Pierce, last week' s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, is the only player in the NBA to lead his team in points, rebounds and assists Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press . There' s a lot of things that go on we can complain about and they can complain about " I was upset at the number of times that they flopped last night . He played in only 110 games in his first year with Cincinnati, going on the bereavement list three times to deal with a child' s illness . The Trojans, however, would be a prime candidate to receive an at- large bid to the BCS if they finish the season with victories against Notre Dame and UCLA . Though criminal charges against him were dropped, Bryant still must face a civil trial and Nike officials have not unveiled their plans. Updated: April 2, 2008, 3: 22 PM ET Butler, Daniels expected to play, but Arenas' status is unclear Comment Email Print Share Associated Press WASHINGTON- Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels were back on the court Wednesday for the Washington Wizards after missing the final game of the West Coast road trip, while Gilbert Arenas sat out despite being cleared to play. These are the guys who welcomed us in, gave us an opportunity, and we ran with it.

Updated: July 28, 2008, 1: 49 PM ET Reliever Gossage headlines latest Hall of Fame inductees Comment Email Print Share Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N . That Pierce won' t play for the national team doesn' t bother Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge one bit " I' d like to see him make a 100 percent commitment to the Boston Celtics " Ainge said last month, according to the Globe . Gordon, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, went around a screen to free himself of Jamal Crawford, then took two more steps into the lane and launched his game- winner over the outstretched arm of Michael Sweetney " The game was dragging on- man, it was terrible- but in the fourth quarter I picked it up " said Gordon, who needed to procure nearly two dozen tickets for family and friends from his hometown of Mount Vernon, N Y . Pistons president Joe Dumars has consistently said he is confident the Pistons will be able to re- sign Billups, whose negotiating leverage will be impacted by the small number of teams with significant salary cap space . My goal is to go out and play nine innings, play back- to- back nine innings, then obviously for a week and play everyday " Rodriguez went 0- for- 6 with two strikeouts Saturday, and has two hits- including a homer- in 18 at- bats with three walks over three extended spring games " I' m really looking for balance and good contact " Rodriguez said " I did that really good[ Friday Today wasn' t so good.

Adding a ninth team would give each team an eight- game conference schedule and allow each to play just four nonconference games instead of scrounging for five . Turns out, what we thought was a groin injury was really a torn lower- abdominal muscle that manifested the pain in the groin area And I didn' t aggravate anything It was just some scar tissue getting ripped away . Bonds has been charged with 14 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice . The firm that will be used by the Hornets, The Bonham Group, has negotiated more than$ 1 . The first batch was not exactly a hit " It sort of tasted like toilet bowl cleaner " said Dana Shires, one of the researchers " I guzzled it and I vomited " Cade said. Though the Timberwolves have plenty of experience in the draft lottery, they have never improved their position by getting lucky.

Bush' s right leg bent awkwardly underneath him, and he flopped to the ground writhing in pain . But his nephew told UT coaches he wanted to start his college career in the backfield- apparently with good reason after his debut . A day earlier, Matt Kenseth was uninjured in a fiery roll during the Nationwide Series race " Talladega is short for' We' re going to crash, we just don' t know when " said Newman, the third- place finisher " We saw[ an airborne car] two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the car down on the ground " Earnhardt Jr, a five- time Talladega winner and seven- time winner of restrictor- plate races, finished second but echoed concerns about the racing style . A free- agent signing by Dallas during the summer, Christie had bone spurs removed from his right ankle during the offseason The defensive specialist is averaging 2 6 points and 1 9 rebounds this season . The 1994 Rockets did it against Phoenix, and the 1969 Lakers against the San Francisco Warriors. He also will be examined again on Monday, when the Indians might have a better idea how long he' ll be sidelined " We don' t know the extent of it or anything else " Laffey said. He' s 61 points ahead of Rick Crawford in the season points standings, doing it all with a completely new truck " Rick came back from vacation on Wednesday and said the truck' s pretty good we' re going to run the new truck " Hornaday said " I said' Dude, I haven' t even sat in the truck What' s it look like' He said don' t worry about it.

Updated: August 10, 2008, 2: 00 PM ET Contreras to 15- day DL with ruptured Achilles tendon Comment Email Print Share Associated Press CHICAGO- The Chicago White Sox placed right- hander Jose Contreras on the 15- day disabled list Sunday with a ruptured left Achilles tendon, a season- ending injury . The Wizards also played most of the second half without DeShawn Stevenson, who left the game after the first possession of the third quarter with a sore back . I think it' s going to bring me to another level and to feel better than ever That' s how I feel . After all, aren' t the best fights usually available only on pay- per- view? Tommy Bowden' s Tigers are looking for their second straight win against a ranked opponent . The nation' s only other unbeaten Division I men' s team, the Jayhawks received the other 10 first- place votes.

Y- For more than two decades, Rich " Goose " Gossage unnerved batters as one of baseball' s most menacing and dominating relief pitchers . You are going to see people there from Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia who can drive over for the day and go home " Racing teams are also feeling the pinch . Jermaine O' Neal had 33 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, Ron Artest marked his 25th birthday with 22 points and Stephen Jackson added 19 as the Pacers fought off fatigue and beat the Knicks 103- 97 Saturday night " It' s always hard to play the minutes we' ve been playing, but we don' t have any choice " O' Neal said " Our focus is to win as many games as we need to win to get to the championship . Cabrera missed the ball, took a couple of stumbling strides, then smacked into the padded wall, hitting his arms and his right shoulder . He started in right field and batted fifth Wednesday for San Francisco' s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers Schierholtz tripled in his first at- bat Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.

Patterson, who was president and general manager, abruptly resigned on Feb 28 after Allen refused to renew his contract . The Cardinals and West Virginia, both 7- 0 and among seven remaining unbeaten teams, are off until their Big East showdown Nov 2 in Louisville Three Southeastern Conference teams followed Louisville Auburn was No 7, Tennessee was No 8 and Florida No 9 . Updated: September 2, 2005, 8: 33 PM ET Thirteen Ball St . 8 million, two- year contract extension through the 2009 season " The opportunity I' ve been given here is something I really appreciate " McDonald said " You want to stay and be around these players and give back to the people who have given you the opportunity " McDonald entered Tuesday with a . Harang Harang woke Saturday morning in Pittsburgh with pain near is abdomen.

In the past, his inability to keep his temper under control is what usually started the unraveling process- on and off the mound . West, the Hornets' second- leading scorer and rebounder, rolled his ankle in the second half of New Orleans' 100- 88 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night . active- duty armored post, is less than 200 miles away " We' re trying to spread our roots " said Army coach Bobby Ross " and I think it' s a good recruiting trip for us . Weld County officials said he has been granted permission to stay at his mother' s home in Wheatland, where no one answered the door Thursday . Skinner, Howard and Dennis Setzer led during the next 33 laps before Starr- who' d pitted for fuel early- cycled back to the front and remained there through multiple restarts. Okafor( 19 points, 10 rebounds) became just the second player drafted first overall by an expansion team to record a double- double in his first game.