10 Southern studies California on spells out Saturday, replacing the injured John David Booty against Arizona. He knows what he wants, and a lot of it isn' t all fluff that' s out there for him " There' s a lot of substance to him. The " B " sample came back Saturday, but France said Mayfield would not have been allowed on the track at all had officials deemed him impaired to the point he could not perform David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN He can be reached at dnewtonespnaol. Updated: August 6, 2008, 9: 38 AM ET D- backs sign All- Star hurler Haren to four- year$ 44. A moment of silence was observed before the game and each Hawks player wore a black patch on the left shoulder of his jersey. Things weren' t nearly as lighthearted in the Rockets' somber locker room.

He also began this season on the disabled list with a bruised right index finger, and was on the DL twice in 2007- once for a strained left oblique muscle and once with right shoulder tendinitis " It' s starting to get a little bit worse . He is hoping to become the second Penn State player to win the award, joining Bruce Clark in 1978 The winner will be announced here on Dec 7 . A 6- foot- 4, 204- pound redshirt freshman, Whitaker appeared in five games during the regular season . I just heard on TV the other day, Michigan needs a new coach His time is not up We don' t need another coach . He began to choke up talking about how good the town has been to him " I walk downtown and people say' Coach, coach, coach " Lubick said " That' s good. I don' t think it was about that " he said " I think we lost a little bit of focus. By Wednesday, though, the emotion of losing in the final seconds had dissipated " I like our chances if you give us a six- point lead with four minutes to go " he said " I' ll take our chances winning this series.

It' s worth noting that Erickson' s first legitimate test after three nonconference patsies is Oregon State, the program that previously provided him a soft landing and which he subsequently led to unprecedented heights . Updated: March 12, 2007, 6: 39 PM ET Thomas shows' evident progress; earns new deal Comment Email Print Share Learn More# 187; Report a bug# 187; Feedback# 187; Isiah Thomas Gets Contract Extension GREENBURGH, N . He announced the decision in a statement released by the school after meeting with athletic director Greg Byrne . It' s no wonder, then, that Carr sounds somewhere between reverential and terrified as he talks about the challenge of neutralizing Ohio State' s special teams at the Big House " I can' t imagine anybody having better special teams than they do " Carr said " They have guys who are explosive and have the ability to make a big play every time Ginn or[ Santonio] Holmes touches the football " Carr somehow resisted the temptation to dive, ala Alabama' s Tommy Lewis in the 1954 Cotton Bowl when Maegle streaked past, at Ginn as he turboed into the end zone and transformed a 20- 14 OSU lead into a runaway . 7, won last year after dropping five straight in the series " I have unwavering confidence that coach[ Bob] Stoops and our Sooners will make Saturday a triumphant one for the Crimson and Cream " said Henry, who received his undergraduate and law degree from OU " Sooner Nation is going to be out in full force at the Cotton Bowl to show its support for OU, and I have no doubt the fans will be celebrating victory before the day ends " Perry disagrees with that assessment " I have no doubt that coach[ Mack] Brown and the Longhorns will make it two in a row over the Sooners this Saturday in Dallas " he said " Fortunately, OU' s trip across the Red River won' t be for nothing. Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks Corp, has threatened to move or sell the team if state lawmakers don' t approve a sales- tax package to pay for a new or renovated arena.

5 percent field- goal shooting while leading the Big 12 in turnovers created( 18 9 per game) and turnover margin( plus- 6 5 per game . Then, Brohm moved onto tape of last year' s game against South Florida( 7- 3, 3- 2 Big East, whom the Cardinals( 8- 1, 3- 1) host on Saturday night at Papa John' s Stadium . Yankees' fans still smart from 2004, when the Red Sox overcame a 3- 0 deficit in the best- of- seven series and won the AL pennant at Yankee Stadium . Updated: December 13, 2007, 6: 52 PM ET Horford hit with one- game suspension for flagrant foul on Ford Comment Email Print Share Associated Press NEW YORK- Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford was suspended for one game by the NBA on Thursday for a flagrant foul against Toronto' s T J Ford . Wilpon, Katz and many entities of their company, Sterling Equities, and various affiliated foundations are among the swindled creditors. 5 at Baltimore, which came three days after he was activated from the disabled list Hamilton, who last played Sept.

This trade is the second significant deal in the past two months for Paxson, who pulled off a six- player swap with the Boston Celtics on Dec 15 . The injury, which he suffered Wednesday night in Miami' s overtime loss at the Atlanta Hawks, will almost certainly keep Mourning sidelined for the remainder of the season . While Stewart said Wednesday he still isn' t healthy enough to start, coach Dick Jauron said the decision to start Chandler on Sunday against Detroit didn' t have anything to do with injury " The change was made because Chris should have the chance to play our quarterback position " Jauron said " We' ll see where it goes I expect every guy that' s starting to do well . Tulowitzki They acquired a pair of pitchers later in the day, getting reliever Jason Grilli from Detroit and minor league lefty Jorge De La Rosa from Kansas City . He' s looking for a place to be where he can get a fresh start as well " The acquisition of Wilcox could be just the start of moves by the struggling Sonics. Updated: October 18, 2007, 11: 07 AM ET From sidelines to center stage: Harvard fullback thinking about opera career Comment Email Print Share Associated Press BOSTON- Harvard senior fullback Noah Van Niel plans to trade the gridiron for the opera stage after the Crimson' s season finale this year.

Named in the suit are Nationwide Series director Joe Balash, assistant series director Mike Dolan, two supervisors, NASCAR' s senior manager for business relations, the human resources director and 17 officials who were Grant' s co- workers . team back inside the top 35 " Kenny Wallace raced the car to a season- high 12th- place finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday . But the Americans were looking for more experience after the average age of the players on last year' s world championships team was 24 5 This squad averages 26 . Judy Willson, director of athletic media relations, said the suspension was handed down after an internal review for violation of team rules " We are very concerned about what has happened and are taking this situation very seriously " she said " The student athlete in question has been suspended indefinitely until the situation has been addressed by the legal system and any applicable university or departmental process has been completed " Campus police arrested James around 5: 30 a m . Marcos Ambrose, in the spotlight after his gas man chased a tire across pit road two weeks ago at Atlanta, finished 10th A Busch brother has won the past three races. Brown was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, a loaded 9 mm handgun, and Class A misdemeanor, and possession of under 2 ounces of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.

Sacramento' s Brad Miller had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Martin had 15 points . Updated: October 15, 2007, 1: 42 AM ET Riley: Walker' s weight still topic of concern for Miami Comment Email Print Share Learn More# 187; Report a bug# 187; Feedback# 187; Stephen A Agrees Weight is an IssueStephen A Agrees Weight is an IssueStephen A . Updated: January 4, 2007, 11: 42 AM ET Houston guard Smith out for season with toe injury Email Print Share Associated Press HOUSTON- Houston senior guard Lanny Smith will miss the rest of the season with a toe injury . Girardi said an MRI did not indicate serious damage " It didn' t really reveal like a tear or anything You could see there was a little something there It doesn' t change our time frame . If he feels fine, there' s a good chance we' ll activate him Friday " Posada caught for five innings in an extended spring training intrasquad game on Wednesday. I could really fall asleep on the bench if I wanted to " Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.

Unless he takes a step backwards, I expect him to be out there[ against Minnesota . They were just reallocating how they' re spending their marketing dollars . The Nets used their 14th different starting lineup of the season . He has 1, 066 yards so far this season, and ranks ninth on the Badgers' career rushing list He has 29 rushing touchdowns in 22 career games . 4 million contract with options for three more years totaling$ 6 6 million. The team with the second- highest payroll in the majors was expected to compete for a division title in the first year of their new ballpark " When you lose, people are going to come up with those things " Minaya said.

Richard Emery, an attorney for McNamee, accused Rusty Hardin, Clemens' lead lawyer, of attempting " to fill the holes in his case " I don' t think he' s done it successfully, but we probably will have to respond now with a new motion to dismiss " Emery said " It just simply lengthens and complicates " One of the justifications Clemens' side made for jurisdiction in Texas is that McNamee allegedly made defamatory statements to Andy Pettitte, Clemens' former Houston Astros and New York Yankees' teammate, while in Texas " McNamee falsely told Pettitte during a conversation in Clemens' s home gym in Houston, Texas in 1999 or 2000 that Clemens had used HGH " the papers said " And McNamee also falsely told Pettitte at Pettitte' s home gym in Deer Park, Texas in 2003 or 2004 that Clemens had used steroids " The false accusations made by McNamee that Clemens used steroids and HGH unfairly and improperly link Clemens' s performance as a pitcher in 1998, 2000, and 2001 to the use of steroids and/ or HGH during that time . While being interviewed on field by broadcaster Jim Nantz, Palmer spoke of being at Forbes Field in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series against the New York Yankees Dressed in a No . But the key finding was in regard to foul calls, saying " black players receive around 0 12- 0 . C- Kurt Busch said it was business as usual Tuesday, the only day of the week his crew chief is allowed inside the race shop . In other roster moves Monday, the Rangers purchased the contracts of left- hander Bill White and outfielder Nelson Cruz from Triple- A Oklahoma and designated outfielder Jason Ellison for assignment. The Philadelphia Phillies' Raul Ibanez leads NL outfielders with 1, 415, 493 votes, followed by the Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun( 1, 269, 033, the New York Mets' Carlos Beltran( 1, 092, 516) and the Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano( 1, 078, 904 Ramirez is fifth with 838, 353 in results released Monday Ramirez hit.

I don' t like too much time on my hands " he said, noting that he is only taking one class " Football was keeping me occupied and I couldn' t play that so it was like, I don' t want to say depression mode because of how you think of the other stuff, but I wasn' t always happy . Boston recalled right- hander David Pauley from Triple- A Pawtucket to take Lowell' s roster spot Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press . His play recently had dropped off noticeably from early in the season, when he was easily the Wizards' leading scorer On the season, Arenas is averaging 18 2 points, 5 rebounds and 4 8 assists in 20 games . Updated: April 8, 2007, 6: 34 PM ET Morrison averaging 11 . My presence out there is, I think, worth not taking a day off at this point " Jones extended his hitting streak to 13 in the Braves' 7- 3 win, going 1- for- 3 with an RBI He leads the league in hitting at. Several drivers were in it down the stretch, but Johnson lowered the hammer for his first career Chase title. Updated: November 28, 2005, 4: 15 PM ET Top 12 remain unchanged in BCS Email Print Share ESPN news services NEW YORK- Only twice in Bowl Championship Series history has a team been in position to reach the title game heading into the final weekend of the regular season and played its way out.

David West was one of six players in double figures and made a jumper with 1 . It' s definitely a fun part of the year " The White Sox added Ramirez after a game in which their bullpen imploded in a 6- 2 loss to the Red Sox . Tressel gathered Zwick and Smith together, tapped Zwick on the shoulder and sent him on the field- to the collective gasps of 105, 000, a sizable portion of whom probably saw Smith carve up Michigan for 386 yards total offense last November before getting suspended from the Alamo Bowl and the 2005 season opener . We knew we needed to keep our car where it was and it would be good at the end and we did exactly that, and we just fell short " It was the second consecutive defeat in the 600 for Stewart, who led 55 laps here last May only to fall short on fuel and forfeited the lead for a late gas- and- go . The Sharks have lost three of four games, including a 4- 1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night that was their worst home defeat of the season. Majors took the opportunity to needle him a bit " Larry Lacewell, Jimmy Johnson and Jackie Sherrill were on my first staff up there.

10 hangs in the rafters and he returned to Philadelphia before last season after 3½ tumultuous years coaching Portland " A lot of people have written that the bottom was going to fall out with everything that happened, and he kept this group playing hard, focused and upbeat " King said " Really, it' s a joy watching us play now " Cheeks remained steady and optimistic, even as the Sixers got off to an 11- 30 start . Amato said Monday that Marcus Stone would start Saturday' s game against Southern Mississippi instead of Jay Davis- a rare change for a program that has known nothing but stability at the highest- profile position in recent years . The last player to pull an unassisted triple play against them- Ron Hansen, in 1968 for Washington- is now an advance scout for Philadelphia and was at Progressive Field to see Cabrera' s feat " First one I' ve ever seen from the stands " Hansen said " That kid is a real good fielder and has a great future " On a play like that, it' s just reaction and he reacted right " Hansen said he sent both the ball he caught and his glove to the Baseball Hall of Fame and cherishes the moment forever " I get asked about it all the time " Hansen said " They didn' t have one for 41 years before me and then another 22 after I did it . The city of Houston is still recovering from the devastation of Ike, a storm that made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane with 110 mph winds; and the Astros' families and friends are still trying to adjust after being evacuated from their homes . 8 Spartans in double OT Comment Email Print Share Learn More# 187; Report a bug# 187; Feedback# 187; Spartans Upset By Grand Valley State EAST LANSING, Mich- Division II Grand Valley State stunned No. 9 seconds left, before Blake made another two foul shots with 2 4 seconds remaining for the final margin. And was there anything that he could do for me, as far as getting me back on track " I' m not gonna name any names' cause it was 10 years ago But when I talked to Dr.