| New NCAA head may beef up enforcement staff The incoming president of the NCAA intends to keep putting the squeeze on rules-breakers. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Krumm downs Sharapova in Tokyo • Home favourite beats defending champion 7-5, 3-6, 6-3• First-round win comes just day before her 40th birthdayThe Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm rallied to beat the defending champion, Maria Sharapova, in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open.Date Krumm, just a day before her 40th birthday, broke the 23-year-old Russian to go 5-3 up in the third set and won the final game when Sharapova's backhand went wide.Sharapova, the No12 seed, had 11 double faults in the match that lasted two hours and nine minutes at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. Date Krumm won 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.Sharapova, who committed 11 double-faults in total, praised the fitness of her opponent, who returned to professional tennis in 2008 after 12 years away from the game. "It's incredible," said Sharapova. "It just shows you how she has stayed in such great shape while away from the game. She is incredibly fit."TennisMaria Sharapovaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
In the loaded AFC East, is there room for the gritty Dolphins? The sign posted on the door leading to the Miami Dolphins training room says it all. No Egos Allowed." Accompanying the notice is a can't-miss ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Rookie Focus: Bengals offense good fit for Jermaine Gresham As disappointing as the defending AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals have been in starting 2-3, the play of rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Giants pip Phillies to reach World Series • 3-2 win in Game Six gives Giants the NL championship• Giants-Texas Rangers Fall Classic starts WednesdayThe San Francisco Giants reached the World Series by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in a nailbiting Game Six last night to clinch the National League championship series and set up an underdogs' Fall Classic.The Giants took charge on an eighth-inning homer from Juan Uribe and survived a nervous ninth as the closer Brian Wilson walked two batters before striking out the slugger Ryan Howard to end it.The victory settled the best-of-seven series 4-2 in the Giants' favour and set up an improbable World Series against the American League champions, Texas Rangers, starting in San Francisco on Wednesday.The Giants ended the two-year run of the Phillies as National League champions while the Rangers knocked out last year's World Series winners, the New York Yankees, in taking the American League championship."That was epic. What a battle," Wilson said as a stunned crowd at Citizens Bank Park watched the Giants celebrate in the middle of the diamond. "I hope the fans back home are going absolutely ballistic."The outfielder Cody Ross, added late in the season on waivers from the Florida Marlins, was named MVP of the series after hitting three homers and batting .350 for the Giants.For San Francisco, it will be a first trip to the World Series since 2002, and they will be seeking their first title since 1954, when they were the New York Giants.Texas will make their Fall Classic debut in their 50th year as a franchise, born in 1961 as the Washington Senators.The Phillies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of their do-or-die game on an RBI-double by Chase Utley and a sacrifice fly to left from Jayson Werth off San Francisco starter Jonathan Sanchez.San Francisco countered with two runs in the top of the third inning off the Phillies starter Roy Oswalt. The first run was scored on a single to centre by Aubrey Huff with the second tally crossing the plate on a throwing error by the second baseman, Placido Polanco.Tensions ran high in the bottom of the third when Sanchez hit Utley in the back with a pitch.Utley and Sanchez exchanged words and looked headed for a confrontation. Players from both benches rushed on to the field before order was restored.The Giants' manager, Bruce Bochy, replaced the agitated Sanchez with Jeremy Affeldt and used five pitchers, including the starters Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum, for seven shutout innings of relief to make Uribe's opposite field shot the game-winner.US sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |