"The Red Sox owe it to the people that own the team, Red Sox Nation, everybody, to exhaust every possible avenue,'' Nelson said. "That's their job. That's why they're good at what they do.
John Carew scores a goal from close in low into the middle of the goal. Aston Villa 1-0 Wolverhampton. Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
Call to arms: Jake Westbrook is scheduled to start against Dodger left-hander Eric Stults. Westbrook, in line to be the Indians opening day starter, is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts in Cactus League play. He''s allowed six earned runs on six hits in eight innings. He''s struck out five, walked four and the opposition is hitting .207 against him.
PHOENIX -- The Dodgers cut three more players on Saturday, most notably pitcher James McDonald, who spent most of last season in the Major Leagues. Also optioned to Minor League camp were reliever Jon Link and catcher Lucas May. Link, acquired in the Juan Pierre trade, impressed manager Joe Torre with his aggressive approach. May is a promising switch-hitting catcher who hit .306 at Double-A Chattanooga last year.
PHOENIX -- Royals fans might see more of catcher Brayan Pena this year but, at the same time, they''ll be seeing less of him. The punch line, of course, is that while Pena figures as the primary backup catcher, he''s lost a lot of weight -- 23 pounds to be exact. The 5-foot-11 switch-hitter is feeling like an absolute gazelle these days. In a game at Peoria Stadium, he was at first base when Alberto Callaspo ripped a double to left-center field. Pena went all the way around to score.
NOTES Banks didn''t make it off the Raptors bench but he got a technical foul from Bob Delaney for arguing a foul call against Andrea Bargnani. ... Turkoglu and Evans also got technicals. The Nets were called for two defensive 3-second technicals. ... Toronto is 20-0 when holding opponents under 100 points. ... Toronto swept the four-game season series.
Riggleman is looking forward to the chance to manage at Wrigley Field again. He knows this is a critical season for Piniella, who is trying to rebuild the mojo the Cubs seemed to have before being swept in the first round of the playoffs in ''07 and ''08.
Yet Campbell's erratic, inconsistent, capricious decisions on suspensions have accomplished nothing in regard to eliminating dangerous hits from the game. Each time there is a high-profile incident such as the Matt Cooke cheap shot that probably ended Marc Savard's season and possibly the Bruins [team stats]' playoff hopes, observers around the league await the vice president's rulings, wondering, "Will he give him 10 games? Or will he give no suspension at all?"
Matt Antonelli hit a three-run home run in a four-run second inning for the Padres. Antonelli connected off Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla, who gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings.
What had been a lacklustre match was sparked into life after a missile ? believed to be a coin ? was thrown at Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland early in the second half. Kirkland rubbed the front and back of his head after being hit while standing in front of the Burnley fans. Referee Mike Jones spoke with the chief steward at the side of the pitch before allowing play to continue.
errick Rose scored 23 points in his return from a a sprained left wrist, and the Chicago Bulls snapped their losing streak at 10 games with a 98-84 victory against the 76ers last night in Philadelphia.
You can be certain Majerus would trade the team he has at Saint Louis University for the Saint Mary's team we've seen at Dunkin' Donuts Center the past two NCAA Tournament games. While Majerus was thinking more about a peaceful career finale at a cute little Catholic school a few miles from San Francisco, Bennett has put together a team that has disposed of seventh-seeded Richmond and second-seeded Villanova. Instead of slinking back to Moraga, Calif., with a moral victory, the Gaels will be heading to Houston for this week's South Regional, courtesy of yesterday afternoon's 75-68 conquest of the Wildcats, a 2009 Final Four team.
NOTES: The Blue Jays reassigned LHPs Rommie Lewis and Willie Collazo, RHP Steven Register and IF Jorge Padilla, four non-roster players, to minor-league camp. ... Toronto manager Cito Gaston said he expects to have his opening-day roster set when the Blue Jays face Houston in their two final exhibition games April 2-3. "No sense dragging people down there that''s not going to be on the club," Gaston said. ... RHP Shaun Marcum will start Sunday for the host Blue Jays against Boston LHP Felix Doumont. ... Sunday, the Braves host St. Louis, starting RHP Jair Jurrjens against the Cardinals'' RHP Brad Penny.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The showdown for the remaining spots in the Indians'' starting rotation isn''t a duel in the desert -- but only because there are more than two pitchers involved.
A few years ago, Hawkins might not have been so chipper. Saturday, after all, was only two weeks and two days shy of the Brewers'' April 5 season opener against the Rockies, and the last place Hawkins would want to begin his tenure with the team is on the disabled list. He signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with Milwaukee at the Winter Meetings to serve as a setup man to closer Trevor Hoffman.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- J.P. Howell won''t be in the bullpen for at least the first month of the season. Now the rest of the bullpen is left to consider what life will be like without Howell. Following Friday night''s 6-2 win over the Yankees, Rays manager Joe Maddon told reporters that Howell would miss at least the first month of the season due to weakness in his left shoulder. The left-hander has been a crucial piece to Tampa Bay''s bullpen for the past two seasons.
Tottenham played against 10 men for most of the second half yesterday after Dean Whitehead was sent off but had just taken the lead through Eidur Gudjohnsen''s first goal for the club. In winning, they joined Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in winning here this season, which seems to say something, given that Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa ? the other contenders for fourth place ? could only draw.
NOTES: Nashville C Dustin Boyd played in his 200th NHL game. ... The Blue Jackets haven''t scored a power-play goal in four games. ... Nashville won five of six from Columbus in the season series. ... Predators RW Martin Erat, who earned an assist on Franson''s goal, has points in four consecutive games. Rookie Colin Wilson also recorded an assist on the play, giving him three points in two games.
Newcastle came from two goals down to snatch a priceless point with a 2-2 draw against managerless Bristol City.The promotion-chasing Magpies looked down and out after Lewin Nyatanga and Nicky Maynard fired the hosts into a commanding lead at the break.
Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib hands off to running back Delone Carter during a practice in August. Both players are expected to be a big part of the Orange fortunes this year. SU begins spring practice Monday afternoon.
After hearing they had been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek, the Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger remarked that "your next game makes your life".
NOTES: Tavares is the second player in Islanders history to wear No. 91. The other was Butch Goring, who won the Stanley Cup four times with them after the Kings traded him in 1980. ... The Kings are 27-0-0 when leading after two periods. They''ve won their last 30 games under those circumstances since a loss at Phoenix on April 2, 2009. ... The Islanders have been shut out five times and are 1-27-4 when trailing after two periods.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Dioner Navarro appeared to be injured badly after a collision at home plate Saturday, but X-rays revealed no breaks on his left leg, only a nerve contusion on his left shin. The Rays'' catcher was carted from the field after Jacque Jones of the Twins collided with him while trying to score from second base on a fourth-inning single by Brendan Harris.
Kirkland was not allowed to comment on the incident, but Wigan boss Roberto Martinez said: ''''We''re trying to find out (what happened). We think it was a coin. We''re not too sure about it, but it''s one of those events you don''t want to see on a football pitch.
