Saturday, August 6, 2011

SPORTS - Lindberg to lead IOC panel for 2018 Winter Games (AP)

SPORTS - Lindberg to lead IOC panel for 2018 Winter Games (AP)
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SPORTS - Rematches set in boxing trials (AP)

SPORTS - Rematches set in boxing trials (AP)
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SPORTS - Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio has neck surgery (AP)

SPORTS - Rockies pitcher Juan Nicasio has neck surgery (AP)
Prince Amukamara AP – New York Giants first-round draft choice Prince Amukamara puts in his mouthpiece during NFL football …

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – New York Giants first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara is out indefinitely with a fractured bone in his left foot.

A day after signing with the Giants, Amukamara was hurt in practice Saturday night and left the field.

Roughly an hour after the workout ended, the Giants said that the cornerback from Nebraska fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. He will have surgery to have a screw inserted in the foot and be sidelined for an undetermined period.

It was not immediately clear how he was hurt. He left the field with a member of the Giants medical staff and X-rays subsequently revealed the fracture.

Dr. Victor Khabie, co-chief of Orthopedics and Spine Institute at Northern Westchester Hospital, says such injuries can be slow to heal.

"This is a bad injury as the blood supply to the fifth metatarsal is poor," Khabie said in responding to an email from The Associated Press. "A screw is required in this fracture to help optimize fracture healing. Even with the screw, healing can be slow. He will most likely be on crutches for four to six weeks, and could miss eight weeks of football. If the bone heals slower, he could be out much longer."

Amukamara, the 19th overall draft selection, signed a four-year, $8.18 million contract Friday after missing the first five days of training camp. He practiced with the team for the first time that evening, but mostly stayed close to the coaches and veterans to see what was happening.

The cornerback was confident on Friday that he would be able catch up, saying he also had been told by the coaches not to push things too quickly because the Giants have starting cornerbacks Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster returning and former first-round pick Aaron Ross (2007) backing them up.

However, the 22-year-old also knew that the first exhibition game was a week away. "Time is running out so I am sure they want to work me in pretty quick," Amukamara said.

All he can do now is wait for his foot to heal.

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SPORTS - UCF looks to build on last season's success (AP)

SPORTS - UCF looks to build on last season's success (AP)
Jay Haas AP – Jay Haas hits a hole-in-one on the par three fourth hole during the first round of the 3M Championship …

BLAINE, Minn. – Jay Haas often looks at the scoreboard during his round. What he saw with four holes to play Friday wasn't the most pleasing number.

Coming off back-to-back bogeys after missing short putts, Haas birdied the final four holes en route to an 8-under 64 to share the lead with John Huston after the first round of the 3M Championship. Haas also recorded an ace during his round.

He made a 30-foot putt at No. 15 to start his strong finish.

"That was huge because I'd gone back to 4-under and I was a little disappointed to be only 4-under at that stage because I played pretty well," Haas said. "I'd been playing beautifully. I was frustrated that I'd given two shots back, but at the same time I felt if I kept playing this way I'm going to get some more chances."

He hit a wedge to about 5 feet on No. 16, and a 6-iron to about 15 feet on No. 17 to set up more birdies. Haas settled for birdie on the par-5 No. 18 after two-putting from about 10 feet.

"It was a very, very eventful day," Haas said.

After recording par on the first three holes, Haas's tee shot with a 5-iron on the 184-yard fourth hole landed about a foot short and bounced into the hole. "It was probably my best shot ever that went in the hole. It was just a pretty shot from the start," he said. "I was laughing with Mark (Calcavecchia) because he'd hit a beautiful 5-iron shot about 10 feet left of the hole, and I said walking up to the green, 'I'd have taken your shot.' Good shots don't always go in the hole; great shots don't always go in the hole."

Haas drained a 30-footer on No. 5 to begin a string of three straight birdies.

Huston, who has one win in seven starts since turning 50 June 1, bogeyed the first hole, but made six birdies in a seven-hole span to get to 6-under after the 12th hole. He closed with two straight birdies.

"Everybody knows you're going to have to shoot low scores here. Fortunately, I was able to get off to a good start today and set myself set up for the weekend," he said.

Gary Hallberg, Tom Lehman, Peter Senior and Rod Spittle were one shot back at the TPC Twin Cities. Calcavecchia, who finished second last year, was two shots back after a 66. Joining him were David Eger, Kenny Perry and Joey Sindelar.

Brad Faxon, playing in his first event on the Champions Tour, was among a group of nine players shooting 68.

Lehman, a native Minnesotan playing the tournament for the first time, birdied his first three holes, but did not get another until going back-to-back on Nos. 11 and 12.

"I was happy with the way I played. ... I drove the ball very well, my iron shots were solid and I rolled the ball decently," he said. "It's a good start."

With temperatures in the mid-80s, high dew points and little wind, 53 of the 80 players finished under par.

"You're going to have to put up 20-under this week," Senior said. "I don't think the course is going to play tough enough for the guys to have any sort of problem with it."

Because of the nearly 2 inches of rain received in the past week, the only complaint was that balls hit off the tee would sometimes stick in the damp fairway and leave mud on the ball, reducing the player's ability to control a second shot.

"I had four or five shots that did not go within 20, 25 yards of where I wanted them to go," said Sindelar, who suggested lift, clean and place may want to be used if the course doesn't dry out.

Defending champion David Frost shot a 1-under 71. No champion has defended his title in the event's 19-year history.

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SPORTS - Canucks center Ryan Kesler has hip surgery (AP)

SPORTS - Canucks center Ryan Kesler has hip surgery (AP)
Ricky Stenhouse, Carl Edwards AP – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) and Carl Edwards (60) slow after crossing the finish line of the NASCAR Nationwide …

NEWTON, Iowa – This was one time Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn't mind being wrecked by a teammate.

The smoke billowing from Stenhouse's blown engine as he approached the checkered flag blinded Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing teammate rammed into him, inadvertently sending Stenhouse to victory in a wild finish to the NASCAR Nationwide race Saturday night.

"If he wouldn't have hit us, we would have definitely ended up second. I knew we would have had enough momentum to get there. I just wasn't sure if we were going to be first or second," Stenhouse said. "You definitely don't want to win them like that. You don't want to tear up a race car, but you definitely want to win."

Stenhouse appeared set to cruise to his second win at Iowa this year when the No. 6 car blew an engine with the checkered flag in sight. With the smoke obscuring Edwards' view and oil on the track, he slammed into Stenhouse and shoved him across the finish line.

Stenhouse crossed the line sideways, becoming the first Nationwide series regular to win two races this year.

Edwards wound up second, his No. 60 car torn to shreds as well.

"That's the most amazing finish I've been involved with in a long time. That was spectacular," Edwards said.

Pole sitter Elliott Sadler was third, followed by Josh Wise and Aric Amirola.

For once, luck was on Stenhouse's side.

Stenhouse led all but 15 laps last week in Indianapolis before losing to Brad Keselowski. He led just 25 laps in Iowa, but those were the only ones that mattered.

Stenhouse made contact with Edwards earlier in the race — leaving hard feelings on both sides — then captured the lead from Edwards and Sadler with a bold move to the inside. He held it until the end, though he got some unexpected help from his teammate to do it.

"I think saw a bunch of opportunity for things to go horribly wrong there for Roush Fenway and for Carl and for Ricky. Happily the tempers didn't rise above the boiling point and everything is OK," team owner Jack Roush said.

Edwards, who announced earlier this week that he had signed a multiyear extension with Roush Fenway earlier this week, led for 109 laps after starting 17th.

Edwards dropped all the way to 16th after a sloppy pit stop, though he quickly moved back into the front of the pack to set up the memorable finish.

The earlier contact between Edwards and Stenhouse stirred up some issues that'll have to be worked out in the near future, but Edwards insisted things were "fine" between the two.

"(Roush) came over and said `Hey, this is exactly what's supposed to be happening. You're supposed to have a young guy that's fast, that's frustrating everybody because he's too aggressive and that's all that's going on with Ricky," Edwards said. "He's just being a little bit overaggressive. And in the end, it's almost better that he doesn't figure out that he's too aggressive because that's going to make him better."

Sadler took his third pole of the season earlier Saturday and started on the front row with Trevor Bayne — who won the pole in Iowa in 2010 and finished fourth. Bayne spent 12 laps in front before a tire issue midway through the race sent him two laps down. He finished 25th.

Sadler quickly fell back and didn't appear to be a factor until coming out of seemingly nowhere to grab the lead with 60 laps left. He might have won, too, had the wreck between Stenhouse and Edwards not happened on the final lap.

"I want to talk to the Iowa race track and see if they can't make it 251 laps next year," Sadler said.

Saturday night's Nationwide race was the second of the year at Iowa Speedway. It was the first time the series ran twice in the same year in Iowa, but attendance was as strong as ever.

Officials needed temporary seats to accommodate a standing-room only crowd of just over 48,000. The packed house was a nice sight for the series, which saw Nashville announce this week that it was pulling out in 2012.

They got to see a finish they won't soon forget — from a pair of teammates at each other's necks all night.

"We both race really hard. It doesn't matter who it is. We both want to win," Stenhouse said.

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SPORTS - Ferguson 'lights fuse' ahead of Man City showdown (AFP)

SPORTS - Ferguson 'lights fuse' ahead of Man City showdown (AFP)
Ferguson 'lights fuse' ahead of Man City showdown AFP – Manchester United footballers are seen here taking part in a public training session at Old Trafford …

LONDON (AFP) – Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson 'lit the fuse' ahead of an explosive Community Shield clash with Manchester City by warning his bitter rivals that even their financial muscle can't guarantee success in the Premier League.

Ferguson initially seemed unconcerned when City's Abu Dhabi-based owners started lavishing vast sums on a host of big names three years ago.

But his dismissive jibes about dealing with "noisy neighbours" have been replaced by an awareness that Roberto Mancini's expensively assembled team are now a serious threat.

Now Ferguson has paid City the ultimate back-handed compliment by starting his mind games before the season has even begun.

He chose the eve of this weekend's traditional curtain-raiser to issue a stern reminder that splashing the cash doesn't necessarily mean prizes will follow.

"We get this almost every year when clubs round about us buy, and that's how you view the importance of winning the league these days," Ferguson said.

"Chelsea had this great spell of buying when Jose Mourinho first went there and we accepted that challenge.

"To win the league in England is very difficult. If you look at the Premier League you are looking at the top six fighting for four places.

"I think 84 points will win the league next year. We had less last year but you have to consider the increasing competition.

"Liverpool are expected to be better, the top four we know about and Tottenham as well. You expect it to be a really tough league."

Despite Ferguson's attempt to pile pressure on City, the Scot has spent nearly as much as Mancini since the end of last season.

While City's £51 million spree netted Sergio Aguero, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic, United paid £50 million for David De Gea, Ashley Young and Phil Jones.

De Gea and Young are likely to feature for United on Sunday, while all three of City's new buys should be involved at some stage.

Aguero, City's record £38 million signing, will be among the substitutes at the start after suffering blisters while wearing the wrong size boots in training.

City's unsettled captain Carlos Tevez -- who hopes to engineer a move to Inter Milan -- will be absent until next week after playing in the Copa America, giving Mancini a chance to show if he retains faith in Mario Balotelli after falling out with the temperamental Italian in pre-season.

United have appeared in this event 18 times -- winning it against Chelsea 12 months ago -- since City last took part in 1973, but the champions are up against a team on the rise after last season's FA Cup triumph ended 36 years without a trophy.

Mancini's men enjoyed a memorable 1-0 semi-final win over United at Wembley en route to that final victory against Stoke.

Yet Ferguson insists the fixture is nothing more than a high-profile opportunity for his players to improve their fitness before the Premier League kicks-off next weekend.

"It's very easy to get emotional about this type of game. I don't think we'll be changing our policy," Ferguson said.

"I've always viewed the Community Shield as a stepping stone for the first game of the season and there are two or three players who will need a game to boost their fitness."

Mancini would dearly love to land an early psychological blow against United, but he believes his squad is still short of the depth required to compete with Ferguson's side for the next nine months.

"It is the first official match of the season. It is important because it is a derby and we want to win, like United. But I don't think the teams at the moment are 100 percent ready to play," Mancini said.

"We are missing other players, we don't have enough players for all the season. This is a problem at the moment. I think we need another two or three players."

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SPORTS - Hamels crisp as Phillies beat Giants again, 2-1 (AP)

SPORTS - Hamels crisp as Phillies beat Giants again, 2-1 (AP)
Cole Hamels AP – Philadelphia Phillies' Cole Hamels works against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of …

SAN FRANCISCO – The toughest matchup for Cole Hamels might've come against teammate Cliff Lee.

Hamels pitched a seven-hitter for his first win in two weeks and the Philadelphia Phillies won their season-high ninth in a row, beating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 Saturday.

Hamels made a pair of first-inning runs hold up as the Phillies, with the best record in the majors, defeated the Giants for the third straight day.

Two days after Lee threw a shutout, Hamels (13-6) blanked the Giants until Pablo Sandoval's two-out home run in the ninth inning. Hamels struck out five and faced five batters more than the minimum while dominating the defending World Series champs.

Hamels had only one victory in his previous four starts and lost to San Francisco 2-1 on July 27 despite pitching into the eighth inning and allowing only two runs and six hits.

He was even stronger in the rematch and got better results.

"I was one out away from a shutout," Hamels said with a grin. "Cliff just got one. We're all trying to compete against each other."

Hamels, who hadn't won since July 22, faced the minimum through three innings, then gave up back-to-back singles in the fourth. He quickly worked out of the jam, striking out Carlos Beltran on three pitches before Sandoval grounded into a 4-6-3 double play in the first pitch.

San Francisco didn't get another runner until the seventh, and had two on with two outs in the eighth but failed to score each time.

All but three of the 27 outs recorded by the All-Star left-hander were made by the infield. Philadelphia also backed Hamels with two double plays in a game that took 2 hours, 14 minutes.

"Any time you can win a series it's big and any time you can win on the road it's big," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We know how good the Giants can be but at the same time if we play the way we're capable of playing and stay relaxed and focused ... that works for us."

The game was far less testy than Friday night's 9-2 Phillies win, which included the ejection of three players following a bench-clearing brawl in the sixth inning.

Matt Cain (9-8) allowed only three hits over eight innings but took the loss, his second straight. San Francisco has dropped eight of nine since taking two of three games from the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Jimmy Rollins doubled high off the wall in right-center leading off the game, and after Chase Utley drew a one-out walk and Howard struck out, Hunter Pence hit a bloop single to right to drive in Rollins.

Utley tried to take third on the play and appeared to be out following a strong throw by Nate Schierholtz, but Sandoval bobbled the ball, allowing Utley to reach safely. Three pitches later he scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.

"We got to him early but after that he was tough," said Ryan Howard, who struck out three times before singling in the ninth. "He got into some situations where it could have gone bad, and Cole got into some situations where it could have gone bad, but they got out of them."

The Giants are hitless in 17 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the three games against the Phillies this weekend. Over its last 16 games, San Francisco is batting .157 (16 for 102) with runners in scoring position.

It got so bad that first baseman and crowd favorite Aubrey Huff was booed loudly by the home crowd after grounding out to Hamels.

"We had more hits than they did, we just couldn't get the big hit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "You don't win the World Series unless you can beat good pitching. Right now we're not doing that."

Before the game, Bochy said he expects to hear soon from Major League Baseball about penalties for Friday's bench-clearing brawl.

San Francisco reliever Ramon Ramirez and catcher Eli Whiteside were both ejected along with Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino.

Victorino was booed during pregame introductions and every at-bat by the sellout crowd at AT&T Park, but there were no other lingering effects from the fight.

Cain nearly matched Hamels, retiring 20 of the final 22 batters he faced after giving up both Philadelphia runs in the first. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two.

"I made a couple of mistakes early," Cain said. "The way Hamels was throwing the ball, that was enough."

NOTES: Friday's winning pitcher, Vance Worley, is the first Phillies rookie to win six games over a seven-game stretch since Bob Walk in 1980. ... Phillies 3B Placido Polanco left the game with soreness in his left hip. ... Philadelphia has an NL-best 28-11 record during day games. ... Giants reliever Sergio Romo has retired 30 consecutive batters, the longest streak in the majors. ... Philadelphia homered in its previous eight games, the team's longest streak since 2009. ... RHP Tim Lincecum (9-9) has six straight quality starts against the Phillies and will try to stop the Giants' slide when he opposes RHP Roy Oswalt (4-6) in Sunday's series finale. Oswalt will be making his first start since going on the disabled list with lower back inflammation on June 24. He was activated following Saturday's game. LHP Juan Perez was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room.

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