SPORTS - Branch doesn't think A&M will move before hearing (AP)

SPORTS - Branch doesn't think A&M will move before hearing (AP)

Reuters – BMC Racing Team rider and Tour de France winner Cadel Evans (L) of Australia rides during the Cibel natour-criterium …

By Ian Ransom Ian Ransom – Fri Aug 12, 4:05 am ET

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Yellow-clad fans in their thousands thronged Melbourne's city center on Friday to hail Cadel Evans as Australia's first Tour de France champion took a ceremonial ride into town after returning from Europe.

Three weeks after his champagne-soaked ride to the finish line along the Champs-Elysees, the slender 34-year-old once again donned the yellow jersey, grinning as he shook hands with applauding fans banked five-and-six deep along the roadside.

Evans is the only Australian to win the Tour since the first edition in 1903 and his victory has been feted as one of the country's greatest all-time sporting achievements by local media.

For the steely BMC Racing Team rider, who calls the Swiss Alps town of Stabio home for most of the year and fiercely guards his privacy, the attention has been a happy, if somewhat overwhelming, surprise.

"I can say overwhelmed but that would be understatement for this month at least," an emotional Evans told a crowd of thousands gathered at a public reception at Melbourne's Federation Square.

"It's an honor just to be able to be here today, enjoying being here in yellow. It's just been a great ride and it's not over yet."

After being escorted by a team of bike-riding children to the square, Evans was congratulated by Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a video message beamed on a big screen before fans in the crowd unveiled a huge banner emblazoned with the yellow jersey.

SPELLBOUND

A large television audience at home had stayed up until the early hours to watch the closing stretches of the Tour as Evans defied mechanical setbacks before blitzing Luxembourg's Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, in the penultimate stage time-trial.

"We have been charmed by his humility and now he's home," said Victoria state premier Ted Baillieu, resplendent in a cornflower-yellow shirt and tie.

"Night after night as we sat in the dark in the wee, small hours on the edges of our beds, there was a collective raising of our heartbeats.

"We were all well and truly spellbound."

Few countries revere their sports icons like Australia, where captaincy of the test cricket team is dubbed the second-highest office in the land behind the prime minister.

Evans's stunning win has also given Australia a boost during a relatively lean period of sporting success with the country's cricket team in the doldrums and Lleyton Hewitt's 2002 Wimbledon title a distant memory.

Debate has sprung up over the best way to honor Evans, with politicians suggesting naming a bridge or a bike-path in the seaside town of Barwon Heads, where he spends his time when in Australia, after him. Evans is originally from the remote farming town of Katherine.

Evans heads off to the United States on Saturday to prepare for a stage race in Colorado but he said he was just happy to get a hug from his mother during his whirlwind homecoming.

"There's one person that's been with me all the time, through all the journey, whether it was the first 16-inch BMX I got at age three or the first mountain bike I had at age 14," he said of his mother, Helen Cocks.

NO EGO CLASH

Evans has signed a contract extension with BMC and has been joined in the stable by world champion and sprint specialist Thor Hushovd for 2012.

Hushovd snatched Evans's title on the Australian's home turf at the world championships in the port city of Geelong last year and wore the leader's yellow jersey at the Tour de France for several stages this year.

Evans played down concerns the partnership with the burly Norwegian might spark a destabilizing clash of egos that could harm his Tour defense.

"Regarding Thor coming to the team, the main objective of (team president) Jim Ochowicz was to get some guys onto the team to get some results early so they wouldn't rely just on me for race wins at the start of the year," he said.

"I said: 'Look Jim, you want to bring a sprinter to the team, I don't want to ride with a sprinter, because I've done that and I've done my share.'

"'If I do the Tour I want to do it for the win.'

"I was fairly clear about that and Jim was accepting of that, so it's under that basis that Thor comes to our team."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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SPORTS - Evans beats Ortiz in main event of UFC in Round 2 (AP)

SPORTS - Evans beats Ortiz in main event of UFC in Round 2 (AP)

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SPORTS - Big 12 tries to keep A&M as SEC considers adding (AP)

SPORTS - Big 12 tries to keep A&M as SEC considers adding (AP)

AP – New York Yankees' Jorge Posdada, center, watches his grand slam during the fifth inning of a baseball …

By HOWIE RUMBERG, AP Sports Writer Howie Rumberg, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Aug 13, 8:55 pm ET

NEW YORK – Jorge Posada gave manager Joe Girardi little choice but to give him another start.

Phil Hughes also got a reprieve, though his strong outing Saturday might not have been enough on its own to prevent a possible demotion to the bullpen.

Posada hit a grand slam and drove in six runs in his first game since being benched six days ago, and Hughes made his case to remain in the New York Yankees' rotation with six effective innings in a 9-2 victory that ended the Tampa Bay Rays' five-game winning streak.

"It's special," Posada said. "I got an opportunity today to play — and it's tough to sit around. It's not easy to be sitting here and look at everybody playing."

Curtis Granderson hit his 33rd homer to tie Jose Bautista for the big league lead and Robinson Cano had two hits and scored twice to help the Yankees rebound from a loss to the Rays on Friday night.

"We didn't pitch well," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "That's not like us."

Getting the start at designated hitter on the day his pal Derek Jeter was honored for reaching 3,000 hits, Posada laced a bases-loaded single off Jeremy Hellickson (10-8) in the second to give New York a 2-0 lead. He singled in the fourth then hit his 10th homer and 10th career slam in the fifth off Brandon Gomes.

Posada has not played since being dropped from his regular spot as the designated hitter Sunday at Boston.

After the game, he learned that he would DH again Sunday.

"As I've said, he's still going to play a role on this team," Girardi said. "We need him."

In the final year of a four year, $52.4 million contract, Posada turns 40 on Wednesday. He is in what most likely is his last year with the Yankees, and it's been a trying one.

He took himself out of the lineup in May when he was dropped to ninth in the order then apologized to his teammates a day later. He has had difficulty adjusting to his role as a full-time DH after being the team's primary catcher for most of his 17-year career.

Posada said before the game Saturday that he wants "to do everything I can to try to stay in the lineup."

He sure came through in the clutch: Posada's run-scoring hits both came after a Rays pitcher walked two batters to load the bases.

"From now on I have to look at the lineup card and be ready," Posada said.

Hughes (3-4) is in jeopardy of being dropped from the rotation despite two consecutive solid starts. Girardi is committed to going to a five-man rotation from the temporary six starters and the two names being mentioned most for demotion were Hughes and A.J. Burnett.

But that decision will have to wait. After days of talking about the coming change, Girardi revealed postgame that Freddy Garcia cut his finger in a kitchen accident about four or five days ago and will not start Sunday.

Instead, Burnett will face the Rays.

All the starters will move up a day and Hughes will stay on a regular schedule.

Hughes has struggled this season after going 18-8 last year and earning his first All-Star trip. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 7.11 ERA coming into Saturday with a long stint on the disabled list. But he threw a rain-shortened, six-inning three-hitter in his previous start Aug. 2 and gave up four hits — one a homer to Desmond Jennings leading off the sixth — and two runs this time. Hughes walked one and struck out seven.

Hughes said he didn't think about what could happen afterward.

"It's hard enough to pitch a really good game when you have a clear conscience so I knew I couldn't let anything distract me," he said.

Mark Teixeira led off the second with a single then Hellickson lost the strike zone, walking Cano and Nick Swisher. Eric Chavez popped foul to the catcher ahead of Posada's single.

With his dad Steve Hellickson watching in the crowd, the 24-year-old rookie with a dog named Jeter pitched at an extremely deliberate pace but it did not help. New York reached base in each of the five innings he started and only once did Hellickson retire the leadoff batter. He gave up a homer to Granderson to open the fifth, and now is 3-8 in games he yields a homer as opposed to 6-0 when he doesn't.

"I'm disappointed, especially after the way we played last night," Hellickson said. "I wanted to come out, do the same thing and get another game on these guys. So, I'm definitely disappointed."

Hellickson was pulled when Cano hit a one-out double. Gomes preceded to walk his first two batters before Posada connected to right field, sending the crowd into a sustained ovation that stopped when Posada was pushed out for a curtain call.

"I'm extremely happy for him. Jorge has a lot of pride," Jeter said. "You're talking about someone who is used to playing every day for a long time. He's been working extremely hard and he had a huge day. That's not easy to do when you haven't played for a while."

Jennings hit a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall to open the sixth and Johnny Damon hit a liner that went under the glove of a diving Brett Gardner and ended up with a triple. Damon scored on Ben Zobrist's groundout.

NOTES: New York signed former Yankees RHP Scott Proctor to a minor league contract. ... Posada last had six RBIs in Sept. 2006. His career high is seven. ... Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez (knee surgery) went 0 for 3 with a walk as the DH in his second rehab start for Class-A Tampa. ... Jeter donated the batting gloves and helmet he used on July 9, the day he got his 3,00th hit, to the Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony honoring the milestone. ... On Sunday the Rays will take the train to Boston and wear 50s-era hats.

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SPORTS - Clemson president: Has been no contact with SEC (AP)

SPORTS - Clemson president: Has been no contact with SEC (AP)

• Play Video Olympics Video:Bite of Oregon under way in Portland KGW NewsChannel 8 Portland, Ore.
• Play Video Olympics Video:U.S. Skier Tossed Off Team for Peeing Incident ABC News
• Play Video Olympics Video:Chinese media doubts Olympics safety Reuters

By STUART CONDIE, AP Sports Writer Stuart Condie, Ap Sports Writer – Fri Aug 12, 12:55 pm ET

LONDON – The London 2012 Olympic Village has become Qatar's latest acquisition in sports.

The property company of the Arab state's royal family and British developer Delancey have signed a $906 million joint agreement to buy and manage the athletes' village as private housing after the 2012 Olympics.

London's Olympic Delivery Authority said Friday that Qatari Diar and Delancey will take over 1,439 of the 2,818 new homes on the site and acquire land to build as many as 2,000 more.

The deal includes a profit-share agreement, recouping the British government some of the $15 billion of public money that has gone toward hosting the Olympics.

"This is a fantastic deal that will give taxpayers a great return and shows how we are securing a legacy from London's Games," government sports minister Jeremy Hunt said. "The village will be the centerpiece of a new vibrant east London community."

The companies will rent out the homes, making the project next to the Olympic Park and its main stadium the largest of its kind in Britain.

Oil-rich Qatar won the right last year to host the 2022 World Cup. It already has investments in high-profile London developments, including Harrods. The department store was sold to Qatar Holdings for a reported $2.3 billion last year.

"This is a great deal for London and shows the confidence big private investors have in the future of the city," London Mayor Boris Johnson said.

A company called Triathlon Homes has already been appointed to manage the other 1,379 units in the village as affordable housing for workers, including teachers and health professionals.

The ODA said the new neighborhood will include education and health care facilities, parklands, public squares and open space.

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SPORTS - Donald, Westwood hanging on at PGA (AP)

SPORTS - Donald, Westwood hanging on at PGA (AP)

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SPORTS - Thunder F Perkins arrested in Texas at night club (AP)

SPORTS - Thunder F Perkins arrested in Texas at night club (AP)

AP – Pippa Mann, right, gets some instructions during the first practice session of the day for the MoveThatBlock.com …

– Sat Aug 13, 6:22 pm ET

LOUDON, N.H. – IndyCar rookie Pippa Mann will miss Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after crashing during a practice run Saturday.

She is scheduled to undergo an MRI on her back on Monday in Indianapolis and will not be cleared to race before the results of the test are known, a spokesman for the series said.

Mann, whose only other IndyCar race this year was the Indianapolis 500, was set for her first race as part of the Rahal Letterman team before her car hit a wall during a morning practice run. She was helped out of the car and supported under her arms as she walked slowly to a stretcher.

She was awake and alert when she was taken to Concord Medical Center for evaluation.

Her car also spun on two practice runs Thursday and made contact with the tire wall in Turn 2 on the second run.

Mann finished 20th in the Indianapolis 500 for Conquest racing.

Rahal Letterman co-owner Bobby Rahal won the first IndyCar race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 1992.

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SPORTS - A chance to make a name at the PGA Championship (AP)

SPORTS - A chance to make a name at the PGA Championship (AP)

AP – Brendan Steele hits a shot on the 11th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament …

By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, Ap Golf Writer – Sat Aug 13, 9:34 pm ET

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Brendan Steele and Jason Dufner at least can make a name for themselves in the PGA Championship. Until that big trophy is handed out Sunday, however, this major remains very much a mystery.

How will they handle the pressure of the final round?

Can they safely navigate through the four-hole finish, considered among the most brutal of any course?

And just who are these guys, anyway?

Rarely has a major championship contained so much inexperience at the top going into the final round. Steele is believed to be the first rookie since John Daly in the 1991 PGA to play in the final group of a major.

Steele, already a winner this year on the PGA Tour and No. 121 in the world, showed remarkable poise Saturday by overcoming a double bogey on the seventh hole. He ran off four birdies over his next seven holes, and not even a safe bogey on the 18th could take away from a 4-under 66 to give him a share of the lead.

He is tied with Jason Dufner, who, at 34, is still looking for his first PGA Tour win. Dufner, stoic as ever with a chunk of tobacco jutting out from his bottom lip, atoned for a pair of three-putt bogeys on the back nine with back-to-back birdies. He only missed one green in the third round and shot 68.

They were at 7-under 203, one shot clear of Keegan Bradley, a 25-year-old rookie who also won earlier this year. Bradley, playing in the final group, opened with a double bogey, which might have been expected given his inexperience. He also bounced back with remarkable resiliency, playing bogey-free on the back nine and rallying for a 69.

Now comes the hard part.

Never mind that only one of the top 10 players in the world is within four shots — Steve Stricker, who shot 69 and was three behind. Or that Tiger Woods, defending champion Martin Kaymer and British Open champion Darren Clarke all missed the cut. Or that U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy blew up in a round of 74 and was out of contention.

Atlanta Athletic Club is the kind of course that can take shots away without notice. Jim Furyk discovered that by putting three balls into the water on the last four holes for a pair of double bogeys.

"Wishy-washy play is not going to get it done," Steele said.

Right behind them is plenty of experience.

Scott Verplank, who at 47 can become the second-oldest major champion, rattled in a 50-foot putt across the 17th green for a most unlikely birdie, then laid up on the par-4 18th and escaped with par by making an 18-foot putt for a 69. He was only two shots behind.

Stricker, at No. 5 the highest-ranked American in the world ranking, took only 10 putts on the front nine when his round could have gone south quickly. He steadied himself with a solid up-and-down for par on the final hole.

"Everybody is going to be dealing with their nerves and the pressure of trying to win," Stricker said. "I think it's who can keep it together the best and be patient and play some good golf."

That might be to the newcomers' advantage. Plus, the golf course is proving to be difficult enough to get their attention.

"It could be a good thing. Might maybe make me a little more relaxed knowing that everybody is kind of in the same boat struggling with those emotions and thoughts and the mentality of trying to win a major," Dufner said. "I just feel like if you're playing good, you should be confident. And obviously, I've been playing really well for these three rounds."

Dufner is playing his best at the end. Through three rounds, he has played the last four holes in 3 under — with no bogeys. Compared with the field average, that's the equivalent of picking up seven shots on the field.

Besides, there's not much major championship experience behind them.

Only two players among the top 12 on the leaderboard have won majors — Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and David Toms, who won the PGA Championship on this course 10 years ago. They were at 2-under 208, five shots behind.

Also in that group was Adam Scott, coming off a win at Firestone last week. He struggled to a 70, but has not lost hope.

"You can make up six shots in the last four holes," said Scott, who was six behind when he finished. "So yeah, I think you can make up six shots in the last round."

The final round is so much up in the air that even Lee Westwood, desperate to finally add a major to an otherwise stellar career, remains in the mix despite one bad hole that spoiled his afternoon. A tee shot that just climbed into a bunker in the 14th fairway led to a three-putt double bogey on the 14th. He still managed a 70 and was six shots behind.

Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world who also is without a major, got to within one shot of the lead only to find the water on the 18th hole and close with a double bogey, leaving him seven shots behind.

"It does offer some birdie opportunities, and you can get it under par," Donald said. "But there are some tough holes out there that you've got to weather, and the champion at the end of the week is probably going to have played those tough ones the best."

The last player to win a major in his first try was Ben Curtis in the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. The last American to make a major his first PGA Tour win was Shaun Micheel at the PGA Championship in 2003 at Oak Hill.

"It's a great week for me just to be in the field," said Steele, won the Texas Open a week after the Masters. "To have a chance to actually win in my first major is really something special."

Bradley, the nephew of LPGA Tour great Pat Bradley, won the Byron Nelson Championship in May and contended last week in Firestone. When he started with a double bogey, he didn't panic.

"It really did not faze me that much," Bradley said. "My goal was to under-react to everything that happened out there today, good or bad. And you know, I took it pretty well. I knew that it was a very important time for me to stay calm and stay patient, or else it could have got away from me. And I did, which was good."

Saturday was the kind of day when it could have gotten away from a lot of players. Despite more muggy temperatures, the rookies managed to keep their composure.

Anders Hansen of Denmark, who has never seriously contended in a major, also kept it together with a 70 and was at 3-under 207, along with Pebble Beach winner D.A. Points, who went nine holes without making a par but still shot 71.

The toughest part about Sunday might be killing time until the late afternoon tee time. That shouldn't be a problem for Steele, who spent the first three months getting the last tee time on tour because of his rookie status.

Then again, that was another reminder of how far he has come already.

Bradley thought back to the Nationwide Tour last year when he and Steele were in contention at a tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"There was nobody around. We were just out there playing," Bradley said. "If we would have said we'd be in a couple of the final groups on Sunday at the PGA, I think we both would have kind of laughed at each other."

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