Super Bowl XLVI
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Buried on the bench a little more than a week ago, the Knicks' Jeremy Lin is now the toast of New York.
Beyond the Arc: No. 14 UNLV's 65-63 victory over No. 13 San Diego State adds spice to the Mountain West Conference race.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
It was a beach kind of day (for seals) on the Monterey Peninsula, but Tiger Woods provided his own heat with a 67 and sits four back.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP
NEW YORK - Sergio Mitre made it back after undergoing elbow-ligament replacement surgery. Then he was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance.
Finally set to make his first major league start since 2007, he had to wait out a 26-minute rain delay.
“It seemed like it took forever,” he said. “I was ready to get out there and pitch.”
Mitre eventually made it to the mound, earning his first win in two years as the surging New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Tuesday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Yankees (56-37) moved a season-best 19 games over .500 and took a one-game lead in the AL East over Boston, which lost to Texas. New York hasn’t been alone in first this late in the season since it won the division in 2006, according to STATS LLC.
“Yeah it feels great that there’s nobody in front of us but it doesn’t mean anything at this point in the year,” shortstop Derek Jeter said.
Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer and Alex Rodriguez also had a key two-run single for New York, which made the most of just six hits. The Yankees are a major league-best 43-22 since Rodriguez came off the disabled list May 8 following hip surgery.
Mitre, who was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the game, allowed four runs, three earned, and eight hits over 5 2-3 innings in his first major league start since Sept. 15, 2007. It was his first win since July 29, 2007, for Florida at San Francisco.
The 28-year-old right-hander is serving as the Yankees’ fifth starter with Chien-Ming Wang sidelined by a strained right shoulder.
“I know I can pitch here,” Mitre said. “It’s just a matter of staying healthy. That’s been my biggest problem throughout my career.”
Brian Roberts had three hits for Baltimore, which has lost nine straight in the Bronx and fell to 1-13 in road games against the AL East this season. Roberts is batting .433 (13 for 30) in his last seven games.
“Certainly it gets frustrating,” said Roberts, whose team has lost four of five since the All-Star break. “We want wins.”
After winning each of the last three games 2-1 for the first time in franchise history, the Yankees raced out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth. Rodriguez picked up two RBIs with a two-out single off Rich Hill in the third and Cano went deep after Nick Swisher led off the fourth with a walk.
Hill (3-3) departed after Cano’s 14th homer, running his winless stretch to six starts. He allowed five runs and three hits.
“I saw a lot of pitches that were below average,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “We thought coming back from the break he’d pitch better. In order to be successful you have to be more aggressive. Every pitch matters. Every pitch is important.”
Hill issued four of Baltimore’s eight walks and has walked 37 batters in 55 1-3 innings this season.
“We got into throwing more curveballs than I wanted,” he said. “It was just a poor outing by me.”
Johnny Damon added an RBI single off Brian Bass to finish the scoring in New York’s three-run fourth.
Mitre (1-0) missed the 2008 season and had Tommy John surgery on July 15 last year. He agreed to a minor league contract with the Yankees during the offseason, then was suspended under the major league drug program.
Mitre was 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two starts for Class A Tampa and 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in seven starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before he was called up.
“I thought he did a nice job,” said Yankees skipper Joe Girardi, who came away with a good impression of Mitre when he managed the Marlins in 2006. “He threw a lot of strikes. He worked quickly. He almost got through six so I was happy with his performance.”
Melvin Mora’s two-run single cut New York’s lead to 6-4 in the sixth but Mitre responded by throwing a called third strike past Nolan Reimold for the second out. Alfredo Aceves then came in and got Matt Wieters to fly out to end the inning.
Aceves also worked a perfect seventh, Phil Coke pitched the eighth and Mariano Rivera got three outs for his 27th save in 28 opportunities.
Notes: RHP Brett Tomko was designated for assignment to make room for Mitre. Tomko hadn’t pitched since July 11. “It’s hard to pitch four or five innings in a month and stay completely sharp,” he said. “It’s not the easiest thing to do, but I’m not making excuses. I didn’t get it done in the couple opportunities I had.” ... The Orioles activated RHP Cla Meredith and optioned RHP Kam Mickolio to Triple-A Norfolk. Meredith was acquired from the Padres on Sunday for INF Oscar Salazar. ... Orioles RHPs Dennis Sarfate (circulatory problems in right arm) and Chris Ray (right biceps tendinitis) will start rehab assignments on Friday. Sarfate is scheduled to make four appearances for Norfolk, pitching one inning each time. Ray is expected to do the same at Double-A Bowie.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.