The Minnesota Twins have picked up outfielder Michael Cuddyer's $10.5 million option for 2011. Cuddyer hit a career-high 32 home runs to lead the team. He also had 94 RBIs and was sixth in the American League with 73 extra-base hits. When slugger Justin Morneau went out with a back injury in September, Cuddyer moved from right field to first base.
The Philadelphia Phillies have declined their $5.5 million 2010 option on third baseman Pedro Feliz. Feliz hit .266 with 12 home runs and 82 RBIs in 158 games for the National League champion Phillies this season. He'll receive a $500,000 buyout. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says he won't rule out bringing back Feliz.
The defending champions need another comeback to keep their title. The Philadelphia Phillies led the National League with 43 come-from-behind wins during the regular season, and they have five more in the postseason. But this one won't be so easy. The New York Yankees took a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series with a 7-4 win in Game 4 on Sunday night.
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Myron Rolle swapped shoulder pads, hard hits and a professional US football contract for lectures, tutorials and quiet anonymity at Oxford University when he traded a spot in the National Football League draft last year for a Rhodes Scholarship.
Rolle, 22, was a star defensive player at Florida State University, where he also won acclaim as a pre-medical student for research on stem cells and cancer cells.
In the safety position, Rolle, who is 6ft 2in and weighs 15 stone 5lbs, specialised in taking players to the ground with punishing tackles at full speed, snagging opponents’ passes out of the air and running them back for touchdowns.
A top prospect for the NFL, Rolle last year opted to defer entering the league’s amateur draft for a year and study for a master’s degree in medical anthropology at Oxford, all with an eye towards an eventual career in medicine.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson issued his second apology in 12 months Tuesday and was told to stay away from the team while the NFL and the Chiefs complete their investigation into his use of a gay slur. As Johnson was releasing his apology, a national gay rights advocacy organization called on the league and the team to take disciplinary action against the two-time Pro Bowler.
The regular referees made the call. They're coming back to work. The referees union and the NBA agreed on a two-year contract Friday, ending a lockout of more than a month and saving the league from using replacements when the regular season starts. The officials voted to ratify the deal that was reached earlier this week.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expects the league to start playing multiple regular-season games in Britain in the next few years — an expansion that could lead to putting a franchise in London. Goodell said Friday that "every indicator" shows the British market can support more games and that having a franchise here is of "tremendous interest" to the league.
Stung by a rash of blown calls in the playoffs, Major League Baseball is breaking tradition and sticking with only experienced umpires for the World Series. Longtime crew chiefs Joe West, Dana DeMuth and Gerry Davis, along with Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson and Mike Everitt will handle the games, three people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press this week.
The NBA's locked-out referees could be back on the floor in time for the regular season. The league has made a new proposal, and a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press it will be recommended for approval to the referees on Friday. The person, who requested anonymity because the negotiations are ongoing, said it's "highly likely" they'll be on the…
The Phillies and Dodgers are back in the National League championship series for the second straight year, making them the closest thing the NL has to a couple of dominant teams. They are the first repeat teams since Houston and St. Louis squared off in 2004 and '05, and only the third repeaters since Atlanta and Pittsburgh met in 1991 and '92.
Peyton Manning's sore left knee is no longer an issue for the Indianapolis Colts. The three-time league MVP, who said he needed medical treatment on the knee Sunday night, gave himself a clean bill of health after finishing Wednesday's practice. "No concerns," he said. "It feels fine.
The NBA is making Gilbert Arenas — and the Washington Wizards — pay for his silence. Arenas and his team were fined $25,000 apiece Tuesday by the league because he has not been talking to the media during the preseason, including before and after exhibition games. The three-time All-Star point guard became one of the NBA's most popular players thanks in part to his engaging personality and a…
The NFL is investigating whether Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards violated the league's conduct policy following accusations he assaulted a man outside a nightclub. Edwards allegedly punched promoter Edward Givens, a friend of NBA star LeBron James, early Monday morning following an argument in downtown Cleveland.
Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was drunk — three times above Michigan's legal limit for driving, according to police — between two key games over the weekend as his team was trying to win the American League Central title. The 26-year-old Venezuelan first baseman was taken to a police station Saturday after arriving at his suburban Detroit home at 5 a.m.
The Minnesota Twins have wanted out of the Metrodome for years. They're playing as if they want to stay a little longer. Jeff Manship's first major league win was well-timed for the Twins, who got a grand slam from Delmon Young and hung on for a 10-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night that cut Detroit's AL Central lead to one game.
The NBA's replacement referees were a non-issue in the preseason opener, just as the league wanted. The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 103-87 on Thursday night in an exhibition game that featured 69 fouls and very little objection to any of them. Whether it was preseason indifference or players and coaches heeding to the league warning to be nice to the new officials, there wasn't much…
The NBA is instituting a policy regarding Twitter and other social media sites, banning players from using them during games. The league sent a memo to teams on Wednesday telling them that cell phones and other communication devices can't be used from 45 minutes before game time until after players have finished their responsibilities after games.
The NBA has told teams it's going ahead with replacement referees, days after the league thought a deal had been reached with locked-out officials. The league sent a memo Tuesday informing teams it had "no expectation of concluding a timely labor contract." The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, follows the latest failure in negotiations.
Brad Lidge's latest late-inning failure helped the Florida Marlins gain ground in the National League wild-card race. Pinch-hitter Brett Carroll capped a two-run rally against closer Lidge in the ninth with an RBI single, giving the Marlins a 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.
Superman. The Wildcat Originator. Michael Vick has the nicknames ready. All he needs is a chance to play. After spending 18 months in federal prison and sitting out the first two games as the final league penalty for his role in a dogfighting ring, Vick is eligible to play his first regular-season game in 33 months when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The NBA's president of basketball operations is confident replacement officials would perform well if they are needed when games begin. The players aren't so sure. The NBA and its referees union have failed to reach an agreement on a new contract, so the league will begin training replacements this week.
Pardon Ron Artest if he's a bit geographically challenged and had no idea that San Diego has a big league baseball team, even though he was wearing a Padres cap. This much he's sure of — If his Los Angeles Lakers don't repeat as NBA champions, fans can point their fingers at him. "They should.
The 49ers have filed tampering charges against the New York Jets regarding top San Francisco draft pick Michael Crabtree, Jets coach Rex Ryan confirmed Monday. "My understanding is they filed charges with the league," Ryan said. "I'm saying my response is it's not true. I mean, it's not accurate.
Bruce Bowen won't be pestering the NBA's best anymore. The 38-year-old former San Antonio Spurs forward retired Thursday after 12 seasons and a reputation as one of the league's most menacing defenders, hounding opponents with a tenacity that some players groused was more dirty than dogged.
Curt Schilling, the former major league pitcher who won the allegiance of Bostonians by leading the Red Sox to the 2004 World Series, said Wednesday that he has "some interest" in running for the seat held for nearly 50 years by Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Schilling, a registered independent and longtime Republican supporter, wrote on his blog that while his family and video game…
The Colorado Rockies have added former AL MVP Jason Giambi to the active roster. The Rockies on Tuesday also added right-hander Joel Peralta, left-hander Randy Flores and catcher Paul Phillips. The 38-year-old Giambi signed a minor league contract with the Rockies Aug. 24 and was assigned to Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Paul Byrd, making his first major league start since last September, pitched six shutout innings and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep with a 7-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The win was the sixth in seven games for Boston, which opened the day 2 1/2 games ahead of Texas in the AL's wild-card race.