Drew Brees and the Saints are so good right now they can't even beat themselves. New Orleans overcame four turnovers for a second straight week to stay perfect with a 35-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, matching the best start in franchise history. Brees, responsible for two turnovers, passed for 308 yards and two scores.
Kobe Bryant is quite familiar with the exquisite pain of playing against Ron Artest's defense. He's grateful that frustration now belongs to his opponents — including Joe Johnson, the first top scorer to get locked down by the Lakers' new defensive stopper. Bryant had 41 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 21 points and Artest extinguished Johnson's outstanding start in…
A.J. Burnett hardly got any attention — until he got the win. Almost an afterthought in his matchup with colorful star Pedro Martinez, Burnett challenged Philadelphia right from the start Thursday night and gave the New York Yankees the confident pitching performance they desperately needed. Throwing first-pitch strikes to his first 11 batters, Burnett overpowered a dangerous Phillies lineup and…
Blake Griffin scored 16 points in his second consecutive start and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 103-96 in a preseason game on Saturday night. Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman also had 16 points apiece for Los Angeles, which has won four straight since a seven-point loss at Golden State in its exhibition opener.
CC Sabathia heated up as the night went on, throwing fastballs past the Los Angeles Angels and pumping his fist for emphasis. On a blustery night more suited to bobsleds than baseballs, Sabathia pitched eight superb innings of four-hit ball to win his second straight postseason start, and the New York Yankees took advantage of a rare sloppy game by the Angels to win the AL championship series…
Peyton Manning isn't one to check off his latest achievements, especially not during the season. Good thing. They're piling up almost as quickly as victories for Manning and his Colts. Manning's near-perfect start to the season continued Sunday night as he had 309 yards passing and three touchdown passes, and the Colts never trailed in beating their AFC South rivals 31-9 for their…
The cold and snow in Colorado scrapped plans for Pedro Martinez's first postseason start in five years. Game 3 of the Philadelphia-Colorado playoff series was postponed a day because of weather Saturday better suited for cross country skiing. About an hour before the scheduled start it was 24 degrees.
Eli Manning's teammates expect he'll make his 83rd consecutive start on Sunday. Manning had an MRI on his right foot Monday, which revealed he has plantar fasciitis, an inflammation and swelling of the tissue on the bottom of the foot. The Giants are officially listing Manning as "day to day." But Manning has started 82 consecutive games over the last five seasons and his…
Sixteen-game winner Jorge De La Rosa will miss Colorado's first-round playoff series against Philadelphia because of an injured left groin. The left-hander left his last start Saturday night after hurting himself. He was scheduled to test his groin in a bullpen session Tuesday, but that was canceled.
A new start with the New Orleans Saints has put "the shake" back in 33-year-old Darren Sharper. The NFL's active leader in career interceptions added two more against rookie Mark Sanchez, returning one a club-record 99 yards for a touchdown to help the unbeaten Saints hand the New York Jets their first loss of the season, 24-10 on Sunday.
Clay Buchholz has one week to think about his next start. Or, even better, not to think about it. Manager Terry Francona said Buchholz was still in line to follow Jon Lester and Josh Beckett in the rotation for the first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Angels, even after the Red Sox right-hander lasted just three innings in a 12-7 victory over Cleveland on Sunday.
Kyle Boller will make his first start at quarterback for the St. Louis Rams on Sunday as Marc Bulger rests his injured shoulder. Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Friday that if Bulger dresses for the game, it will be as the third quarterback. Rookie Keith Null will be the backup. Bulger did not throw during Friday's practice and is listed as questionable for the game at NFC West rival San Francisco…
Magglio Ordonez is supposed to help the Detroit Tigers win titles. Eddie Bonine is a bit of a surprise. Ordonez hit a three-run double, Bonine lasted five innings after a shaky start and the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Wednesday night to move closer to the AL Central title. "You need everyone on your team to step up right now, and that's what happened tonight," Detroit…
Even though he has pitched in the World Series before, Jose Contreras confessed he was nervous before his first start for the Colorado Rockies. He didn't look it once he took the mound. Acquired on Monday from the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitcher Brandon Hynick, Contreras pitched 6 2-3 solid innings to lead the Rockies to a 4-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This was vintage Pedro. Pedro Martinez tossed seven impressive innings to outpitch Tim Lincecum, Ryan Howard doubled in the tiebreaking run and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Thursday night. Martinez (3-0) struck out a season-high nine in his fifth start since signing with the Phillies during the All-Star break, allowing one run and five hits.
Offensive tackle Andre Smith signed a contract Sunday with the Cincinnati Bengals, ending an impasse that dragged on a month into the preseason. The Bengals originally planned to have Smith start at right tackle, but he has missed all three preseason games. He was in Cincinnati and agreed to the deal shortly before the start of a late afternoon practice.
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.