BOSTON (AP) — Lester Hudson of Tennessee-Martin is the Boston Celtics only pick of Thursday night’s NBA draft. The 2008 NBA champions chose the 6-foot-3 guard with the 58th of the draft’s 60 picks. The Celtics had traded their first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 7-for-1 trade for Kevin Garnett after the 2006-07 […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Griffin was the consensus No. 1 pick. Shaq to the Cavs was the consensus blockbuster. On a day of head-turning trades around the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers started Thursday night’s draft with the obvious choice: Griffin, the only player considered a sure thing in a class full of question […]

ATLANTA (AP) – Alex Rodriguez tied Reggie Jackson with his 563rd home run and Mariano Rivera earned his 499th career save in the New York Yankees’ 11-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night. The Yankees have won two straight after a three-game losing streak. New York took sole possession of second place in […]

MIAMI (AP) — Hanley Ramirez hit a grand slam, and Cody Ross and Dan Uggla each homered as the Florida Marlins cruised past the Baltimore Orioles 11-3 on Thursday. It was the third grand slam of the season for Ramirez, tying him for the single-season franchise record with Ross (2009), Jeff Conine (2004) and Bobby […]

Eds: Reds 7, Blue Jays 5. UPDATES. Votto homers, has four hits as Reds beat Blue Jays TORONTO (AP) – Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking home run among his four hits and the Cincinnati Reds avoided a sweep, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on Thursday night. Born in suburban Toronto, Votto came in 2 […]

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Germany’s Sandra Gal kept loose over a game of chess during a rain delay and shot an 8-under 64 Thursday to lead Jiyai Shin by one stroke before darkness suspended first-round play at the Wegmans LPGA. An afternoon storm packing hail, lightning and torrential rain interrupted the tournament for three hours […]

Girardi: ‘Alex feels good,’ will face Mets ATLANTA (AP) – Alex Rodriguez should be in the lineup this weekend when the Yankees play their first games at the Mets’ new Citi Field. “It’s our home city, and I think our guys enjoy the Subway Series,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Thursday before New York played […]

CLEVELAND (AP) — One is the King, a reigning MVP who at age 24 needs only a championship to complete his resume. The other is a larger-than-life personality who may be past the prime of his career but remains an undeniable force and hungers for a fifth NBA title. LeBron and Shaq. Teammates. The Cleveland […]

Joyous LSU fans welcome champs home DOUG SIMPSON Associated Press Writer BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – National champion LSU got a raucous welcome home on Thursday as fans poured into Alex Box Stadium to cheer one more time for the 2009 College World Series winners. About half the ballpark’s 8,786 seats were filled with Tiger […]

PARKERSBURG, Iowa (AP) — In the years after Mark Becker graduated from high school, friends say he drifted from the community where he played football for the town’s beloved coach. There were failed attempts at college, minor dustups with the law and trouble with drugs and alcohol. At 24, he was a cook at a […]