Supposedly, pro football has reached its downtime. Considering how the NFL has ignored for nearly five months that this is the offseason, a break sure would be nice right about now. Head coaches are on vacation – Philadelphia’s Andy Reid and Minnesota’s Brad Childress went fishing together in Alaska, where they presumably are not discussing […]

Twins 6, Brewers 4 MILWAUKEE — Denard Span tripled, walked three times and scored three runs in his first game back from the disabled list, and the Minnesota Twins extended their dominance over the Milwaukee Brewers with a 6-4 victory. Joe Crede hit his 11th home run and Scott Baker turned in another strong outing […]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs added depth to the defensive backfield, signing former Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown. Terms of the deal announced Thursday were not disclosed. Brown played nine seasons with the Chicago Bears, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2005. He holds team records with seven defensive […]

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay withdrew from the U.S. national track championships Thursday with an injured left hamstring, a decision that could force him to shut down his entire 2009 season. Clay, who hurt himself Tuesday in workouts, warmed up briefly before the meet started, but decided he couldn’t compete. Because […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nineteen years after defecting from the Soviet Union, Sergei Fedorov is leaving the NHL to play in his homeland. The 1994 league MVP and three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings has signed a two-year contract with Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. Fedorov’s agent, Pat Brisson, […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is reportedly negotiating a contract extension with football coach Nick Saban. The Birmingham News reported Thursday that the talks are in the preliminary phase and are focused more on increasing the length of Saban’s deal than on a big pay raise. The newspaper cited unnamed sources. Saban led the Crimson […]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics already have gotten plenty from their first-round pick in this year’s draft – Kevin Garnett and the 2008 NBA championship. So general manager Danny Ainge, who sent that choice to Minnesota in a 7-for-1 trade for Garnett, wasn’t complaining about having only the 58th of 60 picks on Thursday […]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Flyers have not renewed the contract of longtime goalie coach Reggie Lemelin. Lemelin, a former NHL goalie, had been with the Flyers since the 1993-94 season. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren says the move was made because it was time for a change. Holmgren did not say Thursday who will […]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Vince Carter is going home to Orlando, and to the Eastern Conference champion Magic. On a draft day when Cleveland made the biggest splash by trading for the Suns’ Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando made a blockbuster move of its own in acquiring the Nets’ Carter, an eight-time NBA All Star who […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jeremy Mayfield denied Thursday ever taking methamphetamines, doesn’t know how he failed a random drug test and said his indefinite suspension from NASCAR has ruined his driving career. Mayfield’s denial comes in an affidavit that was among several hundred pages of documents filed by his attorneys in U.S. District Court. He’s […]