Smoltz tries to stay calm on eve of Red Sox debut WASHINGTON (AP) — After reflecting on the three weeks of sleepless nights that followed his shoulder surgery, John Smoltz sounded as if he might be tossing and turning one more time – this time out of sheer anxiousness over his first major league start […]

Ortiz gets 1,000th RBI; Red Sox top Nationals 6-4 WASHINGTON (AP) — David Ortiz got his 1,000th RBI, Nick Green played a scary game of dodge-the-bat, and the Boston Red Sox looked right at home again in the nation’s capital Wednesday night in a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals. Red Sox Nation invaded Nationals […]

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — A look at Wimbledon on Wednesday: Weather: Sunny. High of 75 degrees. Attendance: 46,826, the third day in a row the tournament’s single-day record has been broken. It’s also an increase of 5,991 over Day 3 in 2008. Men’s Seeded Winners: No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 7 […]

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Nobody would have begrudged Lucas Glover a week off. After all, the 29-year-old journeyman won the U.S. Open on Monday, spent Tuesday doing Regis and Letterman, and took his new trophy to the top of the Empire State building. But on Wednesday, Glover was in Connecticut playing in the pro-am for […]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Julius Peppers’ stalemate with the Carolina Panthers is over, leaving the defensive end rich and the NFC South champions free from worrying about a holdout. Peppers signed his one-year, $16.7 million tender on Wednesday, five months after the four-time Pro Bowl selection first announced he wanted to play elsewhere next season. […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees are hoping for some Web gems. New York will become the first Major League Baseball team to offer its television broadcasts on the Internet in its home market under a deal involving the YES Network, MLB Advanced Media and Cablevision Systems Corp. The deal applies only to Cablevision subscribers […]

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Daunte Culpepper dropped back and heaved a pass perfectly to Calvin Johnson, setting up a short touchdown strike in a 2-minute drill. Matthew Stafford saw the sequence and was simply unfazed. “Everybody is going to make plays. Daunte is a great player, and so is Calvin,” Stafford said Wednesday, midway […]

MIAMI (AP) – The Florida Marlins have placed closer Matt Lindstrom on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow. Lindstrom blew a three-run lead in Tuesday night’s game against Baltimore, giving up four consecutive hits after getting the first two outs in the ninth. Florida won 7-6 in 12 innings. On Sunday, he […]

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) – The world will surely take notice of this. The U.S. soccer team is in the final of the Confederations Cup, beating mighty Spain 2-0. Even more stunning, the Americans were on the verge of elimination and ready to head home last weekend before a reversal of fortune. On Wednesday, goals […]

PARKERSBURG, Iowa (AP) — Several hundred mourners gathered Wednesday at a rural Iowa stadium named for a popular high school football coach who authorities said was gunned down by a former player who was to have been taken to a psychiatric ward days before. Pastors told those who attended a candlelight vigil to pray and […]