WASHINGTON (AP) — Leave it to Manny Ramirez to make the case that there is no difference between facing a rookie starting pitcher and a veteran. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s the same,” the slugger said with a shrug and a smile this week while his Los Angeles Dodgers were in town to face the […]

ATLANTA (AP) — Tiger Woods had a chance to pull away from the field. He had to settle for a one-shot lead Friday in the Tour Championship, which was still not a bad place to be. Over the final four holes, Woods missed consecutive putts from about 4 feet — one putt for eagle, the […]

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson will go for the Dover sweep from the pole. Johnson turned a lap of 157.356 mph on Friday at Dover International Speedway and will start first for only the second time this season. He led a career-high 298 laps in May to win at the Monster Mile. “A pole […]

DOVER, Del. (AP) — His career championship count has been stuck on four since 2001. Jeff Gordon might as well have reset that number to zero since the inception of the Chase for the championship. Gordon has done it all in a career that long ago marked him as one of NASCAR’s all-time greats. The […]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Randy Moss and Wes Welker have formed a potent 1-2 punch for the New England Patriots the past two seasons. But injuries to both could leave the Pats punchless Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Welker and Moss were listed as questionable after they missed practice Friday. Welker had limited participation in […]

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway accepted his first career NFC defensive player of the week award with a shrug. He had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in a victory Sunday at Detroit. But like many of his teammates on defense, he was still upset over a sloppy first half […]

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) – Nick Mangold was in seventh grade when he started on the path to becoming one of the NFL’s best centers. The center on his junior high school team broke a hand and the coach desperately needed someone to snap the ball. “I said, ‘Shoot, I’ll try,’” Mangold said. “I’ve been […]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — David Ortiz homered and drove in three runs, and Clay Buchholz took a shutout into the seventh inning to help the Boston Red Sox move closer to the postseason with a 10-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night. Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits and two RBIs, Victor […]

MONTREAL (AP) — Patrice Bergeron scored in a shootout to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 preseason victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Bergeron slammed on the brakes after approaching from the right side and beat Jaroslav Halak with Boston’s second attempt. Tim Thomas stopped Scott Gomez on Montreal’s third and final try. […]

They are both little more than formalities, the Yankees ready to clinch the East and the Red Sox all but certain to secure the wild card. But don’t suggest to players that there might be less of an edge to the three-game series between the teams that starts Friday night at the Stadium. “It’s always […]