INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyler Hansbrough’s path to the NBA looks familiar to Pacers president Larry Bird. The 6-foot-9 forwards from small towns both could have left school early, but they stayed for their senior seasons and played for national titles. Both built reputations for being tireless workers, and both heard from doubters who said they […]

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Lo and behold, Roger Federer actually lost a set at Wimbledon on Friday. Not a match, mind you, just a set, which in and of itself counts as news. Dating to the start of the 2003 tournament, after all, Federer is 43-1 at the All England Club, dropping a total of […]

MONTREAL (AP) — The New York Islanders kept everyone guessing, including John Tavares himself, right up until they made the high-scoring center the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft. The Islanders chose Tavares, an 18-year-old junior star with the London Knights, with the first overall pick ahead of 6-foot-6, 220-pound Swedish defenseman […]

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Instead of hawking shoes from the trunk of his car, maybe now Mike Rodgers will be promoting them from a billboard somewhere. He is, after all, America’s best sprinter this side of Tyson Gay. Wearing his trademark headband, Rodgers sped down the track in 9.91 seconds, beating a depleted field in […]

ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Beckett wasn’t feeling well. No problem when he’s facing the Braves. Beckett pitched seven more scoreless innings against his favorite opponent and David Ortiz homered, leading the first-place Boston Red Sox past slumping Atlanta 4-1 on Friday night. Beckett (9-3) has faced the Braves twice in the past seven days and […]

ATLANTA (AP) — John Smoltz woke up in his own bed, made pancakes for the kids, took a dip in the pool, then headed to the ballpark. That’s where things got a little strange. “I can’t help but think about all the times I drove in here, walked through that tunnel and made a quick […]

CHICAGO (AP) — Geovany Soto hit a three-run homer to back another solid start by Randy Wells and the Chicago Cubs broke a four-game losing streak by beating the White Sox 5-4 on Friday. Milton Bradley of the Cubs went after the Gatorade cooler in the dugout after he flied out in the top of […]

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — A look at Wimbledon’s third round on Friday: Weather: Cloudy. High of 75 degrees. Attendance: 41,870, an increase of 1,888 from Day 5 in 2008. Men’s seeded winners: No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 4 Novak Djokovic, No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, No. 13 Robin Soderling, No. 22 Ivo Karlovic. Men’s seeded losers: […]