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, […]

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 […]

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 […]