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As of 9:30 a.m. (et)
NFL
The Green Bay Packers reached an agreement to
trade quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets late Wednesday night.
Though the Packers did not release terms of the trade, a Green Bay
newspaper said the Packers will acquire a draft choice as compensation.
Late Wednesday night, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum held a
conference call and revealed details of the acquisition. He said the
club had multiple discussions with Favre, going over all the concerns of
bringing him into the Jets' fold. Favre will be going to a new city with
a new system after 16 seasons in Green Bay, but Tannenbaum said the
sides reached a comfortable position. Tannenbaum added that the Jets
were "just kind of monitoring" the situation, but jumped when the
opportunity presented itself. Favre was reinstated by NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell on Sunday after retiring in early March in a tear-filled
press conference. He was added to the Packers' roster on Monday, but did
not practice with the club. The Green Bay paper reported the 38-year-old
left for his Mississippi home Wednesday afternoon. Favre leaves Green
Bay as the NFL's all-time leader in most major passing categories -
touchdowns (442), yards (61,655), completions (5,377) and attempts
(8,758) - and his 253-game starting streak remains intact. By playing 16
seasons in a Packers uniform (1992-2007), he matches Bart Starr
(1956-71) for the longest tenure in team history among his 30 team
records.
The Cincinnati Bengals and linebacker Keith Rivers
agreed to a contract, ending a nine-day holdout by the ninth overall
pick in the draft. The deal is for five years worth a reported $23
million. The 6-foot-2, 241-pound Rivers helped lead Southern California
to a 47-5 record over four seasons. He totaled 240 tackles in his career
with the Trojans. Jacksonville defensive end Derrick Harvey, taken
eighth overall, is the final first-round holdout.
GOLF
The PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in
Bloomfield, Michigan is underway Thursday morning. The $7,500,000 event
is the final major for the 2008 season and takes place without last
year's champions Tiger Woods. Woods, who fended off challenges from
Woody Austin and Ernie Els to take the title, is still recovering from
reconstructive knee surgery. John Mallinger, Jeev Milkha Singh and D.J.
Trahan are in a three-way tie for first early on.
NBA
The Boston Celtics will begin their title defense
on Tuesday, October 28 at home against LeBron James and the Cleveland
Cavaliers. The contest is the first of two featured on the NBA's 2008-09
schedule, which was released on Wednesday. The second contest of the
opening night doubleheader, which will be broadcast on TNT, will feature
the top overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Greg Oden, and the
Portland Trail Blazers as they visit reigning league MVP Kobe Bryant and
the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. The
Boston-Cleveland matchup will also feature a ceremony before the game
where Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and company will receive
their championship rings.
MLB
The New York Yankees placed star pitcher Joba
Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list with a stiff right shoulder
Wednesday. Chamberlain underwent an MRI on the shoulder on Tuesday in
New York, but the Yankees have not announced what that exam showed, only
revealing that Chamberlain was scheduled to travel to Birmingham,
Alabama to receive a second opinion from renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr.
James Andrews. The 22-year-old right-hander was removed from his last
start on Monday against the Texas Rangers in the fifth inning with
stiffness in the shoulder.
New York Yankees catcher Ivan Rodriguez left
Wednesday's 5-3 victory over Texas after a collision at home plate with
the Rangers' David Murphy. Rodriguez's injury is listed as a bruised
right knee. With two outs in the second inning, Ian Kinsler hit a single
to Bobby Abreu in right. Abreu threw to Rodriguez, who caught the ball
and braced for the impact with Murphy. Rodriguez held on to the ball and
the side was retired. Jose Molina pinch-hit for Rodriguez in the third
inning and remained in the game behind the plate.
Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis left
in the first inning of Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals
with a right hand injury after being hit by a pitch. The injury is
listed as a right hand contusion, and X- rays were negative. The Red Sox
went on to down the Royals in Youkilis' absence, 8-2. Royals pitcher
Luke Hochevar hit Youkilis in the hand in the first inning. He remained
in the game to run the bases, but Sean Casey took Youkilis' spot in the
field in the home half of the inning. Youkilis is in the midst of a
career year, batting .317 with 20 home runs and 76 runs batted in.
Colorado Rockies pitcher Jeff Francis was
activated from the disabled list on Wednesday. The 27-year-old lefty has
been sidelined for over a month with inflammation in his left shoulder,
and is set to start the first game of a Thursday doubleheader with
Washington. After having a remarkable 2007 season, this campaign has not
been good for Francis thus far. He has posted a 3-7 record with a 5.67
earned run average in 17 games. He went 1-0 with an ERA of 0.63 in three
rehab starts with Double-A Tulsa. Francis was 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA last
year for the National League champion Rockies. He also posted a 2-1 mark
with a 4.86 ERA in the postseason as Colorado was swept by the Red Sox
in the World Series.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas has rewarded men's basketball coach Bill
Self with a new 10-year contract worth $3 million per season. Self
guided the Jayhawks to the national championship this past spring and
has a record of 142-32 in five seasons at the helm. The Jayhawks have
won at least a share of the last four Big 12 regular-season titles and
the championship of each of the last three conference tournaments.
Kansas also reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament twice under
Self before this spring's national title run. The new contract is
retroactive to April 1 and expires in March 2018. Self had three years
remaining on his prior contract, which paid him $1.6 million per year.
Self, a Kansas graduate assistant in 1985-86, had been the head coach at
Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before taking over the reins in Kansas
after Roy Williams left for North Carolina before the 2003-04 season. He
has a 15-year career head coaching record of 349-137.
OLYMPICS
Distance runner Lopez Lomong has been selected as
flag bearer for the United States in the Opening Ceremony for the 2008
Olympic Games. Lomong, who will compete in the 1,500 meters in Beijing,
was chosen in a vote by U.S. captains from each sport. Lomong was born
in Sudan and fled the country when he was six years old. He lived in a
refugee camp in Kenya for 10 years, and, after watching the 2000 Sydney
Olympics on a black and white television, began to dream of competing in
the Olympics. He moved to the U.S. with a foster family in Tully, New
York and became a U.S. citizen in July 2007.
Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic, the world's
top-ranked tennis players, are the No. 1 seeds for the Olympic tennis
tournament, which begins on Sunday. The Swiss Federer will open play
against Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, while the Serbian Ivanovic takes on
Mariya Koryttseva of the Ukraine, the 53rd- ranked player in the world.
Both matches are scheduled for Sunday. The field will consist of nine of
the top 10 men in the world, including Spain's Rafael Nadal, who will
take over the overall No. 1 ranking on Monday, August 18th. The American
team will feature singles play from James Blake, ranked eighth in the
world, and includes Robby Ginepri. The Williams sisters, Venus and
Serena, both will play singles and doubles. Other Americans include
Lindsay Davenport, the 1996 gold medalist in Atlanta.
Competition for the Olympics is under way and the
United States women's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Norway in
the Group G opener. The Norwegians scored twice in the first five
minutes, as Leni Laursen Kaurin notched the first goal and Melissa Wiik
followed. While Norway entered the tournament as a favorite to reach the
knockout round, the result was somewhat of a surprise considering the
United States had beaten the Scandinavian side the last 10 times the
teams had played, including a pair of 4-0 wins this year.
Next check of Sports News at 11:30 - 11:45 a.m.
(et) 08/07 09:40:58 ET |