European championship semi-finalists Russia started their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Wales in the two teams’ Group Four encounter in Moscow on Wednesday.
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and UEFA Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg star Pavel Pogrebnyak scored for the hosts, while Joseph Ledley was on target for Wales under heavy autumn rain.
Russia, who took to the pitch of the packed Moscow Lokomotiv’s 28,000-seater at full strength, started confidently as they sought to lay bare their opponents’ defensive frailties.
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Back at his best, back at the top, Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th Grand Slam title overall.
Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament that many times in a row. He also moved within one major championship of tying Pete Sampras’ career record of 14.
The victory might have come as a bit of a relief to Federer, who has struggled during a lackluster-only-for-him season. He lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open, and to nemesis Rafael Nadal in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, meaning Federer was on the verge of his first year since 2002 without a major title.
But Murray upset Nadal in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows to reach his first Grand Slam final, and Federer had no trouble this time.
Aaron Rodgers passed his first test as the Green Bay Packers’ new quarterback, throwing for 178 yards and a touchdown and scoring on a game-clinching sneak in a 24-19 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
Rodgers, who was 18-of-22, got help from the Packers’ special teams, running back Ryan Grant and safety Atari Bigby to beat a bitter division rival in his first regular-season start, which came in the wake of Brett Favre’s offseason unretirement saga.
“I’m happy we won, and that he played well,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “That’s what’s important. I don’t really get caught up in all the other things. And it’s important for him not to, too.”
Will Blackmon’s 76-yard punt return gave Green Bay a 17-6 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Minnesota’s Tarvaris Jackson answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Sidney Rice on fourth-and-1 to cut the Packers’ lead to five with 14:12 remaining. But a 2-point conversion attempt failed when Jackson threw a pass slightly behind Rice in the back of the end zone.
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The Boston Celtics extended the contract of coach Doc Rivers as a reward for leading the club to its first championship in 22 years, the team said Wednesday.
“We are pleased to be able to extend Doc’s contract,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said in a statement on the team’s website (http://www.nba.com/celtics).
“Doc molded a championship team last season through his leadership and we are confident that he is the man to lead this franchise on the court now and in the future.”
Boston had an NBA-best 66-16 record last season and went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals for their record 17th title.
In four seasons on the Celtics bench Rivers has a 168-160 record.
Terms of the extension were not released.
Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the surging Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 on Monday night to move within a half-game of the struggling AL East leaders.
Playing before their 456th straight regular-season sellout crowd, a new major league record, the Red Sox closed within a half-game of the division lead for the first time since July 23.
Boston improved to 6-1 in its last seven games while Tampa Bay is 1-6 in that same stretch after losing its fourth straight. The Rays were shut out for the second consecutive day for the first time this year, having lost 1-0 at Toronto on Sunday.
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Lance Armstrong is getting back on his bike, determined to win an eighth Tour de France. Armstrong’s return from cancer to win the Tour a record seven consecutive times made him a hero to cancer patients worldwide and elevated cycling to an unprecedented level in America.
The 36-year-old Armstrong told Vanity Fair in an exclusive interview posted on its Web site Tuesday that he was inspired to return after finishing second last month in the Leadville 100, a lung-searing 100-mile mountain bike race through the Colorado Rockies.
“This kind of obscure bike race, totally kick-started my engine,” he told the magazine. “I’m going to try and win an eighth Tour de France.”
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Opponents expecting the New England Patriots to fall apart as a result of Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury would be wise to remember the last time the team had to turn to its backup quarterback.
His name: Tom Brady. And after Drew Bledsoe was injured in 2001, he led the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in three of the next four seasons.
“Everybody here understands that things like this happen; they’ve happened before,” offensive lineman Matt Light said Monday, shortly after the team confirmed that Brady would have surgery on his left knee and be placed on injured reserve. “I feel good about this football team.”
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Mass. - Tom Brady will miss the entire NFL season with a left knee injury that will require surgery, leaving the New England Patriots without one of the game’s great quarterbacks, their Super Bowl hopes severely damaged. The 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player will be placed on injured reserve, the Patriots said Monday, one day after his knee was injured in the first quarter of a 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
A statement issued before coach Bill Belichick’s news conference said Brady will have surgery, ending his 128-game starting streak, the third longest for a quarterback.
Brady left Sunday’s game against Kansas City after he was hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. Brady was not available for comment, but reports circulated around the league that he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
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Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints’ top receiver during the past two seasons, had surgery on his left thumb and will miss four to six weeks.
Colston said he had a torn ligament resulting from a play Sunday when he reached forward to make a catch while taking a helmet-first hit to his hands from Ronde Barber.
“I don’t know if my thumb just got caught in an awkward position. It just bent all the way backward,” said Colston, who was wearing a cast over his left hand. “I guess the only silver lining is that I’m going to have a chance to come back and play a good portion of the season and hopefully be back in time for that playoff push.”
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If Vince Young isn’t sure he wants to play football anymore, he didn’t show it Wednesday. He reported to work, watched part of practice with a wrap around his sprained left knee and avoided reporters wanting to talk about his mother’s comments indicating he doesn’t want to play because of the negativity he’s faced since being booed heavily during a 17-10 win over Jacksonville.
His coach and teammates are sticking with their quarterback and the official story that whatever happened that prompted coach Jeff Fisher to alert police to help locate Young and check on his emotional well-being was just a misunderstanding. And that it was blown out of proportion by the media.
And no, Young doesn’t have to prove his commitment to either Fisher or his teammates.
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Jay Cutler’s strength and rocket arm are back like never before now that his diabetes is under control.
Cutler threw for 300 yards with long touchdown passes to rookie Eddie Royal and Darrell Jackson that helped the Denver Broncos beat up on their AFC West rivals in a 41-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.
Cutler showed why the Broncos made him a first-round draft pick in 2006, completing 16 of 24 passes and confidently picking apart Oakland’s rebuilt defense in a dominating season-opening performance despite missing suspended big-play receiver Brandon Marshall.
“We’re a young team. There were a lot of questions about us, but we felt good about what we have,” Cutler said. “You have that little bit of doubt about what’s going to happen with the young guys when the lights come on, but they came through time and time again.”
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Opponents expecting the New England Patriots to fall apart as a result of Tom Brady’s season-ending knee injury would be wise to remember the last time the team had to turn to its backup quarterback.
His name: Tom Brady. And after Drew Bledsoe was injured in 2001, he led the Patriots to Super Bowl victories in three of the next four seasons.
“Everybody here understands that things like this happen; they’ve happened before,” offensive lineman Matt Light said Monday, shortly after the team confirmed that Brady would have surgery on his left knee and be placed on injured reserve. “I feel good about this football team.”
Brady too, is confident.
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No matter what anyone else said or thought, Roger Federer knew he was still capable of elite tennis. Knew he was still capable of winning Grand Slam titles. Knew he was still Roger Federer.
Back at his best, back at the top of tennis, Federer easily beat Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th major title overall.
Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament that many times in a row. He also moved within one major championship of tying Pete Sampras’ career record of 14.
“One thing’s for sure,” Federer said in an on-court interview. “I’m not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible.”
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Brett Favre hardly looked like the retiring type, raising his arms to signal a touchdown, then leaping and skipping to the bench, where he vaulted into the arms of two teammates.
Six months after Favre decided to call it a career before changing his mind, he made a successful debut with his new team as Broadway Brett, throwing for two scores to help the New York Jets beat the Miami Dolphins 20-14 on Sunday.
Favre’s new beginning had a happy ending thanks to two late stands by the Jets’ defense. Dwight Lowery batted away a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 9 minutes left, and Darrelle Revis intercepted Chad Pennington — again in the end zone — with 5 seconds left.
Favre finished 15-for-22 for 194 yards and his 161st victory, extending his NFL record for starting quarterbacks.
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Rafael Nadal hunched over, his chest heaving, his hopes of reaching his first U.S. Open final fading fast. No one ever seems to run Nadal ragged. Andy Murray managed to do just that.
Exhibiting precisely the sort of winner-vaporizing, opponent-demoralizing defense new No. 1 Nadal usually employs, Murray reached his first Grand Slam final by completing a stunning, rain-interrupted 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 upset of the Spaniard on Sunday.
“He beat me because he was better than me,” acknowledged Nadal, whose 19-match winning streak at major tournaments ended. “When he’s playing aggressive, he can beat everybody.”
Now, instead of a third consecutive Grand Slam final between Nadal and the man he replaced atop the rankings, Roger Federer, it will be Murray vs. Federer on Monday night.
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AP - Jake Delhomme came back with a jolt that the San Diego Chargers won’t soon forget. Delhomme threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dante Rosario as time expired to lift the Carolina Panthers to a shocking 26-24 win over the Chargers on Sunday.
Tom Brady limped off the field in pain, and the New England Patriots can only hope their Super Bowl hopes didn’t go with him. The NFL’s reigning MVP left Sunday’s 17-10 victory over Kansas City midway through the first quarter with an injured left knee after being hit on a throw. There was no immediate word on the extent of Brady’s injury — “I am not sure what we are dealing with,” coach Bill Belichick said — or how long he would be out.
“It kind of looked bad,” wide receiver Randy Moss said.
Various reports Sunday night said Belichick told the players that the injury was serious. The Patriots were already looking for a possible replacement for Brady. A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that former Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms was coming in Monday for a physical.
Brady went to the locker room and wasn’t seen again as backup Matt Cassel led the Patriots to the victory. Cassel, who had thrown just 39 passes in his first three seasons, could see a lot more action if Brady is sidelined next week — or beyond.
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Joe Saunders flashed his All-Star form while earning his first win in over a month, and the Los Angeles Angels rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 Sunday, avoiding a three-game sweep.
The AL West leaders moved a step closer to their fourth division title in five years, thanks to a solid effort by Saunders and a questionable decision by Jermaine Dye to catch pinch-hitter Garrett Anderson’s sacrifice fly in foul territory in the eighth. The Angels hung on after blowing a three-run lead the previous night and ultimately losing 7-6 on Jim Thome’s homer in the 15th inning.
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Ominous clouds overhead, the sort of hard court that troubled him this season underfoot, Roger Federer sensed something Saturday he hadn’t in quite a while. He was playing exactly like that guy named Roger Federer.
The Federer who has won 33 consecutive matches and four consecutive championships at the U.S. Open. The Federer closing in on his 13th Grand Slam title.
“One more match,” he said, “is all I need.”
Only after Federer finished restoring order to his world by dismissing Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 did Tropical Storm Hanna carry chaos to Flushing Meadows, dumping enough rain to suspend the other men’s semifinal in progress and postpone the women’s final.
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Beanie Wells didn’t play. The Ohio Bobcats sure did. Lightly regarded even in the Mid-American Conference, Ohio put a scare into No. 3 Ohio State before the Buckeyes righted things in the fourth quarter and went on to win 26-14 Saturday.
With star tailback Chris Wells sidelined by a foot injury, the Buckeyes (2-0) struggled to move the ball until Brandon Saine’s short plunge on the third play of the final quarter finally put them on top and Ray Small added some breathing room with a late 69-yard punt return.
This was not the tuneup the Buckeyes needed before traveling next week to meet No. 1 Southern California.
Ohio (0-2) had five costly turnovers — two in the fourth quarter — to help its bigger, badder neighbors escape.
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