Sports News

SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds told a judge Friday that he wants two top-notch Bay Area defense lawyers to lead his legal team even though they previously represented potential witnesses against the slugger.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Josh Hamilton proved he had overcome his demons in Cincinnati, and now he wants to conquer his future in Texas.

DENVER - The NL champion Colorado Rockies filled a vacancy in their bullpen Friday by agreeing to a $7.5 million, two-year contract with right-hander Luis Vizcaino.

NEW YORK - A day after being linked to drugs in baseball, former pitcher Allen Watson denied the allegation. Watson was among nine players accused of doping by former pitcher Jason Grimsley in a federal agent's affidavit unsealed Thursday.

NEW YORK - Bud Selig could be baseball commissioner for life if he wanted. His backing among owners is as strong as ever after the Mitchell Report, which accused owners and players of ignoring performance-enhancing drugs.

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren insists that his team can survive the playoffs without a strong running game, but he can't be feeling as confident now as he was a week ago.

ST. LOUIS - The last time Najeh Davenport got this much work, he was also playing against the St. Louis Rams. The career backup's second-career 100-yard rushing game eased the sting, at least for a day, from Willie Parker's season-ending injury in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 41-24 victory over the Rams on Thursday night. It was the first 100-yard game against the Rams all season.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bruised thumb and all, Tony Romo connected with Terrell Owens for a 10-yard touchdown pass to help the Dallas Cowboys take a 7-0 lead over the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter Saturday night.

DAVIE, Fla. - Wayne Huizenga gave a simple description of Bill Parcells' new job with the Miami Dolphins. "He's got the ultimate responsibility," said Huizenga, the team's title-starved owner. Parcells welcomes the challenge.

MIAMI - The gun that killed Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was placed in a sock and thrown into the Everglades, an attorney for one of the suspects said.

NEW YORK - Stephon Marbury has filed a grievance over the fine the New York Knicks gave him for missing a game in Phoenix last month.

SEATTLE - Kevin Durant did it all Friday night, hitting deep 3-pointers, slamming a poster-worthy baseline dunk over a 7-footer and throwing a no-look pass on the fastbreak.

Kobe Bryant always loves coming home to Philadelphia.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Martell Webster scored 19 points while Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each added 18 to help the Portland Trail Blazers extend their winning streak to 10 games with a 99-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and Devin Harris added 21 to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 102-89 on Friday night.

ROME (AFP) - Returning Roma talisman Francesco Totti scored a brace to earn the capital-based club a 2-0 win over Sampdoria at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday and keep them in the Serie A title chase.

PARIS (AFP) - Nancy scored in the dying minutes to keep the French league title race alive heading into the three-week winter break with a thrilling 1-1 draw against leaders Lyon on Saturday.

LIVERPOOL (AFP) - Fernando Torres maintained his scoring burst as Liverpool returned to winning ways with a 4-1 victory over Portsmouth at Anfield on Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) - Arsene Wenger hailed Manuel Almunia for keeping Arsenal's English Premier League title challenge on track after a fortunate 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

BARCELONA (AFP) - Goals in the last 15 minutes from Nicola Zigic and David Silva helped Valencia salvage a 2-2 draw at Real Zaragoza on Saturday.

BOSTON - Former Bruin Brad Boyes continued his strong start with his 21st goal and Manny Legace made 24 saves, leading St. Louis to a 4-1 win over Boston on Saturday.

EDMONTON, Alberta - The New Jersey Devils put a disappointing loss in Vancouver behind them in a hurry.

CALGARY, Alberta - Mike Ribeiro scored his second goal of the game 57 seconds into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 victory over Calgary on Friday night.

DENVER - Wojtek Wolski tapped in the winning shot 1:16 into overtime, and Milan Hejduk scored two goals in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Jochen Hecht snapped a late third-period tie, and Ryan Miller made 20 saves in his seventh consecutive start to help the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Friday night in the first game of a home-and-home series.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Freshman Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 18 points, including an acrobatic layup to ignite a key first-half run, to lead No. 9 Michigan State to a 78-72 victory over No. 4 Texas on Saturday night.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Enough talk about New Mexico's bowl struggles. Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, and Donovan Porterie threw for career-high 354 yards and two touchdowns to help New Mexico beat Nevada 23-0 in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday.

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico - Dwayne Curtis and Chris Warren both scored 19 points to lead Mississippi to an 85-82 victory over No. 15 Clemson on Saturday night in a matchup of unbeaten teams in the championship game of the San Juan Shootout.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Joe Alexander scored 20 points and No. 24 West Virginia beat Canisius 77-54 on Saturday, easily delivering coach Bob Huggins his 600th career victory.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Thirty-six Florida State players won't be going to the Dec. 31 Music City Bowl against Kentucky because of an academic cheating scandal, violations of team rules, injuries or other reasons.

BRATISLAVA (AFP) - Dominik Hrbaty has pulled out of the Australian Open after announcing Friday he will be forced to undergo a new operation on his right elbow.

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australian Open organisers have introduced anti-corruption measures designed to prevent illegal gambling and match-fixing during next month's grand slam tournament.

ADELAIDE, Australia (AFP) - World No. 8 Richard Gasquet has withdrawn from next month's ATP Adelaide International with an injury, making Australian Lleyton Hewitt the tournament’s top seed, organisers said Thursday.

PARIS (AFP) - Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli was warned on Wednesday that she risks missing out on selection for the 2008 Olympic team if she does not represent France in the Fed Cup.

BEIJING (AFP) - Injury-hit Chinese tennis star Li Na will re-launch her Olympic ambitions at two events in Australia next month, state media reported Wednesday.

Lorena Ochoa didn't have a blueprint for becoming the best in the world, and she certainly didn't have a role model. Mexico had yet to produce anything resembling a world-class golfer, and Ochoa did not look like one at age 12.

Michelle Wie might start her 2008 season in Hawaii, but not at the Sony Open. Wie, who has played the PGA Tour event every year since 2004, did not receive one of the four unrestricted sponsor exemptions, tournament director Ray Stosik said Thursday.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - First came a kiss for his daughter. Then came a pose with the trophy.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - With another trophy in hand, Tiger Woods is taking another big break. Woods said he would not start his 2008 season until he defends his title in the Buick Invitational, making it the third consecutive year he has skipped the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Tiger Woods said Wednesday that drug testing on the PGA Tour will start July 8, and he is about halfway through the tour's anti-doping manual sent to players earlier this month.

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn't need to dance to beat Ricky Hatton. His fists proved a lot more potent than his feet.

LAS VEGAS - Round-by-round action in Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s WBC welterweight title fight with England's Ricky Hatton:

DALLAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. met with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban this week to discuss competing in mixed martial arts.

CANASTOTA, N.Y. - He had a boxing resume that could stand beside the greatest in his sport. Yet, Larry Holmes always seemed to have to justify himself as a champion.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The last time Jimmie Johnson climbed on top of a golf cart was disastrous — he fell off, broke his wrist and was embarrassed by the controversy the stunt caused.

MADRID, Spain - Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso is heading back to Renault. The 26-year-old Spaniard announced his return to the French team Monday after a turbulent season at McLaren.

BOSTON - The World Series ball is gone, and Jonathan Papelbon has an excuse: My dog ate it. Farfetched or not, that's what the Red Sox closer insists happened to the souvenir from the final out of Boston's sweep this year.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tom Brady arrives at Gillette Stadium before the sun comes up.

MIAMI - The gun that killed Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was placed in a sock and thrown into the Everglades, an attorney for one of the suspects said.

ST. LOUIS - The last time Najeh Davenport got this much work, he was also playing against the St. Louis Rams. The career backup's second-career 100-yard rushing game eased the sting, at least for a day, from Willie Parker's season-ending injury in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 41-24 victory over the Rams on Thursday night. It was the first 100-yard game against the Rams all season.

DAVIE, Fla. - Wayne Huizenga gave a simple description of Bill Parcells' new job with the Miami Dolphins. "He's got the ultimate responsibility," said Huizenga, the team's title-starved owner. Parcells welcomes the challenge.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Marion Jones used several different performance-enhancing drugs over a substantial period of time, according to a detailed doping calendar that was part of several pages of court documents released Friday.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The IOC formally stripped Marion Jones of her five Olympic medals Wednesday, wiping her name from the record books following her admission that she was a drug cheat.

BEIJING - Chinese traditional medicines do not contain banned substances, a Beijing Olympics medical official said Tuesday. However, as a precaution they will not be used to treat d athletes during the games.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - It took five years and six major revisions, but organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada said on Wednesday they now know when each sporting event will take place in the 17-day competition.

CHICAGO - The Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday issued a series of recommendations for reforming the police department as he reiterated his threat to lobby against the city's Olympic bid if the mayor doesn't respond soon.