Sports News

NEW YORK - The New York Yankees did accomplish something this year: They lowered their luxury tax for the second straight season.

NEW YORK - Roger Clemens posted a video Sunday repeating his denials of the steroids use alleged against him in the Mitchell Report and plans to be interviewed for a future episode of "60 Minutes."

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.

SAN DIEGO - LaDainian Tomlinson took over the NFL rushing lead, got his fourth straight 100-yard game and called it a night. Tomlinson had a 17-yard scoring run among his 107 yards as he led the AFC West champion San Diego Chargers to a 23-3 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night. L.T. sat out the bulk of the second half.

IRVING, Texas - Brad Johnson, start getting loose. The Dallas Cowboys may finally let you throw a pass. As Tony Romo's backup, Johnson has been limited to handoffs and kneel-downs in a few games this season.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown when the San Diego Chargers rolled to their fifth consecutive victory with a 23-3 home win over the Denver Broncos on Monday.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Bills left tackle Jason Peters will miss Buffalo's season finale at Philadelphia on Sunday because of a groin injury that could also keep him from playing in the Pro Bowl in February.

PITTSBURGH - Willie Parker, the NFL's leading rusher when he broke his right leg Thursday night in St. Louis, was officially lost for the season when the Pittsburgh Steelers placed him on the injured reserve list Monday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. - The Chicago Bulls were sure this was their season to challenge for the Eastern Conference championship. If they do, it'll be with a new coach. The Bulls fired Scott Skiles on Monday, hoping to shake up a team with one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls, struggling near the bottom of the NBA's Eastern Conference after losing three of their last four games, fired coach Scott Skiles on Monday.

If I'm Santa Claus, here are some questions I'd be pondering while also wondering whatever happened to that new, high-tech ball of last year:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points when he had 39 points in the Lakers' 95-90 road win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kobe Bryant scored 39 to become the youngest NBA player to reach 20,000 career points when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 95-90 on Sunday.

LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech escaped serious injury and suffered just bruising to his hip when he limped out of the 1-0 win over Blackburn on Sunday.

BERLIN (AFP) - Arsenal's out-cast German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann says he will make a decision on his future within the next week as he weighs up offers to leave the north London giants.

MILAN, Italy (AFP) - If history repeats itself Inter Milan will continue their majestic stride towards the Serie A title and be crowned champions in May.

LONDON (AFP) - David Beckham insists he has no problem with Fabio Capello and can't wait to work with the new England coach.

GLASGOW (AFP) - Everton have rejected Celtic's bid to sign Scotland forward James McFadden on loan.

Martin Brodeur left George Hainesworth behind and moved a step closer to Terry Sawchuk in a fitting duel between two of the NHL's top goalies.

CALGARY, Alberta - Martin Brodeur broke a tie with George Hainesworth for second place on the NHL's career shutout list, making 30 saves in the New Jersey Devils' 1-0 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - J.P. Dumont broke a tie with 38 seconds left, and Chris Mason made 30 saves in the Nashville Predators' 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Sunday night.

DENVER - Cody McCormick and Andrew Brunette scored in a 1:34 span of the third period, and Peter Budaj made 21 saves to help the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Sunday night.

DALLAS - Linemates Mike Ribeiro, Antti Miettinen and Brenden Morrow scored goals, and the Dallas Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Sunday night.

Last week's three big-time matchups caused plenty of movement in The Associated Press' college basketball poll Monday, except at the top. For the fourth straight week, North Carolina, Memphis and Kansas were the top three teams in the rankings. Then came the changes courtesy of the high-profile games that handed three teams their first loss of the season.

After nearly a four-year absence, Connecticut is back at No. 1. The Huskies received 49 of the 50 first-place votes Monday in The Associated Press poll after being ranked second all season. Tennessee had been No. 1 since the preseason poll, but lost to Stanford 73-69 in overtime Saturday night.

POCATELLO, Idaho - Washington State is one win away from opening the season with 12 straight wins, a feat that would match the program's best start in 16 years.

HONOLULU - Ben Hartman's kicking is a lot better than his sense of humor.

HONOLULU - All Chris Johnson could think about after his record-setting night was how let his team down.

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.

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.

DEERFIELD, Ill. - The Chicago Bulls were sure this was their season to challenge for the Eastern Conference championship. If they do, it'll be with a new coach. The Bulls fired Scott Skiles on Monday, hoping to shake up a team with one of the worst records in the Eastern Conference.

CHICAGO - No tears for Brett Favre this time, just frustration. And Green Bay can forget about the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Brian Urlacher returned an interception for a touchdown for the first time in his career, Adrian Peterson ran for 102 yards, and the Chicago Bears beat the Packers 35-7 on a frigid Sunday afternoon.

NEW YORK - Roger Clemens posted a video Sunday repeating his denials of the steroids use alleged against him in the Mitchell Report and plans to be interviewed for a future episode of "60 Minutes."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Somewhere, Jessica Simpson was cheering on her man.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th win. Tom Brady and Randy Moss edged closer to two more marks. And New England still has one game left to reach an even more amazing goal: the first team to finish a regular season undefeated in 35 years.

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.

BERLIN (AFP) - Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, has welcomed Munich's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

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.