SALT LAKE CITY - The Jazz had plenty of chances to crumble and nearly did. They let a 12-point slip away in the last four minutes and faced overtime against league MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Instead of wilting, Utah played its toughest defense...

CARSON, Calif. - Juan Pablo Angel scored in the 78th minute to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy last night. Danleigh Borman added his first goal for the Red Bulls (3-1-2), who extended their unbeaten steak to four games...

SALT LAKE CITY - The Jazz had plenty of chances to crumble and nearly did. They let a 12-point slip away in the last four minutes and faced overtime against league MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Instead of wilting, Utah played its toughest defense...

PONTE VEDRA BEACH - Yesterday at Sawgrass felt tougher on Sergio Garcia than what he faced last summer at the British Open, a playoff loss that seemed to define a career filled with more talent than trophies. He was tormented by a suspect putter. He...

The Red Sox got an unexpected power surge from the bottom of their lineup to help Daisuke Matsuzaka remain undefeated with a 5-2 victory over the Twins last night in Minneapolis. Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie hit back-to-back homers to lead off the...

CARSON, Calif. - Juan Pablo Angel scored in the 78th minute to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy last night. Danleigh Borman added his first goal for the Red Bulls (3-1-2), who extended their unbeaten steak to four games...

DETROIT - Darren Helm and Henrik Zetterberg scored first-period goals to help make up for the loss of Johan Franzen and Detroit held on for a 2-1 win last night over the Stars and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. The game ended in ugly...

Suddenly sizzling Hondo surged to his fourth straight triumph last night when Baltimore chopped the Royals down to size to push him back into the wonderful world of triple-figure profits. Today, with 130 howsers in the account, Mr. Aitch is hoping...

DETROIT - Johan Franzen, Brian Rafalski and Tomas Holmstrom scored power-play goals for the Red Wings, who built a big lead in the second period and coasted to a 4-1 win over the Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals last night. After...

Josh Beckett got eight strikeouts, including the 1,000th of his career and Kevin Youkilis hit another home run at spacious Comerica Park to lead the Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Tigers last night in Detroit. Beckett (4-2) gave up six hits and a...

Kevin Youkilis had four RBIs and Jon Lester pitched six innings to lift the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay yesterday, spoiling the return of Rays ace Scott Kazmir. After being swept for the first time in franchise history by Tampa Bay last...

David West scored a career playoff-high 30 points to lead the Hornets to a 101-82 victory over the Spurs in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series last night in New Orleans. Chris Paul added 17 points and 13 assists for New Orleans, which...

ON March 12, 1958, the last game of the regular season between the Cincinnati Royals and the Minneapolis Lakers, Maurice Stokes went over the shoulder of an opponent and hit his head so hard on the floor he got knocked out. Who knew the right thing...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ­- From the day they ran the first horse race 300 years ago or so in England till they sprung the latch on the Kentucky Derby last night, thoroughbred racing has operated on one unwavering principle: class will out. Seldom has that...

No team comes into a season thinking they are going to finish last. Yet every year, in every sport, there is a team predicted to be the worst of the bunch, the runt of the litter.This year in the National Lacrosse League, that team was the New York...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It poured on Churchill Downs yesterday, turning the track to a sea of slop. The sandy surface dries out quickly, and there is just a 20 percent chance of rain today. A line of storms was expected to hit last night. Overnight rain...

The Giants yesterday signed six rookie free agents and released two players from their roster, defensive back Andrew Shanle and tight end Marcus Freeman. Both ended last season on the practice squad. The new players include four offensive linemen...

Alex Rodriguez admitted it was a mistake trying to play last weekend in Cleveland with a right quadriceps injury. His penalty for that miscalculation is 15 days on the disabled list starting last night. "The curse of being a good healer is...

In Cleveland, Caron Butler made a layup with 3.9 seconds left and the Wizards held their breath as LeBron James (34 points, 24 in the second half) missed a potential series-ending layup at the horn, giving Washington an 88-87 victory last night in...

Duaner Sanchez cleared another comeback hurdle last night, pitching through trouble in the eighth inning. But after the 5-4, 11-inning Mets win over Pittsburgh, the reliever pointed the finger at himself for allowing a run and giving the Pirates a...

THERE is a panic button and an ur gent button in baseball life. The Mets need to press the urgent button. After letting so many chances slip through their fingers the last two years, they must learn the game needs to be played with a sense of...

NBA: Hornets KO Mavs Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Mavericks in New Orleans last night to win their first-round series in five games. * Tony Parker scored 31 points, Tim...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Soccer star Ronaldo was questioned by police early yesterday after a run-in with Brazilian transvestites in a Rio de Janeiro motel. Ronaldo accused one of the transvestites of trying to extort him, police said last night. The...

CLEVELAND - How much longer can the Yankees keep winning while stud players vanish from the lineup? The Yankees hung a 5-2 loss on the Indians last night at Progressive Field in front of 20,689, but lost Alex Rodriguez thanks to a right quad muscle...

In With A Shot! Liverpool v Besiktas Man Utd v Dynamo Kiev Money-Back Special If the last goal in either of the above games i...