Sports - Page 26

When Chris Simms said he welcomed competition for Tampa Bay's starting quarterback job, he surely didn't envision the Buccaneers getting two accomplished veterans to challenge for his job. The Bucs signed free agent Jeff Garcia on Saturday, then announced they had also obtained the rights to Jake Plummer from Denver to give the team a three-way tussle for the reins to coach Jon Gruden's offense. More Info...  

Jon Brockman couldn't stop complimenting UCLA, from its bevy of talented players, to the Bruins' suffocating defense. On Saturday, the compliments were best left for Brockman and Washington. The Huskies bruising forward scored 20 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and Washington logged its biggest win of the season, a 61-51 upset of the second-ranked Bruins. More Info...  

Linebacker Adalius Thomas, one of the most sought-after free agents, signed Saturday with the New England Patriots, giving the three-time Super Bowl winners a player in the mold of the departed Willie McGinest. The 29-year-old Pro Bowler, one of the keys to the Baltimore's defense last season, can play several positions, including outside linebacker and defensive end -- as McGinest did until he... More Info...  

John Thompson III officially declared himself excited, an occurrence so rare that even Pops had to quiz him about it. Then again, the occasion was one that Hoyas fans hadn't seen in a while. No. 9 Georgetown ended the regular season with the top seed in the Big East tournament following Saturday's 59-46 win over Connecticut. More Info...  

Julian Wright figured Kevin Durant would slow down eventually if Kansas just kept doing what it was doing. Wright had 17 points and 13 rebounds and the third-ranked Jayhawks overcame a 16-point deficit and another electrifying performance from Durant to beat No. 15 Texas 90-86 Saturday, claiming its fifth Big 12 championship. More Info...  

Kyle Visser scored 17 points and hit the clinching free throws with 10 seconds left as Wake Forest spoiled Virginia's chance to wrap up the Atlantic Coast Conference title outright with a 78-72 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday. Visser, playing in his final home game, added 10 rebounds and fellow senior Michael Drum scored 16 points for the Demon Deacons (14-15, 5-11) who snapped a two-game... More Info...  

Roger Federer won the Dubai Open for the fourth time in five years on Saturday, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Federer won his 41st straight match, tying Bjorn Borg for the fourth-longest streak in the Open era and leaving him five short of Guillermo Vilas' 1977 record. Ivan Lendl (44 in 1981-82) and John McEnroe (42 in 1984) also are in front of Federer. More Info...  

A small college in Ohio was thrown into mourning Friday after a bus carrying the baseball team tumbled over the side of a highway overpass and slammed onto the pavement 30 feet below, killing four students, the driver and his wife. The team from the close-knit, Mennonite-affiliated Bluffton University was making its annual spring training trip to Florida before daybreak when the charter bus... More Info...  

Jake Plummer's status with the Denver Broncos was in limbo Friday. The quarterback who lost his starting job during the 2006 season reportedly would rather retire than accept a trade to Tampa Bay, the NFL Network and other media sources reported Friday afternoon. The Broncos and Buccaneers had reportedly worked out an agreement that would send Plummer to the Buccaneers in exchange for a... More Info...  

Barry Bonds lost a fly ball in the sun and struck out swinging at a high pitch well out of the zone. Not the best spring debut for San Francisco's slugger. "Get all the good stuff out of the way early," Bonds said, laughing. He went 0-for-2 with the four-pitch strikeout by Milwaukee prospect Yovani Gallardo, a 21-year-old right-hander who led all minor leaguers with 188 Ks last year, and grounded... More Info...  

Ryan Howard got a raise. He's still one of the biggest bargains in baseball, though. The Philadelphia Phillies renewed the NL MVP's contract Friday, giving the first baseman a $900,000 salary after the sides failed to agree on a long-term deal. The figure matches the highest base salary in a one-year contract for a player not eligible for arbitration. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. There are benefits to having a weekend off, but NASCAR would be better-served to give teams a break later in the season. More Info...  

Amid all the talk about him going No. 1 in the NBA draft, Greg Oden is content being a college student and trying to make his 7-foot, 270-pound frame fit in with the rest of the student body at Ohio State. He's taking history of rock and roll and sociology this quarter. "I'm doing pretty decent," he says, a grin playing at the corners of his mouth. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Devil Rays' future is tied to Delmon Young, their precocious and occasionally hot-tempered right fielder. More Info...  

As expected, the Dallas Cowboys cut Drew Bledsoe on Thursday. Bledsoe, who lost his quarterback job to Tony Romo after six turnover- and sack-plagued starts last season, was one of a number of aging players cut Thursday as teams adjusted their rosters to get more salary cap room for the free agent period that begins Friday. More Info...  

Charlie Wi was playing in the John Deere Classic two years ago when some fans recognized him. That is, they thought they recognized him. "My caddie overheard one of the spectators saying, 'Oh, that's Michelle Wie's dad. He got a sponsor invite, too,"' said Wi, who -- like Wie -- missed the cut at the John Deere in July 2005. More Info...  

Gary Sheffield met with a Major League Baseball executive Thursday to discuss recent comments by the Detroit slugger on whether he would cooperate with former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's investigations into steroids. Sheffield and Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, declined to comment on the meeting, which also included Bob Lenaghan of the players'... More Info...  

The Detroit Lions will trade cornerback Dre' Bly to the Denver Broncos for running back Tatum Bell, offensive tackle George Foster and a fifth-round pick, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the trade can't be finalized until Friday. More Info...  

Portland Trail Blazers president and general manager Steve Patterson abruptly resigned Thursday after owner Paul Allen refused to renew his contract. The move came with the Trail Blazers in next-to-last place at 24-34, a season after they had the worst record in the NBA. Tod Leiweke, chief executive officer of the Seattle Seahawks, will take over while a full-time replacement is found. More Info...  

Shortstop Michael Young has agreed to a contract extension worth about $80 million over five seasons with the Texas Rangers. "We accomplished a great deal over the past four days," Young said after spring training workouts Thursday in Surprise, Ariz. "This puts me here through the 2013 season and represents a great leap of faith on their part." Young didn't discuss the finances of the deal, which... More Info...