Sports - Page 6

Frank Beamer grew up about an hour from Blacksburg, played football for Virginia Tech and has become the very familiar face of the university as the man who built the Hokies into one of the nation's elite football programs. But on Monday, Beamer was like so many others -- glued to the television and watching as the details of mass murder on the campus he loves slowly dribbled out. More Info...  

Jerry West left retirement and the comforts of California to see if he could transform the woeful Memphis Grizzlies. Five years later, the Lakers great decided to stop trying. He said Tuesday he will leave as the Grizzlies' director of basketball operations July 1 at the end of his contract. Injuries, losses, weariness and uncertainty became too much. More Info...  

Surrounded by a pack of reporters in the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room, goalie Johan Holmqvist conceded that he enjoys the attention that comes with being in the NHL playoffs. "This is what you play the whole year for," the 28-year-old native of Sweden said. "When the media comes around, it's a bonus." The way he's playing in his first postseason series, Holmqvist may have to get used to it. More Info...  

The Cardinals look a lot more like September duds than World Series champions. Tom Gorzelanny and Matt Capps combined on a four-hitter and Adam LaRoche hit a three-run homer in a 6-1 victory over St. Louis on Tuesday that gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a two-game sweep. "They're the big dogs in our division, and it's good to get out there and shut them down," Gorzelanny said. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. The 60th anniversary of Robinson's debut stirs up debate about the state of black players in MLB today. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. CHICAGO – Justin Morneau raised his profile with an MVP season, but his success could force the Twins into a difficult decision. More Info...  

With so many postseason failures behind them, so many disappointing swings in momentum and breakdowns in confidence, the Ottawa Senators understand they should never feel comfortable with any Stanley Cup playoffs series lead. The bad memories are too recent and their flops too frequent for them to disregard their past -- even as they take a 2-1 lead into Game 4 of their first-round series against... More Info...  

Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan will miss four to six weeks with an elbow sprain and All-Star third baseman Troy Glaus will be placed on the disabled list Tuesday. Left fielder Reed Johnson also opted for surgery to repair the herniated disk in his lower back. Johnson, who was placed on the disabled list Friday, will have the procedure done Tuesday in St. More Info...  

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were held out of the San Antonio Spurs' game at Memphis on Monday night. Already locked into the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game they would not play against the Grizzlies, the NBA's worst team. The Spurs were coming off a 91-86 loss at Dallas on Sunday. More Info...  

Tom Renney flashed a big smile and laughed when asked how this year's playoff experience compares to last season. "Well the fact that we're going into Game 3 with a couple of wins is probably all you need to know," he said. The New York Rangers coach looked relaxed in a sweater and jeans following practice Monday. More Info...  

University of Texas regents approved a $200,000 raise for Rick Barnes on Monday, boosting his salary to $2 million per year. Barnes has led the Longhorns to the NCAA tournament in each of his nine seasons, including a trip to the Final Four in 2003. "This is a good thing for Rick and a good thing for the University of Texas," athletic director DeLoss Dodds said. More Info...  

Josh Beckett woke up at early Monday only to learn that his start for Boston would be delayed at least two hours by rain. The Los Angeles Angels still haven't gotten their bats going. Beckett pitched his third straight strong game and the Red Sox won 7-2, completing an abbreviated three-game series in which it outscored the Angels 25-3. More Info...  

The runners were soaked, the pavement slippery, and Robert Cheruiyot knew exactly where trouble was waiting along the Boston Marathon route. So 48 hours before the start of Monday's race, after his more traditional training was complete, the defending champion headed to the course to test the traction of the finish line. More Info...  

Caron Butler is not ready to write off the season. The Washington Wizards' All-Star forward said Monday he hopes to have the cast removed from his broken right hand in a week and thinks he could play if the team reached the second round of the playoffs. His recovery time was supposed to be six weeks after he broke a bone in his hand two weeks ago. More Info...  

Keith Olbermann will return to sports for the first time in six years to join Cris Collinsworth as co-host of the pregame show for NBC's Sunday night NFL telecasts. Olbermann, who currently hosts a prime-time newscast and opinion show called "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on MSNBC, will join with host Bob Costas and analysts Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King on NBC's "Football Night in... More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. FORT WORTH, Texas – Jeff Burton gave an unexpected finish to the fans who remained at Texas Motor Speedway. More Info...  

One day after allowing a victory to slip away on their home ice, the Ottawa Senators knew doing so again in Pittsburgh might cost them the series. It didn't happen. Daniel Alfredsson scored twice during a second dominating Ottawa second period in as many days. The Senators made this lead stand, taking Pittsburgh's stars and its crowd out of the game for a 4-2 victory Sunday in Game 3 of their... More Info...  

Chris Bosh scored 23 points and the Toronto Raptors earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 107-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham each added 19 points for the Raptors, who won their season-high sixth straight game and will be the third seed in the Eastern Conference. More Info...  

Even though he has a knack for game-winning hits, Marco Scutaro thought he had no chance. Not against Mariano Rivera. Not with an .050 batting average this year. Then, with one stunning swing against one of baseball's best closers, Scutaro gave the Oakland Athletics their first series victory of the season. More Info...  

Now that Rick DiPietro has returned to the ice, the biggest question surrounding the New York Islanders is why captain Alexei Yashin saw so little of it. Fresh off a split of the opening two games in Buffalo of the first-round playoff series against the Sabres, the underdog Islanders returned to their home practice rink Sunday and tried to figure out how to take control of the best-of-seven... More Info...