Sports - Page 13

Tribune Co. made a stunning pitch to investors on baseball's opening day: The Chicago Cubs will be sold at season's end. The announcement Monday came as the ailing media conglomerate announced its acquisition by billionaire investor Sam Zell. It puts one of sports' most storied and star-crossed franchises on the block, a year shy of the 100th anniversary of its last World Series title. More Info...  

On an emotional opening day, the New York Yankees honored Cory Lidle, welcomed back Bobby Murcer and beat Tampa Bay for a satisfying start. Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez came through with big hits and the Yankees even got a few encouraging innings from Carl Pavano in a 9-5 victory Monday over the baby-faced Devil Rays. More Info...  

Having the New Jersey Devils in first place in the Atlantic Division with a week to go in the regular season got coach Claude Julien fired on Monday. Sound strange? When you work for general manager Lou Lamoriello, it's all about winning Stanley Cups. Feeling that Julien didn't have the team ready to make a Cup run with the playoffs scheduled to start next week, Lamoriello fired him on Monday and... More Info...  

Ben Sheets' stomach was in knots, and the Brewers ace figured members of his family were doing jumping jacks in the grandstands. "Opening day," Sheets said. "I've got a sumo wrestler wrestling in my belly. I was nervous." Then, Jeff Kent's home run wiped away the nerves and emotion, and Sheets got down to the business of delivering one of the most dominant performances by a pitcher in recent... More Info...  

Next time Edgar Renteria squares to bunt against the Philadelphia Phillies, the pitcher might try to hit his bat. After twice failing to execute a sacrifice, Renteria ripped his second homer -- a two-run shot -- in the 10th inning to lead the Atlanta Braves over Philadelphia 5-3 in the season opener Monday. More Info...  

They have money, fans and facilities -- three key ingredients that make any athletic department great. That begins to explain how Florida and Ohio State have come to dominate the year in college sports like no two programs ever have. On Monday, they meet for the men's basketball title. Three months ago, they played for the football championship. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. CLEVELAND – You've got a courtside side – behind the bench, as it turns out – for the Women's Final Four. More Info...  

With LeBron James and Paul Pierce sitting out, Delonte West made two free throws with 1.9 seconds left and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-96 on Sunday night. It was 96-all in the closing seconds when West fell to the ground as he drove to the basket while he was guarded by Anderson Varejao. More Info...  

If Phoenix plays the Dallas Mavericks a few weeks from now in the Western Conference finals, confidence should be no problem for the Suns. Not with the way they handled the Mavericks on Sunday. With Leandro Barbosa leading a parade of big scorers with 29 points, the Suns beat the Mavericks for the second time in 18 days, 126-104. More Info...  

Getting a win didn't lessen the jolt to the Washington Wizards' playoff drive. Gilbert Arenas scored 19 points and Caron Butler added 19 points but fractured his right hand early in the second half of the Wizards' 121-107 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. "That's a blow," Arenas said. "You never want an injury as you're getting ready for the playoffs. More Info...  

No. 1 in the polls to end the season, No. 1 seed in the NCAA South Region, the nation's longest winning streak at 22 games. Gaudy credentials, for sure, but not compelling enough to make Ohio State the favorite in Monday night's national championship game against Florida. A different set of numbers leaped out when the oddsmakers made Florida a 4 1/2 -point favorite: 86-60. More Info...  

Johnson Wagner has proven he can shoot low scores on the PGA Tour. Now, the 27-year-old rookie just has to do it on a Sunday. Wagner took advantage of a rain-softened course and calm conditions to shoot a course-record 8-under 64 on Saturday in the rain-delayed Houston Open. Wagner was 11 under, four strokes behind Bubba Watson. More Info...  

Take Greg Oden away from Ohio State and the Buckeyes still play for the national championship. Take Roy Hibbert away from Georgetown and ... the Buckeyes still play for the national championship. With Hibbert and Oden both hampered by foul trouble, it was Mike Conley Jr. and the rest of the Buckeyes who carried Ohio State to its first national title game since 1962 with a 67-60 victory over... More Info...  

National titles are a little routine for Bode Miller. Yet he keeps winning them. Miller won the super-G Saturday at the U.S. Alpine Championships, tying the men's record with the ninth national title of his career. And he was typically unsentimental, saying he was just slightly better through the most difficult part of what he described as a relatively unchallenging course. More Info...  

With so much on the line and the game slipping away, LeBron James wasn't going to take a back seat. James scored 39 points, including seven in overtime, and Larry Hughes added 21 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to 112-108 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Trailing 108-104 with a minute left in overtime, James drove toward the basket. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Richard Petty has a glorious past at Martinsville, but he's focused on the future. More Info...  

Joe Mauer returned to the Twins' lineup following a leg injury as Minnesota completed spring training by beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 Saturday. Minnesota's catcher had been sidelined since March 22 with a stress reaction in his left leg, a precursor to a stress fracture. He hit a three-run double in the third that scored Jason Bartlett, Luis Castillo and Nick Punto -- which returned from a... More Info...  

Jeff Suppan pitched the game of his life, light-hitting Yadier Molina muscled up for a huge home run and rookie closer Adam Wainwright froze the New York Mets' best hitter. Although the stakes will be considerably lower, memories of the St. Louis Cardinals' Game 7 win in last year's NL championship series will be fresh when the teams play the 2007 major league opener on Sunday night. More Info...  

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez, last season's NL batting champion, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday and will miss at least four games. Sanchez hasn't played in a major league spring game since he sprained his right medial collateral ligament turning a double play March 6. He played in minor league games Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but said his swing still isn't where... More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. CLEARWATER, Fla. – Jimmy Rollins' challenge to the Mets adds to a season, like every other, full of hope. More Info...