KWBG Sports for July 20th

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Texas Rangers own the biggest

divisional lead in baseball. The Rangers beat Anaheim 7-0 for their

12th straight victory, moving them five games up on the Angels in

the American League West.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - James McDonald and three relievers combined on

a six-hitter to help the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the Cincinnati

Reds for the second straight night, 1-0. The victory keeps the

surprising Pirates atop the NL Central as the Bucs improved to 7-1

against the Reds this season.

HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Astros traded second baseman Jeff

Keppinger to the San Francisco Giants for two Double-A pitchers

yesterday. Keppinger is batting .307 with four homers and 20 RBIs

in 43 games this season since his return from foot surgery and is

getting a chance to play for a team in the playoff hunt.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - All-Star center Steven Stamkos signed a

five-year, $37.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on

Tuesday, two months after helping the team make a surprising run to

the Eastern Conference finals. Stamkos, the No. 1 overall pick in

the 2008 draft, had 45 goals and 91 points last season.

NEW YORK (AP) - Staff members from the NBA and players'

association will meet Friday in the first session related to

collective bargaining since the lockout began July 1. Neither NBA

Commissioner David Stern nor players association chief Billy Hunter

plan to attend.

KWBG Sports for July 19th

BALTIMORE (AP) - After managing just five hits in their 1-0,

16-inning win over Tampa Bay Sunday night, the Boston Red Sox

erupted with 16 hits in their 15-10 rout of Baltimore last night.

Dustin Pedroia doubled in two runs to spark an eight-run eighth

inning as the Red Sox beat Baltimore for the seventh straight time.

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 6-1 Monday on

a night when Phillies ace Roy Halladay left the game because of the

91-degree heat on a steamy night at Wrigley Field. Halladay doubled

over and was visited by a trainer in the top of the fifth in his

first action since throwing two shutout innings in last week's

All-Star game.

UNDATED (AP) - The NFL told club executives they could be

schooled in the ins and outs of the new labor contract as early as

Thursday, and the players' association summoned its leadership for

a potential vote - the strongest signs yet the lockout might be

nearing an end. Lawyers for both sides met 8 1/2 hours yesterday in

New York, and talks were scheduled to continue today.

NEW YORK (AP) - Clay Hensley came off the disabled list to win

his first major league start in three years, leading the resurgent

Florida Marlins past the New York Mets 4-1. Florida improved to

15-9 under 80-year-old manager Jack McKeon, who took over after

Edwin Rodriguez abruptly resigned late in the team's 1-19 June

swoon.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Lou Marson hit a tiebreaking solo homer in

the seventh inning and the Cleveland Indians completed a

doubleheader sweep with a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins to

take the first two of an important four-game series between the AL

Central foes at sweltering Target Field. Asdrubal Cabrera

(ahs-DROO'-buhl kah-BREHR'-uh) hit a three-run homer to lift the

Indians to a 5-2 win in the first half of the twinbill and added an

RBI single in the nightcap.

KWBG Sports for July 18th

SANDWICH, England (AP) - Darren Clarke has won the British Open

to give Northern Ireland its third victory in golf's last six

majors. Clarke closed with an even-par 70 for a 5-under total,

three shots ahead of Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

The 42-year-old Clarke is the oldest major champion since Vijay

Singh (VEE'-jay sing) at the 2004 PGA Championship.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The U.S. women's soccer team settled

for runner-up status at World Cup by falling to Japan 3-1 on

penalty kicks yesterday in Frankfurt Germany. The Americans had

taken the lead in the 104th minute off a header by Abby Wambach off

a feed from Alex Morgan, who scored the first goal of the game in

the 69th minute. But Japan came back from a pair of one-goal

deficits to become the first Asian nation to win the tournament.

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) - Newman-Haas Racing finished one-two at New

Hampshire Motor Speedway yesterday as Ryan Newman held off teammate

and owner Tony Stewart. Newman started from the pole before

claiming his first win of the season. Danny Hamlin finished third,

followed by Joey Logano and Johnnie Johnson.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - The Boston Red Sox are closer to

full strength. Left fielder Carl Crawford will return to the lineup

today after being placed on the disabled list on June 18 with a

strained left hamstring. And Bosox manager Terry Francona says Jon

Lester could rejoin the rotation in about a week after landing on

the DL with a strained back muscle.

UNDATED (AP) - NFL labor negotiations will resume today in New

York instead of Minneapolis, according to a person who spoke to The

AP on condition of anonymity because the discussions are supposed

to remain confidential. The owners and players made significant

progress last week, but potential sticking points remain, including

re-establishing the union and figuring out what it will take for

nine NFL players to settle their antitrust suit against the league.

KWBG Sports for July 15th

SANDWICH, England (AP) - Round two of the British Open is being

played today at Royal St. George's, where 20-year-old amateur Tom

Lewis of England grabbed a share of the lead with a 5-under-par 65

in Thursday's opening round. He matched Denmark's Thomas Bjorn

(Byron), an alternate who got into the field Monday, after Vijay

Singh withdrew.

NEW YORK (AP) - Four people familiar with the negotiations tell

The Associated Press that the two sides in the NFL labor

negotiations are making significant progress on rookie contracts.

That issue has been a major stumbling block in the latest round of

labor talks. The league's owners and players are expected to meet

again Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Two weeks after they filed a complaint over

their lack of involvement in the labor talks between the NFL and

players, a group of retired football players sent the league a

letter asking to be a part of the negotiations. The players refer

to a letter they received from Panthers owner Jerry Richardson and

Packers CEO Mark Murphy that said improving benefits and retirement

plans were a "top priority."

ATLANTA (AP) - The Yellow Jackets have been stung by the NCAA.

Georgia Tech has received four years of probation, a $100,000 fine

and has been stripped of its ACC title game victory from the 2009

football season for violations that also included problems in the

men's basketball program.

TORONTO (AP) - Major league home run leader Jose Bautista of the

Toronto Blue Jays twisted his right ankle during Thursday night's

game and is listed as day to day. Bautista is sitting on 31 home

runs after hitting a major league-high 54 homers last season.

KWBG Sports for July 14th

SANDWICH, England (AP) - The third major of the year in men's

golf is the British Open and the annual event is taking place this

year in Sandwich, England. The winner a year ago was Louis

Oosthuizen (WUHST'-hy-zehn). The forecast calls for a 60 per cent

chance of rain with wind gusting between 25 and 30 miles per hour.

MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP) - American soccer fans are still

celebrating Wednesday's big win by the U.S. in the Women's World

Cup. The American squad defeated France 3-1 to advance to the

championship match, while Japan qualified for the final with a 3-1

win over Sweden. The title match will be played Sunday.

UNDATED (AP) - It's back to business in Major League Baseball

Thursday night. Four games are on the agenda in the American League

while three are slated for the National circuit.

WASHINGTON (AP) - At the Roger Clemens perjury trial in

Washington, D.C. on Wednesday prosecutors introduced evidence they

say shows that Clemens used performance enhancing drugs. The

defense teams calls the evidence bogus.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Texas-Arlington is expected to become

the next member of the Western Athletic Conference. A vote by the

board of the regents for the University of Texas system is

scheduled for Thursday. The school has announced plans for an

afternoon news conference on campus featuring WAC commissioner Karl

Benson.

KWBG Sports for July 13th

PHOENIX (AP) - The National League won the All-Star game for the

second straight year by downing the American League 5-1 in Phoenix

last night. The AL led until game MVP Prince Fielder launched a

three-run homer in the fourth inning. The NL combined to allow just

six hits and improved to 42-38-2 in the series.

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Mets have shipped closer Francisco

Rodriguez and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers for two players to be

named. Rodriguez is the single-season record-holder with 62 saves,

doing it with the 2008 Angels. He's 2-2 with 23 saves and a 3.16

ERA this year.

PHOENIX (AP) - Major league teams are reviewing stadium safety

following the death of a fan at a Texas Rangers game last week,

according to baseball commissioner Bud Selig (SEE'-lihg). A

39-year-old Texas firefighter plunged to his death during Thursday

night's game while trying to catch a ball thrown to the stands by a

Rangers player.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Kurt Rambis has been fired as head coach of

the Minnesota Timberwolves with two years remaining on his

four-year contract. The Wolves went 32-132 under Rambis, including

an NBA-worst 17-65 last season.

TIANJIN, China (AP) - Kevin Durant isn't ruling out playing

basketball abroad next season if the NBA lockout isn't resolved.

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward said during a promotional tour in

China that he thinks more players will follow Deron Williams'

example and play overseas if the NBA season is disrupted. Williams

has said he will play in Turkey if the lockout remains.

KWBG Sports for July 12th

PHOENIX (AP) - Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH') has become the third New

York Yankee to win the Home Run Derby, doing it with a

record-setting performance in the final to beat Boston's Adrian

Gonzalez 12-11. Cano finished with 32 total homers and had four

outs to spare when he took the title. Milwaukee's Prince Fielder

and David Ortiz of the Red Sox were the other semifinalists.

PHOENIX (AP) - The National League hasn't won back-to-back

All-Star games since 1995 and '86, but it has a chance tonight

against the American League in Phoenix. The American League went

12-0-1 from 1997 until the National League took last year's game

3-1 at Anaheim. The senior circuit leads the series 41-38-2.

PHOENIX (AP) - Roy Halladay will become the fourth hurler to

start All-Star games for both leagues when he tosses the first

pitch for the National League tonight in Phoenix. Halladay is 11-3

with a 2.45 ERA for the Philadelphia Phillies this season. Jered

Weaver starts for the American League after going 11-4 with a major

league-best 1.86 earned run average for the Los Angeles Angels.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - So Yeon Ryu (soh yahn yoo) beat

fellow South Korean Hee Kyung Seo (soh) by three strokes in a

three-hole playoff to claim the U.S. Women's Open title. Ryu carded

three straight 2-under-par 69s to get to 3-under through

regulation. American Cristie Kerr was the only player under par,

finishing at minus-1.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Former All-Pro linebacker Mike Vrabel

(VRAY'-bul) is retiring from the Kansas City Chiefs and returning

to his alma mater as an Ohio State assistant coach. Vrabel

confirmed Monday morning the end of his 14-year career and that he

had taken the job as linebackers coach with the Buckeyes. The

position was previously held by his college roommate and teammate,

Luke Fickell (FIHK'-uhl), who was elevated to interim head coach

when Jim Tressel resigned May 30.