WPPA/T102 SPORTS Saturday October 21, 2006

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK EIGHT

Daniel Boone 48 Nativity 39 Minersville 35
Pottsville 26 Bishop Hafey 0 Tri Valley 21

Jim Thorpe 31 North Schuylkill 21 Shenandoah Valley 20
Schuylkill Haven 6 Mahanoy Area 14 Marian Catholic 7

Millersburg 34 Line Mountain 49 Juniata 67
Pine Grove 20 Williams Valley 0 Upper Dauphin 6

Shikellamy 8 Selinsgrove 35 Hamburg 26
Mount Carmel 0 Shamokin 7 Kutztown 7

TODAY

Conrad Weiser at Blue Mountain 7 p.m.
East Juniata at Lourdes 7 p.m.
Panther Valley at Tamaqua 7 p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - Mike Tyson's return to boxing felt like a circus. The former heavyweight champion opened his "World Tour" on Friday night with a ho-hum performance in a four-round exhibition against Corey "T-Rex" Sanders. He's a former sparring partner who outweighed Tyson by 50 pounds. Tyson was gasping for air during each of the two and a-half-minute rounds. He decked Sanders early in the first round and then had to hold up his opponent moments later after staggering him with a flurry of punches. Tyson called the exhibition "fun" but says he underestimated how tough it would be.

DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Tigers will have had exactly one week's rest before taking the field for the Motor City's first home World Series game in 22 years. The Tigers open the best-of-seven Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals, whose pitching staff was stretched to the limit in a seven-game series against the New York Mets. The Tigers have been idle since wrapping up an A-L-C-S sweep of Oakland last Saturday. This is the third time Detroit and St. Louis have hooked up for all the marbles. They split a pair of seven-game classics. St. Louis won in 1934 with Dizzy Dean and the Gashouse Gang. The Tigers turned the tables in '68, roaring from a 3-to-1 deficit to win the final three games as Mickey Lolich outdueled Bob Gibson in the finale.

DETROIT (AP) - Detroit manager Jim Leyland (LEE'-luhnd) will send rookie right-hander Justin Verlander to the mound in tonight's World Series opener against Anthony Reyes (RAY'-uhs) for St. Louis. Verlander was 17-and-9 during the season. Reyes is setting a major league record for fewest wins by a World Series Game One starter. He was 5-and-8 during the season. Another Detroit 17-game winner, Kenny Rogers, is set up to pitch two games at home. The veteran left-hander gets the ball Sunday for Game Two and would return for a Game Six if it becomes necessary. Rogers goes against Jeff Weaver, who was 5-and-4 for Tony LaRussa's club this season. Nate Robertson will be Detroit's Game Three starter, followed by Jeremy Bonderman in Game Four. La Russa has not announced his starters for Games Three and Four, though it's likely Chris Carpenter and Jeff Suppan (SOO'-pahn) will get the nods.

UNDATED (AP) - Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire is reaping the rewards of leading the Twins to the American League Central title. He's agreed to a two-year extension that will keep him under contract through 2009.

Elsewhere in baseball:
-- The Boston Red Sox have found a replacement for hitting coach Ron Jackson, whose contract was not renewed after the club finished with the third-lowest team batting average in the American League. Former big leaguer Dave Magadan has accepted the position. He was fired as San Diego's batting instructor in mid-June when the Padres team batting average dropped to a National League-worst .252.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The San Francisco Chronicle has agreed to be held in contempt of court in the Barry Bonds grand jury leak case regarding steroid use. The newspaper might have to pay perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for refusing to assist a federal grand jury investigating who leaked the secret testimony of Bonds and other athletes, according to a court filing. Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada could be jailed for as much as 18 months or until they agree to divulge the source or sources of the leak. The agreement is largely procedural, allowing the case to move before the appeals court.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Even though the Philadelphia Eagles have allowed more yards passing than usual, quarterbacks shouldn't salivate at the thought of facing a once-vaunted secondary. The Eagles are 26th against the pass, allowing an average of 237-point-seven yards through the air per game. They've also given up eight touchdowns and strong safety Michael Lewis has struggled to the point he was benched in the fourth quarter last Sunday. But defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is confident a unit that includes five-time Pro Bowl free safety Brian Dawkins, former Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard and fellow cornerback Sheldon Brown is still a formidable group. Lewis bit on a fake and gave up Joe Horn's tying 48-yard T-D catch in a 27-to-24 loss to the Saints last week. Lewis was replaced by second-year pro Sean Considine and both are expected to play against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

UNDATED (AP) - Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders and wide receiver Brandon Stokley will not play Sunday against the Washington Redskins. Sanders has missed the last three games after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, while Stokley continues to rehab a sprained left knee that he injured in the Colts' October Eighth game against Tennessee.

Elsewhere around the league:
- Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich missed practice with a sore left ankle and has been added to the club's injury report and listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Houston. Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio says Leftwich will have an M-R-I.
- Cincinnati activated running back Chris Perry. He sat out the first five games of the season with ankle and knee injuries. Perry often is used in passing situations and could play an important role Sunday against Carolina since three Bengals receivers are sidelined by injury or suspension.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Illinois would like to spoil Penn State's homecoming weekend, just like how the Nittany Lions did to the Illini last season. That game was over by halftime, when Penn State led by 53 points on the way to a 63-to-10 rout, so linebacker Dan Connor thinks Illinois wouldn't mind ruining the fun tomorrow in Happy Valley. Recent history gives Penn State the edge: the Nittany Lions are 8-and-1 against Illinois since joining the conference in 1993, the lone loss coming in 2001 at Illinois. Lately this season, the Illini have had trouble hanging on to leads, having lost their last two contests.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Pat White ran for 102 yards and a touchdown and threw a scoring pass to help fourth-ranked West Virginia win its 14th straight game, 37-to-11 over Connecticut. Steve Slaton added 128 yards rushing for the 7-and-0 Mountaineers in the only Top-25 college game last night. White ran 15 times. He was 9-of-14 for 156 yards passing, with one interception. Slaton iced it with a 56-yard T-D run with five-26 left. Pat McAfee added three field goals, including a career-long 48-yarder. U-Conn fell to 3-and-4. With the win, the men from Morgantown at the moment are tied for the longest Division One-A winning streak. But that could change soon. Top-ranked Ohio State brings a 14-game winning streak into its game against visiting Indiana this afternoon.

DETROIT (AP) - Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler (SHEM'-bek-lur) is in a Michigan hospital's cardiac-care unit for observation after he felt ill at the taping of a weekly television show. A hospital spokesman says Bo is in good condition. Schembechler was an intense disciplinarian in his coaching days, which ended in 1989. He had a heart attack on the eve of his first Rose Bowl, in 1970, and another heart attack in 1987. He has undergone two quadruple heart bypass operations.

Olli Jokinen (OH'-lee YOH'-kuh-nehn) scored the game-winning goal late in the second period and the Florida Panthers beat Philadelphia, 3-to-2. That's the Flyers' fifth straight loss. Florida has started the season 4-and-0 at home for the first time since the 1995 season when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) - Kurt Busch has won the pole for Sunday's Nextel Cup Subway 500. It's his sixth pole of the season. His speed of 97-point-568 miles per hour on the half-mile oval pushed Jeff Gordon to the outside of the front row. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart round out the top five. Chase for the championship leader Jeff Burton qualified 27th, last among the ten drivers who still have a chance to win the title.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Toronto 4 Florida 3 Buffalo 5
Columbus 2 Philadelphia 2 Carolina 4

Vancouver 3 Dallas 5 Anaheim 2
St. Louis 2 OT Chicago 4 Minnesota 1

TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

( 4) West Virginia 37 Connecticut 11