WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Phillies continue to
dominate, beating the Washington Nationals 6-1 last night. Joe
Blanton tossed six scoreless innings and Jayson Werth hit a grand
slam for the Phillies. The NL East-leading Phillies reduced their
magic number for clinching the division title to 11. They play the
Nationals again tonight.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Matt Kemp hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in
the sixth inning, Ronnie Belliard added a solo shot and the Los
Angeles Dodgers beat the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1
yesterday to complete a three-game sweep. The Dodgers' win left
them 29 games above .500. The Pirates are off today before starting
a series with San Diego tomorrow.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb did not
practice yesterday because of his cracked rib. Coach Andy Reid says
McNabb is making progress. He also says it is still too early to
determine if McNabb will start Sunday's game against New Orleans.
Reid again made clear that Kevin Kolb will start against the Saints
if McNabb can't play.

DETROIT (AP) - In the preseason hockey opener for the
Philadelphia Flyers, Kris Draper, Jamie Tardif and Jeremy Williams
scored to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-1 win over Philadelphia
last night. James Van Riemsdyk scored for Philadelphia and Flyers'
goalie Ray Emery made 23 saves in two periods. Brian Boucher
stopped eight shots.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A judge has denied a motion to move the
civil sexual assault case against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger and Lake Tahoe casino employees from Reno to
Douglas County. A District Judge yesterday ruled that Reno was a
proper venue.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Minnesota 7, Cleveland 3
Detroit 4, Kansas City 3
Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 2
N.Y. Yankees 5, Toronto 4
Boston 9, L.A. Angels 8
Oakland 4, Texas 0
Seattle 4, Chicago White Sox 1
Thursday's Games
Kansas City (Greinke 13-8) at Detroit (E.Jackson 12-6), 1:05
p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Danks 12-9) at Seattle (Morrow 1-4), 6:40
p.m.
Tampa Bay (W.Davis 0-1) at Baltimore (Hendrickson 5-4), 7:05
p.m.
L.A. Angels (E.Santana 7-8) at Boston (Beckett 15-6), 7:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Masterson 4-7) at Oakland (Mortensen 1-2), 10:05
p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Florida 5, St. Louis 2
L.A. Dodgers 3, Pittsburgh 1
San Diego 6, Arizona 5, 10 innings
Philadelphia 6, Washington 1
Cincinnati 6, Houston 5
Atlanta 6, N.Y. Mets 5
Milwaukee 9, Chicago Cubs 5
Colorado 4, San Francisco 3
Thursday's Games
Milwaukee (Bush 4-7) at Chicago Cubs (R.Wells 10-8), 2:20 p.m.
Washington (Detwiler 0-5) at Philadelphia (Hamels 9-9), 7:05
p.m.
Florida (A.Sanchez 2-6) at Cincinnati (Maloney 0-4), 7:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Figueroa 2-5) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 11-10), 7:10 p.m.

NHL PRESEASON
Wednesday's Games
Boston 3, Toronto 2
New Jersey 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SO
Florida 2, Ottawa 1
Detroit 3, Philadelphia 1
Dallas 4, Tampa Bay 3, SO
Edmonton 3, N.Y. Islanders 2
Anaheim 3, Phoenix 2, SO
Thursday's Games
Washington at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia vs. Toronto at London, Ontario, 7 p.m.
Florida at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Colorado, 9 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Vancouver at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Los Angeles vs. San Jose at Ontario, Calif., 10:30 p.m.

WNBA PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-3)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Indiana vs. Washington
Thursday, Sept. 17: Indiana at Washington, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19: Washington at Indiana, 7 p.m.
x-Monday, Sept. 21: Washington at Indiana, 8 p.m.
Atlanta vs. Detroit
Detroit 94, Atlanta 89, Detroit leads series 1-0
Friday, Sept. 18: Detroit at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
x-Sunday, Sept. 20: Detroit at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Phoenix vs. San Antonio
Thursday, Sept. 17: Phoenix at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19: San Antonio at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
x-Monday, Sept. 21: San Antonio at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
Seattle vs. Los Angeles
Los Angeles 70, Seattle 63, Los Angeles leads series 1-0
Friday, Sept. 18: Los Angeles at Seattle, 10 p.m.
x-Sunday, Sept. 20: Los Angeles at Seattle, 5 p.m.