WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Friday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Phillies open a series
against the Mets in New York tonight. Roy Halladay is slated to
pitch the series opener. The Phillies are fighting to keep their
lead in the NL East, with the Braves looming just a game behind.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Phillies third baseman
Placido Polanco says he is playing with a small break in his left
elbow, but won't surgery until after the season because
Philadelphia is in a pennant race. Polanco is batting .308 with six
homers and 47 RBIs for the NL East-leading Phillies.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Phillies have claimed right-hander Cesar
Carrillo off waivers from San Diego and designated left-hander Nate
Robertson for assignment. The NL East leaders also placed
right-hander Scott Mathieson on the 15-day disabled list with a
back strain on Thursday. He appeared in two games this season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - After a day off, the Pittsburgh Pirates hit
the road to face the Cincinnati Reds tonight. The Pirates took two
out of three from the Braves at the beginning of this week. They'll
be swapping one contender for another as they open their series
against the Reds. The NL Central leaders will be trying to put away
the second-place Cardinals with a strong showing against the Bucs.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Hines Ward believes Dennis Dixon must run.
Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians warns he'd better not
run too much. Coach Mike Tomlin wants Dixon to take advantage of
his ability to move the ball by himself, but to do so smartly.
Dixon is filling in for Ben Rotethlisberger, who's serving a four
game suspension.

PHILADEPHIA (AP) - Brandon McManus hit a 30-yard field goal in
overtime to give Temple a 13-10 victory over Central Michigan last
night in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. McManus
won it for the Owls after Kee-ayre Griffin intercepted Ryan
Radcliffe's pass to end Central Michigan's lone overtime
possession.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - It's a tale of two quarterbacks when
Number 18 Penn State visits top-ranked Alabama tomorrow. True
freshman Rob Bolden will make his second start for the Nittany
Lions after a promising 239-yard, two-touchdown debut last week at
home against Youngstown State. Meanwhile, Alabama has a savvy
senior at quarterback in Greg McElroy, who is 15-0 as a starter.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The Penn State women's volleyball
team's record 108-match winning streak will be tested this weekend.
The Nittany Lions travel to the University of Florida to play an
early-season tournament that also includes powerhouses Florida,
Stanford and Texas. The Nittany Lions haven't lost in nearly three
years.


AMERICAN LEAGUE
Thursday's Games
Detroit 6, Chicago White Sox 3
Texas 4, Toronto 2
Friday's Games
Baltimore (Millwood 3-15) at Detroit (Galarraga 4-5), 7:05 p.m.
Minnesota (Pavano 16-10) at Cleveland (Carmona 11-14), 7:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (J.Shields 13-12) at Toronto (Cecil 12-7), 7:07 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Vazquez 10-9) at Texas (C.Wilson 14-6), 8:05 p.m.
Kansas City (Chen 9-7) at Chicago White Sox (Buehrle 12-10),
8:10 p.m.
Boston (C.Buchholz 15-6) at Oakland (Cahill 15-6), 10:05 p.m.
Seattle (Pauley 2-7) at L.A. Angels (Jer.Weaver 11-11), 10:05
p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Thursday's Games
Colorado 6, Cincinnati 5
St. Louis 11, Atlanta 4
Houston 3, L.A. Dodgers 2
San Francisco 7, San Diego 3
Friday's Games
Florida (Sanabia 3-2) at Washington (Lannan 7-6), 7:05 p.m.
Philadelphia (Halladay 17-10) at N.Y. Mets (Mejia 0-3), 7:10
p.m.
Pittsburgh (Maholm 7-14) at Cincinnati (H.Bailey 3-3), 7:10 p.m.
St. Louis (C.Carpenter 15-5) at Atlanta (Minor 3-0), 7:35 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Kuroda 10-12) at Houston (Happ 6-2), 8:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Zambrano 7-6) at Milwaukee (Bush 7-11), 8:10 p.m.
Arizona (J.Saunders 2-4) at Colorado (De La Rosa 6-4), 9:10 p.m.
San Francisco (J.Sanchez 10-8) at San Diego (Richard 12-6),
10:05 p.m.
NFL
Thursday's Game
New Orleans 14, Minnesota 9
Sunday's Games
Detroit at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Oakland at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Miami at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Denver at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m.
Carolina at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at New England, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Arizona at St. Louis, 4:15 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle, 4:15 p.m.
Green Bay at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m.
Dallas at Washington, 8:20 p.m.
Monday's Game
Baltimore at N.Y. Jets, 7 p.m.
San Diego at Kansas City, 10:15 p.m.

Top 25 College Football
Thursday's Game
No. 21 Auburn 17 Mississippi State 14
Friday's Game
No. 23 West Virginia at Marshall, 7 p.m.
Saturday's Games
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 18 Penn State, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Miami, 3:40 p.m.
No. 4 TCU vs. Tennessee Tech, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Nebraska vs. Idaho, 12:30 p.m.
No. 7 Oregon at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Florida vs. South Florida, 12:20 p.m.
No. 9 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. San Jose State, Noon
No. 13 Virginia Tech vs. James Madison, 1:30 p.m.
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Louisiana-Monroe at Little Rock, Ark., 7
p.m.
No. 15 Georgia Tech at Kansas, Noon
No. 16 Southern Cal vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m.
No. 19 LSU at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Utah vs. UNLV, 4 p.m.
No. 22 Georgia at No. 24 South Carolina, Noon
No. 25 Stanford at UCLA, 10:30 p.m.

WNBA
CONFERENCE FINALS
Eastern Conference
Atlanta 2, New York 0
Sunday, Sept. 5: Atlanta 81, New York 75
Tuesday, Sept. 7: Atlanta 105, New York 93
Western Conference
Seattle 2, Phoenix 0
Thursday, Sept. 2: Seattle 82, Phoenix 74
Sunday, Sept. 5: Seattle 91, Phoenix 88
FINALS
Seattle vs. Atlanta
Sunday, Sept. 12: Atlanta at Seattle, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 14: Atlanta at Seattle, 9 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 16: Seattle at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
x-Sunday, Sept. 19: Seattle at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
x-Tuesday, Sept. 21: Atlanta at Seattle, 9 p.m.

MLS
Thursday's Games
Seattle FC 0, Real Salt Lake 0, tie
Friday's Games
New England at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday's Games
D.C. United at Toronto FC, 4 p.m.
Colorado at New York, 4 p.m.
Chicago at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
FC Dallas at San Jose, 10 p.m.
Columbus at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.