WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Roy Oswalt pitched one-hit ball into the
seventh and the Phillies used leadoff homers by Jimmy Rollins and
Shane Victorino in the first two innings to beat the Los Angeles
Dodgers 5-1 yesterday. The Dodgers didn't put up much of a struggle
against Oswalt, who has been a valuable pennant-drive pickup for
Philadelphia.

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago's Kosuke Fukudome had three hits,
including a go-ahead double, during a perfect day at the plate and
the Cubs beat the Pirates 5-3. James McDonald took the loss for the
Bucs. Carlos Marmol escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning
and finished for his 25th save in 30 chances.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers will get one last
brief glimpse of Ben Roethlisberger playing quarterback tonight
before he begins his NFL-mandated suspension. While the starters
usually play only a couple of series in the final exhibition game,
Roethlisberger is lobbying to take snaps in the no-huddle offense
against Carolina.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The NFL players' union is looking into whether
trades made by four teams this week are attempts to avoid paying
money into a rookie pool. In a pair of trades on Monday, Washington
sent Dennis Morris to St. Louis for a conditional pick and the Rams
sent Hall Davis to the Redskins for a conditional pick. On the same
day, Philadelphia traded Charles Scott to Arizona for Jorrick
Calvin.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Big time college football returns tonight
with the Pittsburgh Panthers' visit to Utah. The 15th-ranked
Panthers and Utes play each other in the season opener in just the
second ever football game between the two schools. The first was a
35-7 victory for Utah in the Fiesta Bowl, capping a perfect 2004
season.

CHICAGO (AP) - The divisional split for the Big Ten has been
announced. Penn State will join Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Purdue and Indiana in one division. Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa,
Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern will make up the other.
In addition the Nittany Lions will play an annual crossover matchup
with Nebraska.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Coach Joe Paterno has tabbed freshman
Robert Bolden as the starting quarterback for Number 19 Penn State.
Bolden beat out two sophomores, Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin to
start Saturday's opener against Youngstown State. It will be the
first time a true freshman opened the season as the starting
quarterback for Penn State.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State will have a new look at
linebackers this season. The 19th-ranked Nittany Lions lost stars
Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman, as well as solid middle linebacker
Josh Hull. But coach Joe Paterno isn't too worried - he says he may
have as many six guys ready to fill the vacancies when Penn State
opens the season Saturday against Youngstown State.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - The man behind the mascot at Penn
State is in trouble with the law. Police in State College issued an
underage drinking summons to Clint Gyory on August 24th. He was
also cited for public drunkenness and criminal mischief on August
1st. Athletic department officials say Gyory has been suspended for
a month.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Chicago White Sox 6, Cleveland 4
Boston 9, Baltimore 6
N.Y. Yankees 4, Oakland 3
Tampa Bay 2, Toronto 1
Minnesota 2, Detroit 1, 10 innings
Texas 4, Kansas City 3
L.A. Angels 4, Seattle 2
Thursday's Games
Oakland (Braden 9-9) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 18-5), 1:05 p.m.
Boston (Matsuzaka 8-4) at Baltimore (Bergesen 6-9), 7:05 p.m.
Detroit (Verlander 14-8) at Minnesota (S.Baker 12-9), 8:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Tomlin 2-3) at Seattle (Fister 4-10), 10:10 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Houston 5, St. Louis 2
Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 5, L.A. Dodgers 1
Arizona 5, San Diego 2
Cincinnati 6, Milwaukee 1
Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 1
Florida 16, Washington 10
San Francisco 2, Colorado 1
Thursday's Games
N.Y. Mets (J.Santana 10-9) at Atlanta (T.Hudson 15-5), 7:10 p.m.
Philadelphia (Blanton 6-6) at Colorado (J.Chacin 7-9), 7:10
p.m.

NFL PRESEASON
Thursday
Buffalo at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Indianapolis, 7 p.m.
New England at N.Y. Giants, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Dallas, 8 p.m.
New Orleans at Tennessee, 8 p.m.
Baltimore at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Houston, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Green Bay at Kansas City, 8 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
San Diego at San Francisco, 10 p.m.
Seattle at Oakland, 10 p.m.
Washington at Arizona, 10 p.m.

WNBA
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
(Best-of-3)
x-if necessary
Eastern Conference
Atlanta 2, Washington 0
Wednesday, Aug. 25: Atlanta 95, Washington 90
Friday, Aug. 27: Atlanta 101, Washington 77
New York 2, Indiana 1
Thursday, Aug. 26: New York 85, Indiana 73
Sunday, Aug. 29: Indiana 75, New York 67
Wednesday, Sept. 1: New York 77, Indiana 74
Western Conference
Seattle 2, Los Angeles 0
Wednesday, Aug. 25: Seattle 79, Los Angeles 66
Saturday, Aug. 28: Seattle 81, Los Angeles 66
Phoenix 2, San Antonio 0
Thursday, Aug. 26: Phoenix 106, San Antonio 93
Saturday, Aug. 28: Phoenix 92, San Antonio 73
CONFERENCE FINALS
Eastern Conference
Atlanta vs. New York
Sunday, Sept. 5: Atlanta at New York, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 7: New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
x-Thursday, Sept. 9: Atlanta at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Western Conference
Seattle vs. Phoenix
Thursday, Sept. 2: Phoenix at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 5: Seattle at Phoenix, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 8: x-Phoenix at Seattle, 10 p.m.
FINALS
Sunday, Sept. 12: TBD, 3 p.m.