WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia's Ryan Howard homered and had
six RBIs as the Phillies backed Cole Hamels with a rare burst of
the run support he had been missing most of the season in a 10-6
win over the Florida Marlins last night. Howard hit his 28th homer
of the season and the NL East-leading Phillies had a season-high 18
hits.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Phillies say shortstop Jimmy Rollins is
day-to-day after leaving with tightness in his right hamstring last
night. Manager Charlie Manuel says Rollins was dehydrated and
skipped batting practice.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Atlanta's Omar Infante had three hits as Derek
Lowe beat Pittsburgh for the 10th straight time in a 9-3 win over
the Bucs last night. The Braves opened leads of 3-0 in the first
and 8-0 in the third after being held to two runs or fewer in five
of their previous six games.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - To honor Roberto Clemente Day last night, the
Pirates wore the beltless-style knit uniforms, with gold caps. The
uniforms are like those first worn when Three Rivers Stadium opened
in 1970 and Clemente was manning the outfield for the Buccos.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - For months, the Pittsburgh Steelers have
emphasized upgrading their running game. With the Steelers starting
the very inexperienced Dennis Dixon at quarterback Sunday against
Atlanta, Rashard Mendenhall knows that getting the running game
going is a necessity.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Alabama coach Nick Saban says tailback
Mark Ingram is unlikely to play against Penn State. He says the
top-ranked Crimson Tide's Heisman Trophy might be recovered enough
to play in Saturday night's game with the 19th-ranked Nittany Lions
but likely won't be able to get enough time in practice to be
ready. Ingram had arthoscopic surgery on the knee last month.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Many current Alabama and Penn State
players weren't alive the last time these two storied programs met
on the football field. But for fans and coaches, the games produced
some memorable games and moments. The top-ranked Crimson Tide and
19th-ranked Nittany Lions meet Saturday night. The two traditional
powers haven't played each other since 1990. They met eight times
in the 1980s.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - If the Pittsburgh Pirates need an answer to
their power-hitting problems, maybe they can find it across town in
Penguins star Sidney Crosby. The former NHL MVP homered into PNC
Park's right-field seats while taking batting practice yesterday
with eight Penguins teammates. The session was arranged by former
first baseman Sean Casey.


AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
N.Y. Yankees 3, Baltimore 2
Detroit 5, Chicago White Sox 1
L.A. Angels 4, Cleveland 3, 16 innings
Texas 8, Toronto 1
Boston 11, Tampa Bay 5
Minnesota 4, Kansas City 3
Oakland 4, Seattle 3
Thursday's Games
Chicago White Sox (Floyd 10-11) at Detroit (Porcello 8-11), 1:05
p.m.
Texas (C.Lewis 9-12) at Toronto (S.Hill 0-0), 7:07 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
N.Y. Mets 3, Washington 2
Atlanta 9, Pittsburgh 3
Philadelphia 10, Florida 6
Houston 4, Chicago Cubs 0
Milwaukee 8, St. Louis 1
Colorado 9, Cincinnati 2
Arizona 3, San Francisco 1
San Diego 4, L.A. Dodgers 0
Thursday's Games
Cincinnati (Tr.Wood 5-2) at Colorado (Hammel 10-7), 3:10 p.m.
St. Louis (Wainwright 17-10) at Atlanta (Jurrjens 7-4), 7:10
p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Lilly 8-9) at Houston (Norris 6-8), 8:05 p.m.
San Francisco (M.Cain 10-10) at San Diego (Garland 13-10), 10:05
p.m.

NFL
Thursday's Games
Minnesota at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m.
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.

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
Wednesday's Games
Chicago 0, Toronto FC 0, tie
Thursday's Games
Real Salt Lake at Seattle FC, 11 p.m.