WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Thursday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia's Roy Oswalt and a pair of
relievers combined on a one-hitter and the NL East-leading Phillies
beat Atlanta 1-0 last night for their 10th straight win, increasing
their bulge over the Braves to six games. The Phillies' magic
number for clinching their fourth straight division title now
stands at four.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton pitched
effectively over six innings to win for the first time in 4 1/2 months
as the Pirates extended the St. Louis Cardinals' late-season
collapse by winning 11-6 last night. John Bowker homered among
three hits as the Pirates won their fifth straight.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist before
sitting out the third period because of a sore hip flexor and the
Penguins won the first hockey game at Consol Energy Center, beating
the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 last night in preseason play.
Pittsburgh's Mike Comrie scored the first goal in the new building,
connecting at 1:21 of the first period.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The forgotten quarterback is now the
Pittsburgh Steelers' starter. Charlie Batch will be the starter
Sunday at Tampa Bay - his first NFL start since 2007. Coach Mike
Tomlin picked Batch over Byron Leftwich, who is recovering from a
sprained knee ligament. Dennis Dixon started the first two games,
but he underwent knee surgery yesterday and is out indefinitely.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - All-Pro fullback Leonard Weaver, who
sustained a season-ending injury in Philadelphia's loss to Green
Bay in Week 1, has had surgery on his left knee. Orthopedist James
Andrews performed the surgery Tuesday in Alabama to torn ligaments
in Weaver's knee.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Jacksonville Jaguars running back
Maurice Jones-Drew believes he's on the verge of a breakout game.
It might even come Sunday against Philadelphia. Jones-Drew says he
hopes to "pop" soon "for my sanity."

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Vikings have signed
free agent receiver Hank Baskett to a one-year deal. Baskett
practiced with the team on yesterday, one day after being released
from the Philadelphia Eagles. He comes to a team in desperate need
of healthy receivers.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Seven years later, Pitt is still trying to
catch Miami. The Panthers never reached the Hurricanes' level when
the two competed annually in a one-sided Big East Conference
rivalry in which Miami won the final six games played. The gap has
closed somewhat since Miami left the Big East to join the Atlantic
Coast Conference in 2004, but not entirely.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - After three home victories, Temple may
get a true test of just how far the football program has come with
this weekend's game against Number 23 Penn State. This Pennsylvania
rivalry is decidedly tilted in the Nittany Lions' favor. Temple
hasn't beaten Penn State since 1941.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Minnesota 5, Cleveland 1
Chicago White Sox 4, Oakland 3
Detroit 4, Kansas City 2
Tampa Bay 7, N.Y. Yankees 2
Seattle 6, Toronto 3
Boston 6, Baltimore 1
Texas 2, L.A. Angels 1, 12 innings
Thursday's Games
Seattle (F.Hernandez 12-11) at Toronto (Sh.Hill 0-2), 12:37 p.m.
Kansas City (O'Sullivan 2-6) at Cleveland (Talbot 9-12), 7:05
p.m.
Tampa Bay (Price 17-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Sabathia 20-6), 7:05
p.m.
Texas (Cl.Lee 12-8) at Oakland (Braden 9-13), 10:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Philadelphia 1, Atlanta 0
Washington 4, Houston 3
Pittsburgh 11, St. Louis 6
Florida 7, N.Y. Mets 5
Chicago Cubs 2, San Francisco 0
Milwaukee 13, Cincinnati 1
Arizona 8, Colorado 4
San Diego 3, L.A. Dodgers 1
Thursday's Games
St. Louis (Suppan 1-7) at Pittsburgh (Burres 3-3), 12:35 p.m.
Houston (Figueroa 5-3) at Washington (Detwiler 0-2), 4:35 p.m.
San Francisco (Bumgarner 5-6) at Chicago Cubs (Dempster 14-10),
7:05 p.m.
Florida (Ani.Sanchez 12-10) at Milwaukee (Gallardo 13-7), 8:10
p.m.
Colorado (Francis 4-5) at Arizona (I.Kennedy 9-9), 9:40 p.m.
San Diego (Latos 14-7) at L.A. Dodgers (Kuroda 10-13), 10:10
p.m.

MLS
Wednesday's Games
FC Dallas 2, New England 2, tie
Kansas City 4, Houston 3
Friday's Game
New York at Los Angeles, 11 p.m.