WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Roy Halladay has spent plenty of Octobers at
home, wishing for this opportunity. Halladay will take the ball
when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1
of their NL division series today. Edinson Volquez will start for
the NL Central champion Reds, who are in the playoffs for the first
time since 1995.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ten seconds were all Ben Roethlisberger needed
to prove to the Pittsburgh Steelers he wasn't affected by his month
away from the NFL. On the first pass he threw yesterday in his
first post-suspension practice, Roethlisberger found fast wide
receiver Mike Wallace far downfield.

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - The 76ers dropped their preseason opener
103-96 to the New Jersey Nets in a matchup played in Roanoke,
Virginia. Marreese Speights scored 19 points and Elton Brand added
15 for Philadelphia, which shot just 2 of 18 from 3-point range in
its debut under new coach Doug Collins. Top draft pick Evan Turner
poured in 12.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Former Indians manager Eric Wedge is the first
managerial candidate to interview with the Pittsburgh Pirates as
they seek John Russell's successor. The Indians won more than 80
games four times and twice won more than 90 under Wedge from
2003-09. He was fired following a 65-97 season a year ago.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have waived forward
Ryan Craig and defenseman Andrew Hutchinson. Both players are
expected to be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) if they
clear waivers. They were signed as free agents during the
offseason.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Slow starts and poor productivity in
the red zone have left Penn State's offense a statistical mess. The
Nittany Lions are last in the Big Ten in scoring at 19 points a
game. Coach Joe Paterno says the inconsistent offensive line is
partly to blame for scoring troubles.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt knows what to
expect Saturday when his Panthers meet Notre Dame. He's seen it
before from Irish coach Brian Kelly when they used to meet up in
the Big East. Kelly is in his first year with Notre Dame after
leaving Cincinnati last year.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Lucky Chucky and Muscle Massive have
been made the favorites for this weekend's $500,000 Breeders Crown
for 3-year-old trotters at Pocono Downs. Lucky Chucky is the 7-5
favorite from post Number 4 and Muscle Massive is 7-2 and leaves
from post Number 7 in one of 12 Breeders Crown races Saturday with
a total purse of $6 million.


DIVISION SERIES
American League
Tampa Bay vs. Texas
Wednesday, Oct. 6
Texas (Lee 12-9) at Tampa Bay (Price 19-6), 1:37 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 7
Texas (Wilson 15-8) at Tampa Bay (Shields 13-15), 2:37 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 9
Tampa Bay (Garza 15-10) at Texas (Lewis 12-13), 5:07 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 10
Tampa Bay (Davis 12-10) at Texas (Hunter 13-4), 1:07 p.m., if
necessary
Tuesday, Oct. 12
Texas at Tampa Bay, 5:07 p.m. or 8:07 p.m., if necessary

Minnesota vs. New York
Wednesday, Oct. 6
New York (Sabathia 21-7) at Minnesota (Liriano 14-10), 8:37
p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 7
New York (Pettitte 11-3) at Minnesota (Pavano 17-11), 6:07 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 9
Minnesota (Duensing 10-3) at New York (Hughes 18-8), 8:37 p.m
Sunday, Oct. 10
Minnesota (Blackburn 10-12) at New York (Burnett 10-15 or
Sabathia 21-7), 8:07 p.m., if necessary
Tuesday, Oct. 12
New York at Minnesota, 8:37 p.m. or 8:07 p.m., if necessary

National League
Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati
Wednesday, Oct. 6
Cincinnati (Volquez 4-3) at Philadelphia (Halladay 21-10), 5:07
p.m.
Friday, Oct. 8
Cincinnati (Arroyo 17-10) at Philadelphia (Oswalt 13-13), 6:07
p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 10
Philadelphia (Hamels 12-11) at Cincinnati (Cueto 12-7), 7:07
p.m. or 8:07 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 11
Philadelphia at Cincinnati, 5:07 p.m. or 7:37 p.m., if
necessary
Wednesday, Oct. 13
Cincinnati at Philadelphia, 6:07 p.m. or 8:07 p.m., if necessary

San Francisco vs. Atlanta
Thursday, Oct. 7
Atlanta (Lowe 16-12) at San Francisco (Lincecum 16-10), 9:37
p.m.
Friday, Oct. 8
Atlanta (Hanson 10-11) at San Francisco (Cain 13-11), 9:37 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 10
San Francisco (Sanchez 13-9) at Atlanta (Hudson 17-9), 4:37
p.m.
Monday, Oct. 11
San Francisco at Atlanta, 8:37 p.m. or 7:37 p.m., if necessary
Wednesday, Oct. 13
Atlanta at San Francisco, 9:37 p.m. or 8:07 p.m., if necessary

NBA PRESEASON
Cleveland 87, Charlotte 72
New Jersey 103, Philadelphia 96
Miami 105, Detroit 89
Milwaukee 92, Chicago 83
Orlando 97, Houston 88
Washington 97, Dallas 94
Portland 115, L.A. Clippers 86
Sacramento 109, Phoenix 95
Wednesday's Games
New York vs. Minnesota at Paris, France, 2 p.m.
Oklahoma City vs. Charlotte at Fayetteville, NC, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia vs. Boston at Manchester, NH, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Toronto vs. Phoenix at Vancouver, British Columbia, 10 p.m.