Baseball

Left hander Dontrelle Willis to start opening day for Florida Marlins

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) _ New Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez knew long ago Dontrelle Willis would likely be his first opening day starter. And throughout spr

Roger Clemens no closer to decision about future

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Bonds' pursuit of Aaron, implications for baseball top thing to watch in 2007

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Los Angeles Dodgers will all wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day News by

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Every player on the Dodgers will be No. 42 for a day. Los Angeles will honour the late Jackie Robinson by having all of its players wear his

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NBA

Lakers lay a licking on Spurs

Lakers lay a licking on Spurs

LOS ANGELESThere would be no blown lead in Game 2 of the Western Conference final. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers saw to that. Bryant scored 22 points,

Sparks defeat Mercury behind Candace Parker

Sparks defeat Mercury behind Candace Parker

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Paul Pierce helps Celtics prevail in another Game 7

Paul Pierce helps Celtics prevail in another Game 7

Twenty years earlier there was another thrilling shootout in another seventh game of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston -- Larry Bird vs. Dominique Wil

Clippers get seventh pick in the draft lottery

Clippers get seventh pick in the draft lottery

The Clippers, who were slotted sixth heading into the lottery, fell to the seventh overall selection after they were bumped by Chicago. From that position, they

Victory feels like series-clincher for Lakers

Victory feels like series-clincher for Lakers

We love it! the too-cool Staples Center fans giddily chanted with their victory song. We love it! We love it! We love it! Oh, will the Lakers forever love this

Wimbledon to increase player challenges for instant replay to three News by

LONDON (AP) _ Wimbledon will give players three chances per set to challenge line calls using video technology at this year's tournament _ one more than the U.S. and Australian Opens.

Wimbledon is introducing the Hawk-Eye system on Centre Court and Court No. 1 at the June 25-July 8 championship for the first time.

The existing cyclops technology will be moved to courts 2, 14 and 18. Cyclops, which has been used at Wimbledon since 1980, uses infrared beams to help determine if serves are in or out.

Wimbledon announced last month it would follow the lead of the U.S. and Australian Opens in introducing Hawk-Eye, but did not say how many challenges players would get.

The French Open, which begins Sunday, will not use the system.

``The extra potential challenge recognizes both the importance of the service on a grass court and the fact that cyclops will not be deployed on the service line this year,'' All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie said Wednesday.

``Statistics also show that players have been very sensible in their use of the technology so far, and it is right to grant them additional opportunities to use this highly accurate assistance.''

Large screens will show line-call replays on the two courts at Wimbledon. Each player or doubles team is allowed a maximum of three incorrect challenges in a set. If the set goes to a tiebreaker, the players are given an additional challenge.

In the fifth set for men's singles and doubles, and the third set for all other events, the slate is reset if the score is tied 6-6, with each side able to make up to three incorrect challenges in the next 12 games.

Wimbledon said chair umpires can refuse ``an electronic appeal'' if they believe the challenge was not made quickly enough. The umpire can also request a replay if the line judge was unable to make a call on a point-ending shot.

Hawk-Eye will also be introduced at the Queen's Club grass-court warmup for Wimbledon. The tournament will adopt the same protocol as Wimbledon. Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and Fernando Gonzalez are among those entered.



Cricket

Former Indian Test cricketer Maninder Singh arrested with cocaine

Former Indian Test cricketer Maninder Singh arrested with cocaine

NEW DELHI (AP) _ Former Indian Test cricketer Maninder Singh will face a New Delhi court Wednesday after he was arrested in his home for allegedly possessing 1. ...

World Cup: Pointless match gets interest boost from retirements

World Cup: Pointless match gets interest boost from retirements

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) _ The world gets its last chance to see Brian Lara play international cricket on Saturday when the West Indies plays England in a Worl ...

Ricky Ponting says Australia will improve with more challenging contests

Ricky Ponting says Australia will improve with more challenging contests

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) _ Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels the defending World Cup champion team will improve further by playing challenging games like Su ...

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