Times wires
Saturday, July 21, 2012

NEW YORK — LHP Johan Santana went on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a sprained right ankle, another setback for the fading Mets since the All-Star break.

Santana, 33, has struggled mightily since the Cubs' Reed Johnson stepped on his foot July 6 on a play at first base. He was hit hard for the third straight start Friday night in a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers, and manager Terry Collins said afterward the team was looking for a way to get some "energy" back in his arm.

Santana missed last season after major shoulder surgery. He is 6-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 19 starts covering 110 2/3 innings.

"We knew in spring training that there might be a time this summer when he has to get shut down," Collins said. "Well, now is going to be that time."

General manager Sandy Alderson said Santana probably won't pitch until at least Aug. 7.

New York is also missing RH starter Dillon Gee, who had surgery last week on an artery in his pitching shoulder and could be out for the season. RHP Mike Pelfrey had season-ending elbow surgery in May.

CHISOX boost pen: The White Sox acquired Astros RH reliever Brett Myers for two minor-league pitchers and a player to be named.

Myers, 31, had 19 saves and a 3.52 ERA for Houston this season and will try to bolster an inexperienced bullpen. RHP Addison Reed, Chicago's 23-year-old closer, has 15 saves but a 4.24 ERA.

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said Myers would not be Chicago's closer.

"In no way, for (manager Robin Ventura) or myself or in any way, is this a lack of confidence in Addison Reed," Williams said.

Houston received RHP Matt Heidenreich and LHP Blair Walters.

GARZA PULLED EARLY: Cubs RHP Matt Garza was taken out after working three scoreless innings against the Cardinals with cramping in his right triceps, an injury that wasn't obvious and prompted speculation that he had been traded. The Cubs said X-rays on the former Rays starter were negative.

CARDS STAYING IN: Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said the World Series champions will be buyers at the trade deadline despite a slow start to the second half.

PITCHER POWER: Giants RHP Matt Cain and Phillies LHP Cole Hamels became the first pitchers to homer off each other in one game since Braves RHP Kevin Millwood and Rockies RHP Denny Stark on May 18, 2002. They became the first pair to do it in the same inning since Expos RHP Kevin Gross and Dodgers LHP Fernando Valenzuela on May 14, 1990.

BRAVES: OF Matt Diaz went on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right thumb. LH reliever Jonny Venters, out since July 5 with an impingement in his pitching elbow, was activated from the DL.

INDIANS: RHP Roberto Hernandez received a visa to return to the United States from the Dominican Republic and will serve a three-week suspension for age and identity fraud from Major League Baseball before he can rejoin the team. The former Fausto Carmona is 31, three years older than his listed age.

NATIONALS: RF Bryce Harper left the game against the Braves in the first inning with a sore left ankle after fouling a ball off the ankle. X-rays were negative, and the rookie is day to day.

RED SOX: The team honored former captain Jason Varitek, giving the longtime catcher the home plate from his final game at Fenway Park and a red pickup truck in a pregame ceremony.

TWINS: 1B Justin Morneau was placed on the paternity list. Morneau and his wife, Krista, are expecting their second child.

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, July 21, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — DH Luke Scott was placed on the disabled list Saturday for the second time in just more than a month after an MRI exam revealed a mild right external oblique strain.

Scott left Friday's game after feeling back tightness during a check swing in a ninth-inning at-bat. Though both Scott and the Rays hope it can be a minimal 15-day stint, the injury often takes longer to heal. Scott, who also dealt with a hamstring issue earlier this season, missed 17 games in June with back spasms.

"It's been very, very tough," Scott said. "I used to just come into the training room to say hi to everybody. Now this past year, I've been spending too much time there."

The injury came at an inopportune time, as Scott was on a hot streak at the plate, collecting 10 hits in his past five games. He has a team-high 45 RBIs.

"The bad part is to lose him and losing him while he's making such a strong comeback," manager Joe Maddon said.

With Scott out, DH/OF Hideki Matsui will get more opportunities, despite being hitless in his past 15 at-bats. But Maddon said INF Jeff Keppinger will DH today to get him off his feet in the field.

Maddon said OF Sam Fuld (right wrist surgery) could rejoin the team for its series in Baltimore, which starts Tuesday.

NO WORRIES: RHP Alex Cobb, who left the game after the second inning with a lower right leg bruise, said he should be able to make his next start, especially with the extra off day.

Cobb said he felt "very fortunate" that Mariners RF Ichiro Suzuki's hard-hit grounder in the second hit "all muscle," right between his tibia and fibula, and X-rays did not reveal a fracture.

"It could have been a lot worse," he said.

Cobb was still able to make the play, charging the ball and underhanding a throw home as he fell to get the third out. But he was in obvious pain as he tried to get up and had to be helped off the field. "From then on, it was just throbbing," Cobb said.

Cobb had labored, taking 53 pitches to get six outs, but said he felt fine, lamenting a two-out walk in the first.

CLUTCH CESAR: LHP Cesar Ramos was recalled from Triple-A Durham to help save a taxed bullpen. That's exactly what he did, throwing four scoreless innings with a career-high six strikeouts to pick up the injured Cobb. Ramos was sent back down after the game, with the Rays expected to call up a fresh reliever today. Maddon said it would have been "nearly impossible" to cover had it not been for Ramos, whose four innings were his most as a reliever. "Cesar was kind of a hero in a baseball sense," Maddon said.

Ramos, who got the call from Durham manager Charlie Montoyo at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, said the key was throwing strikes, with Maddon saying "that's as good as I've ever seen him pitch."

"Even when I was a starter, I was never a big strikeout guy," Ramos said. "I was kind of surprised to have that many."

STANDING TALL: RHP Jeff Niemann felt great after throwing a 25-pitch bullpen session (all fastballs), his first since breaking his right fibula in mid May. He could return sometime from mid to late August.

CENTURY CLUB: Both CF B.J. Upton and his brother, Diamondbacks RF Justin Upton, hit their 99th career homers Friday. With one more before his Aug. 21 birthday, B.J. would become the eighth player in history to reach 100 homers and 200 steals before the age of 28. "It's very impressive," Maddon said. "He started out at a young age. The thing about B.J., his developmental path was so not good, the way he got here, the back and forth, and different positions and different managers and all of that stuff really would have confused anybody. But he's fought through it."

Joe Smith can be reached at joesmith@tampabay.com.

By Bryan Burns, Times Correspondent
Saturday, July 21, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — Tampa Bay had anticipated another crack at Puerto Rico since a June 9 loss to the Islanders, the only team in the NASL the Rowdies hadn't collected points against entering Saturday's game.

The Rowdies had to wait an extra hour and 23 minutes because of a thunderstorm over Al Lang Field.

And like previous matchups, Tampa Bay controlled the majority of possessions and sent several well-struck shots at Puerto Rico goalkeeper Richard Martin.

But unlike prior meetings, the Rowdies finally penetrated the goal. Captain Frankie Sanfilippo produced the first score in the 72nd minute and Mike Ambersley added another score in the 85th in a 2-0 Rowdies victory in front of 3,207.

Tampa Bay (9-6-3, 30 points) moved into second place in the league, two points behind San Antonio, which defeated Fort Lauderdale 1-0 Saturday.

"It's great to beat Puerto Rico," coach Ricky Hill said. "It's great to beat any team in this league. Three points are valuable, we realize that. Puerto Rico is a top side, and they've proven that for many years. We're happy to win on this occasion."

Sanfilippo's winner came after both teams struggled to find scoring opportunities early in the second half. Ambersley gathered a loose ball in the Islanders' half and crossed into the box toward the far post. Sanfilippo, charging hard toward the goal, ran under the pass and volleyed a right-footer past Martin.

"My eyes just lit up, and I one-timed it," Sanfilippo said of his first goal of the season. "As a defender you don't get that many opportunities to score."

The Rowdies put the game away with Ambersley's fifth goal of the season. Second-half substitute Fafa Picault crossed a pass to a wide open Ambersley. With Martin scrambling to get back in goal, Ambersley rolled a shot into the back of the net.

Tampa Bay hadn't beaten the Islanders since their first-ever meeting, May 29, 2010 at Steinbrenner Field. The Rowdies have won six of their past seven overall and four straight at Al Lang.

Tampa Bay goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, a former USF and Countryside High standout, had two saves, both in the first half, to earn his fifth shutout of the season and second in two games.

Puerto Rico was missing starting forwards David Foley and leading scorer Nicholas Addlery because of injury. The Rowdies were without leading scorer Tsuyoshi Yoshitake because of a red-card suspension.

Times wires
Saturday, July 21, 2012

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Rory McIlroy shot 3-over 73 Saturday, another disappointing round in the British Open for a player who would sorely like to win the event. Since his victory at the 2011 U.S. Open, McIlroy has increasingly seemed out of sorts in his British Open appearances.

Last year, after he finished tied for 25th at Royal St. George's, he said links golf might not suit his game. He took back those comments this year, but he was unable to play any better through the first three rounds.

After recording four rounds in the 60s as he finished third at St. Andrews in 2010, McIlroy has shot a combined 12 over par in his next seven rounds at the British Open. He has scored 73 or higher four times.

McIlroy, 23, had three bogeys on the front nine Saturday as his game slumped. And so did his shoulders. "I got off to a bad start and couldn't really do much from there," McIlroy said.

McIlroy was asked about his body language, which suggested his vexation.

"I'm frustrated," he said. "I've just lost the consistency with my swing. And from there it's tough. Whenever you're not confident in the shots that you're trying to hit, then it is tough to sort of trust it all."

it's aces: Anirban Lahiri had already made history at the Open before he stepped to the ninth tee in the third round. With one swing of his 9-iron, he put himself in the record books again.

Lahiri, 25, making his Open debut, made the first hole-in-one of the tournament when he aced the par-3 No. 9 from 150 yards, the ball landing to the right of the cup and bouncing in. Lahiri, grinning, raised both hands in the air and bowed.

"It was looking a little right of the hole, but it got a really, really friendly bounce. When it goes in, everybody goes wild. I go wild. It was fantastic," said Lahiri, who shot 70 to remain at par 210 for the tournament.

With Lahiri and mentor Jeev Milkha Singh making the cut, it is the first time two Indians are playing a weekend at the same major.

ERNIE'S CHANCE: Ernie Els finds himself in a familiar position: chasing a leader at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. He gave it a shot but came up short in 1996 and 2001. If he's going to do it this time, he will have to come from six shots behind leader Adam Scott today.

Els shot 2-under 68 to stay on the fringe of contention. He was eight shots back here in 1996 before rallying with a final-round 67 that left him two shots back of winner Tom Lehman. Five years later he was two shots back entering the final round and tied for third behind David Duval after 69.

"For some reason I've got some belief this week. I feel something special can happen," Els said.

COLORS OF HOME: At least a few dozen fans along the ropes were wearing Rickie Fowler's signature all-orange outfit, a tribute to the colors of his alma mater, Oklahoma State. And most of them seemed to have English or Scottish accents. "I saw the all-orange," Fowler said, smiling widely, after shooting 70, which left him 3-over for the tournament. "I couldn't help but notice."

Associated Press
Saturday, July 21, 2012

MADISON, Miss. — Scott Stallings trudged back to the clubhouse after making par on the 10th hole, his third round suspended because of darkness at Annandale Golf Club.

It almost felt as if the course was trying to hide from him.

Stallings shot 6 under through the first 10 holes of the third round Saturday at the PGA Tour's True South Classic and will have a four-stroke lead when play resumes this morning.

"I'm just happy to be playing," said Stallings, who has struggled for much of the season because of rib and back injuries. He was 18 under for the tournament and trying for his second tour victory.

Second-round leader Billy Horschel, a former Gator, Heath Slocum and Jason Bohn were tied for second at 14 under. None of them had finished the third round.

The tournament has been plagued by heavy rain, with one weather-related delay during each of the first three days, including a 31/2-hour setback Saturday. Only a handful of players finished their third round.

Stallings started his round one shot behind Horschel, but vaulted into the lead after an impressive birdie, birdie, eagle run on the third, fourth and fifth holes. He also made birdie on Nos. 7 and 8.

Stallings won the Greenbrier Classic last year in his rookie season and finished 41st on the money list by winning nearly $2 million.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, July 21, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays just can't stop losing.

Saturday, it was two more players — DH Luke Scott going back on the disabled list, starter Alex Cobb knocked out in the second inning with a bruised leg — and yet another game, this one 2-1 to the Mariners.

As many problems as the Rays have had, the most troubling continues to be their impotent offense. And if they are planning to make a serious run for a playoff spot — which, despite a 49-46 record, remains entirely possible given the crowded AL wild-card competition — it seems increasingly evident they have to do something besides continue to wait for Evan Longoria's eventual return from the disabled list.

"It's just in and out," said centerfielder B.J. Upton, who failed in one of the biggest spots Saturday. "We're being pitched tough. Some guys are being pitched tougher than others. We've just got to keep going. It's not going to go on like this forever."

Maybe not.

But since sweeping a day-night doubleheader from the Phillies on June 24 — and who thought that would be the highlight of their summer? — the Rays have been held to four or fewer runs in 18 of their 23 games and are batting .230, only .194 with runners in scoring position.

Saturday was more of the same, as the 2-0 hole Cobb put them in with another rough start turned out to be too much, and a waste of a sterling four-inning, six-strikeout relief effort by Cesar Ramos.

"Just needed three runs to get it done," manager Joe Maddon said. "Just could not do it."

Their shortcoming has been a team effort, but Hideki Matsui — the once-proud slugger — has become the focal point of their failures, booed by segments of the Tropicana Field crowd of 18,800 after another 0-for-4, the first three times up with men on, dropping his average to .149.

With Scott out, the Rays apparently will stick with Matsui at least for a while longer, though perhaps in a lesser role as outfielder Sam Fuld seems likely to come off the disabled list by Tuesday.

Maddon thinks Matsui is trying too hard. Matsui, 38, remains confident he can help.

"There's been opportunities there and I haven't been able to make anything out of it," Matsui said through interpreter Roger Kahlon. "There's nothing wrong with the fans booing. The best thing you can do is try to make the most of the next opportunity."

Shut out into the sixth by Seattle lefty Jason Vargas, who is 3-0, 1.77 over his past five starts and has 10 wins overall, the Rays had a prime opportunity.

They had one run in, thanks to two singles and a throwing error by rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki, and the tying run on second with no outs. Maddon opted to play for the tie and had Sean Rodriguez bunt Desmond Jennings to third.

But Upton swung at the first pitch from Shawn Kelley and popped up, and Carlos Peña — hitting .129 with runners in scoring position, second lowest in the majors — went down flailing against lefty Oliver Perez.

"That's just been our biggest problem this year," Maddon said, "just the inability to win some close games based on being able to score the run when we need to."

That's only part of it.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com.

Times wires
Saturday, July 21, 2012

D'backs 12, Astros 3

PHOENIX — Jason Kubel became the seventh player in Diamondbacks history to homer three times in a game, driving in six to help dominate the Astros for a second straight game. Kubel hit a two-run homer in the first, a three-run shot in the fourth and a solo homer in the sixth.

Times wires
Saturday, July 21, 2012

Athletics 2, Yankees 1

OAKLAND, Calif. — Brandon Inge and Yoenis Cespedes homered, Jarrod Parker shut down one of baseball's best lineups for eight innings and the A's won their fourth straight. Parker allowed only Raul Ibanez's RBI single in the fourth inning as Oakland beat the Yankees for the third straight time. Cespedes crushed a tying homer later in the fourth and Inge hammered the first pitch of the eighth off Phil Hughes for the go-ahead shot. Sean Doolittle struck out the side in the ninth after Alex Rodriguez singled.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Rockies 8, Padres 6

12 innings

SAN DIEGO — Jordan Pacheco drove in four runs, including the go-ahead score in the 12th, as the Rockies ended a three-game skid.

Times staff
Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Tampa Bay Storm failed to advance to the Arena Football League's postseason, falling behind during host Spokane's 28-point second quarter and then getting shut out in the third before losing 63-53 late Saturday night.

Because both Georgia and Cleveland won earlier in the evening, the only way the Storm could qualify for a playoff berth was to win.

Tampa Bay (8-10) led 13-7 after the first quarter, but the Shock (10-8) outscored the Storm 28-17 before halftime. In the third quarter, the Shock posted the lone score and held on from there.

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, July 22, 2012

ST. PETERSBURG — As the Rays dressed and packed and tried to explain their latest disappointment, a 2-1 Sunday loss to Seattle that wrapped what was supposed to be a momentum-generating homestand at a sputtering 4-6, the most prevalent word, in various forms, was frustration.

The fans showed it. The manager acknowledges it. The players feel it.

"I think we're all frustrated at this point," centerfielder B.J. Upton said.

And as they head out for a nine-game country-crossing road trip that takes them through the July 31 deadline for nonwaiver trades, the biggest issue might be how the bosses in the front office react to it.

Will they stick with the status quo, banking on the eventual return of injured third baseman Evan Longoria to improve their impotent offense? Make a deal to enhance their chances by bringing in a much-needed bat? Or decide to look, at least somewhat, to the future, and deal one or several of their current key players to fill other holes?

"I don't want to see this team dismantled like, 'Okay, it's over guys.' I don't want that. I want to give this a shot," first baseman Carlos Peña said.

"Yes, we're getting punched around, and it hurts. But I feel like if we survive this round and go take a little break, get some water, put a little bit of ice on our foreheads and black eyes, and just come back, maybe we'll land a great punch, and next thing you know we've stung the opponent and we're on top. That's what I'm looking for."

Manager Joe Maddon remains optimistic as well, confident that their standing in the AL wild-card race — 2½ games out despite dropping to 49-47 — will encourage them to seek help rather than break up what they have, even as top scouts from teams such as the Angels and Tigers hovered at the Trop this weekend.

"I think we definitely want to try to be additive about the whole thing because we have a solid chance to do this," Maddon said.

"It's no time to give up, it's no time to start crying. It's a difficult moment because we really did not take advantage of some pretty good opportunities over the last couple days."

The core issue remains scoring more runs. They were held to 33 on the homestand, hitting only .180 with runners in scoring position.

Sunday made it two straight days they produced only one run, a strong start by rookie Matt Moore wasted as they were shackled for eight innings by Seattle's pedestrian Blake Beavan, who had allowed 22 runs and 30 hits over his previous 19 innings. "We should not permit that to happen," Maddon said.

But the manager acknowledged there isn't much else they can do, except hope and wait.

"You could rearrange the chairs on the deck but, honestly, I don't see many options available to us right now," Maddon said. "If you break it down, you could talk about a lot of good things a lot of the guys have been doing. It's just as a group it's been frustrating."

"It's the same old story," outfielder Matt Joyce said. "We've got to find a way to score runs. I don't know. I really don't have an answer. I think everybody's kind of in the same mind-set where we're just kind of waiting for something to come along or hoping some hits come or something. We've got to find a way to score runs — however."

Frustrating, to say the least.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@tampabay.com.

Times staff
Sunday, July 22, 2012

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Storm failed to advance to the Arena Football League's postseason, falling behind during Spokane's 28-point second quarter and getting shut out in the third en route to a 63-53 loss late Saturday night.

With Georgia (9-9) and Cleveland (8-10) winning earlier in the day, the Storm had to win to qualify. Tampa Bay (8-10) missed the playoffs for the fourth time in 25 seasons.

Tampa Bay's Joe Hills, facing his former team, caught eight passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Hill's yardage is fourth-best in the league this season and second on the Storm. Former USF standout Amarri Jackson had 220 against Orlando on June 15.

Prechae Rodriguez had a game-high 11 receptions to give him 125 on the season, tying the Storm single-season (and rookie) record set by Jackson last season. Rodriguez had 134 receiving yards to finish the season with 1,653, surpassing Jackson's record of 1,619.

Storm quarterback Stephen Wasil completed 23 of 37 passes for a career-high 391 yards and four touchdowns. Wasil rushed for three touchdowns to finish the season with 19, two shy of the single-season record set by Torrance Marshall in 2008.

Tampa Bay had to play catchup after Shock defensive back Patrick Stoudamire recovered a kickoff that caromed off of the net and returned it for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

Spokane (10-8) made two fumble recoveries in the third quarter to help protect the lead.

Shock receiver Adron Tennell finished with four touchdowns on 10 catches for 140 yards and quarterback Kyle Rowley completed 24 of 33 passes for 245 yards and six touchdowns.

By Ric Liles, Times Correspondent
Sunday, July 22, 2012

What's hot: Fishing has remained pretty consistent in the Tampa Bay area over the past week. It has been driven by good moving water. Our bite is always better around the times we have good tidal flow, which we have had this past week. The heat and rain have contributed the most to this. We have had times when we have had an hour of nothing that was followed by fish on every cast for an hour. This has happened just after the tide has turned over.

Tips: There are times in the spring and late fall that moving water is not as important, but right now it is paramount. I have been fishing primarily for snook, trout, grouper, and Spanish mackerel. We have gone after redfish on high water and had moderate success fishing around the mangroves and under a few docks. The problem with fishing on really high water is the fish have a lot of room to get back under the bushes, making it hard to get a bait in front of them. Take plenty of chum baits to lure them out.

Bait details: The bait of choice is scaled sardines. They are available from 1 inch up to 6 inches, depending on where you are throwing your net. Beware of the dreaded Christmas tree cast. I've been using a quarter-inch net for a month to avoid this.

Ric Liles fishes out of Tampa, Ruskin, Bradenton and the surrounding areas, and can be reached at (813) 601-2900, via email at CaptainRic@msn.com or at ReelSimpleFishing.com.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

D'backs 8, Astros 2

PHOENIX — Jason Kubel homered for the sixth time in five games, Chris Young added a three-run shot and Arizona completed a three-game sweep. Kubel, coming off a three-homer game Saturday, led off the second inning with a blast to right. Young's homer highlighted the Diamondbacks' season-best seven-run sixth.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Orioles 4, Indians 3

CLEVELAND — Zach Britton pitched six shutout innings, J.J. Hardy drove in three runs and Baltimore withstood Cleveland's ninth-inning rally to win its fifth straight game. Britton gave up four hits and got 11 groundouts in his second start since being recalled from the minors. Hardy hit a two-run homer in the first off Josh Tomlin and an RBI single in the seventh against reliever Esmil Rogers.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Phillies 4, Giants 3

12 innings

PHILADELPHIA — Jimmy Rollins won it with an RBI single and John Mayberry hit two solo homers for Philadelphia, which snapped a seven-game home losing streak and avoided its first sweep against San Francisco since 2004.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Cardinals 7, Cubs 0

ST. LOUIS — Lance Lynn won his 12th game with six sharp innings, and Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran homered on consecutive pitches in the fifth inning as St. Louis completed a three-game sweep. Jon Jay and Tony Cruz hit consecutive two-run doubles off Travis Wood in the first for the Cardinals, who outscored Chicago 23-1 for their first sweep over the Cubs since June 3-5, 2011 in St. Louis.

By Derek J. LaRiviere , Times Correspondent
Sunday, July 22, 2012

SPRING HILL — Jason Mahr, the only Hernando County resident to win the PBA South Region Spring Hill Open, became the fourth player in the tournament's 24-year history to achieve multiple titles Sunday.

Mahr won the 24th annual Spring Hill Open, which featured the best field in years, by beating PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the championship match 259-234.

The victory came five years to the day of Mahr's first professional victory in the 2007 Spring Hill Open. While many of the champions have face tough competition at this tournament, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has ever defeated both Patrick Allen (13 PBA titles, 22 regional titles) and Williams Jr. (all-time record 47 PBA titles, 31 regional titles, four senior PBA titles).

"If you told me that I would be competing with Walter Ray Williams in the finals, I would have laughed at you," an emotional Mahr said after the win.

Last year's champion, Mike Williams II of Montgomery, Ala., finished 29th. Mahr, 30, joins Darin Hays (1995-96, 1999-2000), Jason Couch (1994, 1997) and Tom Daugherty (2006, 2008) as multiple-time winners. Former champions Richard Langton (19th), Vernon Peterson (ninth) and Daugherty (28th) were in the field. Williams Jr. won the event in 2002.

Times wires
Sunday, July 22, 2012

Pirates 3, Marlins 0

PITTSBURGH — Jeff Karstens pitched seven crisp innings, Pedro Alvarez homered and Pittsburgh won its fifth straight game. The Pirates completed their fourth sweep of the season, all at home, while matching their longest winning streak since Sept. 17-22, 2010. They remained a half-game behind the NL Central-leading Reds. Miami has lost five straight, scoring a total of seven runs during the slide.

New York Times
Sunday, July 22, 2012

PARIS — It was an occasion to smile, but Bradley Wiggins walked through a hotel lobby in Toulouse, France, on Friday morning with pursed lips and steely eyes. Though the final mountain stage of the Tour de France had ended the night before — and Wiggins, with a substantial lead on Vincenzo Nibali, was in all likelihood the race winner — he was not ready to let his guard down.

Sunday, he could finally drop the businesslike facade. Before riding into Paris as the first British champion of the Tour de France, Wiggins sat on his bike at the start in Rambouillet, southwest of Paris, joking with other riders. It was the culmination of a strong and measured performance in this three-week, 2,173-mile race.

Wiggins, 32, controlled the Tour from the end of the first week on with the help of his teammates on the talented Team Sky squad, most notably the fellow Briton Christopher Froome, a Kenyan-born 27-year-old who finished second overall. Froome, along with third-place Vincenzo Nibali, an Italian with Liquigas-Cannondale, also stood atop the podium on the Champs-Elysees Sunday. But it was Wiggins who was the most elated.

"Going back as a child, watching the Tour on telly from the age of 10, 11, 12, all through the (Miguel) Indurain years, dreaming that one day you would win the Tour," he said. "But you never really think it's possible. What chance does a kid growing up in central London ever have to win the Tour?"

Britain has been a force in track cycling, the discipline in which Wiggins started his racing career and won multiple Olympic medals. But it has historically struggled on the road, particularly at the Tour.

The first British rider to wear the yellow jersey was Tom Simpson, who died while climbing Mont Ventoux during a stage of the 1967 Tour.

Though Barry Hoban and Robert Millar found success in the 1970s and '80s, respectively, the sport was hardly popular among Britons or any other English speakers.

"My first Tour in '84, not one person from start to finish cheered for me," said Allan Peiper, an Australian who rode with Millar and is now a sport director for Garmin-Sharp. "The Tour was not like it is now. We were a band of 10 foreigners riding in a mostly European or French race."

The Tour's popularity has steadily increased across the Channel since. The Union Jack was a staple along the racecourse this year, from the narrow, windy roads of Belgium to the hot and sunny Pyrenees.