2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NASSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006
MLB
Eighteen-inning games make history
Astros, Cubs, Rockies and Diamondbacks set amazing National League record
BY MIKE FITZPATRICK ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs played on and on, long after Roger Clemens left and Brad Lidge blew another save.
And they weren't alone.
Nine innings, 12, 15 ... 18!
For the first time in major league history Tuesday night, two games on the same day lasted 18 innings. The other was in Colorado, where the Arizona Diamondbacks pulled quit a 2-1 victory at 12:26 a.m. MDT.
About 45 minutes earlier, Chicago outlasted Houston 8-6 thanks to two big swings by Matt Murton. He hit a tying homer off Lidge in the top of the ninth and a two-run single in the 18th.
"I was a little tired," Murton said. "That's just part of the game. You have to find a way to get over it. It was a great night in the sense we were able to win a game like that."
At Coors Field, the longest game in Rockies history finally ended after Luis Gonzalez's RBI single off Ramon Ramirez (3-3).
There were 15 pitchers and 514 pitches. Gonzalez was 0-for-7 before his decisive hit.
“This,” Colorado's Cory Sullivan said, “was a war of attrition.”
Same thing in Houston, where the Cubs and Astros played the longest regular-season game in the six-year history of Minute Maid Park.
By the end, Chicago manager Dusty Baker was down to his last pitcher — and player — Rich Hill, who was slated to start Wednesday afternoon. Thanks to Murton, Hill (3-5) only had to throw 28 pitches, shutting out the Astros in the 17th and 18th.
The teams used 18 pitchers in all, tying an NL record. Hill finally ended it after 5 hours, 36 minutes, by striking out Morgan Ensberg at 12:41 a.m. CDT on the game's 542nd pitch.
The Cubs and Astros weren't going to get much sleep, either. The finale of their three-game series was scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. CDT on Wednesday.
"We played hard and had great pitching performances. It was just a tough one to lose," Houston manager Phil Garner said.
It was Houston's third 18-inning game in 10 months. The Astros outlasted Atlanta 7-6 in a home playoff game last October to advance to the NL championship series, and lost 8-7 in 18 innings at Pittsburgh on May 27.
Murton sent this one to extras with a leadoff homer in the ninth off Lidge, who blew a save in a game Clemens started for the second time in a month.
The Rocket was long gone by the time Dave Borkowski (1-1) came on to pitch the final six innings for the Astros, who lost their fourth straight.
Fans streamed out of the ballpark by the hundreds after each half inning, and only a few thousand were still around to see Murton's go-ahead hit.
In Denver, only about 3,000 fans among the announced crowd of 22,076 remained for the final out of Arizona's victory.
Brandon Medders (5-2) struck out four in three hitless innings for the win. Diamondbacks relievers allowed six hits in 12 shutout innings, striking out 13 and walking four in a game that lasted 5 hours, 21 minutes.
Research by the Elias Sports Bureau determined it was the first time two games on the same day lasted as long as 18 innings. Still, they were not the longest games in the majors this season — the Chicago White Sox beat Boston 6-5 in 19 innings on July 9.
>> NFL
Broncos' Dayne hopes to return to starting lineup
BY PAT GRAHAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — The limp betrayed Ron Dayne's attempt to act like he was feeling all right.
Dayne, who injured his toe in the preseason opener against Detroit, struggled to climb the steps leading to the cafeteria Wednesday, using the railing for support.
"I'm feeling better," said the Denver Broncos running back, who has missed the last four practices with the turf-toe injury. "It's getting stronger."
"I don't think (I'll play)." Dayne said. "We'll see."
But it's not strong enough to play in Saturday's preseason game against Tennessee.
"Hopefully I can get back and be ready to go," Daayne said.
Given the way the Bells — Mike and Tatum — are running, Dayne's aspirations of being the feature back in Denver may be fading. Still, he's not quite ready to give up, holding onto hope that it's not too late for him to make a push for the starting job.
Mike Bell, the rookie who was handed the starting job last week, is turning heads, as is Tatum Bell. Cedric Cobbs is coming along and newcomer Damien Nash is looking solid in practice.
Frustration hasn't set in with Dayne yet. The former Wisconsin great, who rushed for an NCAA Division-I regular season record of 6,397 yards in his career and won
the 1999 Heisman Trophy, is maintaining a cool and calm demeanor.
At least on the outside.
"I can't complain," Dayne said. "I can just try to get better; try to get it feeling stronger."
Denver coach Mike Shanahan figured Dayne would be back by now. A few days off and hed be back to work.
"It's a temporary setback," Shanahan said on Sunday. "But he should be OK."
Dayne can't even say how the injury occurred. He thought someone may have fallen on the toe during the Lions game, when he had five carries for 12 yards.
One of the reasons Denver cut ties with Mike Anderson was because of his similarity in style to Dayne, who showed flashes of what he could bring to the field last season. His 55-yard run in overtime against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day set up a game-winning field by Jason Elam.
Dayne also had a crucial 10-yard carry on a fourth-and-1 play against San Diego on Sept. 18 that put the Broncos in position for a winning kick.
Once Anderson was out of town, it looked like a two-back race for the starting job — Dayne and Tatum Bell. Then Mike Bell squeezed his way into the mix, and Dayne fell all the way to third string.
"I had a couple bad days (of practice) and I think that's what kind of set me back." Dayne said. "I've just got to get back on track."
》PGA
Trio of champions prepare to meet in the final major of the season
BY ANDREW SELIGMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEDINAH, ILL. — Tiger Woods remembers the encounter. It was epic, a real back-and-forth contest with Phil Mickelson at a big event.
ASSOCIATED PRES
They were playing pingpong at the Presidents Cup.
Imagine the intensity when they square off today at the PGA Championship, considering how rarely Woods and Mickelson go head-to-head in a major.
"Phil and I went at it quite a few times," Woods said. "We had fun."
Jeff Sluman remembers Woods and Mickelson "sweating it" over three "hard-fought games."
"I think that the PGA has everything under control safety-wise," Mickelson said. "That would be the only concern. But I think it should be fine and a lot of fun."
The PGA Championship traditionally puts together the three major champions of the year for the first two rounds, and this year it has a doozy.
Woods, the British Open champion, is fresh off consecutive victories that brought him his 11th major at Royal Liverpool and his 50th career PGA Tour title at the Buick Open.
Mickelson, the Masters champion and last year's PGA winner, is the greatest threat to Woods' throne.
And somewhere in the mix is U.S. Open champion GEOgilvy.
friendly Mickelson have been rivals for the better part of the last decade, but this will be only the 14th time they have played together and their third meeting in a major.
They last met at a major in the final round of the 2001 Masters, where Woods was going for an unprecedented fourth consecutive major and Mickelson, who had stopped two of Woods' streaks, was one shot behind. Woods pulled away with mistake-free golf on the back nine for a two-shot victory.
"I was lucky enough to win, but to be able to go down the stretch in a major championship is always fun," Woods said. "With a talent like Phil, you always know you have to play your best in order to come out on top."
According to Mickelson's coach and short-game guru, Dave Pelz, told the Chicago Tribune in Tuesday's editions that might not be enough.
"I'm thinking nobody can beat him," Pelz said.
The ruthless Woods and fan-
And that includes Woods, who has 11 majors to Mickelson's three.
"I think I'm pretty tough to beat when I'm playing well, too," Woods countered.
For now, Woods and Mickelson aren't putting much stock into the matchup.
"When you're playing against ... those guys in a major, down the stretch on Sunday, now we've got everything on the line," Woods said. "But on a Thursday and Friday, you're just getting started."
Mickelson said, "What I would love to see happen is to see both of us play well, and both have a chance, and be paired in later groups."
athletics calendar
TOMORROW
Soccer exhibition at Drake, 6 p.m., Des Moines, Iowa
Player to watch: Holly Gault This Spring Hill senior has been named as a member of the Pre-season All-Big 12 Conference team, which was voted on by conference coaches.
SATURDAY
Women's volleyball vs. KU alumni, 7 p.m.
Horeisi Family Athletics Center
Gault
sports briefs
MEN'S BASKETBALL Jankovich considered for Sadler's UTEP job
The University of Texas-El Paso lost coach Doc Sadler to the Big 12 early last week when Sadler was hired to fill the men's basketball coaching vacancy at Nebraska.
Later in the week, UTEP tapped the Big 12 and nearly found Sadler's replacement In Kansas assistant Tim Jankovich.
UTEF ultimately hired Memphis assistant Tony Barbee to lead the program. UTEP interviewed seven other candidates for the coaching position. Barbee is the school's first African-American men's basketball coach. In addition to Jankovich, candidates from the Big 12 included Texas &M assistant Alvin Brooks and Texas assistant Rodney Terry.
ESPN's Andy Katz reported that UTEP interviewed Jankovich in Dallas on Friday. Kansas coach Bill Self confirmed Jankovich's contact with the school and said Jankovich was very excited about the opportunity.
— Shawn Shroyer
Jankovich is heading into his fourth year on the Kansas coaching staff. Self told the Lawrence Journal-World that Jankovich was just as excited to be sticking around at Kansas for the upcoming season.
SWIMMING Women wind up first in academics
Balancing academics and athletics can be tough to accomplish, but the Kansas swimming and diving team excelled at it last season.
The team's 3.39 grade point average was higher than any other athletic team at the University of Kansas last season. Among swimming and diving programs, Kansas' GPA ranked first in the Big 12 and 22nd In Division I.
"Every semester, our number-one goal as a team is to have the highest GPA," said coach Clark Campbell in response to the teams academic success in a press
release. "We are very happy with both our team and individual honors."
Individually, eight KU swimmers earned All-American status in the 2005-06 season. Sophomore Ashley Leidigh was the only Academic All-American while seven others earned Academic All-American Honorable Mention, including two of last season's seniors, Emily Rusch and Lindsey Urbatchka, current senior Jenny Short, junior Lauren Bonfe and Terri Schramka, and sophomores Molly Brammer and Danielle Herrmann.
Coaches Campbell and Eric Elliot will lead the team during the 2006-07 season and hope to continue the success witnessed last season.
The team opens the season Oct. 6 with the intrasquad meet and will travel to Lincoln, Neb., for the Big 12 Relays on Oct. 13.
— Daniel C. Weissidorfer
NBA
NBA Gooden agrees to terms with Cavaliers
CLEVELAND — Former Jayhawk Drew Gooden agreed to terms on a three-year, $23 million contract to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his agent said.
Gooden, the team's top rebounder last season, has been a solid complementary player to All-Star forward LeBron James, who committed to a three-year contract extension with the Cavaliers in July.
The 24-year-old forward averaged 10.7 points and 8.4 rebounds last season.
The Associated Press
MLS
Wizards shut out
Chicago 3-0
BRIDGEVIEW, III. — Justin Mapp scored his first goal of the season in Chicago's 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Wednesday night
Chicago is tied for third in the East with Kansas City and New York. The Wizards played with only 10 men for the final 43 minutes.
The Associated Press