The Houston Astros scored five runs in the
sixth inning on their way to an 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates
last night. Hunter Pence had an RBI single in the inning and
finished the game with three hits. The victory snapped Houston's
five-game losing streak.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ The Texas Rangers completed the
three-game sweep by routing the Baltimore Orioles last night 13-5.
Texas starter Alexi Ogando allowed three runs on four hits to pick
up his ninth win of the year. Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz and Michael
Young each had three RBIs for the Rangers.
A 16-year-old prospect from the
Dominican Republic has signed with the Texas Rangers. Outfielder
Nomar Mazara had received a $5 million bonus from the team last
week. After watching Mazara hit, manager Ron Washington said he
could become a left-handed Juan Gonzalez.
HOUSTON (AP) _ An NHL exhibition game at Houston's Reliant
Stadium between the Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes has been
cancelled. A Stars spokesman says the September 23rd contest was called off because of the cost of putting ice in the stadium. The
game will not be rescheduled.
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WASHINGTON (AP) _ Jury selection in the Roger Clemens' perjury
trial in Washington is expected to continue today and could go into
next week. Clemens, the former fireballer who won 354 major league
games and is one of four hurlers with more than 4,000 strikeouts,
is charged with lying to Congress on the issue of
performance-enhancing drugs.
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NEW YORK (AP) _ NFL owners and players find themselves in
hurry-up mode as time gets tight to reach labor peace one month
before the Hall of Fame game is scheduled to start the preseason on Aug. 7. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (guh-DEHL') and players association chief DeMaurice Smith plan to return to the
negotiations today, along with several owners and players.
^
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Mark Cavendish of Britain won a windy
and crash-marred fifth stage of the Tour de France Wednesday in a
mass sprint and Thor Hushovd (tohr HUSH'-awv) of Norway kept the overall race lead.
Defending champion Alberto Contador fell in one pileup and
RadioShack rider Janez Brajkovic (YAH'-neez BRAH'-koh-vihch) quit
the race after another in the 102-mile ride.
Armen Gilliam, who was part of the UNLV
Runnin' Rebels basketball team that made a run to the 1987 Final
Four, has died at age 47.
Gilliam also played 13 seasons in the NBA, with stints in
Phoenix, Charlotte, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Utah.
His best season was the 1995-96 campaign with the Nets when he
averaged a career-high 18.3 points per game and 9.1 rebounds.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office says Gilliam died
Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville, Pa., while
playing basketball.
A cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy.
^