Manager Lou Piniella plans to stick with the Chicago Cubs for a while. The Cubs picked up their $4 million option on Piniella's contract for 2010 on Tuesday, a day before the NL Central champions open the playoffs against the

While the Chicago White Sox played and won, the Minnesota Twins couldonly wait and watch. It's not what the Twins hoped would happen ontheir strange day off, a rain-delayed 8-2 victory by the White Sox intheir makeup game with the

Running back Cedric Benson signed Tuesday with the Cincinnati Bengals,who needed another runner and were undeterred by two alcohol-relatedarrests in Texas that prompted the Chicago Bears to let him go.

The Oakland Raiders fired Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games intohis second season, bringing finality to a situation that had beensimmering for eight months.

Brian Cashman is staying on as general manager of the New York Yankees, agreeing to a three-year contract that runs through 2011. The Yankees missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 1993. Cashman took over as GM

Ricky Williams says he was briefly tempted to smoke marijuana duringthe Miami Dolphins' bye weekend, an act that could have ended hisroller-coaster NFL career.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will have arthroscopicsurgery on his dislocated left shoulder Thursday and miss four to sixmonths of the upcoming season.

Jayson Williams' defense team will get access to additional details about a racial slur uttered by an investigator in the manslaughter case against the former NBA star.

Marc Bulger is the St. Louis Rams' starting quarterback again in one of Jim Haslett's first moves as their new coach.

Pitchers Cliff Lee of the Cleveland Indians and Brad Lidge of thePhiladelphia Phillies have been honored as Major League Baseball'sComeback Players of the Year.

The Minnesota Twins play the Chicago White Sox tonight in Chicago in a one-game playoff to determine which team will win the division and go to the playoffs.

UK ATHLETICS chief executive Niels De Vos has assured Dwain Chambers he can expect to be treated the same as any other British athlete - and he will happily meet with him to d

WORLD champion Ronnie O'Sullivan secured his place in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters with an unconvincing 5-2 win over Stuart Pettman.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half to help the Detroit Shock reach the WNBA finals for the third straight season with a 75-73 win Monday night over the New York Liberty.

From their end, the Suns were happy to see the 36-year-old Shaquille O'Neal come back for his first full season with them in good shape and, by his own estimate, at the same weight (between 330 and 335) he was

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed Malik Hairston and free agent Brian Morrison. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The Memphis Grizzlies have added free agent forward Brent Petway to their roster, the club announced today. Per team policy, terms of the signing were not disclosed.The 6-8, 205-pound Petway logged his first professional season last year with the Idaho

In the NEW YORK POST, Fred Kerber writes "Sean Williams could get a complex. The New Jersey Nets ' 2007 first-round pick probably planned on quality time this season. So the Nets traded for Yi Jianlian, drafted Ryan Anderson, signed

In the WASHINGTON TIMES, Mike Jones writes "late in the Washington Wizards' first practice of training camp, an errant shot ricocheted off the backboard and in an instant, center Etan Thomas exploded upward, snatched the ball from the air and

In the PRESS ENTERPRISE, Jeff Eisenberg writes "A role player for the Lakers a year ago after coming over from Orlando in a trade, Trevor Ariza showcased ball-hawking defense and an ability to score in transition in limited playing time