Armstrong stripped and banned

GENEVA (AP) — The International Cycling Union agrees with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, stripping Lance Armstrong’s seven Tour de France titles and banning him for life.

ICU President Pat McQuaid says his federation accepted USADA’s report on Armstrong and will not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

USADA said Armstrong should be banned and stripped of his Tour titles for “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen” within his U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams.

Today’s decision clears the way for Tour de France organizers to officially remove Armstrong’s name from the record books.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme has said the race would go along with whatever cycling’s governing body decides and will have no official winners for those years.

Never-say-die Giants

UNDATED (AP) — Major League Baseball is going to have a third winner-take-all game in four postseason series, and it’ll be played tonight in San Francisco.

The Giants pushed the NLCS to a decisive seventh game by beating the visiting Cardinals 6-1. It’s San Francisco’s second straight win with their backs to the wall and fifth of the playoffs.

Ryan Vogelsong worked seven outstanding innings and Marco Scutaro sparked a pair of early rallies. Vogelsong limited the Cards to a run and four hits while striking out nine. He blanked the Redbirds until Carlos Beltran doubled and scored on Allen Craig’s single in the sixth.

Scutaro walked and scored the Giants’ first run in the opening inning. He also scored in the second after slapping a two-run double.

Redbirds starter Chris Carpenter was reached for five runs and six hits in four innings.

Tonight’s winner will host the Detroit Tigers for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. Detroit completed an ALCS sweep of the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Red Sox name new skipper

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox have hired John Farrell away from the Blue Jays to be their new manager.

The Red Sox obtained the rights to their former pitching coach by trading infielder Mike Aviles to Toronto. Farrell had been the Jays skipper the past two seasons, posting a 154-170 record with two fourth-place finishes.

Texans blast Ravens…Giants rally

UNDATED (AP) — The Houston Texans bounced back from their lone loss of the season by trouncing the only other AFC team with a winning record heading into Week 7.

The Texans improve to 6-1 by blasting Baltimore 43-13, dropping the Ravens to 5-2. It is Houston first victory over Baltimore in seven meetings.

Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes and Arian Foster ran for two scores for the Texans, whose defense bounced back big time from an embarrassing loss to Green Bay. Antonio Smith had two sacks and J.J. Watt deflected a pass that Johnathan Joseph intercepted and returned 52 yards to pay dirt.

Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.

Elsewhere:

— Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 77-yard touchdown pass with 73 seconds remaining as the New York Giants defeated Washington 27-23 to improve to 5-2. The go-ahead scoring strike came just 19 seconds after Santana Moss hauled in a 30-yard TD toss from Robert Griffin III to put the Redskins ahead 23-20.

— Chris Rainey scored the tiebreaking touchdown on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter of Pittsburgh’s 24-17 comeback win at Cincinnati. Ben Roethlisberger passed for 278 yards and a touchdown for the Steelers, who trailed 14-3 before improving to 3-3.

— At Foxborough, Stephen Gostkowski drilled a 48-yard field goal at 3:58 of overtime before Mark Sanchez fumbled with 7:28 left on the clock to secure the Patriots’ 29-26 win over the New York Jets. Gostkowski also hit a 43-yard field goal at the end of regulation after the Patriots blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

— Drew Brees threw for 377 yards and four touchdowns to lead New Orleans to a 35-28 come-from-behind road victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He extends his NFL record for consecutive games with a TD pass to 49. Brees led long scoring drives on four straight possessions to turn a 14-point deficit into a 28-21 halftime lead. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma played for the first time while appealing a season-long suspension for his role in the Saints bounty program.

— After opening the season 4-0 the Arizona Cardinals sit 4-3 following a 21-14 loss at Minnesota. Adrian Peterson ran for 153 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, and the Vikings survive an ugly second half to run their record to 5-2.

— The Green Bay Packers defeated the St. Louis Rams 30-20 for their first two-game winning streak of the season. Aaron Rodgers completed 30 of 37 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns to help the Pack get to 4-3 on the season.

— Dan Bailey’s foot lifted the Dallas Cowboys to a 19-14 victory at Carolina. Bailey’s 28-yarder with 3:25 left in the game gave the Cowboys the lead. He capped the scoring with 53 seconds left on the clock, kicking his fourth field goal of the game.

— Matt Hasselbeck engineered the 22nd fourth-quarter comeback of his NFL career and second in as many weeks, lifting the Tennessee Titans to a 35-34 win over Buffalo on the Bills’ home field. Hasselbeck’s 15-yard scoring pass to Nate Washington with 1:03 on the clock was the game winner.

— There was overtime in Oakland as Sebastien Janikowski hit a 40-yard field goal at 2:02 of the extra session to give the Raiders a 26-23 triumph over Jacksonville. The game-winning boot came after Cecil Shorts lost a fumble to set up the Raiders deep in Jacksonville territory.

— The Colts surpassed last year’s win total in game six of the 2012 season. Indianapolis improves to 3-3 with a 17-13 victory over visiting Cleveland.

Kenseth takes checkered flag

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Matt Kenseth was the winner of the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth’s second victory in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship leaves him 55 points behind overall leader Brad Keselowski (kehz-LOW’-skee) with four races remaining.

Jimmie Johnson led 44 laps early but crashed hard after spinning by himself. He managed to finish ninth and remains second in the Sprint Cup standings, still seven points behind Keselowski.

Denny Hamlin’s 13th-place finish keeps him third in the points race, 20 off the lead and five ahead of Clint Bowyer.

Earnhardt good to go

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Team owner Rick Hendrick says Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been cleared by his doctor to race next weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR’s most popular driver just sat out his second consecutive race because of two concussions in six weeks. Hendrick says Earnhardt has been headache-free for more than a week, and tests by a specialist in Pittsburgh show no lingering issues.

Regan Smith replaced him in the Hendrick Motorsports ride.

The fourth-ranked Husker volleyball team picked up their ninth straight win Sunday afternoon, defeating Illinois in three sets 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 in Champaign. It’s Nebraska’s tenth three-set sweep in seventeen wins this season. Morgan Broekhuis tallied 10 kills to lead the Husker attack. She also served three aces. Gina Mancuso and Hannah Werth racked up eight kills apiece. Hayley Thramer had eight stuff blocks, and Lauren Cook had 27 assists. The Huskers host Ohio State this Friday and Penn State this coming Sunday.

The Husker women’s soccer team was unable to leave Champaign with a victory, falling to Illinois 4-1. Mayme Conroy scored Nebraska’s lone goal in the 40th minute to cut a deficit to 2-1, but the Illini scored twice in the second half to put the game away. The Huskers are 7-10-1 on the season, and 4-6 in Big Ten play, placing them seventh in the conference. They host Minnesota on Friday in their regular season conference finale.

The Tri-City Storm split a pair of weekend games against the Omaha Lancers at the Viaero Events Center in Kearney. On Friday night the Lancers scored four power-play goals on their way to an 8-3 rout. Trevor Moore and Michael Vecchione each had a goal and an assist in the defeat. On Saturday, the Storm flipped the script. Trailing after two periods, the Storm scored twice in the third period to take a 2-1 win. Tim Bonner tied the game at one a minute into the third with a power play goal, and Garret Gamez’s marker, assisted by Bonner, with seven minutes left was the game winner. Johan Mattson made 27 saves, including 12 in the third period, to earn the win in the crease. The Storm are 2-4-1 on the season. They travel to Omaha for another matchup with the Lancers on Friday night, and then play at Sioux Falls on Saturday.

All Times EDT
Saturday
TOP 25 FOOTBALL

No. 1 Alabama at Tennessee, 6 p.m.

No. 3 Florida vs. No. 9 South Carolina, 2:30 p.m.

No. 4 Kansas State at No. 17 West Virginia, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Notre Dame vs. BYU, 2:30 p.m.

No. 6 LSU at No. 20 Texas A&M, 11 a.m.

No. 7 Ohio State vs. Purdue, 11 a.m.

No. 8 Oregon State vs. Utah, 9:30 p.m.

No. 10 Oklahoma vs. Kansas, 6 p.m.

No. 11 Southern Cal vs. Colorado, 5 p.m.

No. 12 Florida State at Miami, 7 p.m.

No. 13 Georgia at Kentucky, 6 p.m.

No. 14 Clemson vs. Virginia Tech, 11 a.m.

No. 15 Mississippi State vs. Middle Tennessee, 6 p.m.

No. 16 Louisville vs. USF, 2:30 p.m.

No. 18 Texas Tech at TCU, 2:30 p.m.

No. 19 Rutgers at Temple, 11 a.m.

No. 21 Cincinnati at Toledo, 6 p.m.

No. 22 Stanford at California, 2 p.m.

No. 23 Michigan vs. Michigan State, 2:30 p.m.

No. 24 Boise State vs. UNLV, 2:30 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON

Dallas at Atlanta, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Indiana, 6 p.m.

San Antonio at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

New York vs. Boston at Albany, N.Y., 6:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Detroit, 6:30 p.m.

Washington at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Utah, 8 p.m.

MOTORSPORTS

NASCAR Nationwide, Kansas Lottery 300 Qualifying, Kansas City, Kan., 11:05 a.m.

NASCAR Nationwide, Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas City, Kan., 2:30 p.m.

 

Sunday
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
League Championship Series

NL: St. Louis at San Francisco, 6:45 p.m., if necessary

NFL

Arizona at Minnesota, noon

Green Bay at St. Louis, noon

Baltimore at Houston, noon

Washington at N.Y. Giants, noon

Dallas at Carolina, noon

New Orleans at Tampa Bay, noon

Cleveland at Indianapolis, noon

Tennessee at Buffalo, noon

Jacksonville at Oakland, 3:25 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at New England, 3:25 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 7:20 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON

San Antonio at Orlando, 5 p.m.

Philadelphia at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m.

MOTORSPORTS

NASCAR Sprint Cup, Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas City, Kan., 1 p.m.

Cards can claim crown tonight

UNDATED (AP) — The Cardinals are a win away from a return trip to the World Series. The defending champions host San Francisco tonight holding a three-games-to-1 advantage in the best-of-seven NLCS after last night’s 8-3 victory.

St. Louis sends out Lance Lynn for his second postseason start. The 18-game winner gave up four runs in just three and two-thirds innings of in Cards’ 6-4 victory in Game 1.

San Francisco is going with Barry Zito, who was 15-8 in the regular season. The veteran left-hander hasn’t pitched since Oct. 10, when he lasted just two and two-thirds innings in an 8-3 win at Cincinnati.

The Giants find themselves in a familiar position. They trailed the Reds 2-0 in the best-of-five NLDS before coming back to win three straight on the road.

Victim 1 goes public

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The young man whose claims of abuse began the criminal investigation that put Jerry Sandusky in prison says he contemplated suicide because authorities took so long to prosecute the former Penn State assistant football coach.

Aaron Fisher, known as Victim 1, is speaking out publicly by name for the first time. He tells ABC in an interview airing Friday that the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office had told him it needed more victims before Sandusky would be charged.

Fisher says the long delay made him increasingly desperate. He says he thought “maybe it would be easier to take myself out of the equation.”

Sandusky was sentenced last week to at least 30 years in prison for molesting Fisher and nine other boys.

Hopes for full season fading

TORONTO (AP) — The NHL and the players’ association agree on one thing: Thursday was a bad day at the negotiating table.

Any optimism that existed following the NHL’s offer earlier this week of a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue was quickly dashed when the union countered with three proposals that were quickly rebuffed.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says of the three counterproposals from the players’ association, “It’s clear we’re not speaking the same language.”

No new talks have been scheduled, and the possibility of a full hockey regular season is quickly shrinking.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
San Francisco at St. Louis 7:07 p.m.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Indiana at Orlando 6:00 p.m.
New York at Toronto 6:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Brooklyn 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago 7:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs Oklahoma City 7:00 p.m.
Golden State at Portland 9:00 p.m.
Sacramento at L-A Lakers 9:00 p.m.

Tigers sweep Yanks to reach Fall Classic…Cards take control of NLCS

UNDATED (AP) — The Tigers are headed to their first World Series in six years following last night’s 8-1 pounding in the Yankees that completed a four-game ALCS sweep. It will be Detroit’s 11th appearance in the Fall Classic.

Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta belted two-run homers off New York ace CC Sabathia in the fourth inning to get things rolling. Sabathia was charged with six runs in three and two-thirds innings of work.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer lost a no-hit bid in the sixth inning. He struck out 10 in his five and two-thirds innings. Scherzer and three relievers combined on a two-hitter.

The Yankees exit the 2012 postseason having batted an anemic .188 overall. They scored in just three of the 39 innings in the ALCS and were outhit by Detroit 46-22.

The Tigers will get some rest before the World Series, which opens Wednesday night in either St. Louis or San Francisco.

The Cardinals are a win away from a return trip to the Fall Classic. The defending champions beat visiting San Francisco 8-3 to grab a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS.

Adam Wainwright gave up a run and four hits over seven innings and combined with Fernando Salas on a six-hitter.

Matt Holliday, Jon Jay and Yadier Molina had two RBIs apiece to lead a 12-hit outburst by a team that batted just .198 through the first three games of the series.

The Cardinals roughed up Tim Lincecum, who left after four and two-third innings, allowing four runs on six hits.

The Cards will send out 18-game winner Lance Lynn to the mound tonight in hopes of clinching in front of a home crowd. The Giants are going with Barry Zito, who was 15-8 in the regular season.

Surgery for slugger

ANAHEIM Calif. (AP) — Albert Pujols had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week. The Los Angeles Angels first baseman should be ready for the start of spring training. The Angels on Thursday confirmed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s report on the surgery, describing it as a minor cleanup procedure.

Pujols overcame a slow start to hit .285 with 30 homers and 105 RBIs in his first season with the Angels after leaving the Cardinals for a 10-year, $240 million deal as a free agent.

Niners take division lead

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The 49ers are alone atop the NFC West, at least for now.

Alex Smith threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker late in the third quarter and San Francisco held on to beat visiting Seattle 13-6 in the NFL’s Week 7 opener.

The Niners improve to 5-2 while the Seahawks fall to 4-3. Division-rival Arizona is 4-2 head into Sunday’s game at Minnesota.

Frank Gore ran for 116 yards and Smith finished 14 of 23 for 140 yards in another subpar performance.

NFC rushing leader Marshawn Lynch finished with 103 yards for Seattle.

No. 2 Ducks overwhelm Sun Devils 43-21

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — There is also Top-25 college football played Thursday night, but it wasn’t much of a contest. The high-flying and second-ranked Oregon Ducks built a 43-7 lead in the second quarter and routed Arizona State 43-21. The 7-0 Ducks kept their unbeaten record and national championship hopes intact. The Sun Devils fell to 5-2 and 3-1 in the Pac-12 South.

The Ducks amassed more than 400 yards on the ground. Kenjon Barner ran for 143 yards and three TDs. Quarterback Marcus Mariota added 135 yards rushing, and an 86-yard touchdown run. He also threw one touchdown and caught a TD pass.

This is the 20th straight game the Ducks have scored at least 30 points.

Heroin killed Reid

EASTON, Pa. (AP) — A coroner says an accidental heroin overdose killed Garrett Reid, the son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid.

Garrett Reid was found dead in his dorm room on Aug. 5 at Lehigh University in Easton, where he was assisting the team’s strength and conditioning coach during training camp.

He was a recovering drug addict who had seemingly turned his life around. His father had indicated that his 29-year-old son may have had a relapse.

Suggs still eyeing 2012 debut

UNDATED (AP) — Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs hasn’t ruled out the possibility of making his season debut Sunday against the Houston Texans.

The notion seems far-fetched, given that Suggs practiced for the first time Wednesday after undergoing surgery in May on his torn right Achilles tendon.

Suggs is the 2011 NFL defensive player of the year and a five-time Pro Bowl performer.

In other NFL news:

— Redskins coach Mike Shanahan says injured receiver Pierre Garcon is a “long shot” to play against the New York Giants on Sunday. Garcon missed practice a second day in a row to get treatment for the painful swelling on the bottom of a right toe.

— The Minnesota Vikings held Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen out of practice as a precaution because of minor injuries, but expect to have both available against Arizona on Sunday. Peterson has been playing through a sprained left ankle for the last few weeks while Allen is bothered by a groin injury.

— Buffalo Bills starting right guard Kraig Urbik will miss his third straight game because of a right ankle injury.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
San Francisco at St. Louis 7:07 p.m.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESEASON
Indiana at Orlando 6:00 p.m.
New York at Toronto 6:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Brooklyn 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago 7:00 p.m.
Phoenix vs Oklahoma City 7:00 p.m., Bank of Oklahoma Center
Golden State at Portland 9:00 p.m.
Sacramento at L-A Lakers 9:00 p.m.