Warrick Dunn and the Falcons are going to have to get used to life without No. 7. (AI Wire photo)
On the day their best player pleaded guilty to felony charges that will likely land him in jail, the Atlanta Falcons started to look to the future. What they saw wasn’t awful and in some ways pleasantly surprising.
Joey Harrington, thrust into the starter’s job because of Michael Vick’s legal troubles related to illegal dogfighting, quarterbacked Atlanta to a 24-19 win over the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in the lone NFL preseason game on Monday night.
Harrington was 13-for-21 for 162 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception and played into the third quarter in the Falcons’ first home game of the preseason. The Falcons beat the point spread, which favored the Bengals by a field goal, and the betting total went over 38.
Harrington will be under the spotlight as he takes over for one of the game’s most exciting players. He got familiar with his receivers on Monday, but veteran running back Warrick Dunn saw limited action and tight end Alge Crumpler, Vick’s favorite target, only caught two passes for 15 yards.
On the other side of the field, the Bengals fell to 0-3 in the preseason and their defense, which was the league’s worst last year, failed to show much improvement. Carson Palmer was sharp as usual, going 15-for-22 for 136 yards, two touchdowns and no picks.
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Serena Williams had a more difficult time than expected in the first round. (AI Wire photo)
Opening day at the U.S. Open didn’t have any shockers, but Serena Williams looked fallible against an unseeded German teenager.
Williams, the eighth seed in the final grand slam event of the year, staved off a third set by winning back-to-back games to close out a straight-set win of 6-3, 7-5 over feisty Angelique Kerber in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., on Monday.
Their match concluded play on a warm night that also featured Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, breezing past Kira Nagy of Hungary, 6-2, 6-1.
The Williams sisters, who are both two-time U.S. Open winners, highlighted a night that also featured a tribute to Althea Gibson, the first black woman to win one of tennis’ premier events when she captured the French Open in 1956.
Among other favorites to win on Monday were: women’s No. 1 seed Justine Henin, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 5 Amy Ivanovic. On the men’s side, top-seeded Roger Federer, the heavy favorite to three-peat with U.S. Open odds of 2/5, was a straight-set winner. Four upsets occurred on the men’s side, but none of the losers were seeded higher than 18th.
For U.S. Open odds for the men’s and women’s draw throughout the tournament, visit the Bodog Sportsbook every day. And read a preview of the women’s draw in Bodog Nation, the popular online magazine.
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Serena Williams had a more difficult time than expected in the first round. (AI Wire photo)
Opening day at the U.S. Open didn’t have any shockers, but Serena Williams looked fallible against an unseeded German teenager.
Williams, the eighth seed in the final grand slam event of the year, staved off a third set by winning back-to-back games to close out a straight-set win of 6-3, 7-5 over feisty Angelique Kerber in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., on Monday.
Their match concluded play on a warm night that also featured Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, breezing past Kira Nagy of Hungary, 6-2, 6-1.
The Williams sisters, who are both two-time U.S. Open winners, highlighted a night that also featured a tribute to Althea Gibson, the first black woman to win one of tennis’ premier events when she captured the French Open in 1956.
Among other favorites to win on Monday were: women’s No. 1 seed Justine Henin, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 5 Amy Ivanovic. On the men’s side, top-seeded Roger Federer, the heavy favorite to three-peat with U.S. Open odds of 2/5, was a straight-set winner. Four upsets occurred on the men’s side, but none of the losers were seeded higher than 18th.
For U.S. Open odds for the men’s and women’s draw throughout the tournament, visit the Bodog Sportsbook every day. And read a preview of the women’s draw in Bodog Nation, the popular online magazine.
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USA’s Kobe Bryant makes a dunk against Brazil during their FIBA Americas Championship Sunday. (AP Images)
The US National team dominated Brazil 113-76 Sunday and ended the preliminary round of the FIBA Americans Championship unbeaten.
Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and got 10 rebounds to easily lead his team past the previously unbeaten team from Brazil.
LeBron James scored 21 points with 5 assists and Kobe Bryant added 20 points. USA’s defense limited the Brazilians to 39.1 percent shooting.
Tournament scoring leader Leandro Barbosa was held to just four points on 1-for-7 from the floor.
The victory moves the US Team to 4-0 for the tournament.
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Steelers running back Willie Parker celebrates scoring on an 18-yard touchdown run in a preseason football game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (AP Images)
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-13 Sunday night in preseason action, but veteran quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Ben Roethlisberger were struggling.
McNabb completed only 5-of-11 passes for 60 yards and left the game in the second quarter. The Eagles could only get together a 22-yard field goal by David Akers for a 3-0 lead.
Roethlisberger picked up his game after a slow start and led Pittsburgh to 13 points in the second quarter, finishing with 13-of-25 for 247 yards passing.
Running backs Willie Parker and Kevan Barlow scored the Steeler touchdowns, and Jeff Reed added two field goals.
Philadelphia rookie Kevin Kolb led the Eagles to a field goal and a touchdown. He completed 26-of-37 for 242 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Pittsburgh plays its final preseason game Thursday night a 8 p.m.at Carolina and will open the season September 9 at the Browns.
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David Wells pitched five innings and also scored a run as the Los Angeles Dodgers salvaged the last of their three-game series at Shea Stadium with a 6-2 victory over the first-place New York Mets.
The Dodgers signed Wells as a free agent on Friday, to take the place of Brett Tomko, who was designated for assignment.
Pitching for his ninth team, Wells did not disappoint as Los Angeles concluded a 3-3 road trip and won for the seventh time in 11 games.
Wells’ performance also helped the Dodgers gain ground in both the wild card and National League West races as they moved within 3 1/2 games of San Diego and 6 1/2 of Arizona.
The Mets lost just the fourth time in their last 13 games after a shaky outing from John Maine, who has just one of his 13 victories in his last five starts. Maine lasted 5 2/3 innings and allowed six runs - three earned - and a season-high nine hits.
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Seen here in better days, is Amy Winehouse in too deep? (AP Images)
The families of singer Amy Winehouse and her husband Blake Fielder-Civil are apparently keeping a round the clock vigil on the drug using, scrapping and extremely messed up couple.
The families are afraid that the two junkies are risking their lives with their addictions and have vowed to keep them safe.
Keeping them safe means keeping them apart, after the two were involved in a violent brawl earlier this week.
Left bloody and battered after fighting with her husband, Winehouse is now publicly defending him and claiming that he saved her life.
She explained that she was cutting herself after he found her with a call girl about to do drugs. He tried to save her from herself and received some pretty nasty cuts on his cheek and neck. Winehouse was left with black make-up smeared all over her face and blood on her shoes.
Winehouse and Fielder-Civil ran away from rehab last Sunday, despite promising family that they were taking control of their lives.
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Geek comedy Superbad was number one again at this weekend’s box office. (Photo courtesy Sony Pictures)
For the first time in history, total summer grosses at the box office have topped $4 billion, thanks to summer blockbusters like Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The latest summer hit, nerd comedy Superbad, topped the box office for the second straight weekend with $18 million in ticket sales. Superbad is the second sleeper hit of the summer from producer Judd Apatow and writer Seth Rogen, coming on the heels of Knocked Up.
Action thriller The Bourne Ultimatum finished in second spot with $12.4 million, bringing its total gross to just over $185 million over four weeks. Rush Hour 3, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, was right behind Jason Bourne, holding the third spot with $12.3 million.
Two new releases landed in fourth and fifth spots – Mr. Bean’s Holiday, starring Rowan Atkinson as the quirky Mr. Bean, was fourth with $10.1 million and War was fifth with $10 million.
Rounding out the top ten were The Nanny Diaries, based on the best selling book and starring Laura Linney and Scarlett Johansson, in sixth with $7.8 million, The Simpsons Movie held on to seventh spot with $4.4 million, Stardust was eighth with $3.95 million, Hairspray in ninth with $3.45 million and The Invasion held tenth spot with $3.14 million.
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn throws to running back Jason Wright during their game against the Denver Broncos. (AP Images)
Brady Quinn led the Cleveland Browns to a 17-16 win over the Denver Broncos, showing his efficiency and value for the second straight game.
Quinn threw a pass that Joshua Cribbs turned into a 20-yard touchdown to break a 10-10 tie in the third quarter, but the rookie from Notre Dame was robbed of another apparent TD throw on the Browns’ previous possession.
Quinn, whose TD to Cribbs came against backups, completed 7 of 11 passes for 81 yards. Charlie Frye started and went 5-of-7 for 68 yards and Derek Anderson was 7-of-9 for 74 yards.
Meanwhile in Glendale, the San Diego Chargers scored a 33-31 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Even without LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers’ offence was in mid-season form, moving the ball at will against the Cardinals’ first string offense.
Quarterback Philip Rivers found receivers all over the field, completing 20-of-29 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Vincent Jackson for touchdowns of 33 and six yards.
Arizona ’s Matt Leinart also had a good night, completing 10-for-16 for 196 yards and a touchdown. He did not play after halftime.
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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tim Wakefield delivers against the White Sox during their game in Chicago. (AP Images)
The Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago White Sox 14-2 Saturday for their third straight victory.
Tim Wakefield allowed just three hits over seven scoreless innings to join teammate Josh Beckett as the only 16-game winners in the majors.
Wakefield walked three and struck out six, giving up a single to Jerry Owens to lead off the first, then didn’t allow a hit until Jermaine Dye doubled with one out in the seventh.
The Red Sox scored all of their runs in the final four innings, including eight runs in the eighth, highlighted by a two-run single by David Ortiz.
Paul Konerko had a two-run homer in the eighth inning for Chicago’s only runs.
Mike Lowell was 4-for-6 with two runs scored and two runs batted in for Boston, who now have a 6 1/2-game lead in the American League’s Eastern Division over the second-place New York Yankees who won 7-2 at Detroit.
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