Sports News

After Niese gets hurt, Figueroa lifts Mets 9-0

NEW YORK – After the Mets lost yet another player to injury, Nelson Figueroa gave them the type of fill-in outing they needed.

Figueroa pitched 4 1-3 scoreless innings and boosted the offense with a two-run triple after Jonathon Niese got hurt, leading New York over the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 Wednesday.

Angel Pagan hit his second homer in four games and had four RBIs, and David Wright also homered for the Mets. New York took a 5-0 lead in two innings against Kyle Lohse, finished with 15 hits and won for just the second time in seven games, completing a 5-5 homestand.

Niese, who entered the rotation less than two weeks ago because of an injury to Fernando Nieve, strained his right hamstring in the second inning when he went to cover first and fell into the splits while trying to complete a double play. He then threw a practice pitch, grimaced and collapsed. Niese was assisted off the field by two trainers and taken to a hospital for an MRI.

On Monday, Figueroa (1-2) made a spot start against Arizona caused by a rainout last week that disrupted the Mets' rotation. He was awful, lasting just 1 2-3 innings and allowing 10 hits as the Mets fell behind by six runs in a 6-5 loss.

He was far different against the Cardinals, allowing four hits, striking out five and walking none in his first major league win since Sept. 1 at Milwaukee. Bobby Parnell completed the six-hitter for his first career save in five opportunities.

There was more injury news for the banged-up Mets, who have nine players on the disabled list. Left fielder Gary Sheffield, activated from the DL only last Sunday, left in the sixth because of tightness in his right hamstring. And second baseman Luis Castillo missed the game, a day after spraining his left ankle when he slipped and fell in the dugout.

Cardinals center fielder Rick Ankiel helped the Mets by allowing balls from consecutive batters to go off his glove in the second. The first, on a difficult drive by Figueroa, was ruled a triple and the second, an easier play, was scored a sacrifice fly for Pagan plus an error.

The game got a bit contentious in the sixth, when Cardinals reliever Brad Thompson threw a pitch near the head of Wright, prompting plate umpire Bill Miller to warn both dugouts. An inning earlier, Figueroa loaded the bases when he hit Cardinals star Albert Pujols near the right elbow.

Lohse (4-7) dropped to 1-7 with a 5.56 ERA in his last 11 starts, allowing five runs and seven hits in 2 2-3 innings. The Cardinals have lost all but one of those outings.

Pujols, playing after getting spiked on the left shin on a play at second base in the ninth inning Tuesday, doubled his first two times up, giving him hits in six straight official at-bats following an 0 for 13 slide. Five of the hits were for extra bases. The streak ended when he grounded out in the eighth.

Wright's two-run homer put the Mets ahead in the first, just his eighth home run of the season and fifth at spacious Citi Field.

With two on in the second and the Cardinals' outfield shallow, Figueroa hit a drive over Ankiel, who ran back and turned only to have the ball kick off his glove for a two-run triple. It was Figueroa's second extra-base hit in 71 career at-bats.

Pagan followed with a liner to shallow center. Ankiel ran in and the ball once again went off his glove.

Ankiel left during the bottom of the fourth when Colby Rasmus entered as part of a double switch. St. Louis loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth when Pujols was hit, but Matt Holliday struck out and pounded the dirt twice with his bat.

Pagan tripled in a run in the sixth against Thompson and scored on Alex Cora's single, then homered to center off Trever Miller in the eighth.

Furious Prince Fielder is stopped at Dodgers' door

LOS ANGELES – Not even Prince Fielder really knows what he might have done if a phalanx of security guards and teammates hadn't prevented the furious Milwaukee slugger from entering the Los Angeles clubhouse after a ninth-inning beaning.

And nobody is sure how the Brewers and the Dodgers will react in Wednesday's season finale after Los Angeles' impressive 17-4 victory Tuesday night degenerated into retaliation, recrimination and a regrettable charge through the Dodger Stadium tunnels by the Brewers' All-Star first baseman.

The trouble started when Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch in the seventh while Los Angeles had a nine-run lead, but it didn't boil over until Guillermo Mota was ejected for drilling Fielder with two outs in the ninth. Dodgers catcher Russell Martin acknowledged it was a response to Chris Smith hitting Ramirez with what appeared to be a much less purposeful pitch.

"It's just part of the game," Martin said. "Our premier hitter gets hit, and he gets protection. I understand (Fielder) is frustrated, but you don't take care of that after the game."

Mota and Fielder were teammates in Milwaukee last year, but the veteran reliever and the burly power hitter are no longer on friendly terms. Fielder took off for the Dodgers' side of the stadium after the final out, shouting obscenities all the way to the clubhouse door.

Several teammates trailed behind him in a surreal scene, but Bill Hall and Casey McGehee got a firm grip on Fielder while a wall of security blocked his way.

Most of the Dodgers didn't know about Fielder's march, since the door he reached is at least 30 feet down a hallway from the clubhouse. They'll all hear about it before Jason Schmidt takes the mound Wednesday.

"We don't want the same situation as last year in the playoffs, when Philly threw at Manny and we didn't retaliate," Martin said, referring to last fall's NL championship series against the Phillies. "We don't want to be known as a team that doesn't have each other's backs."

The late shenanigans marred Los Angeles' highest-scoring home performance in 30 years. Brewers manager Ken Macha felt Mota's two-out pitch could have added injury to the insult of a 13-run loss.

"(Fielder) has been hit a lot, but he digs right in there and doesn't budge," Macha said. "He just doesn't like when somebody does it on purpose. I don't blame him. Everybody's trying to make a living, and this type of mentality puts everybody in jeopardy — myself, the other team, the players on the other team. So, to me, giving a guy a $500 fine and a two-day suspension is not enough. This type of stuff should be cleaned up."

Moments after his trek through the tunnel, Fielder had calmed down enough to reply sarcastically to questions. Macha said he planned to have Fielder in the lineup Wednesday.

"He came inside. It just got away from him," Fielder said. "It happens. That's baseball. He tried to come inside."

When asked about his postgame march to the other side, he deadpanned: "I don't remember that."

Ramirez ended his 10-game RBI drought with a homer and a two-run double during the Dodgers' highest-scoring performance of the season. With 18 hits and three huge innings with at least four runs, Los Angeles improved the majors' best record to 66-41 — yet the late-game pitches overshadowed everything.

"I'm pretty sure our guy wasn't really trying to hit Manny," Milwaukee's Mike Cameron said. "I mean, it just kind of grazed him. But that's how they felt. That's what they thought they needed to do, so that's cool. We'll deal with it when we cross the (lines), but there's no concern for anything right now."

Matt Kemp had a homer among his four hits while driving in five runs, getting two hits and two RBIs during the seven-run sixth inning alone. Martin reached base five times and had three RBIs.

Los Angeles sent eight men to the plate in a four-run first inning and used 12 batters in the sixth before batting around again in the five-run eighth. Six Dodgers had multihit games, including three apiece for Martin and Andre Ethier.

The Dodgers hadn't scored 17 runs at Dodger Stadium since May 25, 1979, against Cincinnati.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-5) pitched six resilient innings to earn his first win since July 3. He yielded nine hits and three runs, struck out seven and escaped a fifth-inning jam.

Ramirez ended his RBI-less streak at 44 at-bats, matching the longest drought of his career in 1997, with a long homer in the fifth off Yovani Gallardo (10-8), who yielded 10 hits and nine runs. Ramirez hadn't driven in a run since his pinch-hit grand slam July 22.

Ramirez, in a 7-for-44 slump before his 12th homer, had a chance for his 22nd career grand slam in the sixth. He settled for a sharp two-RBI drive down the left field line.

Bullet' Bob finally land among football's best

DALLAS – Now that Bob Hayes is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, people hearing his story for the first time are going to wonder what took so long.

After all, he changed the game.

Hayes brought a new kind of speed to pro football: Olympic gold-medal speed. "Bullet Bob" won two of them in 1964, tying the world record in the 100 meters and running one of the greatest anchor legs ever seen to bring the United States from far behind in the 400-meter relay.

He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1965 and showed what he could do right away. In a preseason game, quarterback Jerry Rhome overthrew everyone, or, at least, so it seemed, until Hayes swooped in and caught the ball. Immediately promoted to the starting lineup for the opener, Hayes scored touchdowns on three of his first four catches.

That rookie year, Hayes led the league in touchdowns and became Dallas' first 1,000-yard receiver. The next year, he led the league in TDs again and cracked 1,200 yards, a team record that stood for 25 years. The Cowboys also won their division for the first time.

Hayes went on to lead the NFL in yards per catch in 1970, the year the Cowboys went to their first Super Bowl, and again in '71, when Dallas won it all for the first time. That made him the first person to win Olympic gold and a Super Bowl; he's still the only one.

"This guy revolutionized the passing game and forced them to come up with the zone defense, just like Wilt Chamberlain forced them to change certain rules in basketball," Hall of Fame defensive back Herb Adderley said.

Hayes was a huge threat no matter who was throwing him the ball. He caught a 95-yard touchdown pass from Don Meredith, an 89-yarder from Craig Morton and an 85-yarder from Roger Staubach.

The same day he notched the club-record 95-yarder, Hayes also scored from 52 yards out. He finished that game with 246 yards, another club record.

"He could always just hit another gear and no one could beat him," said Staubach, a Hall of Famer himself. "Quarterbacks get used to wide receivers because they're pretty similar, but Bob was crazy-fast. You had to learn to get rid of it a lot quicker because his speed was so different than everybody else. ... You thought you'd overthrew him and he'd run under it like he had to slow down."

He was a heck of a punt returner, too.

Hayes led the league in total punt-return yardage in 1967 and in yards per punt return in 1968. His average that season was 20.8; nobody has come within 2 yards since.

To put Hayes' career in modern terms, consider this: Over 11 years, he averaged more yards per punt return than Deion Sanders, more yards per catch than Randy Moss, scored more touchdowns than Michael Irvin and averaged a touchdown every 5.2 catches, compared to every 6.8 catches for Terrell Owens and every 7.9 for Jerry Rice.

And, get this — stats were a lot harder to come by in his era.

"You didn't throw the ball 45 times per game back then and receivers could get hit anywhere down the field," Staubach said. "That was the thing with Bob. They knew they couldn't catch him, so they were trying hit him."

It makes you wonder what Hayes would've been like with today's rules.

"Oh, my goodness," said Adderley, who went head-to-head with Hayes while playing for Green Bay, then became his close friend as teammates in Dallas. "I don't know how they'd cover him unless they used two or three guys."

So, back to the original point: Why did it take 29 years after Hayes became eligible — and seven years after he died at age 59 — for the "Bullet" to finally land in Canton?

Well, in 1979, just before he went on the ballot for the first time, Hayes pleaded guilty to delivering narcotics to an undercover police officer and spent 10 months behind bars. Although the conviction later was overturned, the damage to his reputation was done.

"That shouldn't have prevented him from being in the Hall of Fame, but I definitely feel it did," Staubach said. "I think most people feel that's the case because the facts are so overwhelming."

Hayes' supporters were really rankled in 1999 when Lawrence Taylor — who brought a new dimension to the linebacker's spot just like Hayes did to receiver, and also had his share of drug problems — was elected into the Hall on his first try. Taylor even had the public support of then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

"Why did they hold it against Hayes and not other guys?" Adderley said. "He should've been a first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones helped revive Hayes' candidacy by putting him into the club's Ring of Honor in 2001. Hayes died a year later, but got another shot at the Hall when the senior committee made him a finalist in 2004. It took a rare second chance from the seniors for him to finally make it this time.

Even after all those years of waiting, the glory didn't last. Controversy returned. The sister who read a letter Hayes wrote in 1999 specifically for this occasion turned out not to be his sister, and there were plenty of questions about the legitimacy of the letter.

On Saturday, however, the ceremony will emphasize the highlights of Hayes' career and life.

Staubach will be his presenter, followed by a video tribute. Bob Hayes Jr. will accept the honor on his father's behalf.

Hayes will join Jim Thorpe as the only Olympic gold medalists in Canton. He'll also be the 11th person inducted primarily for his days with the Cowboys.

"The common denominator about Bob is that he cared about people," Staubach said. "He wanted to put a smile on people's faces. And he was a phenomenal athlete."

To Rachel Alexandra! Cheers from Kendall-Jackson

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Vintage Rachel.

Racing fans will soon be able to do more than toast Rachel Alexandra in the winner's circle. The super filly is about to get her own line of wines.

Kendall-Jackson Winery announced Tuesday a limited edition of wines honoring their 3-year-old will be ready for the holiday season.

The winery says fewer than 300 cases of the wines will be produced and each bottle will have Rachel's image. Jess Jackson and wife Barbara Banke are co-owners of the winery. Jackson purchased Rachel Alexandra in May after the filly won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1/4 lengths.

Rachel Alexandra is clearly traveling in more refined circles these days. She is featured in the recent issue of Vogue, with the layout shot by fashion photographer Steven Klein. The magazine spread grew out of a trip to the Preakness by Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Rachel Alexandra won the Haskell Invitational against colts Sunday, beating Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird by six lengths for her eighth victory in a row. She also won against the boys in the Preakness Stakes in May.

AP Interview: Aaron says release 104 drug names

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Hank Aaron wants to shine some more light on baseball's steroid era. The former home run king favors releasing the full list of players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday night with The Associated Press, the Hall of Famer said releasing the list would help Major League Baseball get past its drug stigma. The list was supposed to remain anonymous and is now under court seal, but big names have continued to leak out.

"I wish for once and forever that we could come out and say we have 100 and some names, name them all and get it over and let baseball go on," Aaron said. "I don't know how they keep leaking out. I just wish that they would name them all and get it over with."

Aaron also wanted to make a few other things clear.

No, he has not spoken with commissioner Bud Selig about banned Pete Rose being reinstated in baseball. But he does think it's time Rose, the career hits leader, be reinstated and voted into the Hall of Fame.

Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 after an investigation concluded he bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win while he was manager of the team.

"How long does a person have to die?" Aaron said. "I think the thing that bothers me is that he is missing out on a lot of things. He made a mistake. I don't know what else can be done, or what else can be said. I just think at some point he needs to start enjoying being a Hall of Famer."

Aaron spoke to the AP before a banquet for the 17th Annual RBI World Series. The program is designed to increase participation and interest in baseball for youths and minorities — one of the primary issues Aaron is working on.

With the number of blacks in the majors dwindling in the past few decades, Aaron said MLB — and everyone — could do more to curb the numbers.

"You always think that a program needs to do more, no question about it, if you have the funds," Aaron said. "We all need to do more. I think we all need to do more to help."

However, since steroids have come become one of baseball's biggest problems, the thought that the game is still tainted doesn't sit well with Aaron, who held the home run record with 755 until Barry Bonds broke it.

Neither does the fact that some of baseball's biggest names — including a New York Times report last week that identified Boston slugger David Ortiz and former teammate Manny Ramirez — continue to pop up on what has simply become known as "the list."

There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003 — the anonymous tests were conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004. But federal agents seized the results as part of the BALCO investigation. The players' union has argued the search was illegal, and the case is currently before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

At the event in Palm Beach Gardens on Tuesday night, Aaron said he often delivers a message to kids about getting involved in baseball but also about staying out of trouble. He thought the same message could apply to some major leaguers.

"I tell them you may not be able to hit 700 home runs, but you need to do the right things," Aaron said. "There's no shortcuts in life. Everything is going to catch up."

Swiss pick UAE's Ras al-Khaimah for America's Cup

One of the most anticipated showdowns in America's Cup history will be sailed on the Persian Gulf in two of the fastest, most powerful sailboats ever built.

Two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland on Wednesday picked Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, as the port for its best-of-3 showdown against bitter American rival BMW Oracle Racing for the oldest trophy in international sports.

Everything leading up to this America's Cup has been unconventional, so it figures that the venue would be extraordinary, too.

A little-known city-state, Ras al-Khaimah literally means "The Top of the Tent." It is on the southern end of the Persian Gulf and not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the UAE from Iran.

The grudge match between bickering billionaires Larry Ellison of BMW Oracle Racing and Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi will begin Feb. 8.

In a news release issued in Geneva, officials from Alinghi and its supporting yacht club, Societe Nautique de Geneve, said Ras al-Khaimah is ideal because of its weather and support pledged by leaders there.

"Our absolute priorities in making this decision are the prevailing weather conditions and the resulting safety that they bring to both teams," said Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth, a New Zealander and four-time America's Cup winner.

The syndicates have built giant, space age-looking multihulls that could provide the most spectacular racing in the 158-year history of the America's Cup.

Alinghi will sail a catamaran and BMW Oracle Racing a trimaran. The boats are 90 feet long and have masts roughly the height of a 16-story building and mainsails twice the size of a Boeing 747's wing. They can sail at 2 to 2 1/2 times the speed of the wind.

Alinghi trained in Dubai, UAE, prior to the America's Cup in 2007, when it beat Team New Zealand in Valencia, Spain.

Butterworth said Ras al-Khaimah "has a great, building sea breeze during the day, similar to Mediterranean conditions in the summer, making it good for these boats and safe for all concerned."

While big and powerful, the boats are also potentially lethal should there be an accident. Both sides have been cautious in bringing them up to speed. Alinghi eliminated Valencia as a venue because of concerns about rough weather in February.

This rare one-on-one match is the result of a convoluted, two-year legal fight between Bertarelli, a biotech tycoon, and Silicon Valley maverick Ellison, the founder and CEO of business software giant Oracle Corp. The one-time pals sail aboard the boats they own.

In the Alinghi statement, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi said it is "a great moment for us to host the America's Cup here. It is significant because it reflects how the Emirates have become a place for hosting international events. It is a reflection on what we have achieved in terms of becoming the destination for tourists and trade and industry and is a reflection of our integration in the world at large.

"This announcement reflects the nature of our country and its aim of becoming host to many nationalities who live side by side in peace," the emirate's crown prince added. "It is a hope and dream that this is the kind of space that we want to have on our globe. It is a great moment for us to host this prestigious event and to welcome all the sports people to the UAE and to Ras al-Khaimah to watch this great event."

Fred Meyer, vice commodore of Societe Nautique de Geneve, said UAE officials will build an island to be used by the teams, sponsors and fans.

RAK, as the emirate is called, isn't known for oil. It is the biggest producer of cement in the UAE.

Alinghi is believed to have wanted a port with light wind and flat seas, which could give its giant cat, named Alinghi 5, an edge over BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran, which is undergoing sea trials off San Diego.

Alinghi is scheduled to use a giant, Russian-built helicopter to lift Alinghi 5 off Lake Geneva on Friday and fly it over the Alps along the Great St. Bernard Pass to Genoa, Italy, for a month of training on the Mediterranean.

Alinghi won a decision in a New York court last week allowing it to use an engine to trim the sails and move water ballast from one hull to the other. BMW Oracle Racing is considering adding an engine to its monster trimaran.

The America's Cup got its name after the schooner America beat a fleet of British ships around the Isle of Wight on Aug. 22, 1851, to win an ornate silver trophy that had been called the Hundred Guinea Cup. Since then it has been contested off New York; Newport, R.I; Fremantle, Australia; San Diego; Auckland, New Zealand; and Valencia.