MADRID (Reuters) - Unseeded Argentine David Nalbandian inflicted a shock 6-1 6-2 defeat on world number two Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Masters on Friday to earn a semi-final showdown with young Serb Novak Djokovic.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Boston’s Josh Beckett dazzled on the mound to help the Red Sox stay alive in the American League Championship Series with a 7-1 road victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game Five on Thursday.
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RYE BROOK, New York (Reuters) - Joe Torre says he was insulted by the incentives attached to the New York Yankees contract offer he rejected this week, thereby ending his 12-year spell as manager.
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CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Kansas City Royals have appointed Trey Hillman as manager in place of Buddy Bell, who resigned at the end of the regular season.
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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton has been told to keep a lid on his podium celebrations should he win the Formula One title in Sunday’s Brazilian season-ender, according to McLaren.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are having an easier time than expected raising revenue from domestic sponsorship deals, officials said on Friday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Howard has been suspended for two games for his involvement in a fight with Sacramento Kings center Brad Miller in a pre-season game last Tuesday, the NBA said.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Buffalo Bills aim to play one of their NFL matches next season in Toronto, Canada, the club said on Thursday.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said on Friday that casinos and other poker tournament sponsors will have to start reporting most players’ winnings to the Internal Revenue Service starting next year.
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MADRID (Reuters) - American number one Andy Roddick became the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai after his rivals for a place failed to advance at this week’s Madrid Masters.
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MADRID (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal tried to look on the bright side despite suffering his heaviest defeat in three years when he was overwhelmed 6-1 6-2 by David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday.
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CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A day after telling reporters that playoff elimination was “not the end of the world”, Boston slugger Manny Ramirez played like there was no tomorrow on Thursday in helping the Red Sox stay alive this post-season.
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TORONTO (Reuters) - A small group of National Hockey League players are to begin testing heated skate blades designed to cut down on friction and allow players to move faster and save energy.
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MADRID (Reuters) - World number two Rafael Nadal clinched a spectacular 7-6 6-4 victory over Britain’s Andy Murray to claim a place in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Thursday.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Josh Beckett carries Boston Red Sox World Series hopes to the mound on Thursday for a must-win Game Five against the Cleveland Indians and they could not be in safer hands.
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ZURICH (Reuters) - World number one Justine Henin eased into the quarter-finals of the Zurich Open on Thursday with a 6-3 6-1 win over Russia’s Vera Zvonareva.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New Jersey Devils turned in a second straight strong offensive performance to edge the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4 on Wednesday, Travis Zajac leading the attack with two second period goals.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former England captain David Beckham is available to play for the LA Galaxy in their vital Major League Soccer match against New York Red Bulls later on Thursday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Long-time skipper Joe Torre has turned down a one-year deal to come back and lead the New York Yankees, officials of the American League team said on Thursday.
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MONTREAL (Reuters) - World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) head Dick Pound has refuted former French sports minister Jean-Francois Lamour’s criticism of the organization and accused him of running away from a fight he could have won.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Long-time manager Joe Torre has turned down a one-year deal to come back and lead the New York Yankees, officials of the American League team said on Thursday, adding they were now looking for a new manager.
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - The Atlanta Thrashers have sacked coach Bob Hartley after six straight defeats at the start of the season, the NHL team said on Wednesday.
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MADRID (Reuters) - British number one Andy Murray said he was satisfied after a meeting with ATP investigators on Wednesday about his recent comments over possible corruption in tennis.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - Green Bay Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson has been allowed back into the NFL after serving a one-year suspension for breaching the league’s substance abuse policy.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kentucky Derby champion Street Sense and Preakness winner Curlin highlight a powerful, nine-horse field pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, officials said Wednesday.
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BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese athletes at next year’s Beijing Olympics could be placed under unbearable pressure to succeed, Sports Minister Liu Peng said on Wednesday.
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MIAMI (Reuters) The Baltimore Orioles have appointed Rick Kranitz as their new pitching coach, the MLB team said on Wednesday.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - Boston may trail 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series (ALCS) but the Red Sox have been in worse situations.
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MADRID (Reuters) - World number two Rafael Nadal recovered from an unsteady start to overcome Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 6-4 in the Madrid Masters on Wednesday and set up a mouth-watering last 16 clash against the in-form Andy Murray.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - Buffalo Bills tight-end Kevin Everett, who doctors feared would be paralyzed for life, has taken his first steps and said he felt fortunate to be alive.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Wednesday, rallying to beat British Open winner Padraig Harrington in a playoff despite making a dreadful start to the second and final round.
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ZURICH (Reuters) - World number four Ana Ivanovic suffered a shock 6-3 6-1 defeat to fellow teenager Tatiana Golovin in the second round of the Zurich Open on Wednesday.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former England captain David Beckham could return after injury on Thursday as a substitute in Los Angeles Galaxy’s league game against the New York Red Bulls.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - The Cleveland Indians moved to the brink of the World Series on Tuesday after Jhonny Peralta’s three-run homer helped dump the Boston Red Sox 7-3 in Game Four of the American League Championship Series.
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TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved Tuesday to shore up their injury-depleted ground game by acquiring Michael Bennett from the Kansas City Chiefs.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Angels went in-house to replace general manager Bill Stoneman on Tuesday, naming director of player development Tony Reagins to the post.
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MADRID (Reuters) - British number one Andy Murray blew away Argentine 15th seed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-1 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Masters on Tuesday.
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - Eli Manning passed for two touchdowns and 303 yards to help the New York Giants crush the Atlanta Falcons 31-10 to register their fourth successive win on Monday.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - The Arizona Cardinals, hit by injuries to two quarterbacks, signed Tim Hasselbeck on a one-year deal on Tuesday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ales Kotalik’s netted a power-play goal with four seconds left in overtime to earn the Buffalo Sabres a 5-4 home victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forward Jochen Hecht has signed a new four-year contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL team said on Tuesday.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - The Super Bowl could be played in London one day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
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ZURICH (Reuters) - Local favorite Patty Schnyder eased into the second round of the Zurich Open on Tuesday after sixth seed Serena Williams retired injured at 6-0 3-0 down.
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CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian heavyweight boxers abandoned their team-mates and disappeared after arriving in the United States for the World Boxing Championships, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said on Tuesday.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - The San Diego Chargers have signed wide receiver Chris Chambers from the Miami Dolphins, the NFL teams said on Tuesday.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - The Boston Red Sox paid over $100 million for Daisuke Matsuzaka but their investment has yet to pay off in a post-season win.
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MADRID (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer returned to action with a 7-6 6-4 win over American qualifier Robby Ginepri in the Madrid Masters second round on Tuesday.
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DENVER (Reuters) - The streaking Colorado Rockies roared into their first World Series after holding off the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 to sweep the National League Championship Series on Monday.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is waiting for tests on an elbow injury in the second injury setback for the NFL team in as many weeks.
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MADRID (Reuters) - British number one Andy Murray continued his return to form with a classy 6-4 6-1 win over Radek Stepanek in the first round of the Madrid Masters on Monday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - New manager Dusty Baker is desperate for success with the Cincinnati Reds.
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DALLAS (Reuters) - Tom Brady threw a career-high five touchdown passes to help the New England Patriots overpower the Dallas Cowboys 48-27 in a showdown of unbeaten teams on Sunday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The end-of-season rise of the Colorado Rockies has reached a startling 20 wins in 21 games and taken the National League club within one victory of its first World Series.
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MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniard Oscar Pereiro finally got his hands on the 2006 Tour de France winner’s yellow jersey at a special ceremony in Madrid on Monday.
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BEIJING (Reuters) - A measure of the importance China attaches to hosting a successful Olympic Games came when it merited a mention in President Hu Jintao’s keynote speech to the 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on Monday.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kentucky Derby champion Street Sense had a strong workout at Churchill Downs on Monday in preparation for next week’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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MIAMI (Reuters) - The St Louis Cardinals have tied pitcher Joel Pineiro to a new two-year deal, the MLB team said on Monday.
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