Humongous Web Sports Blog

Manny Ramirez returned to the big leagues as only he could. Wearing sunglasses and with his famous dreadlocks in a ponytail, the Los Angeles Dodgers' slugger apologized to fans and teammates during a news conference Friday afternoon. He refused to answer questions about steroids, laying off them as if they were pitches in the dirt.

Albert Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Friday night. Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, [...]

Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets have reached agreement on an eight-year contract extension through the 2017-18 season. Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson confirmed the signing to The Associated Press on Friday night. The Canadian Press first reported the signing, saying the deal is worth $62.4 million.

The best of Tiger Woods came Friday when his game was falling apart. Woods lived up to his hopes of being a "greedy host" when he salvaged his round during a shaky stretch in the middle and shot 4-under 66 to take a one-shot lead at his AT&T National with the lowest 36-hole score ever [...]

John Danks threw 7 1-3 shutout innings and got a big lift from reliever Scott Linebrink as the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory. A. J. Pierzynski homered and he and Scott Podsednik both had three hits for the White Sox (42-38), who won [...]

Rodrigo Lopez walked off the mound to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd in the home of the defending World Series champions. Not bad for a guy who hadn't pitched in the majors in two years. Lopez took a three-hitter into the seventh inning, helping the Philadelphia Phillies snap a six-game home losing streak [...]

Rob Johnson doubled home two runs in the 11th inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Friday night. George Kottaras hit his first major-league homer in the bottom of the 11th for the Red Sox, who tied the game at 5 with two runs in the eighth inning. Seattle's Ronny [...]

Hedo Turkoglu reportedly agreed to join the Portland Trail Blazers after helping Orlando reach the NBA finals. ESPN.com reported the signing Friday, citing unidentified sources. Turkoglu's agent, Lon Babby, didn't immediately return calls or e-mails. Portland cannot comment on the agreement until Wednesday, when teams may sign free agents.

Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol will play for Spain in September in the European Basketball Championship. Gasol said Friday that it was an easy decision after winning the NBA finals. "The season went really well for me and now I want to defend our country," Gasol said. "We're really hopeful about the team we [...]

Phil Jackson will return to coach the Los Angeles Lakers next season, getting a clean bill of health following a record championship season. The Hall of Fame coach turns 64 in September and said on the team's Web site Friday he got the go-ahead for another season after consulting the team doctor.