Sports 2000

New York slugged three home runs en route to an 8-5 win over Philadelphia in Game 3 of the World Series. CC Sabathia will pitch tomorrow on short rest for the Yankees against the Phillies’ Joe Blanton. Philadelphia scored three runs off Andy Pettitte in the second inning, paced by the first of two home runs by Jayson Werth.

However, Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the fourth of the reigning World Series Most Valuable Player, Cole Hamels, to get the Yankees on the scoreboard. Hamels pitched poorly after a strong beginning. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. Pettitte steadied himself after a tough start and lasted six innings to notch the win.

Oregon crushed USC, 47-20, in Eugene to take control of the Pac-10 conference. The #10 Ducks (7-1, 5-0) have recovered marvelously from a season-opening debacle at Boise State. Meanwhile, the #5 Trojans (6-2, 3-2) must strengthen their once-proud defense.

Third-ranked Texas (8-0) hammered #14 Oklahoma State (7-1), 41-14. Tennessee (4-4) upended #22 South Carolina (6-3), 31-13. Auburn (5-3) upset #25 Mississippi (5-3), 33-20.

Anthony Kim will face Ross Fisher in the 36-hole final of the World Match Play Championship Sunday. Kim dispatched Robert Allenby in a 36-hole semifinal Saturday, 5 and 4. Fisher outlasted Angel Cabrera after 39 holes.

Ian Poulter leads early in the final round at the Singapore Open. The PGA Tour event in Madison, Mississippi after a heavy rainstorm Friday left the course unplayable. The final tournament of the year starts Nov. 12 in Orlando.

Yani Tseng and Maria Hjorth are tied for the lead midway through the last round of the LPGA Tour stop in South Korea. John Cook is atop the Champions Tour Cup Championship with 18 holes to play.

Serena Williams will meet her sister, Venus, in the final of the WTA Tour Championship Sunday. Serena, who will be the year-end number one player, advanced when Caroline Wozniacki retired Saturday due to a left abdominal strain while trailing, 6-4, 0-1. Venus rallied past Jelena Jankovic, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, in the other semifinal. The sisters lost a doubles semifinal today in three sets.

In CFL games Saturday, Hamilton (8-9) upended visiting Saskatchewan (9-7-1), 24-6, and Calgary (10-6-1) kicked a field goal with one second left to beat British Columbia (8-9), 28-26, in Vancouver. Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Talladega.

The WTA Tour Championship has reached the semifinal. In group play, Elena Dementieva beat Venus Williams, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2. Serena Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (5), 7-5. Victoria Azarenka defeated Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 6-2.

Serena beat Venus, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Caroline Wozniacki edged Azarenka, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Jankovic beat Dinara Safina after Safina retired at 1-1 of the first set due to a back injury. Vera Zvonareva replaced her. Wozniacki trounced Zvonareva, 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Zvonareva withdrew from the tournament after the match due to an ankle injury. Agnieszka Radwanska replaced her.

Serena beat Dementieva, 6-2, 6-4. Venus defeated Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Kuznetsova beat Dementieva, 6-3, 6-2. Jankovic beat Wozniacki, 6-2, 6-2. Radwanska won when Azarenka retired due to cramps at 4-6, 7-5, 4-1.

Jankovic (2-1) and Wozniacki (2-1) advanced from the White Group. Serena (3-0) and Venus (1-2) survived the Maroon Group. Jankovic battles Venus in one semifinal while Serena meets Wozniacki in the other semifinal in Doha, Qatar.

Milwaukee is the 30th and final team to begin its NBA regular season. The Bucks lost tonight at Philadelphia (1-1), 99-86. Elsewhere, Charlotte (1-1) edged New York, 102-100, in double overtime. Atlanta (2-0) handled Washington (1-1), 100-89. Boston (3-0) crushed Chicago (1-1), 118-90. New Orleans (1-1) outlasted Sacramento (0-2), 97-92. Oklahoma City (2-0) won at Detroit (1-1), 91-83.

In other NBA games, Miami (2-0) dispatched Indiana (0-2), 96-83. Cleveland (1-2) dismissed Minnesota (1-1), 104-87. Orlando (2-0) triumphed at New Jersey (0-2), 95-85. Memphis (1-1) beat Toronto (1-1), 115-107. Utah (1-1) rallied past the L.A. Clippers (0-3), 111-98. Phoenix (2-0) crushed Golden State (0-2), 123-101. Dallas (1-1) defeated the L.A. Lakers (1-1), 94-80.

Anthony Kim, Robert Allenby, Angel Cabrera and Ross Fisher advanced to the semifinals of the World Match Play Championship in Spain. Kim won Group A on a tiebreaker despite losing to Scott Strange, 3 up, Friday. Retief Goosen beat Paul Casey, 1 up. Allenby claimed Group B by beating Oliver Wilson, 2 up. Sergio Garcia defeated Martin Kaymer, 4 up, in the other group match.

Cabrera lost to Henrik Stenson, 2 up, Friday morning but recovered to thrash Simon Dyson, 7 up, in the afternoon. Rory McIlroy defeated Dyson, 2 up, and Stenson, 4 up, but Cabrera advanced on a tiebreaker. Fisher lost his first match today to Lee Westwood, 2 up, but defeated Jeev Milkha Singh, 1 up, in the afternoon. Camilo Villegas beat Singh, 3 up, and halved his match with Westwood to finish one point behind Fisher.

Rain has delayed the Singapore Open. Ian Poulter leads midway through the second round. John Cook’s 62 today lifted him to a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Champions Tour Cup Championship. First round co-leaders Phil Blackmar and Jeff Sluman are three and five shots behind Cook, respectively.

Na-Yeon Choi leads midway through the second round of the LPGA event in South Korea. First round co-leaders Meaghan Francella and Anna Grzebien are both several shots over par today. The 54-hole tournament is set to end Sunday.

The PGA Tour event in Madison, Mississippi won’t start until Sunday at the earliest. A Friday rainstorm combined with a soggy course means there will be no play Saturday. A press conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. central Saturday to further address the situation.

California (2-2) edged host New York (0-3), 20-13, and Florida (4-0) squeaked past visiting Las Vegas (1-2), 27-24, in this week’s UFL action. Edmonton (8-9) throttled guest Toronto (3-14), 36-10, in a CFL game tonight. South Florida (6-2, 2-2 in the Big East) upset #21 West Virginia (6-2, 2-1), 30-19, in Tampa Friday.

A.J. Burnett pitched seven innings and Mariano Rivera got the last six outs to lift New York to a 3-1 win in Game 2 of the World Series. The series is now tied at one. Game 3 will be Saturday in Philadelphia. Pedro Martinez took the loss by allowing three runs in six-plus innings.

Ian Poulter led after the first round of the Singapore Open. Rain delayed the end of the round until Friday morning local time. The second round is underway with Felipe Aguilar and Wen-Chong Liang, Ernie Els and Yih-Shin Chin tied for second, one stroke behind Poulter.

The first round of the PGA Tour event in Madison, Mississippi was postponed due to heavy rain and a soaked course before a shot was played. Officials hope to begin action Friday.

Anthony Kim and Oliver Wilson each won two matches at the restructured World Match Play Championship in Spain Thursday. Kim leads Group A with four points after beating Retief Goosen, 4 up, and Paul Casey, 3 up. Goosen has two points after beating Scott Strange, 1 up. Strange has two points also for his 1-up win over Casey. Kim plays Strange and Goosen meets Casey Friday.

Wilson leads Group B with four points following wins over Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, both 1 up. Kaymer also lost 1 up to Robert Allenby. Allenby and Garcia halved their 18-hole match. Wilson battles Allenby and Garcia faces Kaymer tomorrow.

In Group C, Simon Dyson handled Henrik Stenson, 3 up, and Angel Cabrera crushed Rory McIlroy, 5 up. In Group D, Jeev Milkha Singh dominated Lee Westwood, 6 up, and Ross Fisher eased past Camilo Villegas, 2 up. Players in both groups will play their last two matches Friday. Group winners advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

North Carolina (5-3, 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) upset #13 Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2), 20-17, in Blacksburg today. In the NBA, Chicago beat San Antonio, 92-85, and Denver edged Portland, 97-94.

Houston played to a 0-0 tie at Seattle to start the MLS Western Conference playoffs. The return leg will be played in Houston next week. Kansas is ranked number one in the college basketball preseason coaches poll.