Un-bee-lievable Bee swarm delays Astros 7-2 win

Astros-Padres game delayed by bees in outfield

By Denis Poroy (AP)

Talk about adding a late-inning buzz to a ballgame.

A game between the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres was delayed in the top of the ninth inning Thursday when a swarm of bees took over part of left field at Petco Park.

After Joe Thatcher\'s first pitch to Miguel Tejada with two outs in the ninth, Padres left fielder Kyle Blanks began walking in toward the infield. Second base umpire Mike Reilly walked toward left field to see what was going on.

Within minutes, the rest of the players left the field.

The swarm first appeared along the warning track. Later,...

Drivers react to Mayfields reinstatement

By Terry Renna (AP)

Bump-drafting, slingshot passing and restrictor-plate racing weren\'t the buzzwords being thrown around Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.

There was way more talk about affidavits, B samples, false positives and a judge\'s temporary injunction that reinstated suspended NASCAR owner-driver Jeremy Mayfield.

A federal judge in Charlotte, N.C., lifted Mayfield\'s indefinite suspension Wednesday, allowing him to race at Daytona this weekend.

\"The situation that we had, when somebody tests positive, is something to be seriously considered, and there\'s a lot of...

The Shaq Show ONeal wants a ring for the King

By PHIL LONG (AP)

Laughing and loose, Shaq looked right at home.

Shaquille O\'Neal and his oversized persona debuted in Cleveland on Thursday with a stated goal for next season. His friend LeBron James craves a championship, and O\'Neal is here to serve.

\"My motto is very simple,\" O\'Neal said. \"\'Win a Ring for the King.\'\"

The 15-time All-Star center with four NBA titles was bedecked in a black suit, pink shirt and pink tie for an introductory news conference that might as well have been billed The Shaq Show.

Acquired last week in a blockbuster trade with the Phoenix Suns,...

NFL players put the heavy in metal

By Matt Slocum (AP)

Marc Colombo lowers his bald head and leans his sweaty, 6-foot-8, 318-pound frame toward the microphone, growling to the crowd that the next song will \"rip your face off.\"

The sometimes scary stage presence of the heavily tattooed guitarist and singer, who is one of three Dallas Cowboys offensive linemen in the heavy metal band Free Reign, is a thing of beauty for the head of the recording company that just signed them.

\"They\'re big guys _ big, ugly, mean guys,\" said John Howarth, owner and CEO of the Australian company Riot Entertainment. \"You see the press photos and...

Hossas big deal with Blackhawks tops busy NHL day

By Mark Avery (AP)

Just when the slowing global economy figured to put a crimp in spending for NHL free agents, Marian Hossa hit the open market again.

And instead of taking a discount on a one-year deal to take a shot at a Stanley Cup title, Hossa cashed in a megadeal with the up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

A few hours after the NHL free-agent season was open for business, the Blackhawks said goodbye to Martin Havlat and set their sights on Hossa. It didn\'t take long to come to terms on a 12-year, $62.8 million contract.

It was the headline move on the typically busy...

Former Romanian soccer player says he was informer

By VADIM GHIRDA (AP)

A former captain of Romania\'s national soccer team says he was an informer for the country\'s secret police during the communist era.

The admission by Gheorghe \"Gica\" Popescu comes three days after he denied the allegations, calling a newspaper report that he was a Securitate informant a \"big lie.

In an interview with the daily Evenimentul Zilei on Thursday, the 41-year-old Popescu said he wrote four notes informing on teammates and other colleagues while playing at Universitatea Craiova.

The defender was part of a Romanian team that qualified for three consecutive...

Sister Act 4 Venus, Serena reach Wimbledon final

By Sean Dempsey (AP)

Richard Williams refuses to watch his daughters Venus and Serena play each other. Says he simply can\'t bear to see it, no matter the setting, no matter the stage.

So once again, the patriarch of the greatest sister act in tennis history is heading home to the United States before the Wimbledon final. That\'s because the women\'s singles championship at the All England Club is Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams for the second year in a row and fourth time overall.

The way the sisters won in Thursday\'s semifinals could hardly have been more different.

\"Serena nearly...

IOC monitoring case against Chinas 2000 gymnasts

By AMY SANCETTA (AP)

The International Olympic Committee says it is following developments in the case of the two gymnasts on China\'s 2000 Olympic team who are suspected of being underage.

If Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun are found to have been too young to compete at the Sydney Games, it would be up to the IOC to determine what to do about their medals. IOC spokeswoman Sandrine Tonge says the organization will take \"necessary measures\" based on what the investigation finds.

China won the bronze medal in 2000, and Yang was the bronze medalist on uneven bars.

International gymnastics...

No LA for Coach K, but another Olympics could work

By Gerry Broome (AP)

Everybody wants to be wanted. And then there\'s Mike Krzyzewski.

The man already has a job for life at Duke, and barely three weeks to decide whether he wants to coach the U.S. Olympic men\'s basketball team again. But just for the record, Krzyzewski made it clear Tuesday the one job he definitely isn\'t interested in is the one Phil Jackson holds in Los Angeles.

\"Not that it\'s so bad,\" Coach K mused at one point _ and he should know.

The last time the Lakers made a run at Krzyzewski, in 2004, he turned down a reported $40 million. But he insisted rumors the club was...

More evidence points to Arguello death a suicide

By Miguel Alvarez (AP)

Investigators have released new evidence that points to suicide in the death of former boxing champion and Managua mayor Alexis Arguello.

The rising star of the governing Sandinista party, a movement he once bitterly opposed, died at his home of a single gunshot to the chest early Wednesday.

Assistant judicial police chief Glenda Zavala says traces of gunpowder were found on the 57-year-old Arguello\'s hands, suggesting he shot himself. There were no other signs of violence in the room where he was found.

Nicaraguans formed long lines Thursday at an open-casket ceremony...

Sister Act 4 Venus, Serena reach Wimbledon final

By Sean Dempsey (AP)

Richard Williams refuses to watch his daughters Venus and Serena play each other. Says he simply can\'t bear to see it, no matter the setting, no matter the stage.

So once again, the patriarch of the greatest sister act in tennis history is heading home to the United States before the Wimbledon final. That\'s because the women\'s singles championship at the All England Club is Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams for the second year in a row and fourth time overall.

The way the sisters won in Thursday\'s semifinals could hardly have been more different.

\"Serena nearly...

3 share Farr lead after first round

By Tony Dejak (AP)

Morgan Pressel, Song-Hee Kim and Laura Diaz made the most of the defending champion\'s absence at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Each shot a 7-under 64 after Paula Creamer withdrew because of a thumb injury, taking a one-shot lead over Michelle Wie and Suzann Pettersen after Thursday\'s opening round at Highland Meadows.

Pressel, who was second at the Farr two years ago to five-time winner Se Ri Pak, didn\'t have a bogey and birdied four holes in a row late in her round. Kim missed the cut two years ago in her only previous appearance at the Farr, but she twice birdied...