Chicagos new top cop shaking things up

By Jim Mone (AP)

So much for small ball.

Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota\'s three home runs and four RBIs, and the Twins hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Joe Nathan gave up two runs in the ninth, but won a showdown with pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez by getting him to ground out to shortstop with the tying run on second base to pick up his 12th save in as many chances.

Monroe had his third career multihomer game and Adam Everett also went deep during an atypically brutal start for Tim Wakefield (3-2) in the Metrodome. Nick...

By Jim Mone (AP)

So much for small ball. Craig Monroe went 2-for-4 with two of light-hitting Minnesota\'s three home runs and four RBIs, and the Twins hung on for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night.

Joe Nathan gave up two runs in the ninth, but won a showdown with pinch-hitter Manny Ramirez by getting him to ground out to shortstop with the tying run on second base to pick up his 12th save in as many chances.

Monroe had his third career multihomer game and Adam Everett also went deep during an atypically brutal start for Tim Wakefield (3-2) in the Metrodome. Nick Blackburn...

By Keith Srakocic (AP)

Max Talbot, a sometimes overlooked fourth-line forward on a team renowned for its stars, scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins took a two-game lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 Sunday night.

Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa also scored and Jordan Staal added an empty-net goal in the final minute as Pittsburgh came back to win after twice squandering one-goal leads.

By Evan Agostini (AP)

Cablevision Systems Corp. is close to buying the Long Island newspaper Newsday from Tribune Co. for $650 million, a person with knowledge of the situation said Sunday.

The deal, which could be announced as soon as Monday, would net Cablevision, a cable TV company also based on Long Island, its first newspaper. It would also provide much-needed cash to Tribune Co., which is struggling under $8.2 billion in debt it took on when it went private last December.

The person familiar with the talks asked to remain anonymous since the discussions were confidential. Spokesmen for both...

By Ric Francis (AP)

Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the Houston Astros broke out for seven hits and six runs in the eighth inning to pull out an 8-5 victory Sunday.

Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence had RBI singles against reliever Jonathan Broxton (1-1), and Brad Ausmus added a two-run single against the right-hander as the Astros won for the eighth time in nine games. Houston also completed its first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 25-27, 1992.

Michael Bourn capped the rally with a sacrifice fly, giving...

By Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP)

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 victory in the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center. Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and...

By Lenny Ignelzi (AP)

All it took for the San Diego Padres to suddenly look alive was to face a pitcher making his big league debut.

Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered to spoil Greg Reynolds\' first start, leading the Padres to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and their first series win in nearly a month.

The Padres have been playing so poorly that their two consecutive wins match their season high, which they\'ve managed only three times. After winning for just the sixth time in 24 games, the Padres (14-24) continue to have the worst record in the majors.

San Diego...

By Lenny Ignelzi (AP)

All it took for the San Diego Padres to suddenly look alive was to face a pitcher making his big league debut.

Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene homered to spoil Greg Reynolds\' first start, leading the Padres to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and their first series win in nearly a month.

The Padres have been playing so poorly that their two consecutive wins match their season high, which they\'ve managed only three times. After winning for just the sixth time in 24 games, the Padres (14-24) continue to have the worst record in the majors.

San Diego...

By Marcio Jose Sanchez (AP)

Steve Holm entered the game as a defensive replacement at catcher, then delivered the biggest hit of the day.

Holm hit a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh inning for his first major league home run, and the San Francisco Giants held on for a 4-3 victory in the rubber game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Holm homered in his first at-bat on the first pitch he saw from J.C. Romero (3-1) after replacing Bengie Molina in the top of the seventh, sending the ball into the seats in left-center. Romero had allowed only one homer in his previous 61 appearances and...

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer\'s role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn\'t feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne\'s comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a \"mental break.\"

\"He\'s really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard,\" Yost said. \"We\'ll probably just mix and match, I\'m not going to do anything crazy.\"

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the...

By Morry Gash (AP)

The Brewers yanked Eric Gagne from the closer\'s role on Sunday after the reliever called his latest performance embarrassing and said he didn\'t feel he deserved to pitch the ninth anymore.

Manager Ned Yost said he read Gagne\'s comments and will use a closer by committee approach while Gagne takes what Yost called a \"mental break.\"

\"He\'s really pushing himself really, really hard and taking it really, really hard,\" Yost said. \"We\'ll probably just mix and match, I\'m not going to do anything crazy.\"

Gagne, who signed a $10 million, one-year contract with the...

By Duane Burleson (AP)

Derek Jeter was all suited up for the New York Yankees and ready to bat cleanup for just the second time in his career. A steady downpour, though, postponed the game Sunday in Detroit and foiled manager Joe Girardi\'s plan.

\"He only did it because he knew the game was going to be rained out anyway,\" Jeter joked.

Girardi insisted the forecast didn\'t have anything to do with slotting Jeter to bat fourth with Hideki Matsui resting against the Tigers\' left-handed starter, Nate Robertson, and Alex Rodriguez on the disabled list.

\"I told him I thought of it last night,\"...

By Evan Agostini (AP)

Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to NBC\'s \"Late Night\" franchise following Conan O\'Brien\'s exit.

A person close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn\'t been made confirmed the widely rumored change Sunday and said a news conference was planned for Monday.

All that\'s left is an official date for NBC\'s transition: O\'Brien moving out West to take over for Jay Leno on the \"Tonight\" show and Fallon following in the next time slot.

Fallon was a \"Saturday Night Live\" cast member before leaving for a...

By Dan Steinberg (AP)

Television heads into its biggest week with the hangover from a 100-day writers strike persisting.

Viewership is down, although it\'s hard to tell how much the strike is to blame. This week\'s \"upfront\" presentations by broadcasters outlining their fall schedules, which annually precedes a multibillion dollar ad buying binge, promises to be much different than before.

\"The strike had a number of impacts,\" said Alan Wurtzel, NBC Universal research chief, \"but as with everything it\'s never very clear or direct or black and white.\"

ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC had nearly 9...

By J. Scott Applewhite (AP)

With millions of stimulus checks going out to taxpayers, Wall Street wants to know where that money will be spent _ and this week\'s data could help investors gauge the mind-set of the average consumer.

Tax rebates have historically been helpful in boosting the economy, but they only really work if they\'re used to buy goods and services. With many consumers weighed down by debt and saving up to keep up with the cost of basic necessities, some market experts are concerned that what\'s best for most individuals _ saving their rebates _ might not end up helping the broader...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Her presidential bid needs a miracle, so Hillary Rodham Clinton prayed for one Sunday in church.

Arriving amid thunderstorms, Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, took seats in the second row of First United Methodist Church and listened to a sermon about Mother\'s Day.

\"Give us eyes to see the miracles around us,\" Dr. Paul Russell said, leading the worshippers in prayer. Hillary Clinton read along with the congregation.

Mother\'s Day was Clinton\'s theme Sunday as she sought to remind Democrats of her strong support among women while campaigning for the big win in West...

By Lloyd Gallman (AP)

Four-dollar-a-gallon gas is good for business _ if you run a bike shop.

Commuters around the country are dusting off their old two-wheelers _ or buying new ones _ to cope with rising fuel prices, bicycle dealers say.

\"Everyone that comes in the shop is talking about the gas prices,\" said Barry Dahl, who opened Barry\'s Bikes in Bismarck in April. He sold more than 50 bicycles in the first month, double the projections in his business plan.

Teacher Joyce McCusker of Herndon, Va., owns a bicycle for the first time in years. She bought it last month and uses it to make...

By Elise Amendola (AP)

Hillary Rodham Clinton began her presidential quest armed with talent, tenacity, fame, money, connections and a team that knew how to win. Many people believed her victory in the Democratic nomination was a sure thing. Her ultimate failing may have been in believing it, too.

Clinton had one big problem out of the gate: 40 percent or more of Americans said they\'d never vote for her. She was too polarizing. It\'s love her or hate her.

Clinton powered through that hurdle in state after state, showing grit that earned her the valuable political currency of being merely...

By John Raoux (AP)

Richard Hamilton scored 32 points and Hedo Turkoglu missed a layup with time running out as the Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 90-89 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Tayshaun Prince scored 17 for Detroit, including an 11-foot runner for the go-ahead basket with 8.9 seconds left. Rasheed Wallace had 16 points and eight rebounds. Antonio McDyess had eight points and 14 boards.

Orlando squandered a 15-point lead in the third quarter. After Prince\'s basket, Turkoglu\'s layup from the left side of the lane was no good and...

By Evan Agostini (AP)

News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week.

News Corp. had offered about $580 million for the daily newspaper, one of the country\'s biggest, but it was competing against rival bids from Cablevision Systems Corp. and New York Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman. Cablevision had reportedly made an offer of $650...

By (AP)

President Rafael Correa said Saturday he has \"no confidence\" in the World Bank arbitration branch that is hearing U.S. oil company Occidental\'s lawsuit against Ecuador.

Ecuador \"handed over its sovereignty\" when it signed international accords binding it to the bank\'s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Correa said during his weekly radio address. The ICSID is an autonomous court established to resolve investment disputes.

Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. is seeking $1 billion in damages from Ecuador, alleging its property was...

By John Froschauer (AP)

Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin each homered and combined for five RBIs in the second inning, powering the Chicago White Sox to an 8-4 victory over the slumping Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.

Javier Vazquez (4-3) allowed six hits and four runs in 5 2-3 innings as the White Sox moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the American League Central with their third consecutive win and fourth in five games. The Twins lost 5-2 to Boston.

The White Sox jumped on starter Jarrod Washburn (2-5) for six runs on five hits in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead. The Mariners...

By John Froschauer (AP)

Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin each homered and combined for five RBIs in the second inning to lead the Chicago White Sox to an 8-4 victory over the slumping Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.

Javier Vazquez (4-3) allowed six hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings as the White Sox moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the American League Central with their third consecutive win and fourth in five games. The Twins lost 5-2 to Boston.

The White Sox jumped on starter Jarrod Washburn (2-5) for six runs on five hits in the second inning to take a 6-0 lead. The Mariners...