Spurs guard Ginobili out 10-14 days with injury

(Reuters) - San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is expected to miss 10-14 days due to a strained left hamstring, the National Basketball Association team said on Monday.The third-leading scorer on the Southwest division-leading Spurs was injured in the final minute of the first half of San Antonio's 106-88 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.Ginobili, 35, who has already dealt with back spasms, a...

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Golden era for QBs, with great stories around NFL

NEW YORK (AP) — The two kids from Northern California burst from NFL afterthought to championship contender in eerily similar fashion a decade apart.Tom Brady and Colin Kaepernick, each playing in a conference title game this weekend, are bookends to a fortuitous moment in quarterback history. On one side are the likes of Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, still scintillating in their mid-30s.On...

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Chiefs player legally drunk when he killed girlfriend: autopsy

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher was legally drunk when he killed his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and then took his own life last month, according to an autopsy released on Monday.The report showed Belcher had a blood alcohol content of .17 - more than double the .08 level that by Missouri law makes a driver drunk.Belcher, 25, killed Perkins, 22, in the...

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Cowboys hire Monte Kiffin to replace Rob Ryan

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys have hired former Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin as the replacement for Rob Ryan.The team announced the move on its website Friday, a day after the 72-year-old Kiffin was at team headquarters to interview with coach Jason Garrett and owner Jerry Jones.The hiring of Kiffin means the Cowboys will switch back to the 4-3 defense after going to the...

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Falcons get chance to end playoff misery

(Reuters) - The Atlanta Falcons earned the top seed in the National Football Conference (NFC) with a 13-3 regular season record but it is a miserable run of form in the playoffs they will try to end against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.Three times in the era of head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan the Falcons have impressed in the regular season but have stumbled in their first games...

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It's official: Shafer takes over at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — As he addressed the media at his first press conference as coach, Syracuse's Scott Shafer briefly fumbled for words as he looked over at his wife and two children and thought about his father."(Being a head coach) has been a goal of mine since I was 10 years old because I was influenced by my dad. I just have so many vivid memories of the influence that he had on so many young...

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Bryant says Lakers suffering from of old age

 Kobe Bryant said the Los Angeles Lakers are suffering from old age, but still believed he and his team mates can right the ship in time for a playoffs run."The problem is we've dug ourselves such a deep hole we got to do a lot of fighting just to catch up and get in that conversation," Bryant told ESPN Radio on Wednesday following the Lakers' 103-99 loss to Philadelphia (15-17) on New Year's...

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Pettersson: Golf on 'witch hunt' of long putters

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Carl Pettersson says the proposed rule to ban the anchored stroke for long putters feels like a "witch hunt," and that golf's governing bodies were only reacting to three of the last five major champions using a belly putter."It seems silly to ban something that's been around for 40 years," Pettersson said in his first comments since the U.S. Golf Association and Royal &...

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Pennsylvania suit against NCAA a long shot: experts

 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett faces serious obstacles to winning his antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA over the harsh sanctions it imposed on Penn State in the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal, legal experts said on Wednesday.While targeting the National Collegiate Athletic Association may be popular politically in a state where Penn State football is widely loved, the federal court...

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Pistons' Villanueva fined $25,000 for flagrant foul

 Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva has been fined $25,000 for a flagrant foul on Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, the National Basketball Association said on Wednesday.Villanueva was ejected for the foul, which occurred with four seconds left in the second quarter of Detroit's 103-97 home win over Sacramento on Tuesd...

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Governor sues NCAA over Penn State sex scandal

Wednesday demanding that sanctions imposed on Penn State University over the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal be thrown out, saying they threatened to devastate the state's economy.Corbett called the sanctions imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, which include an unprecedented $60 million fine, "overreaching and unlawful.""I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without...

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Golf-Indonesian Open reverts back to Asian Tour

SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The Indonesian Open will switch back to the Asian Tour from next season after three years on the OneAsia circuit, organisers said on Friday.The Asian Tour did not give any details about the date of the tournament, how much prize money would be on offer, sponsors or a venue for the event which they first staged in 1974."This agreement marks a new dawn for our national...

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McGehee to join fellow former Yankee Jones in Japan: report

(Reuters) - Infielder Casey McGehee is on the verge of joining another former New York Yankee Andruw Jones at the Rakuten Eagles in Japan's professional baseball league, according to a local media report on Friday.Rakuten, who signed former All-Star outfielder Jones earlier this week, have agreed to a 130 million yen ($1.54 million) one-year contract with 30-year-old free-agent McGehee, Kyodo news...

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Golf: Missing Medina putt could have wrecked career, says Kaymer

(Reuters) - Europe's Ryder Cup hero Martin Kaymer has a nightmare in which the five-foot putt he sank to beat Steve Stricker on Medina's 18th green slides agonizingly past the hole and his career spirals into decline.The German's victory over Stricker in September guaranteed Europe would retain the trophy after one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of the competition."Now I honestly...

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'Very, very good chance' for Redskins' RG3

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is listed as probable for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.Or, as coach Mike Shanahan put it: "There is a very, very good chance he is going to play."Griffin went through a full practice Friday for the third straight day after missing last week's win over the Cleveland Browns with a sprained right knee.Fellow rookie...

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Buffalo Bills reach deal to stay in western New York

Reuters) - The Buffalo Bills have reached an agreement that will keep the National Football League team in western New York for at least the next seven years, the team said on Friday.The deal, which includes a 10-year lease for the Bills' current stadium and $130 million in upgrades to the facility, ends speculation that the team might be targeted for relocation because of its small market."This agreement...

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