Sports-Saturday, Sept. 2nd

WEEK ONE LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ACTION

Pottsville 35
Pocono Mtn East 0

Tri Valley 28
Schuylkill Haven 14

Blue Mountain 27
Milton 20

Shenandoah Valley 33
North Schuylkill 13

Minersville 23
Williams Valley 0

Mahanoy Area 27
Panther Valley 12

Marian 19
Lehighton 6

Jim Thorpe 41
Tamaqua 14

Mount Carmel 28
Biglerville 6

Lourdes 22
Northwest 12 OT

Upper Dauphin 33
Pequea Valley 0

Nativity at Halifax ppd till Monday 7pm
Pine Grove at Northern Lebanon ppd till Monday 7pm
Southern Columbia at Shamokin ppd till Sunday, 6pm


Latest Pennsylvania sports:

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - A.J. Feeley looked comfortable wearing a Philadelphia uniform again, and the Eagles' offense was impressive with him calling the signals. Two days after being re-signed by Philadelphia, Feeley led the Eagles on three straight scoring drives, but his teammates couldn't hold the lead in a 20-to-17 loss to the New York Jets in the teams' exhibition finale at a rain-soaked Giants Stadium.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Veteran safety Brian Dawkins is entering his 11th season with the Eagles. Yet he remains the heart and soul of a defense that often has ranked among the best in the N-F-L. A true leader on and off the field, he brings the same energy to
practice and into the locker room. Though Dawkins will turn 33 in October, he doesn't appear to have slowed down. The Eagles rewarded him with a two-year contract extension last month that runs through the 2008 season. It was a departure from the team's usual policy of not re-signing players in their 30s.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Chris Carpenter pitched a three-hitter to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-to-1 for his fourth win over the Bucs this season. Preston Wilson homered. Juan Encarnacion (wahn en-kar-nah-see-OHN') had two hits and an R-B-I for the Cardinals, who are 6-and-1 during a nine-game homestand to regain control of the N-L Central. The loss was the 82nd for the Pirates and ensured their 14th straight losing season.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Tropical weather system Ernesto is expected to crash the Nittany Lions' season opener against Akron tomorrow (Saturday) at Beaver Stadium. The storm could possibly dump a couple inches of rain on State College and sloppy play might be the order of the day. The wet weather probably won't dampen the spirits in Happy Valley, as the 19th-ranked Nittany Lions bask in last year's win of the Big Ten title and the Orange Bowl. But they'll be tested by Akron, which has eight starters back on each side of the ball from last year's Mid-American Conference
champion team.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State is banning alcohol at parking lot tailgate parties during football games inside Beaver Stadium. The university is hoping to cut down on underage drinking and create a safer post-game environment. But imbibing before kickoff and after the final whistle is still allowed. The policy change had been under discussion since the end of last football season. University spokesman Bill Mahon says one reason for the policy change was the increasing number of alcohol-related trips to the emergency room by students. Last year, 353 students went to the emergency room for treatment. That's up from 229 in 2004 and 175 the previous year.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Another season, another difficult opener against a team coached by a former pro coach. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt used to hear about all those easy opening games that colleges play, but he's yet to experience one. Saturday night, they open against Al Groh-coached Virginia. Groh coached the Jets before taking the Virginia job six years ago. Wannstedt can only hope the Panthers play better than his first Pitt team did in its opener last season. Less than a year removed from coaching the Dolphins, Wannstedt found himself matched against former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis in an intriguing N-F-L-to-college ball matchup. But Notre Dame quickly exposed Pitt's weaknesses on the offensive line, in team speed and execution in a 42-to-21 rout. And, despite a modest midseason surge, the Panthers finished 5-and-6 to miss out on a bowl for the first time since 1999.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Steelers lost their final exhibition game 15-to-13 to the Carolina Panthers. And thus, Pittsburgh ended the preseason winless. Not that any of the Steelers seemed to care. Coach Bill Cowher has been devoting practices strictly to the Dolphins-Steelers opener on September seventh. When 15 healthy starters were held out of Thursday night's game, it only emphasized how the Super Bowel champions had already moved on to the regular season. Pittsburgh will carry an eight-game winning streak and the franchise's first Super Bowl championship in 26 years into Thursday's opener against the Dolphins. Cowher likes how his team is approaching this season, but he doesn't think that the Dolphins game will fully illustrate how prepared his team is to take another run at the Super Bowl. Those things, he says, will take place over the course of a season.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is having an ordinary training camp during an unconventional offseason. As he ran plays, tossed a few exhibition game passes, and otherwise lived his football life as normal during the last month, perhaps it became too easy to forget how it could have all been different. In June, the 24-year-old was in a motorcyle accident so severe doctors weren't sure he would survive, much less play again. These days, Roethlisberger says he feels his body's a lot better than it's been. He has dropped 15 pounds from the 250 he weighed last season and he feels more agile. Another Super Bowl for the team is certainly possible.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - When Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame next week, he will have a veteran coach by his side as his official presenter. Eighty-one-year-old Jack Ramsay was head coach at Saint Joseph's for eleven years. The Philadelphia native compiled a 234-and-72 record and led Saint Joseph's to ten postseason appearances. The Hawks finished number three nationally in 1961. Auriemma, a former women's assistant at the school, calls Ramsay the father of Saint Joe's basketball. But Auriemma has also done well, on the women's side. The 52-year-old coach turned a regional program at U-Conn into a perennial national power. Entering his 22nd year with the Huskies, Auriemma has five N-C-double-A titles that include two unbeaten seasons (1994-95 and 2001-02). He has coached the Huskies to eleven seasons of 30 wins or more.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A high-scoring guard whose departure from Siena turned acrimonious when the school wouldn't release him from his scholarship has enrolled at Duquesne. Kojo Mensah is paying his own way for the 2006-07 school year and will not be part of the basketball team. He can play during the 2007-08 season and would have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Mensah becomes the second productive player to transfer to Duquesne since coach Ron Everhart was hired in March. Shawn James, a 6-foot-10 inside player and the nation's leading shot blocker last season, followed Everhart from Northeastern and also must sit out this season.

AP National Sports

UNDATED (AP) - Mark Teahen hit a two-run homer to highlight a six-run fourth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-to-5. Five of the Royals' run in the fourth were unearned thanks to three White Sox errors. Center fielder Rob Mackowiak (muh-KOH'-vee-ak) threw wildly to third trying to get a runner,
third baseman Crede overthrew first while fielding a bunt and shortstop Alex Cintron bobbled a grounder. The loss drops the White Sox five and a-half games back of Detroit for the A-L Central. The White Sox stay a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the wild-card.

In the rest of the A-L:
-- Alex Rodriguez enjoyed his second straight curtain call at Yankee Stadium. A day after breaking out of a 1-for-24 slump, Rodriguez homered twice and drove in three runs in New York's 8-to-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
-- Pinch-hitter Ty Wigginton's game-winning single with two outs in the ninth inning gave the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 2-to-1 win over Seattle. That's the Mariners' 12th straight road loss.
-- Kenny Rogers and two relievers combined on a five-hitter to help the Detroit Tigers spank the Los Angeles Angels, 9-to-0. That's the Tigers' major-league leading 15th shutout of the season. The Halos have lost four in a row.
-- Kyle Snyder allowed two hits in seven innings and Mike Lowell homered for the second straight game to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 2-to-1 win over Toronto.
-- Grady Sizemore went 3-for-3 with a homer and Jake Westbrook pitched seven strong innings to help the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 7-to-2.

In the National League, Bronson Arroyo kept San Diego off-balance for seven innings and Rich Aurilia tied his career high with four hits as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Padres, 6-to-2. That snaps the Reds' six-game losing streak. The Padres' wild-card lead is down to a half-game over the Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies, who were rained out in Atlanta.

In the rest of the N-L:
-- The L-A Dodgers stretched their lead in the West to four games over San Diego by beating Colorado, 6-to-3. Wilson Betemit (beh-tee-MEENT') homered and drove in a pair for the Dodgers, who've won six in a row.
-- Chris Carpenter pitched a three-hitter to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-to-1 for his fourth win over the Bucs this season. Preston Wilson homered.
-- Pinch hitter Jose Valentin (val-en-TEEN') hit an R-B-I double to break an eighth inning tie and the New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 8-to-7.
-- Rookie Anibal Sanchez pitched seven strong innings and Cody Ross hit a two-run home run to help the Florida Marlins beat Milwaukee, 3-to-2. That's the Brewers' eighth straight loss.
-- The Chicago Cubs beat San Francisco 6-to-2. The game was never in question as the Cubs led 6-nothing before the Giants scored solo runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
Arizona at Washington and Atlanta at Philadelphia were both washed out.

UNDATED (AP) - The Boston Red Sox say rookie pitcher Jon Lester has a form of lymphoma and will begin treatment within the week. On Monday, the team played the 22-year-old left-hander on the disabled list with back pain, but tests revealed enlarged lymph nodes. The team says Lester has a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Red Sox manager Terry Francona visited with Lester Thursday. This season, Lester is 7-and-2 with an E-R-A of four-point-76. He has 60 strikeouts in 81 and a-third innings.

In another baseball note, the Cincinnati Reds activated relief pitcher Gary Majewski (muh-JEH'-skee) from the disabled list. He was sidelined three weeks with a sore shoulder. Majewski was part of an eight-player trade between the Reds and Washington after the All-Star break.

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - Kurt Busch, eliminated from making NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, earned his series-leading fifth pole of the season at California Speedway. A 37th-place finish last Saturday at Bristol ended Busch's outside shot at making the 10-man Chase field in his first season with Penske Racing South. Busch has seven career poles. Brian Vickers was the runner-up, followed by rookie Clint Bowyer, Scott Riggs and rookie Martin Truex Junior. Matt Kenseth enters Sunday's race as the hottest driver on the circuit, having won three straight. He trails Jimmie Johnson by just seven points in the standings. Kenseth qualified eleventh with
Johnson in the 16-hole.

NORTON, Mass. (AP) - Tiger Woods opened with a 5-under-65 and leads by one shot after the first round of the Deutsche (DOY'-cheh) Bank Championship outside Boston. Woods is gunning for his fifth straight tournament win. Bob May, Justin Rose, Nathan Green, Aaron Baddeley (BAD'-ih-lee) and Joe Ogilvie are all tied for second.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Cristie Kerr grabbed a share of the lead and Annika Sorenstam stayed in contention at the State Farm Classic. Kerr shot an 8-under par 64 and was tied with Maria Hjorth (yort) at 12 under. That's one stroke ahead of Il Mi Chung, who had a 66, after the second round at The Rail Golf Club. Lorena Ochoa was five shots off the lead. Sorenstam is six shots back but still in striking distance. Se Ri Pak, bothered lately by a neck injury, was 7-over for the tournament when she withdrew after nine holes.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - D.A. Weibring (WY'-bring) shot an 8-under par 64 and held a two-stroke lead over Tom Purtzer and Jay Haas after the opening round of the Wal-Mart First Tee Open. Weibring's best finish this season was a third-place in the MasterCard Championship, the opening tournament on the Champions Tour. He had six birdies and an eagle at the Del Monte Golf Course.

UNDATED. (AP) - The N-F-L preseason ended last night and they start playing for real next Thursday night. Arizona rookie quarterback Matt Leinart may be ready for the first game of the season. The former Southern California star suffered an injured shoulder during an exhibition game Thursday night but an M-R-I has turned up no serious injuries. After the game Leinart said his right shoulder had popped out of its socket and that he just, "popped it back in and it was fine." Leinart throws with his left arm.

In other N-F-L news five days before the regular-season opener:
-- The Indianapolis Colts are hoping kicker Adam Vinatieri (vihn-uh-TEHR'-ee) will be ready for the season opener. The team says Vinatieri has a sprained ligament and a bone chip in his non-kicking leg. The N-F-L's best clutch kicker has not practiced or played since hurting the left ankle while running August 14th.
-- Former Pro Bowl running back Stephen Davis agreed to a contract with the St. Louis Rams, who plan to use him as a backup to Steven Jackson. Davis played last season with Carolina, gaining 549 yards and scoring 12 T-D's in 12 games. He worked out for the Rams two weeks ago, days after spending time with the Philadelphia
Eagles.
-- Former N-F-L running back Dave Meggett has been charged with second-degree rape of his girlfriend. Meggett, who played ten seasons with the New York Jets, Giants and New England Patriots, is accused of raping the woman at her home.

NEW YORK (AP) - Rain has washed out last night's play at the U-S Open championship. Before the rains came, Roger Federer defeated Britain's Tim Henman 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. They have now met twelve times with each having won six times. In other results, women's second-seed Justine Henin-Hardenne (EH'-nihn AHR'-dehn) defeated Ai Sugiyama (eye soo-jee-AH'-mah) 4-6, 6-1, 6-love. Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva
(dee-mehn-tee-AY'-vuh) advanced to the fourth round as well as sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova (kooz-NET'-suh-vuh). Ninth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova (vay-dih-SOH'-vah) was upset by 19th-seed Jelena Jankovic (yeh-LAY'-nah YANK'-uh-vich) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
On the men's side, fifth seed James Blake advanced to the third round as did number-seven Nikolay Davydenko and tenth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez also moved on.

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) - In a surprise, it's Greece vs. Spain in Sunday's gold medal game at the World Basketball Championship. The hand-picked U-S entry has to qualify for the gold medal game. The American team was beaten by Greece 101-to-95. Spain advanced with a 75-to-74 win over Argentina. The loss means the U-S has once again failed to win a major international championship. The last time a U-S team won a gold medal was the 2000 Olympics. Carmelo Anthony led the U-S with 27 points while Dwyane (DWAYN) Wade had 19 and LeBron James 17. The U-S is playing Argentina in the bronze medal game early today.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Deanna Nolan scored 21 points and Katie Smith scored all 16 of her points in the second half to help the Detroit Shock even the best-of-five W-N-B-A finals at a game apiece with 73-to-63 win over the Sacramento Monarchs. Game Three is Sunday in Sacramento.

Top 25 college football schedule

No games scheduled Friday

Today
( 1) Ohio State vs. Northern Illinois, 3:30 p.m.
( 2) Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m.
( 3) Texas vs. North Texas, Noon
( 4) Auburn vs. Washington State, 7:45 p.m.
( 5) West Virginia vs. Marshall, 3:30 p.m.
( 6) Southern Cal at Arkansas, 8:45 p.m.
( 7) Florida vs. Southern Miss., 6 p.m.
( 8) LSU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 8 p.m.
( 9) California at (23) Tennessee, 5:30 p.m.
(10) Oklahoma vs. UAB, 7 p.m.
(14) Michigan vs. Vanderbilt, Noon
(15) Georgia vs. Western Kentucky, 12:30 p.m.
(16) Iowa vs. Montana, Noon
(17) Virginia Tech vs. Northeastern, 1:30 p.m.
(18) Clemson vs. Florida Atlantic, 3:30 p.m.
(19) Penn St. vs. Akron, 3:30 p.m.
(20) Nebraska vs. Louisiana Tech, 3:30 p.m.
(21) Oregon vs. Stanford, 3:30 p.m.
(25) Texas Tech vs. SMU, 7 p.m.

Today's pitching probables and records (all times EDT)

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Toronto Blue Jays (A-J Burnett 6-6) at Boston Red Sox (Lenny DiNardo 1-2), 1:05 p.m.
Minnesota Twins (Scott Baker 3-7) at New York Yankees (Jeff Karstens 1-0), 1:05 p.m.
Baltimore Orioles (Adam Loewen 4-4) at Oakland Athletics (Danny Haren 12-10), 4:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels (Joe Saunders 4-2) at Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander 15-7), 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Mark Buehrle 11-11) at Kansas City Royals (Odalis Perez 5-6), 7:10 p.m.
Seattle Mariners (Cha Seung Baek 1-0) at Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Jay Howell 0-1), 7:15 p.m.
Cleveland Indians (Cliff Lee 10-10) at Texas Rangers (Edinson Volquez 1-3), 8:05 p.m.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Atlanta Braves (Oscar Villarreal 9-1) at Philadelphia Phillies (Jon Lieber 6-9), 1:05 p.m., 1st game
Arizona Diamondbacks (Miguel Batista 10-5) at Washington Nationals (Billy Traber 3-3), 1:05 p.m., 1st game
Atlanta Braves (Kyle Davies 2-3) at Philadelphia Phillies (Scott Mathieson 1-4), 7:05 p.m., 2nd game
Arizona Diamondbacks (Livan Hernandez 10-11) at Washington Nationals (Jason Bergmann 0-1), 7:05 p.m., 2nd game
San Francisco Giants (Matt Cain 10-9) at Chicago Cubs (Sean Marshall 5-8), 2:20 p.m.
New York Mets (John Maine 4-3) at Houston Astros (Jason Hirsh 2-2), 7:05 p.m.
Florida Marlins (Josh Johnson 12-6) at Milwaukee Brewers (Ben Sheets 4-6), 7:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh Pirates (Shawn Chacon 6-5) at St. Louis Cardinals (Jered Weaver 5-13), 7:15 p.m.
Cincinnati Reds (Kyle Lohse 3-6) at San Diego Padres (Jake Peavy 7-13), 10:05 p.m.
Colorado Rockies (Aaron Cook 9-12) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Brad Penny 14-7), 10:10 p.m.

Here are the latest scores from yesterday's sports events:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Final Detroit 9 L.A. Angels 0
Final N-Y Yankees 8 Minnesota 1
Final Boston 2 Toronto 1
Final Tampa Bay 2 Seattle 1
Final Kansas City 7 Chi White Sox 5
Final Cleveland 7 Texas 2
Final Oakland 5 Baltimore 4

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Final Chi Cubs 6 San Francisco 2
Final Florida 3 Milwaukee 2
Final N-Y Mets 8 Houston 7
Final St. Louis 3 Pittsburgh 1
Final Cincinnati 6 San Diego 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 Colorado 3

Arizona at Washington (7:05 p.m., postponed, rain)
Atlanta at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m., postponed, rain)

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON

Final Tennessee 35 Green Bay 21
Final Cincinnati 20 Indianapolis 3
Final N-Y Jets 20 Philadelphia 17
Final San Francisco 23 San Diego 14

WNBA BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS

Final Detroit 73 Sacramento 63