: sports

||| MLB. The Canadian slugger helped Jon Lester and Boston to take a lead in the series

Bay leads Red Sox to a win

||| Bay’s two-run homer against John Lackey in the sixth inning drove enough to give Boston its first victory at Angels Stadium. ||| Today’s game has Ervin Santana for Anaheim and Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka.

John Nadel | AP Sports Writer
 

Then, with one mighty swing, Boston's new slugger put the Red Sox ahead for good in their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Angels.
Playing in the first postseason game of his career, Bay hit a two-out, two-run homer off Los Angeles ace Lackey in the sixth inning, and the Red Sox went on to win a 4-1 decision Wednesday night for their 10th straight postseason victory over the Angels.
"He left a fastball up and I hit it," Bay said. "I couldn't have picked a better kind of first (postseason) game, I guess."
Bay's drive landed in the seats behind the double-decker bullpen in left field.
Now, the Angels are faced with the difficult task of winning three of four against the defending World Series champions. If they don't, their big league-leading 100 regular-season wins won't mean much.
"We've got to get some guys on base and be more selective at the plate," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said.
The Angels will try to draw tonight in Game 2 of the best-of-five series, with Ervin Santana pitching against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka.

 “He left a fastball up and I hit it,” Bay said. “I couldn’t have picked a better kind of first (postseason) game, I guess.”

Bay, acquired in the three-team trade that sent Manny Ramírez to the Los Angeles Dodgers two months ago, brought Boston back from a 1-0 deficit, and the Red Sox got a big start from John Lester (1-0), who allowed only an unearned run in seven innings.
In the other divisional series, Dodgers and Phillies took the lead to Cubs and Brewers, respectively, in the opener games playoffs in the National League.
James Loney hit a go-ahead grand slam off a wild Ryan Dempster, Ramírez and Russell Martin homered and the new-look Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 in their NL playoff opener Wednesday night.
Cole Hamels was so dominant the Milwaukee Brewers were glad to see Brad Lidge come in. The switch to their perfect closer nearly cost the Philadelphia Phillies.
Chase Utley's two-run double slipped out of Cameron's glove in the third, helping the Phillies take a 3-0 lead. Lidge allowed a run in the ninth but struck out Corey Hart with runners at second and third to end the game. |||

||| WTA. The sixth seeded just needed 66 minutes to pass to the next round

Venus is in the Quarterfinals

Nesha Starcevic | AP Sports Writer
 

Venus Williams reached the Porsche Grand Prix quarterfinals by defeating Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-2 Thursday, one day after her sister Serena was beaten and lost her No. 1 ranking.
Jelena Jankovic won her first match since learning that she will regain the top ranking, defeating Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-0.
Williams, seeded sixth, served 12 aces and won in 66 minutes. She fell behind 3-1 but recovered to break serve twice in taking the first set.
"She played really well," Williams said. "She had an early break and I needed to break her back. I felt comfortable on the court."
Jankovic and Bondarenko traded breaks of serve at the start of the match. But after Jankovic broke for a 3-2 lead, she didn't lose another game.
"It feels great to be back at No. 1, but my goal is to finish the year as No. 1," said Jankovic, who lost the U.S. Open final to Serena Williams. "I'm playing better and better, I am improving. I don't feel any extra pressure."
Williams, the Wimbledon champion, was joined in the quarterfinals by three Russians: Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva and Nadia Petrova.
Safina seeded third, rallied in the second set to beat Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 7-6 and will next play Williams. Zvonareva, seeded seventh, spoiled Marion Bartoli's 24th birthday by beating the Frenchwoman 6-2, 6-0, while Petrova overcame Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-4, 6-1. "I didn't give her a chance to get into the match," said Zvonareva, the Olympic bronze medallist. "I played pretty well and consistent."
Petrova, the 2006 champion in Stuttgart, will meet Li Na in the quarters. Zvonareva will face Jankovic.
Safina has a chance at finishing the year at No. 1 after a breakthrough season during which she has won four titles. She also was runner-up at the French Open and Olympics and a U.S. Open semifinalist. |||

BRIEFS

A review of the NBA’s officiating program found no evidence of illegal activity by any referee other than Tim Donaghy, though it recommended significant changes for monitoring gambling and game integrity. The report, compiled by former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz called for the creation of a "culture of compliance" and closer monitoring of games for suspicious activity. AP

Patriots coach Bill Belichick denied Wednesday the claim by Raiders owner Al Davis that New England had a workout with Randy Moss before obtaining him in a trade with Oakland. Davis said Tuesday that the Patriots had tampered with Moss before the deal in April 2007 that brought the wide receiver to the Patriots for a fourth-round choice that year on the weekend of the NFL draft. AP

Chicago guard Ben Gordon accepted the Bulls’ one-year, $6.4 million tender offer just before the deadline Wednesday night. A restricted free agent, Gordon was looking for a long-term deal that never materialized. "He's very happy to be able to go back and play basketball," agent Raymond Brothers said. "He looks forward to talking to the Bulls next summer about an extension." AP

U.S. Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim took an early lead at the Korea Open with a 7-under 64 on Thursday, finishing the opening day two shots ahead of the field. The Korean-American, one of the sports rising stars, carried on where he left off for the U.S. in Kentucky. The 23-year-old held a two-shot lead over local Kim Jong-myung (66) in the Asian Tour event at Seoul, South Korea. AP

Eight police officers were injured and more than 300 Croatian football fans detained in clashes Thursday before Dinamo Zagreb's UEFA Cup match against Sparta Prague. One police officer injured his shoulder and 120 fans were detained at a central Prague square after fights broke out late Wednesday and spilled into early Thursday, police said. Those fans were released, but the clashes continued later Thursday in downtown Prague. AP