October 2008 - Sports by WebPeller

Phils, Rays suspended in 6th inning tied at 2

At the end of a strange and wet night that left the World Series in limbo, Scott Kazmir bumped into Cole Hamels in a corridor outside the Phillies clubhouse.

Kazmir gave the Philadelphia ace a playful nudge, and the starting pitchers from Game 5 walked together out of Citizens Bank Park.

No telling when we'll see them — or any baseball — again. Rain, rain made it all go away Monday night.

The Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays were suspended in the sixth inning with the score 2-all because of a steady downpour that turned the field into a quagmire.

"I can't tell you tonight when we'll resume," commissioner Bud Selig said. "We'll stay here if we have to celebrate Thanksgiving here."

They could play Tuesday night — the game was scheduled to resume at 8 p.m., according to Fox Sports — but one look at The Weather Channel made that possibility doubtful. The Phillies lead three games to one, needing one more win for their first championship since 1980.

There has never been a rain-shortened game in Series history, and this was the first suspension. By the time Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, every pitch and every hit had become an adventure.

"It was terrible. The field wasn't bad, but it was the worst conditions I've ever played in," Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said.

A puddle formed on home plate and umpire Jeff Kellogg resorted to using a towel rather than the usual whisk broom to wipe it clean.

Batters kept blinking back the rain drops and pitchers struggled with their footing. Strong gusts dropped the wind-chill factor into the 30s, and fielders covered their bare hands between pitches.

All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies chased a popup all over and dropped it for a tough error in the fifth. There were pools of water at every base and the Phillie Phanatic wore a rain slicker for his routine.

"The infield was tough. The ball would do funny things," Phillies second baseman Chase Utley said. "It was in bad shape. It was not playable."

Whenever this one resumes, it will pick up where it left off, with the Phillies about to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

Hamels is set to lead off for the Phils. For sure, the Phillies will send up a pinch-hitter against Grant Balfour, who'd previously relieved Kazmir.

Then what? Do the Rays counter with another pitcher, and immediately pull Balfour?

If Pena had not tied it, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

"It's not a way to end a World Series," he said. "I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way."

Fine by the Rays.

"The World Series always should be decided by nine innings with somebody making the final out, not the weather or natural disasters or whatever," reliever Trever Miller said. "That's what fans pay to see. That's what we work hard for all year."

Tuesday was supposed to be a travel day, if necessary. Instead, the teams will stay in the area and then head back to Tropicana Field if the Rays win.

The delay, however, forced the Rays to find a hotel in Wilmington, Del., about 25 miles away.

About 10 minutes after the game was officially suspended, an announcement was made telling fans wrapped in plastic sheets they were done for the night.

By then, many had left their seats and streamed into the concourses. They crowded six or seven deep, trying to see any of the game before the umps signaled for the tarp.

Because it was only lightly raining when the game started, MLB hoped it could play a full nine innings. It quickly became apparent this rain wouldn't quit.

By the middle innings, the grounds crew was running shuttles onto the field, carrying bags of a drying agent — baseball's version of cat litter — to absorb the water.

No luck.

"A lot of guys couldn't believe we were still playing," Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett said.

B.J. Upton beat out an infield hit with two outs in the sixth on a ball that Rollins bobbled. Upton stole second and made an impressive dash home on Pena's hit, navigating the slippery basepaths and sliding in when left fielder Pat Burrell's throw plopped into a puddle.

Fans showed up hoping they'd be witnesses to a World Series championship. Shane Victorino got them cheering with bases-loaded single in the first for a 2-0 lead off Scott Kazmir.

Rays manager Joe Maddon tinkered with his lineup, dropping the slumping Pena and Longoria one spot each — they were a combined 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts after four games.

The Tampa Bay stars ended their hitless ruts in the fourth when Pena doubled off the right-field wall and Longoria followed with an RBI single up the middle that made it 2-1.

A few innings later, it was time to go.

"You couldn't do anything you normally do out there," Rays outfielder Carl Crawford said.

Phillies beat Rays, one win from Series title

The Philadelphia Phillies crushed the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 on Sunday to move within one win of their first World Series crown in 28 years.

Slugger Ryan Howard belted two homers while Jayson Werth and starting pitcher Joe Blanton also cleared the fences for the Phils, who claimed a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Rays' dream season, which has taken them from the worst record in the majors to their first Fall Classic, will come to an end if they lose Game Five at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.

Howard, who had gone the entire postseason without a homer until he hit one on Saturday, said his big-game dreams came true.

"To be able to have two home runs in the World Series, that's the kind of stuff you dream of when you're a teenager," he told reporters. "It's a great feeling."

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel tried to keep it simple with his team poised to add to the 1980 championship, the only one the Phillies have won in 125 years of operation.

"We've got a game tomorrow. We played today to win the game. We did," Manuel told reporters. "We've got a game tomorrow. We're going to play that game to win."

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said time was running out on his team.

"We did not play very well tonight overall. We did not pitch as well as we could," he added.

"We're definitely not swinging the bats like we can. We made some mistakes on defense. We've got to get better tomorrow fast."

'CLOSE MY EYES AND SWING'

Philadelphia had the upper hand from the start on Sunday.

Major League home run leader Howard hit a towering three-run homer in the fourth inning to open up a 5-1 advantage against Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine.

After Rays pinch-hitter Eric Hinske homered in the fifth to cut the margin to 5-2, winning pitcher Blanton restored the four-run lead in the bottom of the same inning with the first home run of his career.

Blanton's drive over the left-field fence was the 15th home run by a pitcher in the World Series and the first since Ken Holtzman homered for the Oakland A's in 1974 Fall Classic.

"As far as the batting goes, I just close my eyes and swing hard in case I make contact," joked the 27-year-old, who could not remember hitting a homer since high school.

Werth and Howard put the icing on the cake with a pair of two-run blasts in the eighth as Blanton and the formidable Phillies bullpen combined on a five-hitter.

Phillies lead-off man Jimmy Rollins also got in on the act, going 3-for-5 and scoring three runs.

The heart of the Rays' order, meanwhile, continued to slump.

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, who bat third and fourth in the lineup, were hitless in seven trips to the plate and overall are 0-for-29 with 15 strikeouts in the series.

Game One winner Cole Hamels starts Game Five for the Phils, while Scott Kazmir tries to keep a remarkable turnaround season alive for Tampa Bay, who are getting their first taste of the postseason after 10 years at the bottom of the standings.

Shields, Rays squeeze Phillies to tie World Series

James Shields walked slowly off the mound and doffed his cap to a cheering crowd, looking a little surprised that he'd been taken out.

No sweat — rookie reliever David Price and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays were ready to finish the job. Big Game James had already lived up to his nickname.

Shields stymied the slumping Philadelphia Phillies' batters and Price got the final seven outs, pitching the plucky Rays to a 4-2 victory Thursday night that tied the World Series at 1-all.

"I didn't feel too much pressure," Shields said. "The guys in the clubhouse were real relaxed before the game."

After dropping the opener to ace Cole Hamels and the Phillies, the young Rays rebounded from a rare home loss and earned their first World Series win with help from a squeeze play and a checked swing.

Tampa Bay never really got a huge hit, but neither did the Phillies as Jimmy Rollins and crew fell to 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position.

"That might be one of our sloppiest games all year," manager Charlie Manuel said. "I'm concerned about us hitting with guys on base, because it looks like at times we might be trying a little too hard. But we can fix that."

The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Saturday night, though rain is in the forecast. ALCS MVP Matt Garza is scheduled to pitch for Tampa Bay against 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, making his World Series debut.

"We came in here knowing it's going to be a tight series," Rays outfielder B.J. Upton said. "Both clubs are a lot alike."

Tampa Bay scored on Jason Bartlett's safety squeeze and built another rally when Rocco Baldelli walked on a checked swing that seemed to confuse players and umpires alike.

Shields threw shutout ball into the sixth, outpitching Brett Myers and working out of trouble just as Hamels did for a 3-2 win Wednesday night.

So, how exactly did a pitcher with 32 major league wins come by that catchy monicker?

"It was kind of a joke at first," Shields said. "I ended up pitching a couple of good games in the minor leagues and they say my whole organization is calling me 'Big Game.' They don't call me by my first name anymore."

The 23-year-old Price, called up in September after he was the top pick in last year's draft, struck out slugger Ryan Howard with two on to end the seventh.

The hard-throwing lefty gave up a pinch-hit homer to Eric Bruntlett in the eighth, then stayed on to close it out against Philadelphia's big boppers.

Carloz Ruiz led off the ninth with a double, and a pitch from Price appeared to graze Rollins' jersey. But it was not called a hit batter, and a frustrated Rollins soon popped out.

Ruiz scored when third baseman Evan Longoria booted Jayson Werth's grounder for an error, but Price fanned Chase Utley and got Howard on a game-ending grounder.

"I was nervous — very," Price said. "I usually don't even sweat out there and my hat looks like I went swimming with it."

Tampa Bay is 5-3 at home in the postseason after going a major league-best 57-24 during the season.

Philadelphia's lone hit with runners in scoring position was Shane Victorino's infield single in the fourth, and that didn't even produce a run.

"I don't know if we're pressing," Victorino said. "Maybe it seems that way. We're just not getting the job done. We came back, we had the tying run up. We needed to get one."

Shields usually flourishes at home, where he was 9-2 with a 2.59 ERA during the season. All four of his postseason starts have come at Tropicana Field, including a win over the Chicago White Sox in Tampa Bay's first playoff game and two tough losses to Boston in the ALCS.

"You feel pretty comfortable when he goes out there under those circumstances," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It's kind of a misconception. We're starting to play our first big games now, and he's pitching the same now as when the big game was trying to prevent somebody else from getting to the playoffs."

A 14-game winner during the season, Shields was pulled in the sixth after 104 pitches. Dan Wheeler retired Pedro Feliz on an inning-ending grounder with runners at the corners.

Back from two seasons derailed by injuries and mitochondrial disorder, a condition that slows muscle recovery and causes extreme fatigue, Baldelli was involved in a confusing call in the second that helped Tampa Bay make it 3-0.

He checked his swing on a full-count pitch and plate umpire Kerwin Danley immediately raised his right arm as if to call strike three. But then Danley pointed to first base for an appeal, and umpire Fieldin Culbreth signaled safe.

"It was his intention to go to first base for help on a half-swing that he had as ball four," said Mike Port, Major League Baseball's vice president for umpiring. "He just gave a confusing mechanic. But he had called it a ball, and it was ruled no half-swing anyway. So it was just that particular mechanic that caused confusion."

Myers and several Phillies infielders were puzzled, along with Manuel, who took a few steps out of the dugout but didn't argue long.

"I thought he called the guy out," Manuel said.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Upton hit an RBI single to right. Werth made a strong throw to cut down Baldelli, who crashed into Ruiz but couldn't dislodge the ball.

Before the next inning started, Baldelli rested on one knee in right field.

Demoted to the minors in July, Myers gave up two runs in the first after an error by Werth. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria had RBI groundouts.

Notes:@ Philadelphia's 0-for-19 skid with runners in scoring position was the second-longest drought to start a World Series since the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers finished 0-for-22 against Baltimore, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Phillies top Rays 3-2 to take World Series lead

Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and the Philadelphia Phillies have the upper hand in the World Series. Hamels worked seven innings and Utley homered as the Phillies knocked off the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 at St. Petersburg.

Hamels became the 12th pitcher to win four games in a single post-season, holding the Rays to two runs and five hits in seven innings. Hamels has gone at least seven innings in each of his four post-season starts.

Utley put the Phillies ahead to stay by becoming the 34th player to homer in his first career World Series at-bat, smacking a two-run blast just three batters into the game. Carlos Ruiz added an RBI grounder that scored Shane Victorino, who was one of four Phillies with two hits.

The Rays trailed 3-0 in the fourth until Carl Crawford ripped a solo homer off Hamels. Akinori Iwamura made it 3-2 with his third hit of the game, an RBI double in the fifth. But the Rays failed to get a hit the rest of the way.

B.J. Upton was held in check after entering the game with seven homers and 15 RBIs in the playoffs. Upton hit into two double plays and was 0-for-4 while leaving five men on base.

Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge each tossed a perfect inning of relief to close out the win. Lidge has picked up saves in six of the Phillies' eight post-season wins.

Loser Scott Kazmir was reached for three runs and six hits in six innings.

Game 2 is Thursday at St. Pete as Brett Myers will start for the Phillies against James Shields.

Kazmir vs. Hamels in World Series game 1 tonight

The World Series begins tonight. Cole Hamels will start the opener for the Phillies against Scott Kazmir. Hamels is 3-0 with a 1.23 in the postseason, including a pair of wins in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Kazmir also has started three playoff games this year, going 1-and-0 with a 4.02 earned run average.

The Rays will be playing three days after winning Game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. The Phils haven't played a meaningful inning since Hamels helped them wrap up the NL pennant last Wednesday.

It's been 17 years since a World Series game was played in a non-retractable dome, and even longer since the Fall Classic began in the middle of the week. Both will occur Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

Scott Kazmir was selected 15th overall in the 2002 amateur draft and Cole Hamels went No. 17.

A pair of high school lefties, both brimming with promise. The comparisons were inevitable.

Six years later, Kazmir and Hamels are certainly fulfilling those lofty expectations. They're set to square off on baseball's biggest stage Wednesday night when the worst-to-first Tampa Bay Rays host Philadelphia in Game 1 of a World Series matchup that hardly anyone expected.

"Seems like we were pretty much in every single league going through the ranks," Kazmir said of his Phillies counterpart. "I got to see quite a bit of him and kind of follow his career a little bit."

Pretty impressive stuff for these two budding aces, both still shy of their 25th birthday.

"We relate at the same level, because we've had to go through the same experiences," Hamels said before Philadelphia worked out at tricky Tropicana Field.

Their teams have something in common, too: a history of losing.

Tampa Bay's tale is hard to believe — 10 futile seasons as a perennial doormat before this sudden surge to American League supremacy. On the other side, the Phillies, with one championship (1980) in 125 seasons and more losses than any franchise in professional sports.

This isn't exactly Yankees-Dodgers or Celtics-Lakers.

"There aren't too many people in this room — or on the other side — who have been in this situation," said 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, also in his first World Series. "It's just a great place to be."

Just ask Kazmir, Carl Crawford and the rest of the Rays, finally successful after all those growing pains in a nearly empty dome.

"It means everything to me, it really does, especially for this city," Kazmir said. "It's pretty much worth the wait, you could say, for what we had to go through the past four years."

The Rays, who dropped the "Devil" from their nickname before the season, have been stockpiling young talent and top draft picks for years. Still, few thought they could complete such a remarkable turnaround so fast.

Against the Phillies, Kazmir will have to contend with a potent lineup that includes NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, plus slugging second baseman Chase Utley. No easy task for a hard thrower who often struggles to get deep in games.

After going 12-8 with a 3.49 ERA and earning his second All-Star appearance this season, Kazmir labored through his first two playoff starts — raising questions about his health. But he put those to rest with six shutout innings of two-hit ball in Game 5 of the AL championship series at Boston.

"It's not an injury situation. He just was uncomfortable," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "The other day against the Red Sox, I think you saw more sliders coming back into the mix, which I like. And he's got a very good changeup. I don't have a real intelligent explanation, other than I just thought that he got out of his delivery a bit, maybe started over-thinking it a little bit."

Tampa Bay blew a seven-run lead after Kazmir left, but regrouped to beat Boston in Game 7 at home Sunday night. Unfazed by the kooky catwalks, slick artificial turf and slanted white roof at the Trop Shop, the Rays have bedeviled visitors all year. They went a major league-best 57-24 at home during the season, then 4-2 in the playoffs.

Drafted by the New York Mets and then traded to Tampa Bay in a lopsided deal four years ago, the baby-faced Kazmir is a big reason his team has home-field advantage for the World Series, too. He was the winning pitcher in the July 15 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium.

As for Hamels, he's been tough to hit anywhere. After shutting down the Los Angeles Dodgers, the NLCS MVP is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three postseason starts this year, striking out 22 and walking six in 22 dominant innings.

Perhaps his biggest concern now is a six-day layoff before his World Series debut. He and the Phillies hope to look more rested than rusty.

"Because I can't throw in a live game, I just throw in the bullpen. And it's just the focus that you have to have," said Hamels, sporting boyishly long dark hair. "When I go out to my bullpen, I do try to visualize that there's a hitter out there, and I try to make every pitch count, as though it's a game situation."

Hamels went 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA in 33 regular-season starts. Including the playoffs, he's thrown 249 1-3 innings this year, 66 more than his previous high set last season.

"Every time he walks out on the mound I expect him to win a game," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's definitely capable of shutting a team out. He's capable of throwing no-hitters."

Phillies get early look at Tropicana Field

The Philadelphia Phillies got an early look at Tropicana Field, site of Wednesday night's World Series opener.

Instead of waiting until the day before, they worked out Monday evening at the quirky ballpark. By the time the first pitch is thrown, they will have been off for six days since winning the NL pennant.

"Once we kind of get back to that flow, it starts to come naturally," Ryan Howard said.

It will be a World Series of contrasts: North vs. South. Old vs. New. Rest vs. rust. Beloved vs. belittled.

Well, both have disparaged over the years.

The frustrated Phillies have been around since 1883 but the losingest team in the history of U.S. major leagues has had just one title to celebrate, back in 1980. The Rays? The franchise didn't start play until 1998, didn't have a winning season until this year and didn't even shed the Devil from its nickname until after completing play in 2007.

"People were happy when we got our 71st win. People were excited when we got our 81st win, saying you guys have cleared the .500 mark. We still kept going," said Rays pitcher Matt Garza, the AL championship series MVP. "We've proved doubters wrong this entire time."

Philadelphia is famous for the Liberty Bell, cheesesteaks and booing Santa Claus. Tampa/St. Pete is known for the Gasparilla Festival and strip clubs. Until now, its most noted baseball team was the Yankees, who have held spring training there since 1996.

But baseball's glamourpusses have all gone home, with the Yankees and Mets failing to make the postseason, and the Cubs, Dodgers and defending champion Red Sox all getting bounced out of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay was a 200-1 shot to win the Series when betting opened, ahead of only Kansas City and Washington (both 250-1). Philadelphia was 18-1.

"They're resilient. I think both clubs are similar in that way," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We're not going to quit. I think this year they definitely learned that. They're young and they're flying on a high. We're kind of settled."

After going from a major league-worst 66-96 last year to 97-65 this season, Tampa Bay has a bit of an aura. While the Phillies opened the season with the 13th-highest payroll in the major leagues at $98 million, the Rays were 29th at $44 million, ahead of only Florida.

Philadelphia (42,254) had the fourth-highest attendance average in the NL; Tampa Bay (22,370) was 12th among the 14 AL teams.

Even the general managers are a contrast.

While the Phillies' GM is 71-year-old Pat Gillick, who put together Toronto teams that won World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, Tampa Bay's executive vice president for baseball operations is 31-year-old Andrew Friedman, a former Bear Stearns analyst.

"Nobody expects us to win. Everybody expected us to lose 90 games this year," said 23-year-old David Price, who got his first professional save in the pennant clincher. "We lost seven in a row going into the All-Star break. People thought that was it. The Rays are going to slowly die out. But that's not the case."

Philadelphia bounced back in September to overcome the Mets for the second straight season. For so many years, the headlines read "Phillies Phold." Not this year, at least not yet.

"Philadelphians, they've been starving for a winner," Manuel said. "Let me put it like this, we're due. We're here. Why not get it?"

There's some history between the cities — just not in baseball.

The Buccaneers won the 2003 Super Bowl over Oakland after defeating the Eagles 27-10 in the NFC championship. The Lightning defeated Calgary to win the Stanley Cup in 2004 after beating the Flyers 2-1 in Game 7 of the conference finals.

Philadelphia is just 1-4 in the World Series, beating the Kansas City Royals in 1980, but losing to the Boston Red Sox (1915), New York Yankees (1950), Baltimore Orioles (1983) and Toronto Blue Jays (1993).

Based on the last two years, the six-day layoff between their five-game victory over the Dodgers and the Series opener won't help.

Following eight days off, the Colorado Rockies were swept by Boston last year. Detroit had a six-day rest in 2006, then lost to the Cardinals in six games.

"Sometimes a team will continue to be hot, and that could be a benefit to the Rays," Phillies closer Brad Lidge said. "Sometimes it's such an achievement just to get there that you let your guard down. There's no way for me to tell right now how they're going to react. We'll just have to see in the game."

Yankees, Cowboys, Goldman form hospitality company

Goldman Sachs Group Inc, a Texas private equity firm and two of the most recognized U.S. sports teams -- the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys -- said on Monday that they had formed a hospitality company focused on facilities management services.

Goldman, CIC Partners in Dallas and the two teams said Legends Hospitality Management LLC would offer a broad range of sports business services. It will focus initially on catering, concessions, retail merchandising and other services for major sports and entertainment facilities.

The company, based in Newark, New Jersey, will be led by Michael Rawlings, former president of Pizza Hut Inc.

'Four more wins!' Excited fans greet Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies returned home Thursday morning after clinching the National League pennant in Los Angeles, and a few dozen fans chanted their excitement — and their hope — as the team buses pulled into Citizens Bank Park.

"Four more wins! Four more wins!"

That's all it would take to give the Phillies their first World Series title since 1980, and the city's first major pro sports title since the 76ers won the NBA championship in 1983.

The Phillies will face either the Tampa Bay Rays or Boston Red Sox when the World Series starts Wednesday night.

Tampa Bay leads the best-of-seven American League championship series 3-1 and can eliminate the Red Sox in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.

Corey Bartholdi, 22, of South Philadelphia, brought his camera to the stadium after getting off the graveyard shift at 6:30 a.m. He had only watched the first few innings of Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the Dodgers before heading into work at a beverage company — but he knew when the Phillies had won.

"I got like 100 text messages after the last out," Bartholdi said. "It froze my phone."

The team arrived at a remote corner of Philadelphia International Airport around 7:30 a.m. About 100 fans lined up at a chain-link fence, cell phone cameras ready, to whistle and cheer as players disembarked.

Firefighter William Cardwell, 22, of Marcus Hook, Pa., said the thing he likes best about the team is their ambition.

"They have the heart to win," said Cardwell, who watched the game at the fire station with his colleagues.

A convoy of buses then drove the team a couple of miles to Citizens Bank Park, where Bartholdi and Mayor Michael Nutter were among the fans waiting.

Nutter, sporting a red Phillies cap with his white shirt and red tie, had watched the clinching game at a popular South Philadelphia sports bar, Chickie's and Pete's.

The city is trying to plan an event to honor the team, because fans "want to have some opportunity to express themselves in a big way and savor the moment," Nutter said.

For now, fans such as 31-year-old Dan Szerszen had to settle for calling out players' names and cheering as they drove out of the stadium.

Szerszen came out to see the team after working until 2 a.m. at FedEx. He hopes this is the year that will erase the memories of the 1993 World Series, when the Phillies lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Phillies reliever Mitch Williams gave up the series-winning homer to Joe Carter.

"There are still a lot of people that won't forgive him," Szerszen said of Williams.

But Szerszen expects great things from these Phillies. And the city needs a parade.

"Twenty-five years," Szerszen said. "It's our time."

Then Bartholdi noted an interesting parallel to the Phillies' World Series win in 1980.

"Reverse '80 — '08," he said.

Szerszen lit up. "Oh, yeah!" he said. "That's something!"

France to halt games when anthem is booed

Any football match in France before which the country's national anthem is booed will now be "immediately stopped", French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot said Wednesday after meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The dramatic move followed the booing of "La Marseillaise" during France's 3-1 friendly win over Tunisia at the Stade de France in Paris on Tuesday.

"Any match when our national anthem is whistled will be stopped immediately," Bachelot said after talks with Sarkozy and French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes.

"Government members will immediately leave the arena where our national anthem has been whistled.

"When whistling of our antional anthem happens, all friendly games with the country concerned will be suspended for a period yet to be determined by the federation president."

"The president has committed himself to seeing that measures are taken," said Escalettes, who said the authorities had to think of the security implications if such behaviour were allowed to pass.

He blamed "imbecilic" fans for forcing the crackdown which he said left both him and the players scandalised and hurt.

Sarkozy and fellow politicians reacted with shock and anger at the booing and whistling.

Bernard Laporte, the ministerial secretary of state for sport, told Radio Monte Carlo he would suggest that France no longer play friendlies against North African countries following similar problems in recent years against Algeria and Morocco - like Tunisia, once former colonies of France.

"Let's stop the hypocrisy - let's just stop doing these matches," said Laporte.

"We cannot tolerate our Marseillaise being jeered."

Many of the 60,000 crowd on Tuesday were Tunisian - friendlies against North African sides traditionally attract widespread support from sizeable immigrant communities in and around the French capital.

Some booed when the names of the French players were read out over the PA system before kickoff, reaching a crescendo for Hatem Ben Arfa, born in France to Tunisian parents and who opted to play for the country of his birth despite overtures from the Tunisian Federation.

French Prime Minister FranÃ§ois Fillon said the booing was "insulting for France and for the French players" and that in the event of a repeat it would be necessary "to call off matches."

Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the French far-right National Front, said the jeering was proof of the failure of multiculturalism, insisting the "integration of foreign masses to our culture culture is a failure as it is a utopia".

Racism in football has regularly reared its head and earlier this week Spain's Atletico Madrid were handed a two-match Champions League stadium ban for alleged racist insults by its supporters against Marseille players.

But Le Pen charged that sporting authorities seeking to combat racism in stadiums were less interested when it came to "anti-French racism."

Chiefs RB Johnson faces third assault charge

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has been charged with simple assault for allegedly pushing a woman at a Kansas City nightclub in February, the third time he has faced assault charges against a woman.

Johnson, 28, was charged last month for a Feb. 24 incident at the Grand Emporium Saloon. A 26-year-old woman accused Johnson of pushing the side of her head with an open hand, telling her "don't touch me" as he made his way through the club.

Johnson is due to appear in Kansas City Municipal Court on Dec. 3 and faces a maximum jail term of six months and a $500 fine.

The Chiefs had no comment and Johnson was not available Tuesday, an off day for the players. Johnson's attorney, Kevin E.J. Regan, was in court Tuesday morning and not available for comment.

Capt. Rich Lockhart, spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, said the charges were filed more than six months after the incident because the investigation worked around more pressing assault cases and detectives had trouble locating a witness.

Johnson was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor domestic battery in 2003 for allegedly waving a gun during an argument with a former girlfriend at his home. The charges were later dropped when he agreed to a domestic violence diversion program.

Charges against Johnson in 2005 were dropped after a woman who had accused him of pushing her to the ground at a Kansas City bar decided not to press charges and failed to appear in three court hearings.

Royals hire Gibbons, Seitzer as coaches

Former Toronto manager John Gibbons returned to the majors Monday when he was hired by the Kansas City Royals to be their bench coach.

The Royals also hired Kevin Seitzer, who was an All-Star third baseman with Kansas City and is still popular in the area, as hitting coach. He was fired last July as Arizona's hitting coach.

Dave Owen, the Royals' bench coach last season, will become the third-base coach. Seitzer replaces the fired Mike Barnett.

With Gibbons and Seitzer, Royals manager Trey Hillman added a wealth of big league background to his staff. Hillman was the only major league manager last year who had neither coached nor played in the big leagues, and always bristled when anyone suggested his lack of experience might be a drawback.

The Royals went 75-87 in the AL Central, one game ahead of Detroit.

"I'm very pleased with the amount of energy and overall baseball experience we've been able to add to our major league staff with John Gibbons and Kevin Seitzer," general manager Dayton Moore said.

"John's recent American League experience as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays will be a tremendous asset to Trey and the rest of the coaching staff," he said.

The 46-year-old Gibbons managed the Blue Jays for parts of five seasons before being fired in mid-June. Toronto went 305-305 under him.

The Blue Jays hired Gibbons to manage in 2004 after firing Carlos Tosca late in the season. Gibbons was fired on June 20 and former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston took over.

Gibbons takes over the spot held by Owen, one of Hillman's good friends. Owen had been Hillman's bench coach with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan and they were classmates at Texas-Arlington.

The 46-year-old Seitzer hit .295 in a 12-year major league career. He batted .323 with 15 home runs for Kansas City in 1987 and was runner-up to Mark McGwire for AL rookie of the year.

Seitzer was an All-Star with both the Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers. He is part-owner of a baseball instructional facility in the Kansas City area.

"He was an exciting player and fan favorite during his days as a Royal, and possesses the same amount of passion and energy as a coach," Moore said. "He, too, will be a great asset to our staff with his knowledge of hitting and the ability to communicate information to the players."

Dice-K gets ball in ALCS opener vs. Rays

Daisuke Matsuzaka will be on the mound for the Red Sox when the AL championship series begins Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

That doesn't make him Boston's ace.

Josh Beckett is still No. 1 in the Red Sox rotation — especially during the playoffs — even though he had the worst outing of the three Boston starters who faced the Los Angeles Angels in the first round. Beckett, coming off a strained side muscle, is scheduled to pitch Game 2 in the best-of-seven series against the Rays.

"Before Beckett's last start, he was the best postseason pitcher maybe in the history of the game," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Wednesday after announcing his rotation. "He had the audacity to be a little rusty after two weeks. We don't need to run away from Beckett, we need to get him on a run."

Francona chose Matsuzaka to start against the Rays in Game 1 not because of Beckett's injury, and certainly not because the team lost any faith in a guy who won five straight postseason outings before Boston's Game 3 loss to the Angels. Even with his off night versus L.A., Beckett is 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA in his postseason career.

Instead, Francona said, the Red Sox scheduled Beckett for the second game because it would give him, Matsuzaka and Game 3 starter Jon Lester essentially the same amount of rest. Tim Wakefield will start Game 4, with Matsuzaka, Beckett and Lester ready to pitch again in Games 5-7 if necessary.

"Nobody's going to throw three," Francona said. "So having those three twice is really what's important, regardless of how it's lined up."

Matsuzaka was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA this season, best among the Boston starters in both categories. But he also led the rotation with 94 walks, raising his pitch count and limiting him to 167 2-3 innings.

"We're going to have to wait him out and see how he's throwing," Rays rookie Evan Longoria said. "It's a little bit different when you're playing in a playoff game. Walks are so important, and if he's going to come out and do what he normally does, he usually walks a ton of guys and throws a lot of pitches early. If we can get him on the ropes early, we've really got to take advantage of that."

In the NL, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Dodgers begin their series Thursday night, with Cole Hamels facing Derek Lowe in Game 1. The Phillies haven't made it to the World Series since losing to Toronto in 1993, and the Dodgers haven't been there since their victory over Oakland in 1988.

The Red Sox have gone twice since 2004, sweeping the Series both times. But the Rays had never finished above .500 before this year, posting the worst record in the majors in '07.

All season long, the Rays were described as "surprising," and some thought they would falter down the stretch. But with the AL East lead on the line in September, they rallied against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon at Fenway Park one night and then took the series finale the next in 14 innings to turn back the Red Sox charge.

The Rays again took two of three from Boston a week later at home to cement their hold on the division lead, going on to win by two games and leave the Red Sox as the wild card. Tampa Bay then dispatched the Chicago White Sox 3-1 in the best-of-five first round.

And they no longer qualify as surprising.

"It shouldn't be a surprise 162 games and a playoff series that they're good," Francona said. "I understand some of the story behind this. They haven't had any success going into this year and all of a sudden they went from the bottom to the top. It's a great story for baseball. It made our life a little bit more miserable this year.

"They have a real good thing going. Our job will be to derail that."

Matsuzaka will face James Shields (14-8) in the opener, with Beckett (12-10) going against Scott Kazmir (12-8) on Saturday night. Lester (16-6) will face Matt Garza (11-9) back at Fenway Park in Game 3 and Wakefield (10-11) will pitch against Andy Sonnanstine (13-9) in the fourth game.

Beckett would have six days off before starting a second time in Game 6, if necessary. Boston catcher Jason Varitek isn't worried about the 28-year-old right-hander being able to rebound from a rough start against the Angels, when he allowed four runs in five innings and got no decision.

"The strength in Josh's pitching was there," Varitek said. "He hadn't been on the mound in a while and it just led to a little sharpness issue."

Francona said the decision to go with Wakefield over midseason acquisition Paul Byrd in Game 4 allows the Red Sox to match their knuckleballer with Kevin Cash, his regular catcher during the season. Byrd also was more easily moved to the bullpen, the manager said after the team's workout at Fenway on Wednesday.

The rest of the 25-man roster, which could change from the first round because of an injury to third baseman Mike Lowell and the need for an extra reliever, will be discussed after Thursday's workout at Tampa Bay.

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