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Phelps eager to get back in the pool

Michael Phelps returned to training this week, five months after his record-setting performance at the Beijing Olympics.

Boy, did it hurt.

``I'm in a world of pain right now,'' Phelps said Thursday during a teleconference to mark yet another award: his selection by the U.S. Olympic Committee as its sportsman of the year for 2008. ``It's all over my body. I'm almost in a state of shock. Literally every part of my body is hurting.''

Phelps resumed formal training Tuesday with longtime coach Bob Bowman. The swimmer spent a little over an hour in the weight room, a session that included sit-ups and other abdominal exercises. He also worked about an hour in the pool, trying to recapture the form that carried him to eight gold medals in China.

It's not going to be easy coming back from the longest break of his career, a time spent having fun, moving back to his hometown of Baltimore and cashing in on his iconic performance with everything from a new book to hosting the season premiere of ``Saturday Night Live.''

Cardinals Arrington

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona running back J.J. Arrington sat out practice for the second day in a row on Friday but said ``I'll be fine'' when the Cardinals play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.

Arrington injured his right knee late in the first half of Arizona's 32-25 victory over Philadelphia in the NFC championship game. He was the only player to miss Friday's workout.

Defensive ends Travis LaBoy (biceps) and Antonio Smith (knee) were limited. Punter Ben Graham also was limited with a left groin injury.

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin participated in his second full practice in a row. He missed the divisional playoff victory over Carolina with a strained left hamstring but played against Philadelphia and said he felt no problem with the leg this week.

The Cardinals practice on Saturday then take Sunday off before flying to Tampa on Monday.

The Associated Press

Cubs Sold!

CHICAGO (AP) — A billionaire family of Chicago Cubs fans - including one who first met his wife in the bleachers at Wrigley Field - is set to purchase the team and ballpark from Tribune Co.

The sale would include Wrigley Field and a 25 percent interest in a regional sports network, said Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for group head Tom Ricketts. Culloton said the deal was worth about $900 million.

``My family and I are Cubs fans,'' Ricketts said in a statement Thursday night. ``We share the goal of Cubs fans everywhere to win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve.''

The family, whose bid was picked from among three finalists, also said in the statement that it's looking forward to working with the Tribune and Major League Baseball to close the transaction promptly. Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman declined comment.

Streaker, turmoil at Aussie Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A skirmish between ethnic rivals, a half-naked streaker and an upset of Ana Ivanovic combined for an extraordinary Friday at the Australian Open.

A woman was injured and two men arrested for riotous behavior when Serbian and Bosnian fans threw chairs outside Rod Laver Arena following a match between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Bosnian-born American Amer Delic.

Police said about 30 fans were ejected from Melbourne Park.Djokovic, a 21-year-old Serb, won the spirited but good-natured match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). But as the players hugged at the net, the first of dozens of chairs flew on the lawn near a big-screen TV showing the match.

``There's absolutely no place for that. This is a tennis match,'' said Delic, who moved from Bosnia at 14 and lives in Jacksonville, Fla. ``As I'm sure you all saw at the end, Novak and I are friends. We're both competitors. In the end it was a fair match, and there was no reason for such things.''

Earlier Friday, a streaker dashed on court while Venus and Serena Williams played doubles, prancing around before being arrested.

The Williams sisters were en route to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Japan's Ayumi Morita and Germany's Martina Muller when the man, wearing only a shirt, sprinted across the sidelines and made several dance moves before heading toward an exit.

He was met by security guards, arrested and banned for the event. He was not immediately identified.

Ali salutes Obama at inaugural soiree

"The Greatest" saluted the nation's first black president at an inaugural soiree Monday night.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, celebrating his 67th birthday, was the guest of honor at a party for 1,400 that included other celebrities, lawmakers and native Kentuckians.

Ali will be sitting on the platform Tuesday when Barack Obama is sworn in as the nations first black president. And when that happens, Ali's wife predicts, a torch will have been passed.

"He wouldn't have missed this for the world," Lonnie Ali said after Monday night's Bluegrass Ball, a celebration of her husband's 67th birthday. Kentucky is the family's home state.

Muhammad Ali carried the dreams of a generation during his prime as an athlete, and later as a humanitarian.

"Whats interesting is that Muhammad had time to grow into his role as being a world humanitarian," Lonnie Ali said. Obama on the other hand "will inherit the world on his shoulders, not just the U.S. And it is a much heavier burden than I think Muhammad had to face. "You've got Barack Obama, whos the leader of the greatest nation on earth, and Muhammad Ali, who's the greatest of all time," mused Steve Buttleman, official bugler of Churchill Downs. "How appropriate is that? It's so fitting."

There was agreement from the mistress of ceremonies, former Kentucky first lady Phyllis George:

"The seriousness of what they've both done in their lives and how they've both brought people together, I'm just very proud to be a part of it," George said.

There's one thing that Obama holds over Ali, though, Lonnie Ali said. Obama's now probably more recognizable to more people around the world.

"I do believe you've been surpassed," Lonnie Ali said she told her husband.

Aussies land tough Open draw

LLEYTON Hewitt has received a tough draw for the Australian Open starting on Monday, with a first-round meeting against 2007 Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez.

The Chilean No.13 seed also beat Hewitt in the third round of the 2007 Open and holds a 3-2 career win-loss record over the unseeded Australian.Top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain will play Belgium's Christophe Rochus in round one, while Roger Federer begins his campaign for a record-equalling 14th grand slam title against Andreas Seppi of Italy.

In the women's draw made on Friday, Australian Casey Dellacqua received a tricky first-up assignment, drawing No.19 seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the opening round.

Fellow Australian Samantha Stosur will begin her campaign against Klara Zakopulova from the Czech Republic.

Top seed Jelena Jankovic from Serbia plays Austrian Yvonne Meusberger in the opening round while No.2 Serena Williams begins her quest for a fourth Australian Open title against Chinese wildcard Meng Yuan.

Billy Evangellista vs. Nam Phan

Strikeforce
Season 1 : Ep. 17|19:27|
Unbeaten lightweight Billy Evangelista faces his biggest test yet in young riser Nam Phan in a bout between two extremely well-rounded fighters.

Eagles Down the Defending Champs

AP
posted: 1 HOUR 9 MINUTES AGO

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Jan. 11) - Donovan McNabb made all the big plays that Eli Manning did not, and the Philadelphia Eagles eliminated the Super Bowl champion New York Giants 23-11 Sunday to reach the NFC title game for the fifth time in eight seasons.Throw in Philadelphia's hard-hitting, ball-hawking defense, and these NFL playoffs are now for the Birds - the underdog Eagles, Cardinals and Ravens all won on the road this weekend.
McNabb lunged for one touchdown, threw for another and converted several key third downs to move the sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6-1) into next Sunday's title game at Arizona (11-7). Philadelphia beat the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving night.
"It feels like it was years ago," McNabb said.
Gusting, swirling winds played havoc with any ball in the air, and also helped produce an odd-looking score: This was the first game in NFL history to finish 23-11, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
A year after road success fueled the Giants' route, the Eagles are taking the same path. They opened the postseason by winning at Minnesota and, after their sixth victory in seven tries, look nothing like a team that needed several breaks on the final day simply to make the playoffs.
David Akers added three field goals - extending his NFL record to 18 straight in the postseason - to fend off the top-seeded Giants (12-5).
Manning never resembled the quarterback who won last year's Super Bowl with that one perfect spiral to Plaxico Burress. MVP of that huge upset over New England, Manning was in trouble from the start. His first pass wobbled out of his hand, got caught in the wind and missed a wide-open receiver.
Manning ended up 15-for-29 with two interceptions, often overthrowing his targets. The Giants did not score a touchdown and lost for the fourth time in five games.
"It all comes down to what you do in the playoffs. That makes your season a good one or a disappointment," Manning said. "This is a disappointment.
"We felt this was a special team that could go far. The defense played outstanding today and gave us opportunities. Offensively, we didn't do our job. We didn't score enough points."

Atlanta Braves stunned by John Smoltz's departure

ATLANTA (AP) — Bobby Cox has been through this before.

Tom Glavine left. So did Greg Maddux and Andruw Jones.

Still, the longtime Atlanta manager sounded as though he took a shot to the gut when John Smoltz called this week to deliver the stunning news: He was signing with the Boston Red Sox after 21 years with the Braves.

``He said, 'I appreciate pitching for you.' I was like, 'John, holy cow, what are you doing here?''' Cox said Friday, remembering his call from Smoltz earlier in the week. ``It really hit me then. You hate giving up one of your best guys. He'll be a Hall of Famer for sure.''

The 41-year-old Smoltz had spent his entire big league career with the Braves, but that run came to an end when he agreed this week to a $5.5 million, one-year contract that could be worth another $5 million in bonuses based largely on how much time he spends on Boston's active roster.

The Braves weren't willing to guarantee that kind of money to an aging pitcher coming off major shoulder surgery, which led to a departure with bitter overtones - not unlike Glavine's decision to sign with the New York Mets in 2002 after 16 seasons in Atlanta.

General manager Frank Wren defended his negotiations with Smoltz, saying the team made an offer that would have been worth a similar amount if the right-hander was healthy enough to pitch.

But the Braves weren't willing to offer nearly as much guaranteed money - their proposal was for $2 million - and the bar to reach some $8 million in possible incentives was much higher than Boston's proposal. Smoltz went so far as to issue a statement saying ``there were large discrepancies between the offer from the Braves and offers from other teams.''