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4B TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2006 STANDINGS, MORE CURTAIN CALL NY Yankees Boston Toronto Baltimore Tampa Bay Detroit Chicago Sox Minnesota Cleveland Kansas City WEST Oakland LA Angeis Texas Seattle NY Mets Philadelphia Atlanta Florida Washington St. Louis Cincinnati Houston Milwaukee Chicago Cubs Pittsburgh San Diego LA Dodgers Arizona Colorado San Francisco PRO, COLLEGE BRIEFS Lands fired by eyeing team PARIS (AP) - Floyd Landis was fired by his team and the Tour de France no longer considered him its champion Saturday after his second doping sample tested positive for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone. The samples contairted synthetic testosterone, indicating that it came from an outside source. Landis again denied cheating. Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said Landis no longer was considered champion, but the decision to strip him of his title rests with the International Cycling Union. The IOC said it would ask USA Cycling to open disciplinary proceed ings. Documentation from the positive tests will be forwarded to the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency, which will turn it over to a review panel. USADA will ultimately decide if a penalty - likely a two-year ban - is appropriate. Woods dams 50th PSA wii Tiger Woods won his 50th PGA Tour title Sunday, shooting his fourth-straight 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open. Woods reached a season-low 24 under and made a career-high 28 bird ies in the tournament to hold off Furyk - who closed with a 64 - for his fourth win of the year. Woods became the sev enth member of the PGA Tour’s 50-win club and improved to 21 -for-21 when leading by more than one stroke after three rounds. The 30-year-old Woods beat Jack Nicklaus’ record pace to the milestone, which Nicklaus reached in 1973 at 33. Woods, coming off his emotional vic tory in the British Open, will get a chance to win his 12th major in two weeks at the Richt behind closed doors for evaluation By MARC WEISZER Morris News Service Watching the four candi dates for Georgia’s quarter back job on the practice field is one thing, but coach Mark Richt is now going behind closed doors in the Butts- Mehre Building for further evaluation. Richt is sitting in on assis tant coach Mike Bobo’s quar terback meetings, allowing him to gauge just how firm a grasp of the offense fresh man Matthew Stafford and redshirt freshman Joe Cox in particular have. “I’ve decided to sit in on every quarterback meeting, not to take over the meet ing but to listen to Coach Bobo install everything and coach everything and hear the quarterbacks respond,” said Richt, who coached quarterbacks at Florida State. “I want to know what they know. I also want to know what Mike expects on every single play, every single read, every single hot throw. I want to know exact ly what they’re doing and why because there are some subtle changes from time to American League EAST W L PCT QB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LlO 66 42 .611 - 36-19 30-23 601 504 Won 1 8-2 65 45 .591 2 35-17 30-28 60ft 547 Lost 2 4-6 58 53 .523 9.5 36-23 22-30 581 548 Won 1 2-8 50 62 .446 18 30-31 20-31 539 824 Lost 1 4-ft 47 65 .420 21 29-26 18-39 499 605 Wbn2 5-5 CENTRAL W L PCT QB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LlO 75 36 .676 - 36-17 39-19 580 436 Won 3 7-3 65 44 .596 9 34-19 31-25 622 531 Lost 1 6-4 65 45 .591 9.5 39-15 26-30 574 498 Won 4 8-4 47 63 .427 27.5 26-29 21-34 594 565 tfl*3 3-7 38 73 .342 37 23-33 15-40 506 672 Lost 4 3-7 W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LlO 60 51 .541 - 28-25 32-26 497 491 Won 4 8-2 57 54 .514 3 27-28 30-26 546 516 Won 2 5-5 56 56 .500 4.5 26-30 30-26 567 556 Lost 2 5-5 53 57 .482 6.5 28-29 25-28 516 514 Lost 3 5-5 National League EAST W L PCT QB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LIO 66 44 .600 - 32-22 34-22 593 499 Won 2 7-3 53 57 .482 13 27-31 26-26 564 577 LOW 2 7-3 51 59 .464 15 22-28 29-31 574 564 Won 1 3-7 51 60 .459 15.5 27-28 24-32 514 538 Lost 3 3-7 49 62 .441 17.5 26-24 23-38 513 574 Lost 2 4-6 CENTRAL W L PCT QB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LlO 60 50 .545 - 33-23 27-27 538 531 Won 2 2-8 57 54 .514 3.5 29-29 28-25 545 568 Lost 1 4-6 53 58 .477 7.5 30-26 23-32 506 524 Lost! 5-5 52 59 .468 8.5 32-23 20-36 503 587 Lost 2 4-6 47 64 .423 13.5 25-31 22-33 465 568 Won 2 7-3 42 70 .375 19 28-28 14-42 502 568 Lost 2 6-4 WEST W L PCT QB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK LlO 58 53 .523 - 28-31 30-22 504 498 Won 2 4-6 56 55 .505 2 31-24 25-31 565 520 Won 9 9-1 56 55 .505 2 27-28 29-27 558 562 WOn 1 5-5 54 56 .491 3.5 28-26 26-30 504 485 Lost 1 7-3 53 58 .477 5 31-28 22-30 513 519 Won 1 2-8 PGA Championship. m— m nimlfiii n Ei stemmier captures Brtusn LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) - Sherri Steinhauer shot an even-par 72 to win the Women's British Open for the third time, and the first since it became a major. The 43-year-o!d American fin ished at 7-under 281 at Royal Lytham for her second major title. Cristie Kerr (71) and Sophie Gustafson (72) tied for second at 4 under. Michelle Wie shot her third straight 74 to finish at 6-over 294. Six imucted mto footfial nal CANTON, Ohio (AP) _ The glory of the newest Hall of Famers’ achievements was punctuated by a steady stream of tears and a singular chant: "REG-GIE, REG-GIE." Though a fair share of the crowd sported No. 8 jerseys in tribute to Troy Aikman, their passion Saturday was reserved for the late Reggie White. The two joined Warren Moon, John Madden, Rayfield Wright and Harry Carson as the newest inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Nearly all of them choked up or cried during the four-hour ceremony, even the usually unflappable Aikman. Most poignant was the way White, also an ordained preacher who died in December ' 2004, was honored. His son, Jeremy, was White’s present er, and his widow, Sara, made the accep tance speech. Both crying, they shared a long hug after unveiling Reggie’s bust before a rapt audience. Bis ink frsHuml pick ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) Rookie safety Donte Whitner signed a time.” So far, so good, Richt said. Stafford and Cox are keeping pace with senior Joe Tereshinski and redshirt sophomore Blake Barnes in the meeting room. “I think he’s just trying to see who knows what and I think it’s good for us all,” Stafford said. “It makes us stay awake, real attentive, in the meetings. He had men tioned that he might comes to some quarterback meet ings. In the end, we’re try ing to please Coach Bobo as much as we’re trying to please him.” Richt said the quarterbacks are dividing up snaps equally in pass skel eton drills. R. Brown leads contend ers for Flowers’ corner spot: Cornerback Ramarcus Brown helped his cause in his bid to replace the sus pended Thomas Flowers in Georgia’s starting lineup by returning an interception for a touchdown in Sunday’s practice, Georgia’s second of the preseason. Brown is working at the starting comer opposite Paul Oliver, Richt said. Freshmen Asher Allen said he’s also five-year contract with the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. DawMns signs extmslMi PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Five-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. IMSIK iBSt fOP $938011 MANKATO, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota Vikings safety Tank Williams will prob ably miss the entire season with an injury to his left kneecap sustained Saturday during training camp practice. Johnson whs Bricfcysnf INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ If Jimmie Johnson wants to finally capture his -i first Nextel Cup Championship, winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a step in the right direction. Johnson pulled off a gritty win at the Brickyard on Sunday, battling back from an early tire problem to take the lead, only to see it evaporate when a late debris caution bunched up the field. It dropped him from first to eighth and forced him to slice his way to the front in the final 14 laps. But he did it with ease and pulled away for his second major victory of the season. Matt Kenseth, who has been sitting in second behind Johnson the past nine weeks, finished second and is 107 points out of the lead. Kevin Harvick was third and Clint Bowyer, his rookie teammate at Richard Childress Racing, was fourth. Mark Martin was fifth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stole a sixth-place finish by not pitting on file final caution to salvage a horrible , day and reclaim the 10th spot in the Chase for the championship standings. getting first-team snaps and freshman Prince Miller also is competing for the job. “I’ve got to win it to lose it,” Brown said. “I’m not really the starter but I’m working with the ones. I’m fighting for the starting spot.a Flowers, a junior, was suspended for two games for violating team rules, Richt revealed on Saturday night. “I made a mistake,” Flowers said. “I can’t change the past but all I can do is move forward and keep a positive attitude and keep working hard and get as many reps as I can.” Georgia also needs to find a punt returner for Flowers. Allen, Miller and Mikey Henderson practiced field ing punts Sunday. Suspended Ellerbe stays “in the mix”: Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe missed spring practices after run ning into legal trouble, but is back on the field. Ellerbe plead guilty to reduced charges of underage posses sion of alcohol with driving, reckless driving and unlaw ful use of a license stemming from a January incident. SPORTS Sunday's Sports Transaction* By The A—eclated Press ■ BOSTON FED SOX_Purchased foe contract crt C (toiky Miller from Pawtucket of the IL. Designated RHP Bryan Corey for assignment. ■ TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS_ Opboned RHP Edwin Jackson to Durham of the IL Activated RHP Dan Miceli from the 60-day DL. If ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS. Recalled RHP Jeff Bajaneru and INF Alberto Callaspo from Tucson of the PQ_ Designated LHP Randy Choate for assignment. Optioned RHP Dustin Nippert to Tucson. ■ATLANTA BRAVES.Qptioned RHP Jason Shiell to Richmond of the IL. Purchased foe contact of LHP Wayne Franklin from Richmond. ■ NEW YORK METS.Signed 3B David Wright to a six-year contract cxwnsiun. ■ WASHINGTON NATIONALS. Optioned RHP Roy CoTOoran to New Orleans of foe PO. Recalled LHP Billy Trailer from New Orleans. ■ BUFFALO BlLLS.Signed S Donte , Whitner to a five-year contract. Released P Joshua Brazen. ■ CLEVELAND BROWNS.Waived DB Chris Thompson. Signed 0B Ralph Brown and OL Mike Mabry. Raced OL Todd Washington on foe reserved-retired list am m Running backs providing safety lor Buldogs, new starting QB By MARC WEISZER Morris News Service ATHENS - No matter who gets the call behind center for Georgia on Sept. 9 at South Carolina, the Bulldogs will have a quar terback starting in hostile territory at an opponent’s stadium for the first time in college. The safety net for the Bulldogs is that they can lean heavily on a group of running backs that rate among the deepest in the nation. “This year maybe calls for a ground game because of our young quarterback situation,” first-year run ning backs coach Tony Ball said. “If we need to take the pressure off the quarterback to control the football, then that’s what we’re going to do.” Georgia returns a trio of juniors - Thomas Brown, Kregg Lumpkin and Danny Ware - who combined to rush for 1,563 yards last season. Brown led the way with 736 yards, followed by Ware with 492 and Lumpkin with 335. “Do I think they’ll have a bigger role than last season? More than likely,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I like the fact that they can share the load. Whether or not it will be divided up into thirds remains to be seen. I doubt that will happen, but I think they’ll all get a piece of the action.” Brown created separation between No. 2 tailback Lumpkin < I EAIS Play Better Golf with JACK NICKLAUS <|f MORr | v.cc-f' prs^^^Gooo'^s'etoP Sunday's Major League Linescores By The Associated Press Chicago 102 000 000_310 0 Toronto 000 400 21x_7 8 0 Contreras, MacDougal (7), Cotts (7) Risks (8) and Pierzynski Burnett, Schoeneweis (7), Speier (8) BRyan (9) and BMolina. W.Burnett 3-5. L.Contreras 10- 4. HRJforonto, BMolina (9). Cleveland 000 000 000.0 81 Detroit 000 010 OOxJ 6 0 Sabathia, Sikrski (8) and ShoppachLedezma, Grilli (6), JWalker (7), Rodney (8), TJones (9) and VWilson. W.Ledezma 2-1. L.Sabathia 8-8. Sv_TJones (31). New York 102 110 001_6 12 1 Baltimore 000 100 000_1 6 1 JSWright, Proctor (7), MRivera (8) and Fasano RLopez, Manon (8), WAbreu (9) and Widger. W.JSWright 8-6. L.RLopez 8-12. Sv.Mßivera (28). HRs.New York, Damon (15), Jeter (9), Giambi (32), MeCabrera (5). Minnesota 010 220 150.11 22 0 Kansas City 013 001 000 5 12 0 Smith, Guerrier (4), DReyes (6), JRincon (8), Eyre (9) and Redmond OPerez, Wellemeyer (6), Nelson (8), Burgos (9) and Bako. W_ DReyes 4-0. L.Weliemeyer 0-2. HRs.Minnesota, Cuddyer (16). Kansas City, Shealy (1). Tißxas 000 000 001 J S 2 Us Angeles 350*010 00x_9 131 Eaton, Rupe (1), Mahay (3), during what Richt at the time called a “dominating spring,” building momen tum after leading Georgia in rushing for the second straight season. “He kind of said, ‘Look at me, I’m No. 1. I deserve to be No. 1 by my perfor mance,”’ center Nick Jones said. Ball said that Brown’s durability was a big factor in him opening up his lead as the No. 1 back. “That’s been the thing that separates him,” Ball said. “He’s an athlete. He’s strong.” Said Brown: “I think the biggest improve ment I’ve made is the con fidence level. My confidence level has always been there, but it’s a lot higher than it’s been in the past. I’ve kind of come from the bot tom of the pack as a fresh man and just tried to build myself up and get stronger and get comfortable at my position.” Another freshman is now coming from the bottom of the pack this August. That would be Knowshon Moreno, who at Middletown South High School set New Jersey’s career records for touchdowns with 128 and became its second leading rusher with 6,828 yards. Off of high school film, Ball compared the 5-foot -11, 205-pound Moreno to some former standout tailbacks at Virginia Tech, where Ball coached receiv ers for eight years. “He’s got the right body size,” Ball said. “He reminds THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Littleton (6), Bauer (7), Otsuka (8) and Laird Saunders, Gregg (8) and JMolina. W.Saunders 3-0. L.Eaton 1-2. HRs.Los Angeles, VGuerrero (23), GAndereon (10). Oakland 004 020 010_7130 Seattle 200 010 120.816 2 Blanton, Calero (7), Halsey (7), Duchscherer (7), Street (8) and Kendall Meche, Green (6), Putz (9) and Johjima. W.Btanton 12-9. L.Meche 9-6. Sv.Street (25). HRs.Oakland, Thomas (24), Swisher (23). Atlanta 200 000 040_6 11 1 Cincinnati 103 000 000.4 6 0 Smoltz, Mcßride (7), DBaez (8) Wickman (9) and McCann Lohse, Standridge (6), Bray (6), Majewski (7), Coffey (9) and Ross, Laßue (6). W.Mcßride 3- I.L Majewski 4-4. Sv.Wickman (5). HRs.Atlanta, AJones (28), Diaz (4). Cincinnati, Griffey Jr. (23). Milwaukee 000 000 010.15 0 St. Louie 010 003 03x_7 12 0 Capuano, Wise (7), Tumbow (8) and Rivera Suppan, JoSosa (8) and YMoUna. W.Suppan 9-6. L.Capuano 10-8. SvJoSosa (4). HRa. Milwaukee, Rivera (3). St. Louis, Rolen (15), JEncarnacion (16). Pittsburgh 000 000100.1 8 0 Chicago 001 310 01x.6 9 0 Snell, Grabow (7), Marte (8) and Paulino RHill, Howry (8), Dempster (9) and Barrett. W.RHitl 2-4. L.Snell 9-8. HRs.Pittsburgh, Paulino (6). Chicago, Cederto (4). me of Lee Suggs and Kevin Jones.” Don’t discount the pos sibility of Moreno playing even with Georgia’s seem ingly stacked tailback trio. “As long as I’ve been doing this, almost every year I’ve played a fresh man except for last year,” said Ball, a college assistant since 1988. “It’s up to him.” Lumpkin will try to build on a strong end of 2005 season. He rushed for 74 yards against Georgia Tech and 67 against West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, flashing the form that he showed in 2003 before tearing an ACL on the first practice before the ’O4 season. “I think he’s fully recov ered from that,” Ball said. “This spring, he was prob ably more out of shape than apprehensive. Mentally, is he back? Yeah.” Brown boldly states that Georgia has the “best run ning back corps in the nation by far,” but that’s not a consensus opinion. Lindy’s ranks Georgia with the third best running backs in the SEC behind Arkansas and Auburn. “Most running backs as far as the media goes are measured by how many yards they run by,” Brown said. “If you don’t have 1,000 yards or more, they don’t look at you as the upper echelon of running backs in the nation. It’s a difficult situation with us having three tailbacks rotating.”