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Thursday's Games
----------------
(All times Eastern)
Top-25
College
Football
-----------------------
In progress - South Florida at (25) West Virginia
National Hockey League
----------------------
In progress - Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators
In progress - Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers
In progress - St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators
8:30 p.m. - Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars
8:30 p.m. - Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild
9:30 p.m. - Florida Panthers at Calgary Flames
=== As of 8:30 p.m. (et) ===
=== BASEBALL ===
It's another off day for the baseball playoffs, but the American
League
Championship Series will start Friday with the opener between
the Yankees and
Rangers in Texas. New York hasn't played since finishing off
the Minnesota
Twins in a three-game sweep last Saturday and will not change
its playoff
roster for the ALCS, but the Yankees did alter their rotation
with Phil Hughes
set to start Game 2 and veteran Andy Pettitte scheduled for
Game 3 -- the
opposite of how they started in the ALDS. CC Sabathia is set
to start Game 1
for the Yankees against Texas' C.J. Wilson.
===
Legendary Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker needs a
second heart
procedure and will undergo surgery next Tuesday. Tests
revealed a tear at the
site of his previous valve replacement, which was performed
on April 30.
Doctors believe the tear occurred due to a staph infection
which entered the
bloodstream about six weeks after the initial procedure.
Recovery time for the
surgery is expected to be at least eight weeks. Uecker, in a
statement through
the Brewers, said he expects to be "ready to go well before
spring training in
Arizona."
=== COLLEGE FOOTBALL ===
This week's top-25
college
football slate kicks off tonight
when 25th-ranked
West Virginia hosts South Florida. The Mountaineers enter
their Big East
opener as the conference favorite, being the lone program in
the league
currently ranked in the top-25. West Virginia was bounced
from the national
rankings after a tough 20-14 loss to still-undefeated LSU on
September 25, but
the team moved back into the poll following a 49-10 rout of
UNLV last weekend.
USF sits at 3-2 on the campaign following its 13-9 loss to
Syracuse last week.
=== NFL ===
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre returned to practice
Thursday,
participating on a limited basis. Favre missed Wednesday's
practice after the
tendinitis in his right elbow flared up during Monday night's
29-20 loss to
the Jets. The 41-year-old signal-caller said earlier in the
week he would
consider missing a few games if the pain in the elbow
worsens. Favre has
started an NFL record 289 straight games.
===
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was part of practice
Thursday
after missing Wednesday's workout because of a concussion
sustained last
Sunday against Washington. Rodgers was slow to get off the
field in overtime
against the Redskins after he took a hit while throwing an
interception that
led to the winning points in Green Bay's 16-13 loss. After
Rodgers sat out
practice Wednesday, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said the
quarterback's
status for this coming Sunday's game against Miami would be
addressed further
later in the week. In the early portion of Thursday's workout
open to the
media, Rodgers was taking snaps with backup Matt Flynn.
Rodgers must go
through a required protocol of tests, as mandated by the NFL,
before he can
return.
===
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick continued to sit
out practice
Thursday as the club prepares for the Atlanta Falcons. Vick
missed last
Sunday's 27-24 win over the 49ers after sustaining cartilage
damage in his
ribs during a Week 4 loss to the Washington Redskins. He was
only able to
throw a
football on a limited basis. If Vick
can't go against his former team
on Sunday, Kevin Kolb will make his second consecutive start.
Kolb completed
21-of-31 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown against San
Francisco. Kolb took
all of the first-team reps in practice on Thursday. In
addition, tackle Jason
Peters had successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in
his left knee
earlier Thursday. While he has been ruled out for Sunday's
contest, there is
still no official timetable for his return. King Dunlap is
expected to start
in Peters' place.
=== NHL ===
The New Jersey Devils announced Thursday that veteran left wing
Brian Rolston
is expected to be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing
successful surgery
to repair a sports hernia. Rolston, 37, who was injured in
Saturday's game
against Washington, has been placed on the team's long-term
injured reserve
list, meaning the club can free up about $5 million of salary
cap room. Last
season, he had 20 goals and 17 assists in 80 games for New
Jersey. The Devils
also revealed that defenseman Mark Fraser will miss the next
4-to-6 weeks
after having a pin inserted into his fractured right
hand.
=== TENNIS ===
Three of the top four seeds at the prestigious Shanghai Masters
tennis event
won third-round matches Thursday and advanced to the
quarterfinals, with the
lone exception being top-ranked Rafael Nadal. Austrian
veteran Jurgen Melzer
took out the super Spaniard with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 triumph, as
the French Open,
Wimbledon and U.S. Open champ failed to reach a quarterfinal
for the first
time this year. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic easily advanced
with a 6-1, 6-1
rout of Richard Gasquet and third-seeded Roger Federer also
moved on with a
6-3, 6-4 triumph over Andreas Seppi, while fourth-seeded Andy
Murray topped
Jeremy Chardy in straight sets.
===
Next check of Sports News at 11:30 - 11:45 p.m. (et)
