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NEW YORK (AP) - Jimmy Rollins won the National League MVP award Tuesday, edging Matt Holliday in a close race after propelling the Philadelphia Phillies to their first playoff berth in 14 years with his speed and steady all-around play.

The Gold Glove shortstop received 16 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 353 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

“I had a real big smile on my face, to make it simple. I was excited but I wasn’t quite sure what to feel,” Rollins said on a conference call from California. “I never really thought about winning an MVP. If I won a Gold Glove, then that was the MVP for a shortstop.”

Holliday, the left fielder who led Colorado’s surprising charge to the World Series, got 11 first-place votes and 336 points. Milwaukee slugger Prince Fielder came in third, with five first-place votes and 284 points.

It was the closest election for NL MVP since Atlanta third baseman Terry Pendleton beat out Pittsburgh’s Barry Bonds by 15 points in 1991.

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PITTSBURGH — Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu and wide receiver Santonio Holmes seem certain to miss at least one game and possibly more with injuries from a surprise loss to the New York Jets.

Polamalu

Polamalu sprained a knee and Holmes injured ankle ligaments during a 19-16 overtime loss Sunday, one of the NFL’s biggest upsets this season. Both are listed as doubtful for Monday night’s home game against Miami (0-10).

Although coach Mike Tomlin wouldn’t list either player as out, he talked Tuesday as if neither would play. Both injuries are the type that can sideline players for multiple games.

Tomlin called them “two significant injuries.”

Holmes has a sprain in his upper right ankle, or injured ligaments between the two major bones of the lower leg at ankle level. While Holmes’ sprain is mild, the injury is typically much worse than a regular sprain and can keep a player out for three to four weeks.

Holmes’ absence would be a major setback to an offense that managed only one touchdown and 151 yards passing against the Jets (2-8), who had previously won only one game. It also takes away quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s top deep threat.

Holmes

Holmes, a first-round draft pick in 2006, leads the division-leading Steelers (7-3) in receptions (39), touchdown catches (7) and average gain per catch (17 yards).

Tomlin wouldn’t choose a replacement starter for Holmes, saying Nate Washington, Cedrick Wilson and possibly Willie Reid would divide playing time. Washington had two TD catches Nov. 5 against Baltimore and is the only Steelers wide receiver other than starters Holmes and Hines Ward with a touchdown reception.

Tyrone Carter will start for Polamalu, and cornerback Deshea Townsend can also play safety if needed, Tomlin said.

“It’s going to require multiple people to step up and fill the roles they provide for us, which is great,” Tomlin said. “This is a team, and it’s the ultimate team game. We’re looking forward to these guys stepping up and delivering for us.”

The Steelers have been relatively injury free most of the season, but are currently without both starting safeties. Free safety Ryan Clark (spleen) went on injured reserve last week, with Anthony Smith starting the last four games in his place.

While Polamalu is having a down season statistically, with no interceptions or sacks and one fumble recovery, his ability to shift positions from play to play is an important element of Pittsburgh’s league-leading defense.

Opposing coaches talk constantly of adjusting to Polamalu, who may line up as a pass-rushing linebacker on one play or in deep zone coverage on the next. Despite Sunday’s loss, the Steelers are allowing an average of 40 fewer yards per game than any other team.

While Tomlin wouldn’t say specifically the Steelers were flat and unprepared mentally to play the Jets, it was obvious he felt there was a letdown. Several players talked afterward of the team being flat.

“I don’t want our level of preparation this week to be a response to last week’s performance,” Tomlin said. “I want it to be because we have a football game to play. That’s the only way we’re going to be great, is that we understand all of these games are equally weighted, and every time you take the field you’ve got to come to play. That’s what great teams do.”

The offensive line wasn’t the only culprit in Roethlisberger’s seven sacks, according to Tomlin, who said the quarterback must get rid of the ball sooner at times.

“It’s not a five-man job in terms of protecting our quarterback, it’s a unit’s job,” Tomlin said. “We need to do a better job of getting open. We need to do a better job of protecting up front. We need to do a better job of protecting at the running back’s position. We have to do a better job of deciphering what we’re looking at and getting the ball out of our hands.”

The Steelers won’t do anything specific this week to address their road problems — they are 5-0 at home and 2-3 on the road — because their next two games are at home.

“As a coach, your level of expectation is they are wired and ready to play on a weekly basis,” Tomlin said. “That’s what this business is about. The reality is sometimes that’s not the case. Their play is usually an indication of that.”

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Source: Polamalu, Holmes likely out one week for Steelers

PHOENIX — Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has checked himself into the Maricopa County Jail system to serve a one-day sentence on drug charges.

The 41-year-old boxer pleaded guilty in September of one count of felony cocaine possession and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.

The charges stem from his arrest last year after leaving the Pussycat Lounge in Scottsdale. Officers saw Tyson driving erratically and stopped his BMW, and they found baggies of cocaine in his pocket and car.

Tyson is headed to Tent City jail, an open-air facility near a dog pound and junk yard where inmates wear jail-issue pink underwear and striped jumpsuits. He’ll also be on probation for three years.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Source: Tyson reports to begin his 24-hour jail sentence

Roddick has yet to win a Davis Cupm title

The United States and Russia have named unchanged sides for the Davis Cup final in Portland, Oregon, later this month.

Andy Roddick and James Blake will play the singles rubbers for the US with Mike and Bob Bryan set for the doubles, as in the semi-final win over Sweden.

Russia have recalled Nikolay Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny.

It is less clear which players Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev will use for the singles and doubles rubbers.

The tie will take place on indoor hard courts at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland from 30 November to 2 December.

Source: US and Russia unchanged for final

SEOUL, South Korea — In an exhibition match between tennis greats past and present, Roger Federer defeated Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday.

The match was the first of three Asian exhibitions, with their next meeting Thursday in Kuala Lumpur before a final get together in Macau on Saturday.

If the top-ranked Swiss star expected an easy time against Sampras, he found out early Pistol Pete still has his powerful serve. Sampras brought cheers from the crowd at Seoul’s Olympic Tennis Arena with two aces in his first service game.

The balding Sampras proceeded to break his opponent’s serve and then moved 4-2 ahead courtesy of a drop shot.

“I feel pretty good,” Sampras told Korean television after the game. “I made it competitive, which was my goal. Obviously Roger is the best player in the world and I retired five years ago. I am grateful that he invited me.”

Federer was equally happy with the workout a few days after winning his fourth Masters Cup.

“Pete was one of my idols growing up and it’s great to play him,” Federer said. “It wasn’t easy for me, it wasn’t easy for him as he’s been retired five years. I am number one and everyone expects me to win.”

The 36-year-old Sampras retired in 2002, a year after the only previous meeting between the pair at Wimbledon 2001. Federer won that fourth round match in five sets.

On Tuesday, all the familiar trademark volleys and serves were on display but Sampras, who has won 14 Grand Slams to Federer’s 12, was slower around the court than in his 1990s heyday. And he made a number of unforced errors.

Federer took advantage to come back and take the first set. Apart from three successive lobs that Federer served up to his opponent in the second game of the second set, the match was a competitive, though lighthearted affair.

By that time, Federer was hitting his stride and took the second set with a minimum of fuss.

“I have no plans to come back from retirement,” Sampras said. “You have to come back for a reason. I just stay home and watch Roger win on television.”

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Source: Match for the ages: Federer tops Sampras in Seoul

Jerryd Bayless scored 20 points and added nine assists and nine rebounds, and Arizona defeated UMKC 81-62 on Monday night.

Bayless, a freshman from Phoenix, has led the Wildcats in scoring in two of his first three college games. Bayless hit 5-of-7 shots from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Daniel Dillon scored a career-high 14 points, hitting all four of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers, and all three of his free throws.

Filed under Arizona

Source: Arizona 81, UMKC 62

By: Anton Rowd..

HEV or the Hybrid Electric Vehicles run on the concept of using both gas and electric motor to maximize fuel consumption and longer mileage. However, this does not mean that all the hybrid vehicles available on the market all achieve the same mileage and use up the same amount of fuel. Here is a hybrid car comparison of some vehicles from different brand manufacturers.

The 2007 Prius

Price for the 2007 Prius is around $23,000 give or take a few dollars. With a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that can manage 76 horsepower and an electric motor with 67 horsepower, a total electric motor assist rate would be about 110 horsepower. The Prius is a front-wheel drive, four door hatchback and is said to achieve 48 miles to the gallon in the city and 45 miles to the gallon on the highway or on longer drives.

The 2007 Camry

Another entry from Toyota is the Camry, similar to their luxury hybrids with four-door and front-wheel drive features. It does have a larger engine, a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder that can achieve 147 horsepower. Its electric motor is much weaker and achieves 40 horsepower which means that mileage and gas is sacrificed. Still, for a hybrid, it performs much better than conventional vehicles and can get about 33 miles to the gallon in both the city and on the highway.

2007 Saturn Aura Green Line

Running with a whopping 164 horsepower, the Saturn features a 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine and an electric starting assist motor. This motor basically shuts down the vehicle when it’s on standstill and then automatically restarts it when it moves again.

While this may save some gas because none is spent while it’s idle, this is not as helpful as having a real electric motor assist while the vehicle is moving. This allows for 24 miles to the gallon in the city and 32 miles per gallon on the highway; still a fraction better than a conventional gas-powered vehicle.

2007 Honda Civic Hybrid

Second to the Toyota Prius in look and power is the Civic hybrid. Sleek and luxurious, this beauty from Honda has a tiny 1.3 liter four-cylinder 8-valve engine and full electric motor support that promises 110 horsepower when both engines are in operation to make the car move. The car boasts 49 miles to the gallon on city streets and 51 miles to the gallon on the highway; now that’s competition for Toyota if they haven’t seen it yet.

It all boils down to the technology being used in a hybrid car. For the best performance, you may want to choose one that uses less gas and has full electric motor support to give you the best mileage. Make sure to study your hybrid car comparison before making your hybrid choice.

For the best hybrid car comparison information, read up articles on hybrid vehicles. From there, you will be able to find the best car that suits your lifestyle.

Article Source: http://www.articleyard.com

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To pick the best hybrid car in the market, try looking for the latest hybrid car comparison. See more reviews and hybrid car prices.

Source: Hybrid Car Comparison

20 November 2007 VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Micah Richards pre-Croatia Manchester City defender Micah Richards is relishing the chance to take on Vedran Corluka at Wembley on Wednesday.

England

v

Croatia

UEFA European Championship Qualifier
8pm, Wednesday 21 November 2007
Wembley Stadium
Live on BBC

Micah Richards is relishing the opportunity to take on his Manchester City teammate Verdran Corluka on Wednesday night, as England seek at least a point to qualify for Euro 2008.

Corluka joined City in the summer and has formed an important part of the defence that has propelled the North West club to third in the Premier League. While Richards has enjoyed playing with the similarly youthful defender this season, he admits all club loyalties will be put aside at Wembley.

Speaking exclusively to TheFA.com, Richards said: “I remember speaking to him before I came away with England, he said: ‘May the best team win’.

“He was just joking about it, but he told me good luck and have a good game. I play alongside him for Man City and he’s a great player. He’s still only young and learning, like me, but it’s going to be nice playing against him - it’ll be weird but nice at the same time.”

After an incredible performance in Tel Aviv by Israel upset the Russians and put qualification back in England’s hands, Richards revealed that he was unable to watch the game.

“I didn’t watch it,” Richards explained. “It would have been too difficult and too nerve-wracking.

“When I found out the news I was delighted, I text a couple of the boys and said we’ve got the chance to do it now. There was a lot of doubt but the players always believed it would be up to us, we stuck together and we really believe we can get the result on Wednesday.

“It’s a great chance for us, we’ve been working hard and that shows in the results we have had. We’ve had a string of 3-0 wins and I thought we were unlucky in Russia as well. But the ball’s back in our court now and with 80,000 behind us at Wembley hopefully we can go and do it.”

Among the string of 3-0 wins for England was an impressive win over Israel that saw Richards score his first goal for the Three Lions, and the young defender says that was the best moment of his life.

“I said after the game that it was the best day of my life, and I think it was you know. Not just my goal, but the team performance as well; it was dynamic and hopefully we can take that kind of performance into Wednesday and give it a really good go.”

Richards scored on his very first outing for England, against Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield at Nene Park four years ago, and since his start with the U16s the powerful defender has seen a rapid progression to the senior squad. But Richards is insistent that the experience he gained in the international youth teams has prepared him for the biggest stage.

“It’s definitely been beneficial, playing international football is a completely different ball-game. The pace is a little slower but you come up against better players with better technique, so you have to be on top of your game.

“But I’ve played right through the U16s, U17s, U19s, Under-21s and now the senior team, and I think that has created that stepping stone for my success.”

In his younger days Richards looked up to the likes of Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand - and admits it’s a strange experience to now be playing alongside them.

“I have always admired Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand for the way they play. I’m still only 19, still learning, but certainly in five or six years I want to be doing what they’re doing now.

“It seems weird to me, only a couple of years ago I was in the academy watching them thinking what great players they are - now four years down the line I’m playing alongside them, so it is a bit weird. But I try not to look back, just forward and see where I can be in the future.”

Richards was also keen to stress the importance of the fans at Wembley on Wednesday night, and is sure that with a packed house cheering them on nothing can get in England’s way.

“If we have the crowd behind us there’s nothing that can stop us. Hopefully we’ll go out on Wednesday and give it 100%, we don’t want to go out there and play for a draw we want to make it entertaining and go out there for the win.”

Source: Richards ready for action

Flavio Briatore

Flavio Briatore says he hopes to have a final decision on Fernando Alonso’s future with Renault by the middle of the week.

The Italian news agency ANSA quotes Briatore as saying he is "60 per cent" certain the Spaniard will return to the French manufacturer, where he won both his world titles.

Renault would seem to be Alonso’s best and only chance to return with a competitive squad in Formula One. Ferrari and BMW-Sauber have both their drivers under contract for next season while Toyota, the only other team with sufficient funds who could satisfy Alonso, have confirmed Timo Glock for 2008 alongside Jarno Trulli.

As well, Briatore says Renault will have "different drivers" next season, furthering speculation that Heikki Kovalainen will likely move to McLaren to replace Alonso. Test driver Nelson Piquet Jr. is expected to make the move up to full time status.

Related Info

• Glock confirmed at Toyota for 2008

Giancarlo Fisichella, who has spent the past three seasons with Renault, would appear to be out of options.

Alonso’s move to Renault is expected to trigger a domino effect in the drivers market as several teams are waiting to see where the two-time champion lands before finalizing their plans for 2008.

Source: Briatore 60 per cent sure of Alonso return

Nicole Cooke has had three years to think about the last women’s Olympic road race, where she finished fifth behind the unexpected Australian, Sara Carrigan. You suspect she has spent a lot of time rerunning the final stages in her mind.

With the heat rising off the Athens streets, she was in the breakaway group of seven riders contesting gold. “The only country with more than one rider in the final break was Australia – and, sure enough, they got a win,” she recalls as she sits somewhat uncomfortably in a central London hotel bar.

“The other rider, Oenone Wood, was the stronger of the two results-wise, and the other riders stayed with her. She was left in our group of six and didn’t have to work because her team-mate was up the road. So she just stays there and waits for us to get the other Australian back and then she’s fresh and off she goes on her attack and then we have to go down the road again. But Carrigan took a chance and attacked early and was able to win. It’s almost like pooling your strengths and saying, ‘OK, we don’t know who will win but one of us will’.”

While British track cyclists have established themselves as world leaders in the last seven years, pedalling on from their annus mirabilis of 2000, when Jason Queally got the Sydney Olympics rolling with an unexpected gold in the kilo event, Cooke the outstanding natural road-racing talent of her generation, has pursued a lonely path. Having won not one, but four world junior titles, the young woman from Wick, in the Vale of Glamorgan, established herself on the European road-racing circuit, adapting to a new way of life and maintaining a progression which saw her claim the Commonwealth title on the roads of Manchester in 2002 and add the overall World Cup series titles in 2003 and 2006, when she finished the year as the world’s No 1 ranked rider.

Good news is trembling on the horizon. In the space of the last week, Cooke has met Dave Brailsford, the performance director for British Cycling, at his Manchester base and the long-laid plans to establish a British women’s team on the road circuit are on the brink of fruition.

“Dave and I have been working towards the idea of getting a women’s pro team out there and next year it’s going to happen,” she says, her big eyes widening. “It’s been a long time coming and there hasn’t been the same kind of structure in place for me that there has for a major track rider, but now it looks like we are going along that way. Because most of the races are in Europe, because you need six riders in a team, it has taken much longer to develop in Britain.

“We are not going to crack open a bottle of champagne because we haven’t won a race yet. The job isn’t going to be done until the Olympics and World Championships next season.It means we’ll be learning how to race together more effectively. It will also mean at the end of the World Championships or Olympics I’ll have riders alongside me who understand what to do in that situation.”

That may just mean the difference between a near miss and a podium visit for this super-focused 24-year-old, who has already done everything within her power to increase her chances – including learning Italian and German, the language spoken by her current team-mates in the Raleigh Lifeforce Creation team. Cycling is a very different environment from a lot of sports because you have to interact with your competitors,” she says. “I don’t want to be in a break with a Russian and an Italian and not understand what they are saying. It’s almost like ‘know your enemy’. When people start talking and I’m with a German and someone else I want to know what they’re saying so they can’t pull a trick on me. I want to give myself the best chance.”

That philosophy extends to a thoughtful and cautious attitude towards nutrition, where she is supplied with supplements by EAS, a company that markets itself on the reliable, contamination-free nature of its products.

Cooke has no intention of an accidental spill into the area bedevilling, even destroying, men’s road racing. She feels strongly that the women’s scene is not similarly afflicted – partly because, unlike the men’s sport, it does not have 100 years of sometimes dubious history behind it, and partly because there is simply not the money in it. When she was first offered a ride with a European pro team the wage was £7,000. And while male winners of major tours can be looking at more than £500,000, their female counterparts will collect closer to £1,000.

“Women’s cycling has not got the pressures and demands that men’s cycling has,” Cooke says. “It’s smaller, it’s definitely less wealthy, so you’ll find a different type of character profile. There are women cyclists who do dope and who test positive but they have been caught and I think, of the riders over the last few years who have raised question marks in my mind, they have all actually been caught.”

Good, you think. But wait. Not quite so good. “Of those riders who have tested positive,” Cooke continues, “one of them got a three-month ban in the winter and was racing again next February. And then another rider who was a Canadian began racing for the American federation and continued competing and racing and lived happily ever after. There are still so many differences between countries. If you are a British competitor it’s miss three tests and you’re out. In Germany, for example, you could have 14 missed tests and still compete at Olympics and World Championships.

“While I’m still competing and winning clean it’s not such an issue,” she says. “If I was putting everything in and not even making top 10, I’d think, what is wrong here? If I ever had to make that decision, I wouldn’t continue because I want to have the winning feeling because I am the best.”

Sadly, that sensation was denied her this year as, having established a massive lead in the World Cup series – and won a second successive women’s Tour de France title – she suffered a knee injury before the final, double-points scoring race in Nuremberg and had to settle for runner-up behind her big rival, the Netherlands’ Marianne Vos. As she puts it, ruefully: “Not quite a Lewis Hamilton. But…”

With her knee almost completely mended now, you get the feeling that Cooke’s intentions for next year glow no less intensely than those of the young man from Stevenage.

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Source: Cooke’s tour de force: Britain’s leading woman road-racer is a rider firmly in the saddle