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CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

MMA SCHEDULE JULY 2007

At ARCO Arena, Sacramento, Saturday, July 7, pay-per-view, 7 p.m.: “UFC 73: Stacked.” UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (18-4) vs. Nate Marquardt (28-6-1); UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk (35-2-1) vs. Hermes Franca (18-5); ex-UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (15-5) vs. Rashad Evans (15-0); ex-PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (29-4-1) vs. Heath Herring (27-12-1); lightweight Kenny Florian (8-3) vs. Alvin Robinson (8-1); light-heavyweight Mike Nickels (4-1) vs. Stephan Bonnar (12-3); lightweight Diego Saraiva (9-4-1) vs. Jorge Gurgel (12-1); welterweight Drew Fickett (31-5) vs. Chris Lytle (32-14-4); lightweight Mark Bocek (4-0) vs. Frank Edgar (6-0).

At Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, N.J., July 14, pay-per-view: “bodogFIGHT.” Eddie Alvarez vs. Matt Lee; Trevor Prangley vs. Yuki Kondo; Tara LaRosa vs. Laura D’Auguste; Roman Zentsov vs. Mark Burch; Jorge Masvidal vs. Yves Edwards; David Love vs. Brad Pickett; Yoshiki Takahashi vs. Josh Curran; Chael Sonnen vs. Amar Suloev; Nick Agallar vs. Alan Lee.

At Wembley Arena, London, England, July 14: “Cage Rage 22: Hard as Hell.” Heavyweight Eric “Butterbean” Esch vs. Tengiz Tedoradze; light-heavyweight Mario Sperry vs. Lee Hasdell; heavyweight Rob Broughton vs. Gary Turner; heavyweight Herb Dean vs. Dave Legeno; heavyweight Mark Buchannan vs. James McSweeny; light-heavyweight Paul Chahoon vs. Mark Epstein; featherweight Ronnie Mann vs. Robbie Oliver; welterweight Marios Zaromskis vs. Ross Mason; welterweight Ross Pointon vs. Dean Bray; middleweight Joe Mac vs. Jeremy Bailey; welterweight Michael Johnson vs. Damian Riccio; light-heavyweight Tom Watson vs. Ed Smith.

Rodriguez vs. Alatorre Headlines in San Jose at “The Riot”July 14 at the Civic; State title bout between Hector Alatorre vs. Jesus Rodriguez

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TWO OF THE TOP JR. WELTERWEIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA BATTLE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP BELT, IN THE 10 ROUND MAIN EVENT SATURDAY, JULY 14TH AT THE SAN JOSE CIVIC AUDITORIUM. THE TWO PROSPECTS FROM CENTRAL CALIFORNIA KNOW EACH OTHER WELL, AND EACH IS APPROACHING THE BOUT AS A CAREER DEFINING MATCHUP. HECTOR “THE MONGOOSE” ALATORRE HAS HEADLINED MANY SHOWS IN LEMOORE, WHILE JESUS “CHUY” RODRIGUEZ HAS BEEN THE MAIN EVENT NUMEROUS TIMES IN MONTEREY. “THIS IS THE TYPE OF MATCHUP THAT BOXING NEEDS” SAY’S PROMOTER AND MATCHMAKER JERRY HOFFMAN OF 12 SPORTS PRODUCTIONS. RODRIGUEZ, FROM SALINAS WILL HAVE THE HOME CROWD ADVANTAGE, BUT ALATORRE, WHO ALSO HAS LOCAL ROOTS HAS HIS SHARE OF FANS PLUS A BUSLOAD MAKING THE TRIP TO SAN JOSE FROM FRESNO.

THE SEMI-MAIN EVENT FEATURES UNDEFEATED HOT PROSPECT ELOY PEREZ (8-0, SALINAS) AGAINST CARLOS MUSQUEZ (3-1-1, SACRAMENTO) MUSQUEZ, WHO WENT TO NEARLY GILROY HIGH SCHOOL, AND IS COMING OFF HIS ONLY LOSS AS A PRO AGAINST ANOTHER 8-0 FIGHTER. THIS 6 ROUNDER IS CONTRACTED AT 132 POUNDS. THE FEATURED FEMALE BOUT HAS CYNTHIA TALMADGE, A TWO TIME GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPION FROM SAN FRANCISCO MAKING HER PRO DEBUT VS. JENNIFER “THE RAZOR” BARBER FROM NORTHRIDGE WHO IS 1-0 AS A PRO. THIS IS A 4 ROUND MATCHUP AT FEATHERWEIGHT.

SUPERHEAVYWEIGHTS ALSO WILL BE FEATURED. KEITH SPENCER, AN IMPOSING 6′6″ 260 POUNDER WITH A MUSCULAR FRAME, BATTLES THE SHORTER STOCKIER CORNELL DAVIS. SPENCER, STILL A NAVY SERVICEMAN FROM VENTURA WON HIS PRO DEBUT IN MONTEREY WILL BE OFF TO SERVE OUR COUNTRY IN AFGHANISTAN IN AUGUST. DAVIS, FROM LANCASTER HAS A LOSING RECORD OF 4-10, BUT HAS A HUGE EDGE IN PRO EXPERIENCE AND HAS NEVER BEEN KNOCKED OUT AGAINST SOME HIGHLY REGARDED HEAVYWEIGHTS. ANOTHER LONGTIME MILITARY BOXER ON THE 6 BOUT CARD IS BRIAN GORDON, NOW OF BAKERSFIELD. AFTER AN 8 YEAR STINT IN THE ARMY, INCLUDING TWO TOURS OF DUTY IN IRAQ, BRIAN IS 1-0 IN HIS WELTERWEIGHT PRO CAMPAIGN. SAN JOSE’S OWN MAURICE SLADE MAKES HIS PRO DEBUT. BOTH FIGHTERS WERE IN THE TOP 5 IN THE US RANKINGS AS AMATEURS.

A BANTAMWEIGHT BRAWL WILL OPEN UP THE SHOW, AS CONSTANCIO ALVARADO (1-0, SALINAS) TAKES ON SAMMY YNIGUEZ (1-0 VICTORVILLE).

ADVANCE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT (831)-688-1604 TO CHARGE BY PHONE. BEGINNING WEDNESDAY, JULY 11TH, TICKETS MAY BE ORDERED AT (408) 998-0400 WHEN THE OFFICE MOVES TO OUR HOST HOTEL, THE CROWNE PLAZA IN DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE NEXT TO THE CIVIC AUDITORIUM. FOR THOSE WAITING TILL FIGHT DAY JULY 14TH, THE BOX OFFICE OPENS AT 5PM AT THE CIVIC. ALL $100. SEATS ARE GONE, ALTHOUGH A FEW VIP RINGSIDE TABLE SEATS REMAIN. OTHER AVAILABLE TICKETS ARE PRICED AT $40., $60., AND $80.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT PROMOTER, MATCHMAKER JERRY HOFFMAN AT (831)-688-1604.

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

Story by Victor Perea

Once again UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans prepares to enter the octagon, and in now customary fashion, the TUF 2 heavyweight winner will enter the cage a doubted underdog.

“I never really cared,” said Evans from his training camp at Jackson’s Gaidojutsu in Albuquerque, N.M. “It never really mattered because the only ones that really matter to me, know what I am capable of. My fans know my abilities.”

Evans (15-0) will once again put his unblemished record on the line when he takes the former UFC light heavyweight champion “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (16-5) on UFC 73: STACKED, this Saturday in Sacramento at the Arco Arena.

“Of course the UFC is the biggest stage for our sport,” says Evans. “The entire card is really good. I know a lot of people will be watching—and I’m sure many of them will recognize and root for Tito. But that doesn’t matter.

“Fans can’t stop a takedown.”

UFC President Dana White has stated on several occasions that one of his biggest mistakes was doubting Evans when the former Michigan State graduate first wrestled his way into the UFC.

“There were several guys on that show I thought would beat Rashad,” says White. “But it didn’t work out that way and I’m glad.”

Instead, Evans, a light heavyweight fighter, decisively made his way through the heavyweight tournament, winning the show and landing a UFC contract.

Criticized for his lack of finishing power, after winning all his fights on the show, as well as his first three UFC fights by decision, Evan has erased any doubts that he can end a fight having spectacular knockout finishes in his last two UFC outings.

“You never want it to go to a decision,” says Evans, “because no matter how you think the fight went, it’s never a sure thing. But you can’t always have it that way—that’s why you have to come in prepared to go three full rounds every time.”

With a victory over Ortiz at UFC 73: STACKED, Evans will undoubtedly place himself next in line for a shot at newly-crowned UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

“Ortiz is a good wrestler but I think the best wrestler I’ve faced in the octagon is Mike Whitehead,” says Evans. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get where I am in my career. I moved out here to Albuquerque to train with the best camp in the world . . . though my dog is still in Michigan. I miss my dog.

“But Ortiz knows how to talk, and that’s what he knows, and he can do that all he wants—I’ll be waiting in Sacramento.”

On Monday, following Wladimir’s last training we called Emmanuel Steward, Wladimir’s trainer. Since Emmanuel was about to go to sleep, we kept this interview brief and asked him few questions about the upcoming fight and his thoughts of Wladimir’s training camp.

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

Emanuel, this was the first time that Wladimir held his training camp in Austria? Why did you choose Austria this time?

As you know our prior camps were held in Majorca but during summer it’s very hot there. In Austria the weather was much cooler. That’s primarily why we picked Austria.

How did the training camp go?

The camp went very well. We had a lot of good sparring partners. Since all of them were also getting ready for their upcoming fights they were very, very aggressive and highly competitive. We had over ten experienced heavyweights with us in the camp. We also had the undefeated Johnathon Banks (16-0, 12 KO). Many people expect him to become one of the top ten heavyweights. He was very aggressive with Wladimir. Another one was Andre (Purlette), who was also very strong and aggressive. Andre is 39-2, with 35 knockouts. All in all it was very good training, no one got hurt and it was very competitive. Among other fighters that trained with us were Kermit Cintron and Andy Lee.

Emmanuel, is Wladimir fully prepared for the fight?

Yes, he is completely prepared for the upcoming fight.

This fight is very important to Wladimir. Did you prepare differently this time than usually?

Not really. Wladimir fought a perfect fight last time. We expect Brewster to be very aggressive in the beginning and then he will have to slow down. But don’t think he’ll be an easy target for Wladimir. Brewster is a very strong opponent, and even when he’s tired or hurt he always finds that energy turn things upside down. So you can never relax with him. He’s the most difficult heavyweight to fight. We just made sure that Wladimir is in great shape for this fight.

So you’re expecting him to start the first round similar to the way he started against Golota?

Yes and Wladimir will be able to control him with his left hand. He will use it to slow him down and once he does we’ll destroy him.

Are you looking for a KO win or is it likely that the fight will go to the scorecards?

I still think that Brewster can’t take Wladimir’s punches. With that said we do have a lot of respect for Brewster, since he’s the only heavyweight that can punch as well as Wladimir. I don’t think much of Samuel Peter’s punches; he cocks them or punches to the back of the head. Brewster does know how to punch properly and he’s very well schooled. He’s tough. I think him and Wladimir are the best punchers right now. And if you compare them to the other heavyweight, very few of them are big punchers. That’s what makes Wladimir so different from the rest, he can punch someone out with one big punch. Brewster also is very good with that. That’s why it’s unlikely it to go the distance.

Anything else you would like to add…

Wladimir is very focused and very determined. He will fight a very intelligent fight. I am sure he will knock out Brewster.

Book Review by David L. Hudson Jr.

Fight The Good Fight: Getting Up After Life Knocks You Down

By Kerry Pharr

Xulon Press, 252 pages

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

A precious few books educate, entertain, inform and even improve its readers. But, Kerry Pharr’s Fight The Good Fight: Getting Up After Life Knocks You Down is one of those classic works that demands attention. Pharr managed and trained many a pugilist in his 40+ plus years in the fight game, working with heavyweights Keith McKnight and Adam Richards, rugged light heavyweight Ken “The Bull” Atkin, junior welterweight Darryl “Fast Fists” Fuller and middleweight Donald Bowers. He also turned his life around in a positive direction after trouble in his early years.

In his long career in The Sweet Science Pharr has rubbed shoulders with the incomparable Muhammad Ali, the tragic talent “Big” John Tate, the unforgettable Randall “Tex” Cobb and many other famous pugilists. Pharr relates many of those stories in his recently released book. Readers will learn of former NFLer Mark Gastineau’s failed attempts to become a contender, the sordid tale of deceased promoter Rick Parker, and light heavyweight contender “Diamond” Jim MacDonald’s trip to Africa. He discusses the tragic tale of promising contender Billy Collins Jr. whose life was never the same after the terrible beating he received at the hands of Luis Resto, whose boxing gloves had their stuffing removed.

While the boxing stories alone command attention, Fight The Good Fight delivers more than many good yarns. It tells the incredible tale of Pharr’s personal redemption – a rag to riches story of epic proportions, as he traveled from a sinner to a near-saint. Pharr overcame his own demons to become a role model for Christians. Though embroiled in a sport that famed sportswriter Jimmy Cannon pejoratively called “the red light district of sports,” Pharr became a beacon and, in the words of former lightweight world champion Sean O’Grady, “one of the good guys in boxing.”

Isaiah 1:18 says that “though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Pharr tells readers how a former juvenile delinquent turned into a righteous man after turning his life over to Jesus Christ. He offers advice on dealing with depression, overcoming fears, and turning to Christianity.

Boxing aficionados will enjoy the chapters on “My Boxers” and “Heavyweight Contenders and World Champions.” All readers will benefit from the chapters: “Human Strength and Life’s Pressures,” “Life Lessons” and Battling Depressions and Addictions.” The book, published by Xulon Press, includes a foreword from renowned self-improvement expert and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. This book is highly recommended; it could even better your life.

The book can be ordered on amazon.com or by calling 1-866-909-2665. It can also be ordered online at http://xulonpress.com/book_detail.php?id=4195. For more information see Kerry’s website at http://www.fightthegoodfight.info/

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

Boxing Results

2007-07-15 Orient Theatre, East London, EC, South Africa # Zolile Mbityi beat Unathi Gqokoma UD12/12 # Johnny Oliphant lost to Mfundo Gwayana KO3/10 # Manelisi Mbilase beat Willie Mabasa PTS6/6 # Boyboy Dlamini beat Phillip Stelle KO2/6 # Thabo Sonjica beat Thabo Sishwane PTS4/4

2007-07-14 Club Juventud, Malabrigo, Santa Fe, Argentina # Ruben Eduardo Acosta beat Jose Emilio Mazurier KO1/12 # Oscar Jesus Pereyra beat Alexander Tanchiva UD6/6 # Roberto Domingo Sosa beat Horacio Fabian Chicagual RTD5/6 # Bettina Gabriela Garino beat Silvia Raquel Gervasi UD6/6 # Mariano Ruben Diaz Strunz beat…

2007-07-14 Merlo, Buenos Aires, Argentina # Juan Jose Dias drew with Alberto Zenon Sotelo PTS4/4

2007-07-14 Casino Rama, Orillia, ON, Canada # Steve Molitor beat Takalani Ndlovu TKO9/12 # Kgotso Motau lost to Shawn Garnett UD6/6 # Stephan Boyd lost to Paul Clavette SD6/6 # Martin Lindsay beat Jose Silveira UD6/6 # Sebastien Gauthier lost to Eduardo Garcia TKO4/12

2007-07-14 Gimnasio Fiscal, Castro, Chiloé, Chile # Juan Carlos Alderete beat Horacio Alfredo Basualdo KO2/8 # Francisco Mascarena beat Carlos Basualdo UD6/6 # Jonathan Soto beat Ariel Basualdo KO4/4

2007-07-14 Fubao Culture, Kuming, Yunnan, China # Xiong Zhao Zhong beat Zhou Hai Feng KO5/8 # Xia Yu Qing beat Hao De Cheng TKO5/8 # Xu Zhong Yong beat Wei Zhi Feng SD6/6 # Wang Jun Hui beat An Men Long UD6/6 # Zheng Ming Xin beat Jin Ling Jun KO2/4 # Wang Hong Liang drew with Dragon Zheng PTS4/4

2007-07-14 O2 Arena (Millenium Dome), Greenwich, London, England # Nicky Cook lost to Steven Luevano KO11/12 # Willie Limond lost to Amir Khan RTD8/12 # Kevin Mitchell beat Alexander Hrulev TKO2/12 # Vinny Mitchell beat Sergei Rozhakmens TKO3/4 # Matthew Hall lost to Martin Concepcion TKO1/8 # Matthew Marsh beat Rocky Dean…

2007-07-14 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Altona, Germany # Luan Krasniqi lost to Tony Thompson TKO5/12 # Alexander Dimitrenko beat Malcolm Tann TKO5/12 # Denis Boytsov beat Juan Antonio Diaz UD6/6 # Gbenga Oloukun beat Alex Vassilev KO8/8 # Vladimir Tereshkin beat Stefan Kusnier KO1/4 # Sebastian Zbik beat Ruben…

2007-07-14 National Stadium, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland # John Duddy beat Alessio Furlan TKO10/10 # Paul McCloskey beat Ivan Orlando Bustos KO4/10 # Declan Timlin beat Peter Szabo PTS4/4 # Eugene Heagney beat Colin Moffett PTS8/8 # Stephen Haughian beat Gary O’Connor TKO6/8 # Patrick Hyland beat Roman Rafael TKO1/6

2007-07-14 Sequals, Pordenone, Italy # Luca Maggio lost to David Chianella PTS10/10 # Luca Tassi beat Bela Kiss PTS6/6 # Francesco Versaci beat Adrian Sauca PTS6/6 # Antonio Grieco beat Gyan Cwadwo PTS4/4

2007-07-14 Cavarzere, Italy # Nicola Bertuccio beat Zsolt Bak KO1/6

2007-07-14 Archaic Hall, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan # Rev Santillan beat Taisei Marumoto TKO6/12 # Naoya Shoji beat Toshimitsu Yamamoto SD10/10 # Yudai Matsumoto beat Tomoaki Hashizume SD8/8 # Jaguar Tetsuya beat Tosho Makoto Aoki TKO2/8 # Takashi Saryo beat Kosuke Iwashita SD8/8 # Yuji Kanemitsu beat Hiroshi…

2007-07-14 Moi International Sport Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi, Kenya # Conjestina Achieng beat Emily Kabwalo PTS6/6 # Fatuma Zarika beat Diana Makumbe KO1/8 # Mohamed Orungi lost to Mordechai Donga TKO8/12 # Monalisa Sibanda beat Florence Muthoni PTS6/6 # Agnes Adonga beat Pamela Kamphili TKO5/0

2007-07-14 Explanada Tecate, Ciudad Obregon, SON, Mexico # Fernando Montiel beat Cecilio Santos TKO10/12 # Hugo Ruiz beat Noe Flores KO1/4

2007-07-14 ASB Stadium, Kohimarama (Auckland), NI, New Zealand # Daniel McKinnon beat Rico Chong Nee SD6/6 # Monty Betham Jr beat Frank Asiata UD6/6

2007-07-14 Gimnasio Roberto Duran, Panama City, Panama # Mauricio Martinez lost to William Gonzalez SD12/12 # Rafael Concepcion beat Alberto Mitre TKO7/10 # Ricardo Molina lost to Leopoldo Arrocha SD8/8 # Alfonso Mosquera beat Oney Valdez UD10/10 # Juan Jose Landaeta beat Edwin Diaz TKO2/10 # Pablo Vasquez beat…

2007-07-14 Temeke Super Stereo Hall, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania # Obote Ameme drew with Mohamed Mbwana PTS6/6 # Anthony Mathias beat Shabani Madilu TKO4/6 # Hamis Ajali beat Kulwa Mbuchi UD4/4 # Juma Fundi beat Haruna Mnyalukolo UD4/4

2007-07-14 Ukrainian House, Kiev, Ukraine # Avtandil Khurtsidze beat Maxim Velichko PTS6/6

2007-07-14 Civic Auditorium, San Jose, California, USA # Keith Spencer beat Cornell Davis UD4/4 # Jesus Rodriguez beat Hector Alatorre UD10/10 # Cynthia Talmadge lost to Jennifer Barber UD4/4 # Maurice Slade lost to Brian Gordon TKO1/4 # Constancio Alvarado drew with Sammy Yniguez PTS4/4

2007-07-14 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA # Arturo Gatti lost to Alfonso Gomez TKO7/10 # Kermit Cintron beat Walter Dario Matthysse KO2/12 # Giovanni Lorenzo beat Sherwin Davis KO3/10 # Henry Crawford beat Josh Hammock KO1/6 # Pawel Wolak beat Edgar Reyes TKO2/8 # Kaseem Wilson beat Sergio Garcia…

2007-07-14 Home Depot Center, Carson, California, USA # Antonio Margarito lost to Paul Williams UD12/12 # Andre Ward beat Francisco Diaz TKO3/8 # Chris Arreola beat Derek Berry TKO1/10 # Ricardo Cortes beat Jose Spearman UD6/6 # Brian Ramirez lost to Jonathan Bobadilla SD4/4 # Omri Lowther beat Roderick Grajeda…

2007-07-14 Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA # Roy Jones Jr beat Anthony Hanshaw UD12/12 # Oscar DiazJuan Manuel Buendia NC1/10 # Derrick Gainer beat Carlos Navarro SD10/10 # Ezra Sellers beat Troy Beets TKO6/8 # Ronald Johnson beat Aaron Norwood TKO3/8 # Mujtabaa Muhammad beat Fred Tillman UD4/4 # Gabe…

2007-07-14 Sportsplex, Winchester, Virginia, USA # Andrew Farmer beat Marcos Antonio Soto TKO4/6 # Jaime Palma beat Artie Bembury TKO5/6 # Terry Roy beat Joseph Haggler TKO4/4 # George Rivera beat Montez Wilson UD4/4 # Charles Norwood beat Anthony Young UD4/4 # Andre Nichols beat Anthony Whigham KO2/4 # Todd…

2007-07-14 4 Bears Casino and Lodge, New Town, North Dakota, USA # Vassiliy Jirov beat Kenny Craven TKO2/10 # Shawn Hawk beat Bo Skipper KO1/8 # Marc Saggese beat Paul Farrell TKO1/4 # Nick Runningbear beat Silas Ortley SD4/4 # Archie Hopkins lost to Bill Johnson KO3/4 # Lyle Kruger lost to Chris Hugh KO2/4

2007-07-14 Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana, USA # Heath Nichols lost to Donnell Logan UD8/8 # Damian Fuller beat Marteze Logan UD12/12 # Wilford Scypion Jr beat Travis Toler TKO2/4 # Daniel Garcia beat Kendrick Archer TKO1/4 # Mike Martinez beat Benji Singleton UD6/6

2007-07-13 Crowne Plaza, Terrigal, NSW, Australia # Jamie Pittman beat Nonoy Gonzales UD12/12 # Ben Fetilika lost to Kerry Foley KO2/6 # Leonardo Zappavigna beat Jun Geraldino KO1/6 # James Chan lost to Daniel Ammann UD6/6

2007-07-13 Photharam, Rachaburi Province, Thailand # Kaichon Sor Vorapin lost to Along Denoy TKO5/12 # Sod Looknongyangtoy beat Eduardo Apa ap TKO2/12

2007-07-12 Stade Georges Racine, Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France # Afif Hamdani lost to Anthony Mezaache SD10/10 # Brice Faradji beat Nicolas Guisset UD10/10

2007-07-12 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Yuji Gomez beat Mongkolnoi Polkurahan TKO3/6 # Tetsushi Asayama beat Hiroki Kubota TKO6/8

2007-07-12 Boulder County Fairgrounds, Longmont, Colorado, USA # Carlos Horacio Nevarez beat Cesar Holguin SD4/4

2007-07-12 Paradise Theater, Bronx, New York, USA # James Moore beat Chris Overbey KO3/8

2007-07-11 Nové Zámky, Nitrianský Kraj, Slovakia # Norbert Turanyi lost to Adrian Rajkai PTS6/6 # Zsolt Nemet lost to Attila Schmell TKO2/6 # Miklos Toldi lost to Krisztian Juhasz DQ3/6 # Mihaly Nemet drew with Viktor Szalai PTS6/6

2007-07-11 Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA # Joel Julio beat Cornelius Bundrage TKO8/10 # Daniel Lomeli beat Ronald Hurley UD4/4 # Anthony Salcido beat Sammy Ventura TKO4/6

2007-07-10 Island City Mall carpark, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines # Mark Jason Melligen beat Jury Noda TKO7/12 # Leon Maratas beat Ronald Postrano TKO7/10 # Joseph Omanz beat Arnel Layson TKO1/8 # Nic Banal beat Tiny Tyson UD8/8 # Federico Catubay beat Roy Doliguez UD8/8 # Carlo Magale beat Jun Intor TKO2/8 # Ricky Sismundo…

2007-07-10 Sport Complex, Tashkent, Uzbekistan # Zohid Hudoyberdiev beat Mahsud Jumaev UD4/4 # Farhod Oripov beat Srdor Mirzaev UD4/4 # Hurshid Madaminov beat Akmal Mirzaev UD6/6 # Oybek Rahimov beat Tursunbay Ablyakimov UD4/4 # Sherzod Nazarov beat Sarvar Tojiboyev TKO1/4

2007-07-09 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Zenyu Shakuson beat Akira Sato UD8/8 # Yosuke Makishima beat Kosuke Takamizawa UD6/6 # Atsushi Suzuki beat Takayuki Yaita TKO4/6 # Heima Hashimoto drew with Naoto Shimizu PTS4/4 # Akihiro Tsuruma beat Ryuji Sugiyama UD4/4 # Toshihiro Utsunomiya beat Yoshihisa…

2007-07-08 Piazza Maggiore, Este, Padova, Italy # Mirco Magon beat Miroslav Cacha PTS6/6

2007-07-08 International Conference Hall, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan # Ryuichi Okahashi beat Worawut Muangsima KO2/10 # Kosuke Hayashi beat Tomoki Kajiyama SD8/8 # Makyo Sugita beat Petchthongkam Sithprakaifah KO9/10 # Tsuyoshi Kimura drew with Songkom Jockygym PTS6/6 # Kenta Koyama beat Yasuaki Sato UD6/6 # Mitsuteru Saka beat…

2007-07-08 Diamond Hall, Okinawa, Japan # Katsuhiko Arakaki beat Samransak Singmanassak SD10/10 # Satoshi Makino beat Thongthai Rajanondh UD10/10 # Naoto Tomori beat Yudai Ohta KO2/4 # Masatoshi Kotani beat Spiral Hiro UD4/4 # Ryuji Ikehara beat Hiroyuki Kuwabata KO1/4 # Kenji Nakamura drew with…

2007-07-08 IMP Hall, Osaka, Japan # Masakazu Ishibashi beat Hiroyuki Takase UD4/4 # So Takenaka drew with Kengo Nagashima PTS4/4 # Kazumasa Kihara beat Yota Tanino KO2/4 # Daisaku Maki beat Kazuhiro Yoshioka TKO3/4 # Kazuharu Morimoto drew with Wataru Yorikawa TD3/4 # Mitsunori Nagoshi beat Yuta…

2007-07-08 IMP Hall, Osaka, Japan # Masahiro Mizumoto beat Yuta Hashino UD4/4 # Cho Hi beat Norio Kawahito TKO2/4 # Daisuke Watashiba beat Daisuke Takinami UD4/4 # Koji Nagata beat Junya Kawashima UD4/4 # Akitoshi Hirao beat Ryosuke Ohki SD4/4 # Hikaru Murazawa beat Masayuki Wakimoto…

2007-07-08 Omori Gold Gym, Tokyo, Japan # Kazuyoshi Yasuda beat Naoki Yamada MD6/6 # Ryosuke Sakurada beat Yusuke Katsunuma KO1/4 # Masatoshi Tomita beat Daiki Mitsuhira UD4/4 # Shinichi Iwasaki beat Takahiro Ozawa SD4/4 # Yoshikazu Hoshina beat Shinya Saito KO1/4 # Takeshi Kuroda beat Kosuke Iida…

2007-07-08 Fairway Hotel, Kampala, Uganda # Justin Juuko beat Chaurembo Palasa UD10/10 # Mude Ntambe beat Amos Ogutu KO4/0 # Benjamin Waibale beat ? Sebyala PTS0/0 # Farouk Daku beat Lucas Ochieng KO5/8 # Florence Nalukwago beat Monica Mwakasanga PTS0/0

2007-07-07 Salón España, Carlos Casares, Buenos Aires, Argentina # Santiago Ivan Acosta beat Ricardo Ariel Toledo PTS12/12 # Sergio Eduardo Gonzalez beat Mario Julio Ruben Martinez PTS6/6 # Gustavo Orozco beat Amilcar Ariel Abrego TKO1/4 # Alejandro Oscar Correa beat Diego Javier Sanabria PTS6/6 # Adrian Marcelo Flamenco…

2007-07-07 Deerfoot Inn & Casino, Calgary, AB, Canada # Goitom Ghebrezghi beat Eduardo Calderon MD6/6 # Albert Onolunose beat Willard Lewis TKO4/8 # Julius Odion beat Jorge Luis Lopez UD8/8 # Jegbefumere Bone Albert beat Alvaro Morales TKO3/4

2007-07-07 Gymnase Georges Buffenoir, Rivery, France # Sofiane Ouardi beat Akim Mehadji PTS6/6 # Guillaume Salingue beat Slimane Mehadji KO5/6

2007-07-07 Kölnarena, Köln, Germany # Wladimir Klitschko beat Lamon Brewster RTD6/12 # Berry Butler lost to Haxhi Krasniqi UD6/6 # Zaurbek Baysangurov beat Hussein Bayram UD12/12 # Andy Lee beat Thomas Hengstberger KO2/8 # Johnathon Banks beat Gustavo Enriquez TKO4/12 # Bihes Barakat beat Stefano…

2007-07-07 Studio TV RCTI, Jakarta, Indonesia # Muhammad Rachman lost to Florante Condes SD12/12

2007-07-07 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Takahiro Aoh beat Keisuke Akiba UD10/10 # Urbano Antillon beat Thongchai Por Pratompong TKO2/8 # Naoki Matsuda beat Surachai Soonkilanoinai TKO1/8 # Carlos Linares beat Feadsayam Saktavin TKO1/4 # Koichi Ohira beat Takashi Yoshida TKO4/6 # Takahiro Kaga beat…

2007-07-07 Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines # Yong Sung Kim beat Kongtoranee Por Surasak KO5/12 # Bo Young Kim lost to Judith Subingsubing SD4/4 # Rocky Fuentes beat Benedict Suico TKO8/12 # Donnie Nietes beat Saengpetch Sor Sakulphan KO7/12 # Jong Hwa Lee beat Jimboy Jacinto MD4/4 # James Bacon beat…

2007-07-07 Manila, Philippines # Denver Cuello beat Arman dela Cruz UD12/12

2007-07-07 Harbour Yard Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA # Travis Simms lost to Joachim Alcine UD12/12 # Vic Darchinyan lost to Nonito Donaire KO5/12 # Luis Alberto Perez beat Genaro Garcia KO7/12 # Bermane Stiverne lost to Demetrice King TKO4/8 # Monte Barrett lost to Cliff Couser TKO2/10 # Guillermo Jones beat Zack…

2007-07-07 Joe Bruno Stadium, Troy, New York, USA # Melissa Fiorentino beat Cindy Serrano UD8/8 # Shannon Miller beat Tyrone Roberts KO2/6 # Wayland Willingham beat Oscar Gonzalez KO4/6 # Anolan Rigal lost to Francisco Palacios TKO4/4 # Donnie Dukes lost to Tylon Burris KO3/4 # Jerry Spiegel beat Demont Grant…

2007-07-06 Club Sportivo Eclipse, General Villegas, Buenos Aires, Argentina # Gustavo Adrian Rodriguez beat Carlos Pramacio Villagran UD10/10

2007-07-06 Sociedad Española, Eduardo Castex, La Pampa, Argentina # Aldo Soloppi beat Ernesto Samgueza KO1/4

2007-07-06 Río Ceballos, Córdoba, Argentina # David Emanuel Peralta beat Rafael Oscar Ferreyra TKO3/4 # Ceferino Dario Labarda beat Diego Miguel Ramirez KO2/10

2007-07-06 Club Atlético San Miguel, San Miguel, Buenos Aires, Argentina # Marcelo Alejandro Rodriguez beat Claudio Gabriel Lezcano KO1/10

2007-07-06 Bailanta El Faraón, Saladillo, Buenos Aires, Argentina # Diego Pellegrino drew with Bernardino Gonzalez PTS4/4 # Rodolfo De Dominicis beat Jesus Alejandro Leyes UD4/4

2007-07-06 La Rioja, Argentina # Pablo Alberto Cortes beat Nestor Fabian Sanchez DQ5/6

2007-07-06 Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford, NSW, Australia # Ben Crampton beat Ramillo Caballes TKO5/6 # John Cotterill Jnr beat Junmar Dulog UD6/6 # Adam Wills beat Arnel Barricuatro UD4/4 # Steven Wills beat Ariel Omongos UD6/6 # Brendan Batty beat Dean Cambridge TKO2/4 # Robert Hanlon beat John Noctor KO3/4 # Rasheed…

2007-07-06 Coliseo Humberto Perea, Barranquilla, Colombia # Frank Paines beat Howard Enrique TKO2/4 # Milton Nunez beat Felipe Polo TKO3/6 # Fidel Monterrosa beat Jose Orozco PTS4/4

2007-07-06 Robin Park Centre, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England # Mark Thompson lost to Vincent Vuma TKO8/12 # Jason Booth lost to Ian Napa UD12/12 # Craig Watson beat Michael Lomax PTS8/8 # Ali Nuumbembe beat Vladimir Borovski PTS6/6 # Alex Matvienko drew with Martin Marshall PTS4/4 # Scott Mitchell beat David Ingleby…

2007-07-06 Salle Charles Courros, La Valette Du Var, Var, France # Karim Meriem lost to Smail el Amraoui UD6/6 # Cherif Saki beat Alex Djavoiev UD6/6

2007-07-06 Arena Gym, Hamburg, Germany # Hamid Rahimi beat Ihar Filonau SD4/4 # Goran Gogic beat Cisse Salif UD8/8 # Roman Aramian beat Ebubekir Bulut TKO9/10 # Derya Torun beat Elena Dima UD6/6 # Alexander Ustinov beat Vitaly Shkraba TKO1/10 # Steffen Kretschmann beat Ivica Perkovic RTD3/8 # Mahir…

2007-07-06 Piazza Risorgimento, Avezzano, Italy # Ivan Fiorletta beat Diego Martin Alzugaray PTS12/12 # Stefano Castellucci beat Marco Paolini KO3/6 # Giampiero Contestabile beat Silviu Lupu TKO2/6 # Roberto De Silva beat Daniel Danila TKO1/6

2007-07-06 Forum del Mayo, Navojoa, SON, Mexico # Leonilo Miranda beat Armando Guzman KO9/12 # Sergio Rivera beat Julio Gamez UD10/10 # Felipe Moroyoqui lost to Adalberto Paredes TKO4/4 # Gerardo Castro lost to Eden Marquez KO1/8 # Jose Tamayo lost to Charly Valenzuela SD8/8 # Jorge Lopez lost to Felipe…

2007-07-06 Aud. Benito Juarez, Los Mochis, SIN, Mexico # Carlos Rodriguez beat Valentin Leon UD12/12 # Francisco Soto beat Branni Guerrero Sandoval TKO2/12 # Gustavo Arroyo beat Jorge Valenzuela UD12/12 # Arturo Lopez beat Carlos Parra TKO3/8 # Hugo Valdez beat Jaime Yocupicio KO1/4 # Hugo Armenta beat Eduardo…

2007-07-06 Carousel Casino, Temba, NWP, South Africa # Yanga Phetani beat Michael Sangweni PTS6/6 # Francois Botha beat Bob Mirovic UD12/12 # Zack Mwekassa beat Gino Betoko RTD2/12 # Wonga Mhlana beat Mkhuseli Kondile KO2/12 # Bongani Mwelase beat Johannes Pieterson KO2/6

2007-07-06 Wat Chan, Bangkruay Distriict,Nonthaburi, Thailand # Devid Lookmahanak beat Falazona Fidal TKO6/12 # Veeraphol Sahaprom beat Satoshi Usui TKO4/8 # Napapol Kiatisakchokchai beat Satoshi Niwa UD8/8 # Nuita Nakamura beat Saifah Sithkorpolkanpim TKO1/6 # Thong Por Chokchai beat Simson Butar Butar UD6/6

2007-07-06 Eldorado Hotel & Casino, Reno, Nevada, USA # Jesse Brinkley beat Dallas Vargas TKO9/10 # Maureen Shea beat Olivia Pereira UD6/6 # Derek Hinkey beat Giovanni Rubio TKO2/4 # Mike Peralta beat Pernell Jackson TKO2/4 # Jaime Rodriguez beat Shavaris Buie TKO2/4 # Tyler Hinkey beat Dan Evanson TKO1/4

2007-07-06 Convention Center, McAllen, Texas, USA # Martin Honorio beat Joe Morales SD10/10 # Abner Mares beat Saul Gutierrez UD6/6 # Vicente Escobedo beat Carlos Diaz UD10/10 # James De la Rosa beat Michael Soberanis TKO5/8 # Carlos Duarte beat Terrance Smith UD4/4

2007-07-06 Florida State Fairgrounds Hall, Tampa, Florida, USA # Nate Campbell beat Wilson Alcorro KO6/10 # Patrick Lopez lost to Fernando Angulo UD10/10 # Marcus Broadnax lost to Joshua Cordero TKO1/6 # Ahsandi Gibbs beat Eric Clinton UD4/4 # Manny Cortessis beat Raymond Brindle TKO1/4 # DaVarryl Williamson beat Maurice…

2007-07-06 Orleans Hotel And Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA # Friday Ahunanya drew with Franklin Lawrence PTS8/8 # Johnny Taunton beat Tomas Bernal UD6/6 # Manuel Sarabia drew with Elton Dharry PTS4/4 # Avian Guillory lost to Demark Scott RTD2/4 # Daniel Quevedo beat Luis Raul Galvan TKO4/4

2007-07-06 Shopping Salto, Salto, Uruguay # Rafael Sosa Pintos beat Daniel Benito Carriqueo UD8/8 # Soledad Macedo beat Verena Crespo UD4/4

2007-07-05 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Shinya Nagase beat Petcharoon Wor Surapol KO6/8 # Yu Shiga beat Hitoshi Itokazu TKO3/6 # Shingo Shimizu beat Kazuki Yamato UD6/6 # Hirokazu Yamaki beat Hiroki Furuya UD6/6 # Zuri Kannan beat Nobuhiro Fukushima KO2/4 # Hiroki Matsumoto beat Keiji Kawamura…

2007-07-05 Emperors Palace Casino, Kempton Park, GT, South Africa # Cassius Baloyi drew with Manuel Medina TD4/12 # Isaac Chilembe lost to Willbeforce Shihepo PTS6/6 # Malcolm Klassen beat Edward Mpofu TKO5/8 # Kgotla Baeti drew with Anthony Tshehla TD1/8 # Grant Fourie beat David Ngcebetsha TKO1/4 # Warren Joubert beat Amos…

2007-07-05 Rachadamnern Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand # Malfah Looksaikondeen beat Pongpetch Chuwatana KO7/10

2007-07-04 Top Hotel, Prague, Stredoceský Kraj, Czech Republic # Ondrej Pala beat Humberto Evora KO4/8 # Oleksander Sergeev beat Anton Lascek TKO4/8 # Rastislav Kovac lost to Jan Sarkozi TKO4/6 # Sandro Siproshvili beat Pavol Garaj UD6/6 # Michal Bilak beat Sandris Tomson TKO6/8 # Roman Kracik beat Romans Dabolins TKO5/6

2007-07-04 Samosir Island, Indonesia # Aldo Hummer beat Rafael Pangaribuan TKO6/12

2007-07-04 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Masayuki Koguchi beat Morito Yoshikawa TKO3/8 # Seiichi Haraguchi drew with Hyobu Nakagama PTS8/8 # Kazuyuki Irie beat Tatsuya Hashimoto MD8/8 # Shinya Iwabuchi beat Somnup Sor Worapin KO3/8 # Masataka Shoda beat Tsuyoshi Hatano UD6/6

2007-07-03 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Shigeru Takada beat Akiomi Tazaki UD4/4 # Yoshihiro Hayashizaki beat Nobuya Kasai TKO1/4 # Kota Oguchi beat Tamotsu Morita SD4/4 # Shinichi Tokura drew with Akinori Kuramata PTS4/4 # Kohei Yamamoto beat Yuji Heshiki TKO2/4 # Junta Sekimoto beat Tsuyoshi Saito…

2007-07-03 Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain # Benito Eufemia drew with Mandi Boubaka PTS0/6

2007-07-03 Bangkok, Thailand # Denkaosan Kaovichit beat Richard Olisa UD12/12 # Joan de Guia lost to Thitichon Singwancha UD6/6 # Jesus Muzaka beat Kompayak Sithdanchai PTS6/6 # Kiatchai Singwancha beat Nonthachai Sakkosol KO3/6 # Kongfah Singwancha beat Saenmuangnoi Vimol Sportclub KO3/6

2007-07-02 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan # Kenji Yoshida beat Noriyuki Komatsu TD6/10 # Yoshinori Naito beat Jairak Sor Proenchai KO4/8 # Masahide Shinabe beat Toyofumi Nagashima SD4/4 # Takeo Kuranaga beat Kota Sakai UD4/4 # Yuto Shimizu beat Hideyuki Kudo UD4/4 # Yuji Hasegawa beat Kazuhiro Kamimura…

2007-07-02 El Foro, Tijuana, BCN, Mexico # Humberto Tapia beat Ismael Gonzalez MD10/10 # Rene Hernandez beat Martin Ayala TKO2/0 # Arturo Badillo beat Martin Jacovich TKO1/0 # Pedro Arcos beat Manuel Gudinea TKO1/0 # Abraham Torres beat Eduardo Arcos TKO1/0 # Luis Viedas beat Joel Yocupicio…

2007-07-02 Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, California, USA # Shin Hee Choi lost to Elena Reid UD10/10 # Kelsey Jeffries beat Donna Biggers UD10/10 # Elizabeth Villarreal drew with Brooke Dierdorff TD2/6 # Chevelle Hallback beat Terri Blair UD8/8 # Melissa Shaffer beat Sandra Ortiz UD6/6

2007-07-01 Gimnasio Chico de Hierro, Cartagena, Colombia # Carlos Franco beat Edinson Martinez UD4/4 # Henry Torres beat Julio Polo UD4/4 # Manuel Banquez beat Jose Chiquillo UD4/4

2007-07-01 Hippodrome Nightclub, Colchester, Essex, England # Tom Glover beat John Baguley PTS10/10 # Matthew Martin Lewis lost to Leonard Lothian PTS4/4 # Lee Purdy beat Ben Hudson PTS6/6

2007-07-01 Piazza della Loggia, Brescia, Italy # Fabio Tuiach beat Slavomir Selicky KO2/6 # Emiliano Salvini beat Roman Rafael PTS6/6

2007-07-01 Bressa, Udine, Italy # Italo Brussolo beat Florin Oanea PTS6/6

2007-07-01 Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan # Sasha Bakhtin beat Jesse Maca TKO8/10 # Takefumi Sakata beat Roberto Vasquez UD12/12 # Ryusei Hashimoto drew with Tsubasa Hashimoto PTS4/4 # Masashi Muto beat Kazuhiro Yamada TKO4/4 # Mikihito Seto beat Jonathan Ba at TD5/8 # Daisuke Sawai beat Hironori Kawase…

2007-07-01 Sangyo Shinko Center, Kariya, Aichi, Japan # Yohei Kudo beat Yuya Nakazato UD4/4 # Masanari Iida beat Hironori Kokubu KO1/4 # Akihito Hoshi beat Hirokazu Tsudake MD4/4 # Masahiro Kawashima beat Motoki Matsunase SD4/4 # Shota Hayashi beat Takumi Watanabe UD4/4 # Shuji Tanaka drew with Tomoaki Okukawa…

2007-07-01 Prefectural Gym, Kagoshima, Japan # Tomoyuki Daimon drew with Isao Katayama PTS4/4 # Hirosuke Mizoguchi beat Yuta Kusano KO1/4 # Kenta Takahashi beat Shota Mikami KO1/4 # Hironobu Yafuso beat Makoto Matsuyama UD4/4 # Masashi Ishikawa beat Keisuke Kimino UD4/4 # Mitsuhiro Nomura drew with…

2007-07-01 Goyang City, Gyeonggido, Korea # Kyung Jin Son beat Yong Il Kim KO3/10 # Ji Hoon Kim beat Jae Kwang Jung KO6/12 # Jong Hoon Lee beat Joon Il Lee KO4/10 # Jong Gun Baek beat Jae Suk Lee KO1/4 # Gyoo Ho Choi lost to Pan Soo Kim KO1/4 # Man Suk Park beat Won Ki Suh KO2/4

2007-07-01 Manzese Texas Hall, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania # Omari Ramadan beat James Mokiwa UD6/6 # Shabani Madilu beat Jumanne Mtengela SD4/4 # Fabian Lyimo drew with Faraji Badri TD2/4 # Jack Mchaki beat Said Msimbe UD4/6 # Ayeshi Uliza beat Kassim Hamis TKO3/4

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS BOXING NEWS & SPECIAL LINKS

July 4 (Wednesday), 2007 At The Emperors Palace Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Masayuki Koguchi (13-4-2) vs. Morito Yoshikawa (8-3-2) Seiichi Haraguchi (13-5) vs. Hyobu Nakagama (10-5)

July 5 (Thursday), 2007 At The Emperors Palace Casino, Johannesburg, South Africa Cassius Baloyi (33-3) vs. Manuel Medina (67-5) Lehlohouolo Ledwaba (36-6-1) vs. Malcolm Klassen (19-4-2) Isaac Chilembe (8-0) vs. Willbeforce Shihepo (7-4)

July 6 (Friday), 2007 At The Entertainment Hall, Tampa, FL (ESPN2) Nate Campbell (30-5-1) vs. Wilson Alcorro (35-7-3) (The Ring Magazine #5 Lightweight vs. Unranked) (ESPN2) Patrick Lopez (11-0) vs. Fernando Angulo (18-4) DaVarryl Williamson (23-4) vs. Maurice Wheeler (10-9-1) Joshua Cordero (6-0) vs. Marcus Broadnax (3-1-2) Ahsandi Gibbs (3-0) vs. Eric Clinton (0-0-1) Willie Chisolm (3-1) vs. Brian Rollins (1-0) Manny Cortessis (0-0) vs. Raymond Brindle (0-2)

At The McAllen Convention Center, McAllen, TX (Telefutura) Martin Honorio (23-3-1) vs. Joe Morales (19-11) (Telefutura) Vicente Escobedo (13-1) vs. Carlos Diaz (9-9-4) Abner Mares (12-0) vs. Edison Morillo (12-4-2) James De La Rosa (13-0) vs. Michael Soberanis (7-13-2) Mario Hernandez (7-0) vs. TBA

At The El Dorado Hotel, Reno, NV Jesse Brinkley (26-5) vs. Dallas Vargas (21-3) Bayan Jargal (2-0-1) vs. Jaime Rodriguez (2-2-1) FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-775-786-5700

At The Orleans Casino, Las Vegas, NV Friday Ahunanya (22-5-2) vs. Franklin Lawrence (7-1) Cesar Grajeda (3-0) vs. Elton Dharry (1-0) Johnny Taunton (3-0-1) vs. Tomas Bernal (3-2-2)

At The Carousel Casino, Hammanskraal, South Africa Franz Botha (45-4-2) vs. Bob Mirovic (28-18-2) Mkhuseli Kondile (23-8-1) vs. Wonga Mhlana (8-1)

At Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England Mark Thompson (11-0) vs. Vincent Vuma (22-2) Jason Booth (27-4) vs. Ian Napa (13-6) Alex Matvienko (7-0-1) vs. Martin Marshall (8-9-2)

At The Arena Gym, Hamburg, Germany Roman Aramian (21-7) vs. Ebubekir Bulut (12-1) Goran Gogic (16-3-2) vs. Cisse Salif (20-7-2) Alexander Ustinov (6-0) vs. Pedro Carrion (6-1) Olanier Fonte (2-0) vs. TBA

In Nonthaburi, Thailand NEW Veeraphol Sahaprom (56-3-2) vs. Satoshi Usui (15-13-4) NEW Devid Lookmahanak (15-0) vs. Falazona Fidal (5-12)

At Forum del Mayo, Navojoa, Mexico NEW Leonilo Miranda (26-0) vs. Armando Guzman (13-0) NEW Sergio Rivera (18-2-2) vs. Julio Gamez (11-10)

At Club Sportivo Eclipse, Buenos Aires, Argentina NEW Carlos Villagran (14-7-1) vs. Gustavo Rodriguez (12-7)

July 7 (Saturday), 2007 At The Köln Arena, Köln, Germany (HBO) Wladimir Klitschko (48-3) vs. Lamon Brewster (33-3) (The Ring Magazine #1 Heavyweight vs. #8) (IBF Heavyweight belt) Rudiger May (41-5-3) vs. Dzemail Skrijeli (4-4-1) Hussein Bayram (24-2) vs. Zauerbek Baysangurov (15-0) Haxhi Krasniqui (15-2) vs. Berry Butler (23-12) Jonathan Banks (16-0) vs. Josip Jalusic (8-7-1) Andy Lee (9-0) vs. Engin Erdogan (10-3) Stefano D’Allessandro (6-0) vs. Bihes Barakat (4-1-1)

At The Harbour Yard Arena, Bridgeport, CT (Showtime) Travis Simms (25-0) vs. Joachim Alcine (28-0) (The Ring Magazine #8 Jr. Middleweight vs. Unranked) (WBA Jr. Middleweight belt) (Showtime) Vic Darchinyan (28-0) vs. Nonito Donaire (17-1) (The Ring Magazine #2 Flyweight vs. Unranked) (IBF Flyweight belt) Genaro Garcia (35-5) vs. Luis Perez (24-1) (The Ring Magazine #7 Bantamweight vs. Unranked) (IBF Bantamweight belt) Guillermo Jones (34-3-2) vs. TBA Devon Alexander (11-0) vs. TBA

At The Indoor Tennis Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia Muhammad Rachman (61-5-5) vs. Florante Condes (21-3-1) (The Ring Magazine #3 Strawweight vs. Unranked) (IBF Strawweight belt)

At Joe Bruno Stadium, Troy, NY Shannon Miller (14-3) vs. Tyrone Roberts (10-3-1) Wayland Willingham (11-0) vs. Tyrone Roberts (10-3-1) Missy Fiorentino (15-1) vs. Cindy Serrano (14-0-1) FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-518-326-9756

At The Crossroads Arena, Corinth, MS Antonio Mesquita (33-0) vs. Joshua Smith (17-32-1) Tyrone Brunson (18-0) vs. Sean Holley (8-21) Frederic Kassi (10-0) vs. Steve Lewallen (4-2) Shannon Miller (21-37) vs. TBA

At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Takahiro Aoh (14-0) vs. Keisuke Akiba (10-3-2) Naoki Matsuda (27-7-3) vs. TBA

At The Deerfoot Inn & Casino, Calgary, Canada Albert Onolunose (11-0) vs. Rolando Torres (20-12) Julius Odion (9-0-2) vs. Jorge Lopez (12-21)

In Buenos Aires, Argentina NEW Raul Medina (21-9-3) vs. Ramon Gamez (16-7-2) NEW Santiago Acosta (12-1-1) vs. Ricardo Toledo (11-18-3)

July 8 (Sunday), 2007 At The Fairway Hotel, Kampala, Uganda NEW Justin Juuko (40-9-1) vs. Chaurembo Palasa (18-12-1)

In Nagoya, Japan Ryuichi Okahashi (14-2) vs. Worawut Muangsima Kosuke Hayashi (12-0) vs. Tomoki Kajiyama (9-1-1)

July 11 (Wednesday), 2007 At The Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (ESPN2) Joel Julio (31-1) vs. Cornelius Bundrage (26-2)

July 12 (Thursday), 2007 At The Paradise Theater, New York City, NY James Moore (11-0) vs. Jesse Orta Orlando Cruz (13-0) vs. Cornelus Lock (15-3-1) Alicia Ahsley (13-7-1) vs. TBA Eric Hunter (7-1) vs. Hassan Wasswa Ray Robinson (3-0) vs. TBA FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-718-823-6600

July 13 (Friday), 2007 At Palacio Gomez, Durango, Mexico (Dish PPV) Christian Mijares (31-3-2) vs. Teppei Kikui (21-5) (The Ring Magazine #4 Jr. Bantamweight vs. Unranked) (WBC Jr. Bantamweight belt) (Dish PPV) Gamaliel Diaz (21-6-2) vs. Naoki Matsuda (27-7-3) (Dish PPV) Eric Rameriz (20-4-1) vs. Lorenzo Trejo (29-15)

At The Million Dollar Elm Casino, Tulsa, OK NEW (ESPN2) Allan Green (23-1) vs. Darrell Woods (26-10) (The Ring Magazine #8 Super Middleweight vs. Unranked)

At The Congress Theater, Chicago, IL (Telefutura) Jose Aguiniga (31-0) vs. Francisco Lorenzo (28-4) (Telefutura) Wilton Hilario (8-0) vs. Juan Martinez (12-5) Francisco Rodriguez (8-1) vs. Manuel Sarabia (15-19-7) Ivan Rodriguez (7-3-1) vs. TBA Andrzej Fonfara (5-1) vs. TBA FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-312-226-5800

At The Town Hall, Leeds, England Carl Johanneson (26-2) vs. Leva Kirakosyan (25-4)

In East London, South Africa Lucky Lewele (24-5) vs. Phumlani Menziwa

July 14 (Saturday), 2007 At The Home Depot Center, Carson, CA (HBO) Antonio Margarito (34-4) vs. Paul Williams (32-0) (The Ring Magazine #1 Welterweight vs. #10) (WBO Welterweight belt) Cristobal Arreola (20-0) vs. TBA Andre Ward (12-0) vs. TBA

At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ (HBO) Kermit Cintron (27-1) vs. Walter Matthysse (26-1) (The Ring Magazine #7 Welterweight vs. Unranked) (IBF Welterweight belt) (HBO) Arturo Gatti (40-8) vs. Alphonso Gomez (16-3-2) Giovanni Lorenzo (23-0) vs. TBA Henry Crawford (15-0-1) vs. TBA Pawel Wolak (14-0) vs. Edgar Reyes (10-7) Kaseem Wilson (7-0-1) vs. Sergio Garcia (6-3) FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-800-736-1420

At The Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS (PPV) Roy Jones Jr. (50-4) vs. Anthony Hanshaw (21-0-1) (PPV) Zahir Raheem (28-2) vs. Derrick Gainer (40-7-1) (The Ring Magazine #6 Lightweight vs. Unranked) (PPV) Oscar Diaz (25-2) vs. Juan Manuel Buendia (14-1-1)

At The National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland (PPV) John Duddy (20-0) vs. Alessio Furlan (19-8-5) (PPV) Kevin O’Hara (13-2) vs. TBA NEW (PPV) Paul McCloskey (10-0) vs. Rachid Drilzane (12-5) Eugene Heagney (4-0) vs. TBA Declan Timlin (3-0) vs. TBA

At The Rama Casino, Orilla, Canada Steve Molitor (23-0) vs. Takalani Ndlovu (27-3) (The Ring Magazine #8 Jr. Featherweight vs. #9) (IBF Jr. Featherweight belt) Chad Brisson (21-2) vs. TBA Kgotso Motau (11-0) vs. Shawn Garnett (10-4-1)

At The O2 Arena, London, England Nicky Cook (27-0) vs. Steven Luevano (32-1) (The Ring Magazine #5 Featherweight vs. Unranked) (WBO Featherweight belt) Amir Khan (12-0) vs. Willie Limond (28-1) Kevin Mitchell (23-0) vs. Alexander Hrulev (14-1-1)

At The 4 Bears Casino, New Town, ND Vassiliy Jirov (36-3-1) vs. Kenny Craven (28-18) Shawn Hawk (14-0-1) vs. Sam Tillman (13-10-1) Chuck Mussachio (9-0) vs. TBA FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-800-294-5454

At The America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ Rick Pistone (15-0) vs. Chri Wright (17-2) Rubin Cora (1-0) vs. Max Dwyer (0-0)

At he San Jose Civic Center, San Jose, CA Hector Alatorre (14-1) vs. Jesus Rodriguez (14-2)

July 15 (Sunday), 2007 In Hamburg, Germany Luan Krasniqi (30-2-1) vs. Tony Thompson (29-1)

July 17 (Tuesday), 2007 At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan NEW Crazy Kim (25-4) vs. Heath Stenton (13-17-1) NEW Nobuhisa Doi (20-9-6) vs. Takafumi Nakajima (8-3)

July 18 (Wednesday), 2007 At The Castle, Boston, MA NEW (ESPN2) Mike Oliver (19-0) vs. Cruz Carbajal (28-13-2) NEW (ESPN2) Dat Nguyen (10-0) vs. TBA

At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (65-2) vs. Daisuke Naito (30-2-2) (The Ring Magazine #1 Flyweight vs. #8) (WBC Flyweight belt)

At Challenge Stadium, Perth, Australia Danny Green (23-3) vs. Otis Griffin (18-1-2)

July 20 (Friday), 2007 At The Mahi Temple, Miami, FL (ESPN2) Fres Oquendo (27-4) vs. Elieser Castillo (29-5-2) NEW (ESPN2) Eromosele Albert (20-1) vs. Daniel Edouard (18-1-2) FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-561-629-6212

At The New Alhambra, Philadelphia, PA (Telefutura) Aldo Valtierra (24-8) vs. Rogers Mtagwa (23-11-2) (Telefutura) Mike Jones (8-0) vs. Doel Carrasquillo (10-4-1) Omar Pittmann (14-3-1) vs. Ronald Boddie (15-35-4) Kevin Carmody (10-7-2) vs. TBA Teon Kennedy (3-0) vs. TBA FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-215-765-0922

At The Palm Beach Convention Center, Palm Beach, FL Efren Hinojosa (29-3-1) vs. Francisco Figueroa (16-2)

At The Civic Hall, Wolverhmapton, England NEW Ted Bami (22-2) vs. Young Mutley (22-2) NEW Matthew Macklin (17-2) vs. TBA

July 21 (Saturday), 2007 At The Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas, NV (PPV) Bernard Hopkins (47-4-1) vs. Winky Wright (51-3-1) (The Ring Magazine World Light Heavyweight Champion vs. #1 Middleweight) (PPV) Oscar Larios (59-5-1) vs. Jorge Linares (23-0) (The Ring Magazine #9 Featherweight vs. Unranked) (PPV) Michael Katsidis (22-0) vs. Czar Amonsot (18-2-1) (The Ring Magazine #8 Lightweight vs. Unranked) Librado Andrade (24-1) vs. TBA (The Ring Magazine #5 Super Middleweight vs. Unranked) Enrique Ornelas (25-3) vs. Bronco McKart (50-7)

At The International Arena, Cardiff, Wales Enzo Maccarinelli (26-1) vs. Wayne Braithwaite (22-2) (The Ring Magazine #5 Cruiserweight vs. Unranked) (WBO Cruiserweight belt) Souleymane M’baye (35-1-1) vs. Gavin Rees (26-0) (The Ring Magazine #5 Jr. Welterweight vs. Unranked) (WBA Jr. Welterweight belt) Alex Arthur (24-1) vs. Koba Gogoladze (20-1) (The Ring Magazine #10 Jr. Lightweight vs. Unranked)

At Heinz Field’s South Plaza, Pittsburgh, PA Monty Meza-Clay (24-1) vs. Luis Bolano (42–7) Scott McCracken (16-7) vs. TBA Alphonso Williams (8-2) vs. TBA Juan McPherson (6–0) vs. TBA FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL: 1-724-513-7457

At Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan Norio Kimura (31-5-2) vs. Norihito Nakamura (13-9) Keiji Eguchi (14-1) vs. Makoto Fuchigami (7-4)

July 22 (Sunday), 2007 In Cebu, The Philippines Randy Suico (26-3) vs. Koji Samejima (15-1-1)

July 27 (Friday), 2007 In Saratoga Springs, NY (ESPN2) Andre Berto (18-0) vs. Cosme Rivera (30-10-2)

At The Isleta Casino, Albuquerque, NM NEW (Telefutura) Martin Castillo (31-2) vs. TBA (The Ring Magazine #1 Jr. Bantamweight vs. Unranked) NEW (Telefutura) Ray Sanchez (19-1) vs. TBA

At The Mountaineer Race Track, Chester, WV Verquan Kimbrough (17-1-1) vs. TBA

July 28 (Saturday), 2007 At The Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, WA (HBO) Vernon Forrest (38-2) vs. Carlos Baldomir (43-10-6) (The Ring Magazine #7 Jr. Middleweight vs. #4 Welterweight) Mario Santiago (18-0) vs. Eric Aiken (16-5-1)

At The Burgwächter Castello, Düsseldorf, Germany Regina Halmich (52-1-1) vs. Wendy Rodriguez (18-3-3) Lukas Wilaschek (17-0) vs. Fawaz Nasir (11-1) Grigory Drozd (26-1) vs. TBA

At The Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan NEW Koki Kameda (15-0) vs. Cesar Lopez (20-4) (The Ring Magazine #10 Flyweight vs. Unranked)

July 31 (Tuesday), 2007 In Pavia, Italy NEW Vincenzo Rossitto (34-4-2) vs. Giacobbe Fragomeni (22-1)

While a playoff spot remains a fantasy, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hoped to at least make progress this season. Unfortunately, the first half has revealed very little of that.

The Devil Rays hope to end a nine-game losing streak when they continue a three-game series Wednesday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

The Devil Rays (33-49) hit the halfway point of the season Monday with a 10-2 loss at Cleveland, putting them on pace for 96 losses. Although that would represent a five-game improvement over last year, another near 100-loss season is not what the franchise was hoping for in 2007.

Tampa Bay has finished last in eight of nine seasons and is again bringing up the rear in the AL East, 18 games behind first-place Boston (51-31).

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched eight scoreless innings and slumping Julio Lugo had two hits and two RBIs against his former team Tuesday night in Boston’s 4-1 victory.

Lugo entered the game hitless in 33 at-bats - the longest for a Red Sox player since 1991 - before delivering a two-run single in the second inning. The RBIs were the first since June 8 for Lugo, who raised his average to .194.

Carlos Pena’s home run with two outs in the ninth off All-Star Jonathan Papelbon accounted for the lone run for the Devil Rays, who have lost nine straight for the second time in two seasons.

Tampa Bay, which hasn’t dropped 10 straight since June 28-July 8, 2005, has lost 19 of its last 22 games at Boston, and is 21-55 all-time there.

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz went 0-for-4 Tuesday, and is batting .192 (10-for-52) over his last 14 games.

Coco Crisp was back in Boston’s lineup after missing four games with a sprained left thumb. Kevin Youkilis also returned after missing one game with sore left quadriceps.

Edwin Jackson (1-8, 6.88 ERA) hopes to continue his turnaround for the Devil Rays. The right-hander has been excellent in his last two starts after he was 0-8 with a 7.85 ERA in his first 13 outings. After recording his first win since Sept. 26, 2005 in his previous start, Jackson allowed one run and six hits in six innings Friday in a 2-1 loss at Cleveland before leaving without a decision.

Jackson has no record and a 4.15 ERA in three career relief appearances against Boston.

Tim Wakefield (8-8, 4.31) seeks his fourth win in five starts for the Red Sox. The knuckleballer, who has a decision in each of his 16 starts, rebounded from two poor outings with a strong performance Friday in a 2-1 win over Texas. He allowed one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings with four walks and four strikeouts.

Wakefield is 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA in his last three starts at Fenway Park after losing his three previous appearances there.

He is 15-2 with a 2.91 ERA in 32 appearances, including 22 starts against the Devil Rays. The 15 wins are his most against any opponent.

Carl Crawford is one of the few Devil Rays that hits Wakefield well, batting .328 (20-for-61) with two home runs.

For Pizza I’m on the BoSoxs -1.5 -120 & the OV 10.5

Good Luck,

Tommy Mac

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Wednesday, July 4th (All times eastern)

TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS (33-49) AT BOSTON RED SOX (51-31), 1:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Tampa Bay - Edwin Jackson (1-8, 6.88) Boston - Tim Wakefield (8-8, 4.31)

The Boston Red Sox try to continue their home dominance of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays this afternoon, when the AL East rivals continue their three-game set at Fenway Park.

Since the start of the 2004 campaign Boston holds a 38-20 advantage in the series, including an impressive 25-5 mark in Beantown during that time.

That trend continued in the opener of this series on Tuesday, as Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out nine in eight shutout innings and Julio Lugo ended the longest hitless drought of his career with a two-out, two-run single in the second inning to help the Red Sox to a 4-1 win.

Lugo had gone 0-for-33 before his two-out base-hit off Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir in the second inning gave Boston a 3-0 lead. It was the worst hitless streak by a Red Sox player since Tim Naehring went 0-for-39 from April 13-May 14, 1991.

Matsuzaka (10-5) scattered four hits and walked just one batter. The 23-year- old Japanese sensation has given up just six earned runs over his last six starts, while totaling 51 strikeouts over 42 innings.

Carlos Pena homered off Jonathan Papelbon with two outs in the ninth to break up the shutout, but Papelbon retired Greg Norton to preserve the victory.

Kazmir (5-5) ran into trouble in the second, walking the first three batters of the inning to load the bases as Boston struck for three runs in the inning. The left-hander pitched six innings and yielded four runs — three earned — with six strikeouts and three walks.

Akinori Iwamura had Tampa Bay’s only extra-base hit off Matsuzaka with a double in the sixth inning as the Devil Rays lost their season-worst ninth straight game.

Heading to the hill for the Red Sox today will be veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who has won three of his last four starts. Wakefield defeated the Texas Rangers on Friday, as he allowed a run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings to run his record to 8-8, while lowering his earned run average to 4.31.

Wakefield has been incredible in his career against the Devil Rays, going 15-2 against them with three saves and a 2.91 ERA in 32 games, 22 of which have been starts.

Tampa will counter with Edwin Jackson, who has pitched well since losing his first eight decisions of the season. Jackson, who is 1-8 with a 6.88 ERA, did not receive a decision on Friday against Cleveland, giving up a run on six hits in six innings of his team’s 2-1 loss.

Jackson, who will be making his first-ever start against the Red Sox, has allowed just five runs in his last three outings, spanning 16 2/3 innings.

MINNESOTA TWINS (42-40) AT NEW YORK YANKEES (39-41), 1:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Minnesota - Johan Santana (9-6, 2.76) New York - Mike Mussina (4-5, 4.63)

Mike Mussina tries to continue his mastery of the Minnesota Twins this afternoon, when the New York Yankees play the third contest of a four-game series against them at Yankee Stadium.

Mussina has absolutely owned the Twins in the regular season over the course of his 17-year career, going 20-5 against them with a 3.14 earned run average in 29 starts. He has been even better in 13 home starts against the Twins, posting a perfect 10-0 ledger to go along with a 2.82 ERA.

The 38-year-old right-hander enters today’s contest on the heels of beating the Oakland Athletics on Friday. Mussina allowed a run on six hits in seven innings of that one, as he improved to 4-5 and lowered his ERA to 4.63.

Minnesota will counter with staff ace and two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana, who has won his last three starts. Santana was his usual dominant self on Friday in Detroit, as he held the Tigers to a run on five hits in six innings.

Over his last three starts — spanning 21 innings — Santana, who is 9-6 with a 2.76 ERA this season, has surrendered just two earned runs.

The left-hander has never lost a regular season meeting to the Yankees, going 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA in seven games, four of which have been starts.

In the second game of this set on Tuesday, Chien-Ming Wang threw seven strong innings to win his fifth consecutive decision and Robinson Cano belted a two- run homer to help the Yankees to an 8-0 win.

Melky Cabrera and Derek Jeter each contributed a pair of RBI, while Bobby Abreu had his second straight three-hit game, driving in one and scoring twice.

Wang (8-4) scattered four hits, walked four and fanned three to remain unbeaten in his last seven starts. The right-hander left after throwing 101 pitches as the Yankees put together back-to-back wins for the first time since beating the Mets, June 16-17.

Scott Proctor struck out two batters in the eighth and Edwar Ramirez made a spectacular debut, striking out the side in the ninth to complete the five- hitter.

Carlos Silva (6-9) was pounded for nine hits and six runs over 5 1/3 innings, as his two-start winning streak came to an end.

Minnesota has dropped three in a row, its longest skid since a four-game slide from June 2-5. The Twins have also scored just once in their current losing streak.

Torii Hunter, who was called out on strikes in the seventh inning, was ejected by home plate umpire Ron Kulpa at the start of the eighth. Kulpa looked into the Twins dugout, and Hunter came out to have a heated argument before being thrown out.

The Yankees took two of three from the Twins earlier this season and hold a slight 10-7 edge in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. Minnesota has also won just twice in its last 17 regular season visits to the Bronx since the start of the 2002 season.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS (40-43) AT OAKLAND ATHLETICS (43-40), 4:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Toronto - Dustin McGowan (4-4, 5.15) Oakland - Joe Kennedy (2-6, 3.91)

The Toronto Blue Jays conclude a grueling 10-game road trip with this afternoon’s finale of a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics from McAfee Coliseum.

Toronto has gone 3-6 thus far on the trek, which began in Minnesota on June 25 and also included three losses to the Seattle Mariners over the past weekend. The road has not been very kind to John Gibbons’ club this season, as the Jays bring a lackluster 16-25 away mark into the rubber match of this set.

The Blue Jays return home for three games against Cleveland to close out the season’s first half, then hit the road again for a pair of big series against American League East rivals Boston and New York following the All-Star break.

Oakland rebounded from Monday’s 11-7 setback to Toronto with last night’s 3-1 decision. Joe Blanton went the distance on a four-hitter to record his AL-best third complete game of the season.

Blanton (8-4) issued just one walk and struck out four while lowering his league-leading earned run average in home games to 1.69. The right-hander retired 26 of the final 29 batters he faced.

Jack Cust had a solo home run and Shannon Stewart went 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Athletics, who won for the third time in four games.

Toronto All-Star Alex Rios went 2-for-3 and knocked in his team’s lone run in the loss, the Blue Jays’ fifth in six outings.

Jesse Litsch (1-3) pitched well for Toronto in defeat. The rookie right-hander surrendered just two unearned runs on seven hits and struck out five over seven innings.

Joe Kennedy will attempt to give the A’s the series win, as well as improve on some outstanding career numbers against the Blue Jays, when the left-hander takes the mound this afternoon.

Kennedy owns a 6-1 overall record versus Toronto, his most victories over any single opponent, along with a 3.75 ERA in 17 appearances (11 starts). However, he has not faced the Jays since the 2003 campaign, when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The 28-year-old will be looking to stop a four-game winless skid, having recorded a pair of defeats and two no decisions since a June 6 victory over Boston. In his most recent outing, Kennedy took a tough loss to the Yankees on Friday despite allowing just two runs over six innings.

Dustin McGowan hopes for a return of his near no-hit form when he toes the rubber for the Jays in today’s finale. The up-and-down youngster took a no-no into the ninth inning in a brilliant shutout of Colorado on June 24, but didn’t possess the same stuff in last Friday’s showdown in Seattle.

In that game McGowan was tagged for five runs on eight hits over five innings of a 5-3 setback at Safeco Field. The 25-year-old fell to 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA in six road starts this season.

McGowan has not pitched against Oakland this year, but has made one start and two relief appearances versus the A’s over his brief career. He is 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA over 6 1/3 innings in those games.

Oakland has gone 7-5 against Toronto since the start of the 2006 campaign. The Athletics have won four of six home games over the Jays during that stretch.

CLEVELAND INDIANS (51-32) AT DETROIT TIGERS (47-34), 7:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Cleveland - Jake Westbrook (1-3, 6.10) Detroit - Kenny Rogers (2-0, 0.75)

Kenny Rogers tries to make it three wins in three starts this evening when the Detroit Tigers continue their three-game series with the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park.

Rogers has been dominant since returning from surgery to remove a blood clot in his throwing shoulder, going 2-0 with a miniscule 0.75 earned run average. After holding the Atlanta Braves scoreless in six innings to post a victory in his season debut, Rogers allowed just a run on four hits in six innings to the Texas Rangers last Thursday to nail down the win. He has also only walked one batter in 12 frames this season.

The 42-year-old left-hander is no stranger to the Tribe, as he has faced them 55 times (32 starts) and is 16-16 with a save and a 5.28 ERA against them.

Cleveland will counter with right-hander Jake Westbrook, who is 1-3 with a 6.10 ERA. Westbrook picked up a no-decision in his last start on Friday against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, despite probably his best outing of the season. He allowed a run and five hits in seven innings of that one, but did not factor in his team’s 2-1 win.

Westbrook is 4-7 lifetime against the Tigers with a 6.53 ERA in 17 games, 14 of which have been starts.

Cleveland extended its lead in AL Central in the opener of this set on Tuesday, as Casey Blake homered in the 11th inning to propel the Tribe to a 5-4 victory. Ben Francisco also homered for Cleveland, which has wins in six straight and eight of its last nine games and extended its division lead to three games.

The Indians won on Blake’s solo shot to left field on an 0-1 pitch from Jose Capellan (0-1), who made his Tigers debut. They had escaped a one-out, bases- loaded jam in the 10th when Carlos Guillen popped out and Ivan Rodriguez grounded out.

Veteran right-hander Paul Byrd, coming off a win over the Oakland Athletics in his last start on Thursday, allowed four runs — three earned — on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts over seven innings. Tom Mastny (6-2) earned the win after pitching out of the 10th, and Joe Borowski struck out two in the 11th for his 25th save of the season.

Gary Sheffield homered for the Tigers, who have lost three of four. Guillen finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and scored a run. Left-hander Nate Robertson, who is still winless in his last five starts and has not posted a victory since May 19, gave up three runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over five frames.

The Indians have won six of their eight meetings with the Tigers this season, including all four in the Motor City. Detroit had won 13 of the 19 matchups a year ago. BALTIMORE ORIOLES (36-47) AT CHICAGO WHITE SOX (36-44), 7:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Baltimore - Garrett Olson (0-0, 0.00) Chicago - Jose Contreras (5-9, 4.89)

The Baltimore Orioles turn to a rookie in hopes of cooling down the resurgent Chicago White Sox when the two team continue a four-game series with an Independence Day showdown tonight from U.S. Cellular Field.

Garrett Olson will make his major league debut for the Orioles this evening as a fill-in for the injured Steve Trachsel, who was placed on the disabled list last week with a strained gluteus muscle. A supplemental round selection by Baltimore in the 2005 draft, Olson has emerged as one of the organization’s top pitching prospects and was putting together a strong year at Triple-A Norfolk at the time of his call-up.

In 17 starts with the Tides, Olson compiled a 7-6 record with a 3.46 earned run average and ranks second in the International League with 94 strikeouts.

The 23-year-old lefty joins fellow rookies Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Burres in Baltimore’s makeshift rotation that has been hampered by injuries to Trachsel, Kris Benson, Jaret Wright and Adam Loewen.

Olson will be facing a Chicago club that has won seven of nine since enduring a five-game losing streak from June 19-24. The White Sox regrouped from a late-inning loss to the Orioles in Monday’s series opener behind a strong mound performance from Javier Vazquez on Tuesday. The right-hander went the distance on a four-hitter to lead Chicago to a 5-1 triumph.

Vazquez (5-5) struck out seven and did not walk a batter in his first complete game since July 6, 2005. He got all the offensive support he would need from a three-run homer from Jim Thome in the fourth inning.

Baltimore’s only run came on a second-inning solo homer from Kevin Millar. Vazquez retired the final 16 batters he faced.

Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera (6-9) worked the first six innings and surrendered five runs on six hits while walking five.

Chicago will send out the struggling Jose Contreras in this evening’s contest. The Cuban defector has gone 1-5 with a subpar 6.38 ERA over his last seven starts and allowed five runs or more in four of those appearances.

Contreras failed to get the job done again last Friday in Kansas City, where he was tagged for six runs on nine hits over 6 1/3 innings of the White Sox’ 8-1 setback. The veteran righty did pitch well in his previous start, however, as he held the Cubs to two runs over seven innings in a hard-luck defeat on June 24.

The 35-year-old is 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA in eight lifetime games, including seven starts, against Baltimore.

These teams faced one another on the 4th of July last season as well. Contreras also pitched in that game and worked the first 6 2/3 innings of a 13-0 Chicago rout at U.S. Cellular Field.

The White Sox are 16-7 against the Orioles since the start of the 2004 campaign and have won 10 of the last 13 matchups between the squads.

SEATTLE MARINERS (45-35) AT KANSAS CITY ROYALS (36-48), 8:10 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Seattle - Jarrod Washburn (7-6, 4.03) Kansas City - Brian Bannister (5-4, 3.58)

The Kansas City Royals will attempt to put up some more fireworks as the improving young club shoots for a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners in tonight’s 4th of July encounter from Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City erupted for 10 runs over the first two innings en route to a 17-3 shellacking of the Mariners on Tuesday. The victory was the Royals’ seventh in their last nine games.

Billy Butler led Kansas City’s 16-hit onslaught by establishing career-bests of six RBI and four runs scored. The rookie designated hitter also hit his second major-league home run and finished 3-for-5 on the night.

The 21-year-old Butler became the youngest player to drive in six runs in a game since Alex Rodriguez did so at age 20 for the Mariners on May 17, 1996.

Jason LaRue also homered for the Royals and ended 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. David DeJesus and Ross Gload also knocked in a pair of runs in the rout.

Kansas City also received a solid mound performance out of Jorge De La Rosa (6-9), who yielded three runs on eight hits over the first seven innings.

Seattle starter Ryan Feierabend (1-3) was hammered for 10 runs on eight hits before being mercifully lifted with one out in the second inning.

The Mariners have now lost their first two games under interim manager John McLaren, who was promoted from bench coach following Mike Hargrove’s stunning resignation on Sunday. The club had won eight consecutive games under Hargrove’s direction heading into this series.

Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima left Tuesday’s contest in the second inning after being struck in the right wrist by a pitch while behind the plate. The Mariners were already without first baseman Richie Sexson, who injured his right thumb in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Royals.

Neither Johjima or Sexson is expected to be in the lineup tonight.

Jarrod Washburn will attempt to get the Mariners back on track in this evening’s finale. The seasoned southpaw carries a two-game win streak into the game, having yielded just three runs over a 14-inning span in back-to-back decisions over Cincinnati and Toronto.

After firing eight frames of one-run ball to defeat the Reds on June 23, Washburn held the Blue Jays to two runs on nine hits in six innings of Friday’s 5-3 Seattle win.

The 32-year-old already owns a victory at Kauffman Stadium this season. That came on May 27, when Washburn limited the Royals to three runs on four hits over seven innings. He is 7-4 with a 3.70 earned run average in 13 career starts against Kansas City.

The Royals counter with Brian Bannister, who hopes to duplicate an impressive June in his first July start. The former Mets farmhand went 5-1 with a 2.75 ERA in six June outings and was named the AL’s Rookie of the Month.

Bannister is coming off Friday’s victory over the White Sox in which he gave up just one run on four hits and worked around four walks in his 6 1/3-inning stint.

The 26-year-old hasn’t had the same success when facing Seattle, however. Bannister has pitched against the Mariners twice this season and lost both games, while surrendering eight runs (seven earned) in 13 2/3 innings.

Kansas City will be aiming for its first series sweep of the Mariners since taking three straight games at the old Kingdome from June 12-14, 1995. Seattle owns a 22-10 record in this series since the start of the 2004 season and has taken five of the eight matchups between the teams this year.

LA ANGELS OF ANAHEIM (51-32) AT TEXAS RANGERS (35-48), 8:35 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: LA Angels - Jered Weaver (6-4, 3.55) Texas - Jamey Wright (1-2, 6.38)

Jered Weaver tries to put a hard-luck loss behind him this evening, when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their three-game series with Texas at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Weaver gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings to the Kansas City Royals last Wednesday, but the Angels did not score any runs off of Royals starter Jorge De La Rosa in the 1-0 loss. That start followed up an outing against the LA Dodgers which saw Weaver scatter four hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

The 24-year-old right-hander is 1-0 lifetime against the Rangers with a 3.04 ERA in four starts.

Texas will counter with righty Jamey Wright, who is 1-2 with a 6.38 ERA in four starts this season. Wright was tagged with the loss against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, as he allowed two runs and six hits in five innings.

Wright has faced the Angels twice and is 0-1 against them with a 2.25 ERA. However, he has not pitched against them since September. 6, 2003.

In the opener of this set on Tuesday Brad Wilkerson hit three homers and drove in a career-best six runs to lead the Rangers to an 8-3 win.

Wilkerson ended 3-for-4, hitting a solo homer, two-run homer and a three-run shot, as the Rangers opened a six-game homestand with their third win in four tries. It’s the first time Wilkerson has ever hit three homers in a game and he became the first Ranger to do it since Mark Teixeira on July 13, 2006.

Kevin Millwood (5-7) got the win, his third in four decisions, allowing just two runs on five hits over eight innings. He struck out four without a walk for Texas, which has won nine of its last 13 games.

Howie Kendrick went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI for the Angels, who have lost five of seven.

Ervin Santana (5-9) lost his third straight decision, surrendering five runs — four earned — on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander, who has not won since June 9, also struck out a career-high 11 and walked two.

The Angels have dominated the Rangers so far this year, winning six of the eight meetings. That includes three wins in five games at Texas.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CHICAGO CUBS (42-40) AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS (33-50), 12:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Chicago - Rich Hill (5-5, 3.49) Washington - Matt Chico (3-5, 4.74)

Southpaw Rich Hill will try to shake off a poor outing this afternoon, when the Chicago Cubs get ready for a holiday showdown with the Washington Nationals in the third game of a four-game series at RFK Stadium.

Hill, born in Boston in 1980, allowed five hits and five runs in just three innings in his last start on June 29, getting a no-decision in the Cubs’ 6-5 defeat of Milwaukee. His last win came June 7 at Atlanta, but he’s 0-1 with three no-decisions since.

The defeat of the Braves was among his finest efforts of the season, as he gave up only three hits and a run over eight innings while striking out 11.

He won his lone career start against the Nationals, allowing six hits and a run in six innings.

Matt Chico faces the Cubs for the first time in his career.

The Californian, who turned 24 last month, tossed six scoreless innings in a start at Pittsburgh on June 29, but got a no-decision in the Nationals’ 3-2 loss.

His last win came against Atlanta on May 17, when he gave up five hits and three runs in six innings.

Chico is 3-1 in nine starts this season at home with a 5.17 earned run average.

On Tuesday, Carlos Zambrano struck out eight over 6 2/3 innings and Alfonso Soriano went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, lifting the Cubs over the Nationals, 3-1.

Zambrano (10-6) won his third straight start, allowing one run on three hits with four walks. The fiery right-hander improved to 5-1 over his last six starts, surrendering just eight runs over 44 1/3 innings during that stretch.

Carlos Marmol, Will Ohman and Bob Howry, who recorded the final two outs for his third save of the season, completed the four-hitter for Chicago, which has won three straight, including the first two of this four-game set.

Cliff Floyd drove in two runs and Ryan Theriot had two hits and an RBI for the Cubs, who have won 10 of 11 and moved a season-high two-games over .500 (42-40).

Ronnie Belliard drove in the lone run for the Nationals, who have dropped seven of eight overall and all five games to the Cubs this season.

Tim Redding (0-1) was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to make his first start in the majors since 2005 and the right-hander was charged with the loss. He allowed three runs on five hits, striking out one and walking two, in five innings of work.

Chicago swept a three-game set from the Nats earlier in the season, and is 11-12 in the series since the start of the 2004 campaign. The Cubs have lost five of seven in DC.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (35-46) AT CINCINNATI REDS (32-51), 1:15 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: San Francisco - Matt Cain (2-9, 3.38) Cincinnati - Matt Belisle (5-5, 5.03)

Young right-hander Matt Cain will try to snap an eight- start winless streak, while Barry Bonds attempts to move another step closer to baseball’s all-time home run record when the San Francisco Giants visit Great American Ball Park today to meet the Cincinnati Reds in the second of a three-game series.

On Tuesday, Bonds belted home run No. 751 to move within four of Hank Aaron’s record, but Brandon Phillips’ grand slam helped Pete Mackanin win his first game as Cincinnati’s manager as the Reds downed the Giants, 7-3.

Alex Gonzalez, Edwin Encarnacion and Jeff Conine each drove in a run while Phillips finished the game 2-for-4 with three runs scored for the Reds, who have won two of their last three.

Aaron Harang (9-2) got the win after he gave up just three runs on four hits with six walks and four strikeouts in six innings of work. He is now 4-0 over his last eight outings.

Barry Zito started for the Giants and was charged with three runs on just two hits, but had six walks in five innings. Kevin Correia (1-4) got the loss for giving up Phillips’ grand slam.

Bonds and Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr. entered the series with a combined total of 1,335 home runs, the third most between a pair of opponents ever and the most since Aaron and Frank Robinson squared off against one another back in 1976. Aaron and Mays had a combined 1,355 when they faced each other back in 1973.

Cain hasn’t won since a 15-2 romp over Colorado on May 13. Since then, the 22- year-old has gone 0-6 with a pair of no decisions, though he’s allowed three earned runs or less in six of the eight outings.

He dropped a 4-2 verdict to San Diego last time out, allowing seven hits and two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings of work on June 27. He’s 1-4 in eight starts on the road in 2007, despite posting a 2.44 earned run average in 51 2/3 innings.

Cain won his lone career start against the Reds last August, allowing four hits in seven scoreless innings.

The Reds counter with right-hander Matt Belisle, who is winless in five outings since downing Houston on May 29. He surrendered eight hits and six runs in five innings in getting a no decision against Philadelphia last Thursday.

Belisle is 1-4 in eight starts at home this season, with a 5.51 ERA in 47 1/3 innings. He’s appeared in relief six times against the Giants over his career, posting a save and a 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.

Tuesday’s encounter was the first meeting between these teams this season. San Francisco won five of the seven matchups a year ago and is 10-6 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (42-42) AT HOUSTON ASTROS (37-47), 2:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Philadelphia - Cole Hamels (9-4, 3.87) Houston - Chris Sampson (6-5, 4.15)

The Philadelphia Phillies will try to salvage the finale of a three-game series against the Houston Astros this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

Philadelphia dropped the opener of this set on Monday by a 7-5 score before losing last night’s second test in 13 innings. Relief pitcher Jose Mesa’s first pitch in the bottom of the 13th was deposited into the stands in left field by Astros rookie center fielder Hunter Pence, giving Houston a 5-4 victory.

Michael Bourn went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored while Ryan Howard knocked in a pair of runs for the Phillies, who have lost five of six and still sit five games behind the National League East-leading New York Mets. Atlanta is second at four games off the pace.

Philadelphia starter Adam Eaton gave three runs and four hits over six innings of work.

Phillies All-Star pitcher Cole Hamels is in the midst of a rough stretch, as he has posted an 0-2 mark with a 6.92 ERA over the last three trips to the hill.

Hamels, who is 9-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 17 outings this season, will take the ball today in Houston and was beaten by the New York Mets his last time out on Friday. Hamels gave up three runs and five hits in five innings of a 5-2 setback at Citizens Bank Park.

The left-hander is 4-2 in nine road starts in 2007.

Hamels faced Houston on April 14 of this season and recorded the victory, as he surrendered five runs in six innings of an 8-5 win. In three career starts against the Astros, Hamels is 2-0 with a 3.74 earned run average.

Houston will shoot for its fourth straight win and first series sweep since taking all three games from the Seattle Mariners at home from June 15-17. Last night Pence finished 3-for-6 and Matt Albers pitched two shutout innings to pick up the win for the Astros, who took advantage of a questionable call in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

Phillies reliever Antonio Alfonseca came on to close things out with his team leading 4-3 in the ninth. Craig Biggio singled to left with one out and Pence followed with a bloop base-hit to center to put runners on the corners.

Alfonseca walked Lance Berkman to load the bases and then got Carlos Lee to ground into a potential game-ending double play. Jimmy Rollins tossed the ball to Chase Utley to get the out at second and Utley’s throw to first appeared to beat Lee. However, first base umpire Tim Welke ruled Lee safe as Biggio scored to tie the game at 4-4.

Astros starter Roy Oswalt was tagged for four runs on 10 hits through seven innings for the no decision.

Houston will hand the ball to Chris Sampson on Wednesday afternoon and he is 6-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) this season.

Sampson is unbeaten over his last six starts, with four straight no decisions. In his last outing on Friday against Colorado, Sampson lasted 5 2/3 innings and yielded seven runs during a 9-8 win over the Rockies.

The right-hander, who is 3-1 in eight home starts this season, lost to the Phillies on April 23. Sampson gave up seven runs in four innings as the Astros dropped an 11-4 decision.

Sampson is 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in three career games (two starts) against Philadelphia.

Despite the two recent losses, the Phillies are still 6-5 in their last 11 matchups with the Astros.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS (48-35) AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES (36-47), 4:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Milwaukee - Claudio Vargas (6-1, 4.29) Pittsburgh - Ian Snell (6-5, 2.90)

Dominican right-hander Claudio Vargas will try to stay unbeaten against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon when the Milwaukee Brewers visit PNC Park for the third game in a four-game series.

Vargas, a 29-year-old, is 4-0 in seven career appearances - six starts - against the Pirates with a 1.54 earned run average in 41 innings. He’s beaten them twice in 2007 alone, allowing a combined nine hits and one earned run in 12 innings.

He’s unbeaten overall since May 26, when he dropped a 6-3 decision to San Diego. He’s gone 3-0 with a save in six subsequent outings, but got a no- decision in an 11-5 Brewers defeat of Houston after allowing four earned runs in five innings.

Vargas is 2-1 with a save in seven appearances on the road in 2007.

Delaware native Ian Snell has pitched at least six innings in seven straight starts, during which he’s gone just 2-3.

He got a no-decision against Washington on June 29, allowing five hits and two runs in seven innings, walking none and striking out five.

Snell is 3-0 with a 3.86 earned run average in four lifetime appearances - three starts - against the Brewers, and is 5-2 in eight starts a home this season.

On Tuesday, Jack Wilson went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored as the Pirates knocked off the Brewers, 6-2.

Ronny Paulino, despite having no hits, drove in a pair of runs while Rajai Davis went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Pirates, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Shane Youman (1-0) got his first major league win as he gave up two runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Youman replaced full-time starter Zach Duke, who is sidelined with a sore left elbow and will visit Dr. James Andrews for an examination on Friday.

Kevin Mench hit a solo home run and Ryan Braun drove in the other run for the Brewers, who had won five of seven coming into the contest. Johnny Estrada went 3-for-4 in the loss.

Chris Capuano started but lasted just 3 1/3 innings and was charged with two runs on five hits. Yovani Gallardo (1-1) was saddled with the loss as he gave up four runs on five hits in just 2 2/3 innings of work.

Milwaukee has won six of eight from the Pirates this season after the Bucs took nine of 16 in 2006. The Brewers also dropped seven of 10 in the Steel City a year ago.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (47-38) AT ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (37-43), 7:15 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Arizona - Livan Hernandez (5-5, 4.58) St. Louis - Brad Thompson (6-3, 4.88)

Livan Hernandez will try to help the Arizona Diamondbacks to their second straight win when they continue a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight at Busch Stadium.

Hernandez is 5-5 with a 4.58 earned run average over 17 starts this season, but 0-3 in his last six starts. He posted a no decision his last time out on Friday against San Francisco, allowing three runs and nine hits through eight innings of an eventual Arizona 4-3 victory.

The veteran righty is 2-4 in nine road starts this season and 5-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 15 career starts against St. Louis.

Arizona ended a three-game losing streak with Wednesday’s 7-1 win in the second installment of this series. Chris Young homered and Chad Tracy and Mark Reynolds hit back-to-back blasts in the third inning for the Diamondbacks, who are 1 1/2 games behind San Diego for the lead in the National League West standings.

Spot starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched into the sixth inning to pick up the victory in place of the injured Randy Johnson, who landed back on the disabled list because of a nagging back problem. Petit, who was recalled from Triple-A Tucson prior to the game, threw 5 1/3 innings and gave up just one run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks for his second career win.

The Cardinals will hand the ball to Bard Thompson tonight and he is 6-3 with a 4.88 ERA in 26 games (nine starts) this season.

Thompson, who is 2-1 in his previous four outings, did not factor in the outcome his last time out on Friday against Cincinnati. He was reached for a pair of runs in six innings of a 4-2 victory over the Reds.

The right-hander is 0-0 with a 4.50 earned run average in three career relief appearances against the Diamondbacks.

Albert Pujols hit three singles in last night’s loss and Scott Rolen knocked in the only run for the Cardinals, who had won three of four coming in. Starter Todd Wellemeyer was tagged with the loss after yielding six runs — four earned — on seven hits through three innings of work.

St. Louis is 9 1/2 games off the top spot in the NL Central division.

Arizona and St. Louis are meeting for the first time this season after the D’Backs went 4-3 in the 2006 series.

NEW YORK METS (46-36) AT COLORADO ROCKIES (41-43), 8:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: New York - Orlando Hernandez (4-3, 2.78) Colorado - Josh Fogg (3-6, 5.31)

The Colorado Rockies aim for their second consecutive sweep of a New York team tonight, when they play the finale of a three-game series versus the Mets at Coors Field.

Colorado, whose last sweep was against the Yankees at home from June 19-21, has won the first two games of this set in convincing fashion. The Rockies took the opener on Tuesday, 6-2, before recording an 11-3 rout last night.

Garrett Atkins belted a two-run homer and Ryan Spilborghs connected for his first career grand slam as the Rockies pulled within seven games of the top spot in the National League West division.

Atkins ended 2-for-4 with three RBI and former Met Kaz Matsui ended 5-for-5 with two runs scored for Colorado, which has won three of four overall and four in a row at Coors Field. Willy Taveras added three hits and scored three times and Yorvit Torrealba homered in the winning cause.

Rockies All-Star Matt Holliday finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and is riding a 23-game hitting streak at home.

Colorado starting pitcher Aaron Cook got the win, his first in seven starts. The right-hander allowed three runs — two earned — on seven hits over eight innings. He had gone 0-4 in six starts since his last win on May 26.

Toeing the rubber for the Rockies tonight will be Josh Fogg, who is 3-6 with a 5.31 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) this season.

Fogg is 0-1 in two starts since going 2-0 over his past four outings. He did not record a decision his last time out on Friday against Houston, giving up seven runs and seven hits over 4 2/3 innings of work. The Rockies lost the game by a 9-8 score.

The right-hander defeated the Mets on April 25 with seven innings of three-run ball during an 11-5 victory. Fogg is 1-3 with a 6.00 earned run average in six career starts against the Mets.

New York is still four games ahead of second-place Atlanta and five games in front of Philadelphia in the NL East division. Both the Braves and Phillies lost on Tuesday night.

In Tuesday’s loss, Ramon Castro homered and ended 2-for-3 while David Wright drove in a run for the Mets, who have lost three straight. Carlos Delgado went 2-for-4 as New York fell to 3-3 on its current 11-game road trip.

New York starting pitcher Jason Vargas, who was spot starting for the injured Oliver Perez, suffered the loss. The left-hander was charged with nine runs on 11 hits, striking out two and walking two, in 3 1/3 innings.

Vargas was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans after Perez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a sore lower back.

Orlando Hernandez gets the nod for the Mets and will try for back-to-back wins this evening. Hernandez, who is 4-3 with a 2.78 earned run average in 12 starts this season, was 0-2 in four previous starts before winning his last outing on Friday against Philadelphia.

The right-hander permitted two runs in six innings of a 6-5 win over the division-rival Phillies.

Hernandez faced Colorado on April 24 and posted a no decision. He pitched seven shutout innings and allowed four hits in an eventual 2-1 victory over the Rockies at Shea Stadium.

In five career starts against the Rockies, “El Duque” is 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA.

New York took two of three games against the Rockies from April 23-25 of this season at Shea Stadium. The Mets are 16-8 over the last 24 matchups with Colorado.

FLORIDA MARLINS (39-45) AT SAN DIEGO PADRES (47-35), 9:05 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Florida - Josh Johnson (0-3, 10.97) San Diego - Chris Young (8-3, 2.14)

Chris Young makes his final case for inclusion on the National League All-Star team when he takes the mound for the San Diego Padres in tonight’s encounter with the Florida Marlins from Petco Park.

Young was not one of the 11 pitchers named to the NL squad for the upcoming Midsummer Classic on Sunday, despite having held opposing hitters to a league- best .197 batting average and currently ranking third among senior-circuit hurlers with a 2.14 earned run average.

The towering right-hander is one of five candidates eligible for the last available spot on the NL roster, which will be determined via fan balloting this week. According to Major League Baseball’s official site, Young owned a slim lead in the voting through Tuesday.

Young has been on an incredible run over the last six weeks. He has posted a 4-0 record and a microscopic 1.25 ERA in eight starts since his latest defeat, a May 12 setback to St. Louis. Only twice during that span has he surrendered more than one run.

The Princeton University product is coming off a winning effort Friday in Los Angeles, where he held the rival Dodgers to two runs and struck out nine over six strong innings.

Young has also been outstanding at home this season, as he brings a 3-1 record and 0.94 ERA in seven Petco Park starts into tonight’s matchup. The 28-year- old has excelled in two career outings against Florida as well, both of which came last season. Young won both of those starts and gave up only one run to the Marlins in 12 combined innings.

He will be attempting to get his club back on track after a 6-4 loss to the Marlins on Tuesday. Florida scored four times in the seventh inning to erase a two-run deficit and win for only the third time in its last 10 games.

Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez did not start the contest after injuring his hamstring in Monday’s loss to the Padres. However, the budding young superstar slammed a pinch-hit two-run homer off Greg Maddux to tie the game in the top of the seventh.

Alfredo Amezaga finished 2-for-5 for Florida and scored the go-ahead run on a Royce Ring wild pitch later in the frame.

Justin Miller (3-0) picked up the win after recording the final out in the bottom of the sixth, while Renyel Pinto and Matt Lindstrom each threw scoreless innings before Kevin Gregg notched his 16th save with a perfect ninth.

Marlins starter Scott Olsen allowed four runs on eight hits over the first 5 2/3 innings.

Khalil Greene had a two-run homer for San Diego, which enters tonight’s play tied with the Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Brian Giles also knocked in a pair of runs with a second-inning single.

Maddux (7-5) failed in his attempt for win No. 341, as the four-time Cy Young Award winner yielded 10 hits and six runs while fanning five over 6 1/3 innings.

Florida’s Josh Johnson will try again to get untracked when the young righty makes his fourth start off an extended stay on the disabled list this evening.

Johnson missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season with a nerve problem in his right arm and has struggled to regain the form that made him a 12-game winner as a rookie last year. The 23-year-old has lost all three of his games since returning to action and has allowed 17 runs (13 earned), 22 hits and 12 walks in only 10 2/3 innings of work.

He did make some strides in his last start, however, as Johnson worked a season-best four innings and struck out six Atlanta hitters while surrendering a pair of runs in Friday’s 12-3 defeat to the Braves.

This will be Johnson’s first career start against San Diego, although he did face the Padres twice as a reliever in April of 2006. He allowed just one unearned run over two innings in those games.

The Padres and Marlins met for a three-game set at Florida in early May, with San Diego winning two of three. The clubs split six games last year. ATLANTA BRAVES (43-41) AT LOS ANGELES DODGERS (48-36), 9:10 P.M.

Probable Starting Pitchers: Atlanta - Chuck James (7-7, 4.08) Los Angeles - Mark Hendrickson (2-3, 4.08)

The Los Angeles Dodgers shoot for their fourth straight win when they resume a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves this evening at Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles salvaged the finale of a three-game series with San Diego on Sunday before winning the first two tests of this series against Atlanta. In Tuesday’s 7-6 win at Chavez Ravine, Matt Kemp’s RBI single in the seventh inning put the Dodgers ahead for good and atop the National League West standings with the Padres.

Wilson Betemit had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs against his former team. Dodgers starter Randy Wolf gave up five hits and six runs over three innings, while reliever Rudy Seanez picked up the victory by tossing the seventh inning.

Mark Hendrickson will make his first start since May 31 tonight when he takes the ball for the Dodgers. He is 2-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 19 games (eight starts) this season.

In his last trip to the mound in late May against Washington, Hendrickson suffered the loss as he yielded five runs in 4 1/3 innings of an 11-4 setback.

The lanky left-hander has made one appearance against Atlanta and suffered the loss. Hendrickson was reached for eight hits and four runs in eight innings of work during a 4-1 loss on June 25 of the 2006 season.

Atlanta has dropped three in a row after a five-game winning streak. It lost the finale of a three-game series with Florida on Sunday, then suffered setback in the first two games of this set with LA. Last night Brian McCann hit a home run and knocked in three for the Braves, who are still four games behind the New York Mets for the lead in the NL East standings.

The Braves will go with Chuck James in Wednesday’s third installment and he is 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA in 17 games this season.

James is 2-1 in his last three outings and beat Florida on June 29, yielding just one run in 6 2/3 frames of a 12-3 victory.

The righty, who is 5-3 in 10 road starts this season, made one career appearance against Los Angeles and struck out two batters with a pair of walks in two relief innings of a 5-4 loss on April 4 last season.

The Braves won two of three against the Dodgers at Atlanta in early May. Prior to this year, the two clubs had split their last 12 meetings.

CRUSH SHOT SPORTS AUTO RACING SPECIAL LINKS

NASCAR

Nextel Cup Pepsi 400 - Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL

Hendrick Motorsports gets a lot of well-deserved notoriety for winning so often, Joe Gibbs Racing is having a pretty good year, DEI has two very good drivers in Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr., but the team to watch this weekend in NASCAR’s return to Daytona Beach just might be Richard Childress Racing.

Jeff Burton Jeff Burton is in fifth place, only 18 points out of third. In the season opener at Daytona, everyone remembers that RCR’s Kevin Harvick outran Mark Martin on the final lap for the win. But RCR was more than a one- car team that day. Jeff Burton finished third and Clint Bowyer was headed for a top-10 finish before an accident left him sliding across the start/finish line on his roof.

Both Harvick and Burton have a victory this year which puts RCR in a tie for second place (Roush Fenway Racing also has two wins) in the wins category behind Hendrick Motorsports (10). All three RCR drivers are currently in the top-12 which means they are in line to make the “Chase for the Nextel Cup.”

Jeff Burton is in fifth-place overall and just 18 points out of third. The South Boston, VA driver has nine top-10s in the 17 starts and a win in Texas. Had he not been the “gentleman driver” that he is, he probably would have had a second win at Bristol in the Food City 500.

Burton was second to eventual winner Kyle Busch when he chose not to use the “bump and run” technique so prevalent on short tracks and raced Busch cleanly. At the checkered flag he was 0.064 seconds or about eight feet short of the victory. Busch acknowledged it after the race.

“Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton there at the end really gave me a lot of room and I just want to thank them for letting me race.”

“He has always driven me clean and I’m gonna drive him clean and that’s the way we race,” said Burton.

Last year Tony Stewart won the Pepsi 400. It was his second consecutive win in the mid-summer classic at Daytona. Only one driver has ever won three consecutive Pepsi 400 races. David Pearson won the July event from 1972-1974.

Pearson is always underrated when talking about NASCAR greats, but he was one of the top-three drivers all-time. The three-time series champion (1966, 1968, 1969) ranks second all-time in wins with 105, second in poles (113), fourth all-time in laps led (25,425) and sixth in races led (329). In the two-year span between 1968-69 Pearson won 27 times and also finished second 30 times.

“The Silver Fox” won the Firecracker 400 (now the Pepsi 400) an amazing five times.

“Writers were asking me last year who was the best driver I ever raced against,” said “The King” Richard Petty in a 1993 Circle Track Magazine interview. “I told them David Pearson. David and I ran more firsts and seconds than anybody else, and we raced together on dirt tracks, superspeedways, road courses, big tracks and little tracks. It didn’t make any difference, you had to beat him every week.”

Stewart is that kind of driver. It doesn’t matter whether he is climbing into a dirt track car, an IROC car or the COT, you will always get an honest effort.

Busch Winn-Dixie 250 - Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach, FL

Though there have been 11 different winners halfway through 2007 NASCAR Busch Series season, one driver continues to dominate the championship.

Carl Edwards has earned four wins, 12 top-fives and 15 top-10s to construct an 809-point lead. The record winning margin all-time was set last year by Kevin Harvick - 824 points over Edwards. That record will be short-lived as Edwards will likely win by more than 1000 points.

Carl Edwards Carl Edwards has earned four wins, 12 top-fives and 15 top-10s to build an 809-point lead. Despite Edwards’ dominant performance, there have been other drivers to make headlines.

Open-wheel driver Juan Montoya is making a successful crossover to NASCAR. He won his first race at Mexico City in the Busch Series road-course.

Stephen Leicht won at the Kentucky Speedway one year after David Gilliland shocked the world with a win that propelled him to the Nextel Cup Series.

Brad Coleman won a pole (Talladega) and finished second and fourth in his last two starts. Other relative newcomers winning poles were David Ragan and Regan Smith.

Defending series champion Harvick has had a pretty good time in the series, when he has raced. He sits third in the championship despite starting just 13 of the 17 events. Harvick has two wins and 11 top-10s.

Harvick’s 28th career win last week in New Hampshire puts him within three wins of Jack Ingram for second-place all-time. Mark Martin holds the all-time Busch Series record with 47 wins.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won last year’s Winn-Sixie 250 edging Brian Vickers for the win.

There were 10 laps to go and Earnhardt Jr., Vickers and Harvick put about a four-car length lead on the pack. Clint Bowyer bridged the gap and caught the lead group with seven laps to go. It was a four-horse race to the checkered flag.

They stayed in line over the next few laps, preparing for the final charge to the finish line. With three laps to go and Jason Leffler spun out down the backstretch and set up a green-white-checker finish.

On the restart, Earnhardt Jr. fought off a couple of runs by Vickers, then pulled away to the final two-length margin.

“He must have had a fifth-gear in there somewhere because we had some good runs on him,” said Vickers.

Unfortunately, the wrong Earnhardt is on the preliminary entry list. “Junior” is not planning to run while Kerry Earnhardt is on the list in the No.63 Spraker Racing Chevrolet.

Still, there are at least 18 other Nextel Cup drivers who hope to give Edwards a run for his money.

INDYCARS Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix - Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY

The 2007 IndyCar season began in March at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and the four-car Andretti Green Racing team was nowhere to be found. Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon led a one-two sweep while the best AGR could muster was a fifth place by Tony Kanaan. Dario Franchitti was next best with a seventh-place finish while “media darlings” Danica Patrick (14th) and Marco Andretti (20th) were disappointing.

But by the third race at Twin Ring Motegi Kanaan had posted the team’s first win and Franchitti finished a solid third.

Dario Franchitti Dario Franchitti enters this week’s race with a 65-point lead over Scott Dixon. Race five was Indianapolis and Franchitti benefited from a questionable call to restart the race with more rain on the way to win his first “500.” However, even had the race not been restarted AGR would have been a winner. When the first rains came, Kanaan. Andretti and Patrick were sitting first through third.

“When we came here in 2002 we were in the middle of a very busy time with the Champ Car schedule,” Franchitti said. “I didn’t really get it…Gradually, the more time I’ve spent here, culminating in 2004 when we qualified on the front row, I said, ‘OK, I’m starting to get this.’ There’s this desire you realize what it means to try to win the 500.”

Since Indy, AGR drivers have gotten it, winning three of the four races and collecting seven top-fives.

Franchitti enters this week’s race with a 65-point lead over Dixon and 72 points over both Wheldon and Kanaan.

“It’s too early in the season to point race,” said Franchitti. “I’ve just got to keep getting the maximum week in, week out.”

Franchitti will have to do a lot better than last year when he was the last running car on the track finishing 16th.

Dixon won the race pretty easily, finishing 2.3311 seconds ahead of Vitor Meira. But the fans got some action when rain began to fall late in the race. First Kanaan, then Helio Castroneves did 360-degree spins. Tomas Scheckter also went for a slid.

The three leaders (Dixon, Meira and Ryan Briscoe) all gambled that they could make it without changing to rain tires. The race would restart, but shortened by time, would go just one lap under green. Dixon got the jump on Meira and the drivers on rain tires could never make a move on the three leaders.

Dixon also won this race in 2005.

This is race 10 of 17 and the second of five road-course events this season.

CHAMP CARS

Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto - Exhibition Place - Toronto, ON, Canada

In the second of three consecutive races north of the border, the Champ Car Series will race at Exhibition Place in Toronto, ON. It’s a place that used to be the bailiwick of Michael Andretti.

The current IndyCar Series owner won the event a record seven times. But in the five years since his last win in 2001, the race has been won by five different drivers. A.J. Allmendinger won last year’s event, but will obviously not be back to defend his title.

Still, 2003 winner Paul Tracy, 2004 winner Sebastien Bourdais and 2005 champion Justin Wilson will be on the starting grid.

Bourdais has never finished lower than fifth in four starts. The Frenchman has put up 145 points through the first six events, good enough for a tie for first place with Robert Doornbos.

Doornbos is finally getting to show what he can do when he gets in a competitive car.

The Rotterdam native never really got that chance when he drove for the non- competitive Formula One Minardi team in 2005 and Red Bull Racing in 2006. In 11 starts his best finish was 12th in 2006 at both China and Brazil.

Now with Minardi Team USA he has begun to show his talent. He opened his rookie Champ Car Series campaign with a second place at Las Vegas. Following his only bad outing at Long Beach (13th), Doornbos has found himself on the podium four consecutive times including a win last week at Mont-Tremblant.

At Mont-Tramblant, Doornbos survived slick, rainy conditions to take a 2.888- second win over Bourdais. Over the final laps, with the race on the line, Doornbos never made a mistake, never let Bourdais get close, and in fact built on his margin to the checkered flag.

“I was nervous because it’s a new series, new circuits,” said Doornbos. “I don’t know the tracks. I don’t know the drivers.

“Michael Cannon deserves all the credit, my engineer. He’s helping me through the race. He has so much experience winning, running at the front. It makes life easy for me. I feel very comfortable. I feel that I’m in control.”

For a first year driver to feel comfortable in just his sixth race is unusual to say the least.

Bourdais might just have a real fight for the title this year.

FORMULA ONE British Grand Prix - Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit - Silverstone, England

While the Grand Prix of Monaco is the most prestigious on the Formula One racing schedule, this week’s race at Silverstone might be the most important in regards to the drivers championship.

Despite Ferrari winning four of the first eight races, the season to date has been dominated by McLaren Mercedes.

McLaren rookie driver Lewis Hamilton leads the series with 64 points, eight consecutive podium finishes, and two wins (Montreal, Indy). Behind him in the standings is two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is 14 points behind Hamilton, also has two wins and scored points in all eight races.

But after two sub par races in North America, Ferrari came back with a vengeance at Magny-Cours.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa started on the pole while teammate Kimi Raikkonen started a close third. At the drop of the green flag, Raikkonen flew around Hamilton for second place and the two Ferraris powered away from the field.

It was all Ferrari and the race was decided with two pit stops each of which Raikkonen got the better of Massa. When Raikkonen returned to the track after his final stop ahead of Massa, the race was effectively over and the Finn won for the first time since the season opener in Australia.

The one-two Ferrari finish has re-ignited hopes of chasing down Hamilton and Alonso as the series arrives at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.

“Ferrari are quick, but I think we can take it to them at the next race,” said Hamilton, who hails from nearby Stevenage, England. “We are competitive and consistent. I know we’ll be quicker.”

In France, Ferrari was quicker.

“We are definitely much happier with the car since the last test,” said Raikkonen. “In the last races we just couldn’t get it together. I think it seems to have good speed now so we must keep it up in the next races.”

If Ferrari can show again this week that they have the speed to stay with or beat McLaren, then it should be quite a battle over the final weeks. However, if McLaren steps up and proves that France was just a one-time setback then we might be store for more of their early season dominance.

Silverstone seems to be the key to what will happen over the second half of the F1 championship.