AP - Troy Glaus hit two homers and Rick Ankiel and Joe Mather added one each — all off San Diego's Jake Peavy — and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Padres 4-3 on Thursday night.

AP - The Minnesota Vikings declined Thursday to talk about allegations by the Green Bay Packers that they made inappropriate contact with quarterback Brett Favre. Vikings spokesman Bob Hagan issued a two-sentence statement on Thursday. It said the Vikings "are not commenting on the issue. These types of matters are handled by the league."

AP - David Wright's two-run homer in the ninth inning rallied the Mets to their 10th straight victory Thursday night, a 10-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds that moved once-languishing New York back into first place in the NL East.

AP - The flags around Royal Birkdale flapped in the stiff breeze Friday morning. A light, misting rain fell from the gray clouds, which obscured any hint of the sun. By British Open standards, a normal morning. Compared to 24 hours earlier, a huge improvement.

AFP - Petr Rada was on Thursday unveiled as the surprise choice to succeed Karel Bruckner as manager of the Czech Republic.

AP - Drugs hit the Tour de France again Thursday, and the third doping bust netted the biggest name yet: Italy's Riccardo Ricco, a winner of two stages.

AP - Yao Ming is back, transforming China's basketball team and providing a big relief for Olympic organizers.

AP - The day started with howling wind and soaking rain. By afternoon, the showers had stopped and the breeze tailed off.

AP - If this was nearly any other week, Padraig Harrington would already be home. Instead, he was strolling around blustery Royal Birkdale, still trying to cope with the pain in his right wrist, still trying to work out how he can possibly defend his British Open championship.

AFP - Fourth seed Daniela Hantuchova was sent crashing out of the WTA Stanford event while Anna Chakvetadze stepped up her play with a second round victory on Wednesday.

AP - The Los Angeles Kings went with experience in choosing a head coach. Terry Murray, who guided Philadelphia to the Stanley Cup finals 11 years ago and has coached 737 regular-season NHL games, was hired late Wednesday to succeed Marc Crawford.