AP - With one more loss to the Phillies, CC Sabathia and the Milwaukee Brewers will have all winter to rest. Brett Myers rankled Sabathia with a pesky at-bat and dominated the rest of the Brewers from the mound, and Philadelphia beat Milwaukee 5-2 on Thursday night behind Shane Victorino's grand slam for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five NL playoff series.

AP - Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers look ready to run the shaky Chicago Cubs out of the playoffs early and extend their championship drought to 100 years.

AFP - Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will take on world number three Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals of Stuttgart's WTA event after her comfortable second-round win on Thursday.

AFP - Struggling Tottenham drew 1-1 with Wisla Krakow here on Thursday to move into the UEFA Cup group stages but had to suffer an anxious final spell in the 3-2 aggregate win.

AP - The Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers all won their baseball playoff openers yesterday.

Reuters - A report released Thursday on the NBA's officiating program found no evidence of illegal gambling by any referee other than by Tim Donaghy.

Reuters - Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin sustained sinus damage during Sunday's game against the New York Jets, the team said on its website on Wednesday.

AP - No matter how much the Los Angeles Angels dominate Boston in the regular season, the Red Sox roll in October.

AP - A review of the NBA's officiating program found no evidence of illegal activity by any referee other than Tim Donaghy, though it recommended significant changes for monitoring gambling and game integrity.

AP - The New York Mets have given general manager Omar Minaya a new contract that runs through the 2012 season.

AP - Fresh legs and arms on one side, experience and momentum on the other. The Tampa Bay Rays rested while the Chicago White Sox worked overtime to secure a playoff berth. No one can be sure what that will mean when their AL division series begins Thursday at Tropicana Field.

AFP - World number two Roger Federer will take a break from tennis but hopes to return before the end of the year, he told organisers of the Stockholm Open as he announced his withdrawal from next week's tournament.

AP - Russian forward Alexander Radulov was wrong to sign with a club in his home country while under contract with the Nashville Predators, ice hockey's world governing body ruled Wednesday.

AFP - Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari faces an injury crisis that could wreck his unbeaten start after Didier Drogba suffered knee ligament damage in the goalless Champions League draw against CFR Cluj.