AFP - Tottenham edged nervously into the UEFA Cup group stages on Thursday to ease the pressure on under-fire coach Juande Ramos but fellow English strugglers Everton crashed out.

AP - Strange as it sounds, getting away from Wrigley Field might be the best thing that could happen to the jittery Chicago Cubs.

AP - While war raged in his homeland, Zaza Pachulia ached from afar.

AP - Tim Donaghy is in prison, and David Stern doesn't want anyone else in the NBA to get in trouble because of gambling.

AP - LeSean McCoy ran for two touchdowns and Bill Stull threw for another as Pittsburgh upset No. 10 South Florida 26-21 on Thursday night.

AP - Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays looked perfectly at home in the playoffs. The rookie homered in his first two at-bats and the surprising AL East champions were a big hit in their postseason debut, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-4 Thursday in their AL playoff opener.

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.