AP - Daisuke Matsuzaka has been picked by the Boston Red Sox to open the AL championship series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

AFP - David Nalbandian is prepared to miss a chance at the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai in order to help Argentina try and win the first Davis Cup in the country's history.

AFP - FA chairman Lord Triesman on Tuesday said English football had total debts of more than three billion pounds (3.9 billion euros) and warned of its danger to the well-being of the sport.

AP - The American League Championship Series will be an all-East Division affair. The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays closed out their respective division series in four games Monday and will square off beginning Friday in St. Petersburg. The National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers starts Thursday in Philadelphia.

AP - They rushed toward the mound, these remarkable Rays, and immediately formed a circle. Jumping together like fraternity brothers, they resembled party regulars in the postseason.

AP - The Boston Red Sox brushed aside the 100-win Angels in four games, dismissing their best-in-baseball regular season as last month's news.

AFP - Four-time winner Lleyton Hewitt will make his comeback from hip surgery at the Sydney International next January, organisers said Tuesday.

AP - Third baseman Mike Lowell was removed from Boston's division series roster on Monday because of a right hip strain.

AP - Reserve guards Maurice Evans and Acie Law scored 17 and 20 points respectively, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-101 Monday night in the preseason opener for both teams.

Reuters - Ryan Longwell kicked a 30-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining to lift the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-27 road victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday.