MSNBC: Sports

DETROIT (AP) - Add another near miss in this 2013 baseball season - this time it was Detroit's Anibal Sanchez falling just short of a no-hitter.Sanchez's bid was broken up with one out in the ninth inning Friday night when Minnesota's Joe Mauer hit a clean single up the middle. That was the only hit the right-hander allowed in the Tigers' 6-0 victory over the Twins. It was the fourth one-hitter of...    

When I was young, the majority opinion – at least among the kids at my school – was that the devil played the fiddle better than Johnny did in the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Obviously, that would have messed up the general narrative of that song, but it was a good lesson in subjectivity. It’s all a matter of opinion. There isn’t a best ever. Not really. Not even in a song.But it leads ...    

BOSTON (AP) - Terry Francona is back at Fenway Park as an opposing manager for the first time since he left the Red Sox.Francona brought the Cleveland Indians to Boston for a four-game series starting Thursday night. He was let go by the Red Sox after eight years as their manager following a September 2011 collapse left them out of the playoffs.He was relaxed and spoke calmly for about 20 minutes ...    

MIAMI (AP) - LeBron James made a layup as time expired in overtime, and the Miami Heat found a way to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-102 in a wild Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.James finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Heat - his ninth postseason triple-double, and barely anyone noticed. All that mattered was the last shot, which simply saved the Heat...    

Sergio Garcia could have stopped after he whined about fans of Tiger Woods making too much noise on the golf course. He should have stopped after saying Woods is not a nice person who has been lying to the media since the first time he stepped into an interview room.That he didn't close his mouth may end up to be Garcia's biggest regret in a career already chock full of them."The problem is, I'm o...    

Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods for saying he would serve fried chicken if they were to have dinner at the U.S. Open, an ugly addition to nearly two weeks of verbal sparring.What had been a celebration of European golf at an awards dinner south of London shifted suddenly to a racially sensitive moment involving Woods, the No. 1 golfer in the world and the only player of African-American he...    

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) - Tiger Woods says the "fried chicken" comment from Sergio Garcia was hurtful and inappropriate. Two weeks after they verbally sparred at The Players Championship, Woods say it's time to move on.Garcia was at a European Tour awards dinner Tuesday night when he was jokingly asked if he would have Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open. The Spaniard replied, "We'll h...    

LONDON (Reuters) - The feud between world number one Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia deepened when Woods described the Spaniard's "fried chicken" jibe as "wrong, hurtful and inappropriate" on Wednesday.Woods reacted on his Twitter account after Garcia issued an apology to a comment he made at Tuesday's European Tour awards dinner when he was asked on stage whether he would be inviting Woods for dinn...    

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - When Tony Parker started running low on masterful plays, Tim Duncan was there to take over and lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.Parker had 15 points and a career playoff-high 18 assists, Duncan scored San Antonio's first six points of overtime and the Spurs bounced back after squandering a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter to beat the M...    

Sergio Garcia apologized for saying he would "serve fried chicken" while making a joke about having Tiger Woods over for dinner.The British newspaper The Guardian reported Garcia was asked in jest while on stage at the European Tour's awards dinner Tuesday night if he would invite Woods to dinner during the U.S. Open.The Guardian reported Garcia said: "We will have him round every night. We will s...    

LONDON (AP) - Andy Murray withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday because of a chronic back injury and will now focus on preparing for the start of the grass-court season next month.The U.S. Open champion met with specialists this week after being forced to pull out of his second-match against Marcel Granollers of Spain at the Italian Open last Wednesday because of the long-standing complaint."It...    

NEW YORK (Reuters) - San Francisco will host the 50th Super Bowl, in early 2016, the National Football League announced on Tuesday.The NFL also awarded the 51st Super Bowl to Houston after team owners voted for the two cities ahead of a South Florida bid.(Reporting by Julian Linden, editing by Gene Cherry)    

The massive tornado that ripped through a handful of Oklahoma City suburbs and killed at least 50 people grabbed the attention of the sports world on Monday, especially the players and coaches with ties to the area.Kevin Durant, a three-time scoring champion for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, posted on his Twitter account that he was praying for everyone involved. He added: "Everybody stay safe!...    

The massive tornado that ripped through a handful of Oklahoma City suburbs grabbed the attention of the sports world on Monday, especially for the players and coaches with ties to the area.Kevin Durant, a three-time scoring champion for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, posted on his Twitter account that he was praying for everyone involved. He added: "Everybody stay safe!"Coverage of the tornado d...