Arizona, Atlanta vie for NL title
PHOENIX, Oct. 16 (UPI)-- Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux, two pitchers with seven Cy Young awards between them but often frustrated in post-season action, faced each other Tuesday as Ariz
ona hosted Atlanta in Game One of the National League championship series.
Johnson brought a string of seven straight postseason losses to Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix when he took the mound for the Diamondbacks, who have reached the NLCS in just their fourth season of existence.
While the lefthander relies on heat, an appropriate strength for a team that plays in the desert, the Braves' Maddux relies on precision.
"With Randy, you dread the intimidation," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "And with Maddux, you dread the inevitable."
Maddux was 10-11 with a 3.11 ERA in 27 postseason games and was not particularly effective in Game One of the Division Series against the Houston Astros. He had not won in the postseason since defeating the New York Mets in Game One of the 1999 NLCS.
The American League championship series opens Wednesday in Seattle between the Mariners and the New York Yankees.
White new Sooner qb
NORMAN, Okla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Jason White, who spelled Nate Hybl as Oklahoma quarterback during the past two games, will get his chance to start this Saturday when the second-ranked Sooners (6-0) host Baylor in a Big 12 Conference game, Coach Bob Stoops announced Tuesday.
Hybl started the first six games, but White came off the bench and played well in wins against Texas and Kansas.
"Jason has earned the opportunity to be the starter," Stoops said. "He'll be the starter in this game and then we'll take it from there. We have proven we can win with both of these quarterbacks and we feel we can be a good team with either of them playing."
White entered the Texas game when Hybl was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 108 yards and rushed 12 times for 38 yards. Last Saturday at Kansas, White again replaced Hybl in the second period and proceeded to complete 18-of-29 passes for 151 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
White rushed 12 times for 117 yards to mark the first time since 1997 that a Sooner quarterback had broken the century mark in rushing.
Jags lose Pro Bowler Boselli
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Tony Boselli, a five-time Pro Bowl left tackle with Jacksonvile, has undergone shoulder surgery that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season, the Jaguars announced Tuesday.
Boselli's rehabilitation period is expected to be four months.
The Jaguars were already without leading rusher Fred Taylor, who has missed the last two games with a groin injury and will not play in Thursday's game against the Buffalo Bills.
The 29-year-old Boselli, the Jaguars' first ever draft pick and second overall in 1995, recovered from a torn right anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the 1999 regular season finale and earned his fifth straight Pro Bowl selection last season. He signed a four-year, $26 million contract in 1999.
Memorial service for Eddie Futch
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A memorial service was held Tuesday for Eddie Futch, longtime boxing trainer who worked with 21 champions, including Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes.
The Rev. Richard Steele, a former Futch-trained fighter and boxing referee, conducted the service.
Futch died at his Las Vegas home on Oct. 10. He was 90.
