Kelly salutes son in Hall of Fame induction
CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Quarterback Jim Kelly invited nearly 1,200 guests to celebrate his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But all he needed was the presence of his son.
Known for his toughness on the field, Kelly showed his fellow Hall of Famers the meaning of the word Saturday when, during the induction ceremonies, he saluted his 5-year-old son Hunter.
Hunter Kelly was diagnosed with Krabbe Disease -- a rare enzyme disorder of the nervous system -- at four months and was not expected to live past his second birthday.
"It has been written that toughness is my trademark, but the toughest person I have ever seen is my son Hunter," Kelly said in closing his speech. "I've been blessed to have Hunter. He is an inspiration to all of us. I love you, buddy."
As the overflow crowd erupted in cheers, Kelly's wife Jill hugged and kissed Hunter, who has never walked, needs a machine to eat and another to breathe.
The Kellys formed the Hunter's Hope Foundation to increase public awareness of Krabbe Disease and other leukodystrophies and to raise funds to support research efforts to find a cure.
Kelly was enshrined with Pittsburgh Steelers receiver John Stallworth, Oakland Raiders tight end Dave Casper, Chicago Bears defensive tackle-end Dan Hampton and the late George Allen, who coached the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins.
Kelly led the Bills to an unprecedented four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl from 1990-93, losing each time. But the bitter losses did not prevent him from getting elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Chick Hearn in critical condition
NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Long-time Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn underwent two surgeries Saturday and was listed in critical condition.
The doctor in charge of the case said the 85-year-old Hearn would probably not be able to return to the microphone.
"It's not good," Dr. Asher Taban said at a news conference when asked for a prognosis. "I do have a major concern because of his age and because of the thinning of his blood."
Hearn was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center Friday night after he fell in his back yard.
Doctors discovered hemorrhaging inside his skull and operated early Saturday morning. A second surgery was performed when another blood clot inside the brain was found.
Spurrier makes impressive debut
OSAKA, Japan, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The passing attack brought to the National Football League by new Washington coach Steve Spurrier enjoyed a solid debut Sunday with Sage Rosenfels and Danny Wuerffel combining to throw five touchdown passes in the Redskins' 38-7 exhibition victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
In the first game of the NFL preseason, The Redskins produced 439 passing yards.
Sage Rosenfels completed 10 of 20 passes for 172 yards while playing the first two quarters and threw touchdown passes of 65 yards to Derrius Thompson and Robert Royal, giving the Redskins a 14-7 halftime lead. Wuerffel was good on 16 of 25 passes for 267 yards
Wuerffel started the second half and promptly guided the Redskins 80 yards to a touchdown. He completed five of seven passes on the drive for 73 yards and found Darnerien McCants for a 14-yard score. He then completed four of seven for 55 yards on a drive that led to a 30-yard field goal by Brett Conway before hitting Thompson with a 31-yard score on fourth and one.
The final touchdown of the night came on a 44-yard throw from Wuerffel to McCants, who broke two would-be tackles at the 20 to go the distance.
Stewart wins Brickyard 400 pole
INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Tony Stewart, who grew up in nearby Rushville and was an Indy Racing League driver before joining the NASCAR Winston Cup series in 1999, won the pole Saturday for the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Stewart put his Pontiac Grand Prix on the pole with a lap at 182.960 miles per hour, the fastest by a stock car at the historic 2 1/2-mile oval.
He joins fellow Indiana racing product Jeff Gordon as members of the Hoosier State who have either won the pole or the race in the Brickyard 400. Gordon is the only three-time winner of this event and a three-time pole winner.
Stewart's speed shattered the previous mark of 181.072 mph set by Brett Bodine in 2000.
Stewart started on the pole in the 1996 Indianapolis 500 after teammate Scott Brayton was killed in practice that year. He is looking for his first victory at the legendary speedway.
It was Stewart's sixth career pole in 125 Winston Cup starts and his first pole since taking the top spot at Sears Point in June.
Dodge Intrepid driver Bill Elliott had a qualifying lap of 182.109 mph and will join Stewart on the front row. He also started second last year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third at 181.627 mph in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Indianapolis 500 veteran Robby Gordon fourth at 181.543 in another Chevrolet. South Bend native Ryan Newman rounded out the top five at 181.287 mph in a Ford Taurus.
Garcia ends losing streak
SEATTLE, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Freddy Garcia posted his first win in more than a month Saturday, allowing two runs and four hits in seven innings as the Seattle Mariners pounded out 14 hits in a 12-4 rout of the Cleveland Indians.
Garcia (12-7) was winless in his last five starts, allowing 20 runs in 30 2/3 innings over that span. But the All-Star righthander was staked to an early lead and cruised to his first victory since June 29.
John Olerud keyed the offensive attack with four hits, three runs scored and a career high-tying five RBI. Edgar Martinez matched a major league record with three sacrifice flies and Mark McLemore scored three times.
Wright (0-2) was tagged for seven runs and seven hits in two innings. The injury-prone righthander, who was making just his third start, has allowed 17 runs and 19 hits in 8 2/3 innings this season.
Terry Mulholland allowed two runs in three relief innings and Jason Beverlin was worse, being tagged for three runs in two innings.
The Indians, who have dropped the first three games of the series, have seen their staff fall apart over the last month. Since July 1, Cleveland's pitchers are 10-19 with a 6.78 ERA.
Other American League results: Baltimore 8, Toronto 4; Oakland 8, Detroit 4; Tampa Bay 6, Chicago 2; Minnesota 4, Kansas City 3 in 10 innings; Texas 8, Boston 6; Anaheim 5, New York 4.
Chipper Jones carries Braves again
ATLANTA, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Jason Marquis allowed one run over six innnings Saturday and Chipper Jones hit a pair of two-run homers as the Atlanta Braves cruised past the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1.
Marquis (8-5) was not sharp, but managed to make all the big pitches, including a series of clutch offerings to Cardinals slugger Jim Edmonds. The 23-year-old righthander struck out three and improved to 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA in his last six starts.
Chris Hammond and Mike Remlinger tossed a scoreless inning apiece before closer John Smoltz finished up in a non-save situation.
Marquis got some early breathing room from Jones, who homered in the first and fifth innings off Cardinals starter Matt Morris (12-7). Jones went two for three with three runs scored and four RBI and is batting .565 with five homers, 13 RBI and 11 walks over his last eight games.
Jones' multi-homer game was his first since July 3, 2001.
The Braves have won five straight and 14 of 17. Atlanta, which is a season-high 34 games over .500 and owns the best record in baseball at 72-38, is 31-9 in its last 40 home games.
Other National League results: Los Angeles 8, Philadelphia 6 in 12 innings; Colorado 2, Chicago 1; San Francisco 11, Pittsburgh 6; Houston 5, Montreal 3; Florida 11, Milwaukee 7; Cincinnati 4, San Diego 3. Arizona swept a doubleheader from New York, 8-5 in 10 innings and 9-2.
Craig Barlow takes International lead
CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Steve Lowery gave away the lead to Craig Barlow while Mark Brooks and Rich Beem also made strong moves Saturday in the third round of The International.
The 1994 winner, Lowery began the day with 21 points and a four-point lead over Barlow. But his six-point day was not enough to hold off Barlow, who collected 11 points to move to 28, good for a one-point lead.
Brooks, the 1996 PGA Championship winner, also picked up 11 points and was two off the pace. Beem made the biggest jump among the frontrunners by tallying 15 points over the Castle Pines Golf Club. He was fourth at 25 points.
The players near the top are in need of a victory. Barlow has made the cut in just five of 13 events this year. Brooks has not won since his major breakthrough. And Beem, a former cell phone salesman, notched his only win at the 1999 Kemper Open.
In other golf action, Hale Irwin and Hubert Green shared the lead going into the final round of the Senior Long Island Classic and the United States owned a 7-2 lead over Britain & Ireland midway through the Curtis Cup matches.
MLS All-Star Game drenched
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- What was to be a celebration of United States soccer turned into a soggy farce Saturday as inclement weather nearly washed out the MLS All-Star Game between Team USA veterans and the league's best.
The MLS All-Stars recorded a 3-2 decision after an hour-long delay brought about by torrential rain and lightning. League officials and ABC-TV agreed to cut the first half short by 15 minutes so that the halftime show could be televised and coverage in the second half was switched from ABC to ESPN.
Despite the delay, the game eventually went on in difficult conditions. Passes were made difficult because of the waterlogged field.
D.C. United's Marco Antonio Etcheverry put in a go-ahead goal 18 minutes from the end and the Bolivian earned Most Valuable Player honors.
That provided a 2-1 lead before Cobi Jones tied the score in the 76th minute. New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston had the last word, collecting the game-winner with nine minutes to play.
After a scoreless first half - an abnormality in any All-Star Game in any sport - Landon Donovan tallied for the United States in the 57th minute before Jason Kreis of the Dallas Burn tied the match two minutes later.
The game honored Team USA, which under coach Bruce Arena surprisingly reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in June. Half that squad was not available due to club duty in Europe, so former national team World Cup participants also wore the U.S. jersey again as Arena patched together a side.
Roddick reaches final
TORONTO, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Andy Roddick breezed into the final of the Tennis Masters Series-Toronto Saturday night, needing less than an hour to dispatch Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.
Argentine Guillermo Canas, meanwhile, continued a remarkable run with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) win over third-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany, his fourth victory of the tournament over a top-10 player.
The 12th-seeded Roddick will face the unseeded Canas in Sunday's final. Both are looking for their first win here with a $392,000 first prize at stake.
Roddick routed the 14th-seeded Novak, 6-4, 6-3, in 52 minutes. He had his serve broken for just the second time in the tournament but used some breaks of his own to take control of the match.
Leslie strubbles, but Sparks win
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Los Angeles star Lisa Leslie made just one of nine shots Saturday, but Mwadi Mabika and rookie Nikki Teasley combined for 38 points to lead the Sparks to an 81-71 victory over the Sacramento Monarchs.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Monarchs, who are 8-3 since Yolanda Griffith returned from the injured list.
Griffith dominated Leslie in their center battle, setting season highs with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Leslie, the reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player, finished with four points and fouled out with just under six minutes left.
Mabika and Teasley more than picked up the slack. Mabika had 20 points and a career-high nine assists and Teasley took over down the stretch.
After a 9-2 run pulled Sacramento within 61-59 with 4:21 left, Teasley scored eight of Los Angeles' next 10 points, including a pair of clutch three-pointers.
Teasley started a 10-2 spurt with a three-pointer from the right side with 3:49 left. After Mabika hit a pair of free throws, Teasley converted another three-pointer with 2:43 remaining to open a 10-point cushion and capped the run with a layup with 1:57 left for a 71-61 bulge.
Other WNBA results: Detroit 68, Cleveland 57; Indiana 69, Charlotte 48; Houston 69, Orlando 62.
Harvick wins IROC series
INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Kevin Harvick started last, finished fifth to Dale Jarrett in the series finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and won the International Race of Champions title Saturday in his first season on the highly competitive circuit.
Harvick became the fifth IROC rookie to win the championship but the first in 15 years. He joined Mark Donohue in 1974, Harry Gant in 1985, Al Unser Jr. in 1986 and Geoff Bodine in 1987.
Harvick earned his spot here by winning the 2001 Busch Grand National series title. He collected $250,000 for his second circuit championship in as many seasons.
Jarrett scored a flag-to-flag victory in a 40-lap race that had little drama. He started and was tested only at the beginning when Ken Schrader -- substituting for injured World of Outlaws sprint car driver Danny Lasoski -- tried an unsuccessful pass. From that point, Jarrett drove away from the field.
Chip Chip Hooray wins Hambletonian
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Chip Chip Hooray made a well-timed move around the final turn and edged Like a Prayer by a neck Saturday to capture the Hambletonian, harness racing's most prestigious event.
Driver Eric Ledford won in his Hambletonian debut as Chip Chip Hooray trotted the mile in one minute, 53.3 seconds and Chuck Sylvester became the fourth trainer to condition four Hambletonian winners.
Andover Hall, the 2-1 favorite, buckled on the first turn and did not finish.
Chip Chip Hooray, who went off at 4-1, paid $12.60, $9.00 and $8.40. Like a Prayer returned $17.40 and $11.20 and Duke of York showed for $10.40.
