Two spectators attack coach during game
CHICAGO, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Two young men ran onto the field and attacked Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa in the top of the ninth inning Thursday night to overshadow 7 1/3 outstanding innings by Paul Byrd as the Royals held on for a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
As the Royals were batting in the ninth, two bare-chested youth came out of the stands and began throwing punches at Gamboa. Kansas City's bench and bullpen emptied as players rushed to Gamboa's defense. The 54-year-old Gamboa sustained a cut on his forehead.
Police hauled the two men away from the stadium and Gamboa walked off the field under his own power.
There was no apparent motive for the assault.
"I had my hands on my hips and was looking at the next batter," Gamboa said. "I felt like a football team had hit me from beind. Next thing, I'm on the ground trying to defend myself."
Byrd (17-11) allowed one run and six hits to become the Royals' first 17-game winner since Kevin Appier won 18 games in 1993. Byrd carried a shutout into the eighth, but D'Angelo Jimenez spoiled it with an RBI triple.
Oakland takes AL West lead
OAKLAND, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Terrence Long's two-run homer off Brendan Donnelly in the sixth inning Thursday gave the Oakland Athletics a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Angels and sole possession of first place in the American League West.
The Athletics (96-57) captured three of four games from the Angels (95-58) to take the season series, 11-9. As a result, Oakland will win the American League West in a tiebreaker if both teams make the playoffs and finish deadlocked for the division title.
If the Angels had won Thursday, they would have held the tiebreaker advantage on the basis of a better division record.
Tim Hudson (15-9) improved to 8-0 in his last 10 starts and 11-3 lifetime against Anaheim, despite blowing a 3-1 lead.
After the Angels tied it with two runs in the top of the sixth, the Athletics took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning.
David Justice singled with one out off Appier (14-11) before Angels manager Mike Scioscia brought in Donnelly. Mark Ellis lined out, but Long, who was three for 16 lifetime against Appier, golfed a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall.
Ramon Hernandez, who entered the game with a .228 batting average, had a pair of two-out, run-scoring singles for Oakland.
Other American League results: Toronto 9, Baltimore 3; Tampa Bay 3, New York 2 in 10 innings. Minnesota's game at Detroit was canceled by rain. It will not be made up.
Johnson wins 23rd game
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Randy Johnson allowed one run and four hits over seven innings to tie Curt Schilling for the National League lead in wins Thursday as the defending World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks moved closer to the playoffs with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres.
The Diamondbacks reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to two and their magic number for wrapping up the NL West title to four.
Allowing only a solo homer to Brian Buchahan in the bottom of the second, Johnson (23-5) posted his fourth straight victory and lowered his league-leading ERA to 2.40. He walked nine and struck out nine, increasing his major league-leading total to 326.
Johnson improved his career record against the Padres to 11-1 with 1.99 ERA, including a 4-1 mark this season.
Schilling, also 23-5, goes for his 24th win Friday. He is third in the NL with a 2.81 ERA and second in the majors with 300 strikeouts.
Other National League results: Milwaukee 5, Houston 4; St. Louis 12, Colorado 6; cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 4; Montreal 6, Florida 5; Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 0; New York 3, Chicago 2 in 12 innings.
Football speedster Bob Hayes dies
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Bob Hayes, who earned the title of "World's Fastest Human" and went on to help revolutionize pro football while playing for the Dallas Cowboys, has died after a long illness. He was 59.
A spokesman for Shands Hospital said Hayes, who had battled prostate cancer and liver and kidney ailments, died at at 11:15 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, Hayes won a gold medal in the 100 meters, tying what was then the world record of 10.05 seconds. He also anchored the United States' 400-meter relay team to victory in a world record time of 39.06.
Hayes also played football at Florida A&M and he was drafted in 1965 by the Cowboys in the seventh round. Nicknamed "Bullet Bob" due to his blazing speed, Hayes played 10 seasons with the Cowboys before finishing his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers in 1975.
Other sprinters landed in the NFL, but none made as big an impact as Hayes. Because no defensive back could keep up with Hayes man-for-man, teams began playing zone defenses in the secondary.
"He had several speeds, all of them fast, but defensive backs had to figure out which one he was using and which one he was going to use," St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame safety Larry Wilson said.
Woods leads American Express Championship
THOMASTOWN, Ireland, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods birdied four of the final six holes Thursday and rolled in a 20-footer at the 18th to shoot a 7-under 65 that put him one shot in front after the opening round of the American Express Championship.
Woods birdied only one of the four par-5 holes on the Mount Juliet course and still made it look easy as he and his Ryder Cup teammates tune up for next week's showdown with their European rivals.
Steve Lowery, in the midst of the best stretch of golf in his career, and 2001 PGA champion David Toms both shot 66 Thursday while Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Chris DiMarco, Jerry Kelly, Gary Evans, Retief Goosen and Craig Parry were all at 67.
The $5.5 million American Express is the third World Golf Championship event of the year and 49 of the top 50 players in the world are competing. Parry won the most recent World Golf Championship event contested -- last month's NEC Invitational in Seattle.
In his last six starts, Lowery has had five top 10 finishes and has finished second three times. Even though he has not won during that stretch, he has collected $1.38 million since the start of July.
Woods reached 3-under through seven holes and then missed five straight putts of 15 feet or less. But when his putter warmed up, it stayed hot and he finished with birdies at the 13th, 14th, 17th and 18th.
Americans take on France in Davis Cup
PARIS, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Andy Roddick will kick off the Davis Cup semifinals for the United States Friday when he meets Arnaud Clement of defending champion France on the claycourts of Roland Garros.
Roddick is 7-0 lifetime in Davis Cup action, but lost his only previous singles match against Clement at the World Team Cup in May.
"I like playing on the big stage and it doesn't get much better than a semifinal out there on the big court," Roddick said after Thursday's draw.
"I know his (Roddick's) strong points and his weak points," said Clement, who is 5-4 in Davis Cup.
James Blake will battle French No. 1 Sebastien Grosjean in the second singles match Friday. Americans Todd Martin and Mardy Fish will pair up for the doubles Saturday against Fabrice Santoro and Michael Llodra. Reverse singles take place Sunday.
The United States owns the record for the most Davis Cup titles with 31, but has not triumphed since 1995. It reached the final in 1997, losing to Sweden. The Americans last faced France seven years ago in the first round and lead the all-time series, 7-6.
Inkster leads Americans in Solheim Cup
EDINA, Minn., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Current U.S. Open champion Juli Inkster and Laura Diaz will be the first American pairing on the course Friday when the United States begins its attempt to regain the Solheim Cup.
With the Ryder Cup just a week away, the top women golfers in the world open their seventh international tournament Friday at Interlachen Country Club. The Americans will be trying to reclaim the Solheim Cup along with some respect.
The Europeans are looking to retain the title they won two years ago at Loch Lomond in Scotland while the United States is trying to remain perfect at home, having claimed the first three matches held on American soil.
The event gets under way Friday with four foursome matches and four four-ball matches. The same format will be used Saturday, with 12 singles matches closing the tournament Sunday.
Inkster and Diaz will team in the opening foursome match against Europe's Laura Davies and Paula Marti.
Americans Beth Daniel and Wendy Ward will then take on Iben Tinning and Raquel Carriedo, Europe; Kelly Robbins and Pat Hurst will meet Helen Alfredsson and Suzann Pettersen; and Meg Mallon and Kelli Kuehne will play superstar Annika Sorenstam and Carin Koch.
Auburn picks up big win
STARKVILLE, Miss., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Daniel Cobb passed for three touchdowns in the second quarter and Carnell Williams rushed for a pair of scores in the fourth Thursday night as the Auburn Tigers concluded a difficult stretch of the season with a 42-14 Southeastern Conference rout of Mississippi State.
Auburn (3-1, 2-0 SEC West) erased a 7-0, first-quarter deficit with 21 points in the second period and pulled away with 21 more in the fourth.
The Tigers capped a stretch of four games in 18 days. They have won three in a row since a season-opening loss at nationally ranked Southern California.
Auburn has eight days off before facing Syracuse.
Dontae Walker scored both touchdowns for Mississippi State (1-2, 0-1), which dropped its SEC opener and has lost both games against Division I-A opponents this season.
The Bulldogs defeated Division I-AA Jacksonville State, 51-13, last week after opening with a 36-13 setback at Oregon.
Matthews to quarterback Redskins
ASHBURN, Va., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Veteran quarterback Shane Matthews, who was hurt Monday night in the team's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, will be the starting quarterback Sunday when the Washington Redskins travel to San Francisco.
Matthews has been nursing a bruised left shoulder, but was cleared to play after an MRI Tuesday showed no severe damage.
So far this season, it's been feast or famine for Matthews.
He was named the team's No. 1 signal-caller just before their season-opening win over the Cardinals. In that contest, he passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 win, and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Things were vastly different against the Eagles, who blasted the Redskins Monday night, 37-7.
He threw for just 62 yards with one interception through two quarters before suffering the bruised left shoulder.
