Cubs, Marlins resume NLCS Friday night
MIAMI, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Florida and the Chicago Cubs play a pivotal Game Three Friday night in the National League Championship Series.
The best-of-seven matchup is tied at a game each after the Cubs erupted for a 12-3 rout Wednesday night. The Marlins rallied to win the series opener, 9-8, in 11 innings.
Kerry Wood, who had two wins for the Cubs in the National League Division Series against Atlanta, will be opposed by the Marlins
Mark Redman.
Wood, a righthander, has been dominant against the Marlins, going 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA in five career starts against them. This season, he pitched two complete games against Florida, yielding just one run and five hits while striking out 20.
"(Wood) doesn't just throw fastballs, he throws everything," said Florida catcher Ivan Rodriguez. "He has a good curve and breaking ball too, but we have to hit his strikes."
Games Four and Five also will be played in Miami Saturday and Sunday.
New York and Boston continue the ALCS on Saturday.
Huge games in college football
DALLAS, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- It's called Separation Saturday, and the reason is some of the most important college football game of the year will be played this weekend.
The slate this weekend includes Miami-Florida State, Texas-Oklahoma, Ohio State-Wisconsin, Georgia-Tennessee, LSU-Florida, and USC-Stanford.
The top-ranked Sooners have not been seriously tested in their first five games, rolling to a 53-7 win over Iowa State last week, and Coach Bob Stoops is not hiding his confidence.
"I believe we have our overall strongest team coming into this game in five years," Stoops said.
Oklahoma has won the last three meetings in the Red River Shootout series against the Longhorns, including a 35-24 victory last season.
The Seminoles and Hurricanes both are 5-0. It will be the first time since 1992 that both teams enter the game ranked in the top five.
Elsewhere, it's Syracuse at Virginia Tech, Nebraska at Missouri, Auburn at Arkansas, Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, Kansas State at Oklahoma State, Virginia at Clemson, and on Friday night, Michigan at Minnesota.
Padilla injured in fatal car crash
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Pitcher Vicente Padilla of the Philadelphia Phillies is recuperating from injuries suffered in a car crash in his native Nicaragua.
Padilla sustained multiple injuries, including a broken right collarbone, a broken finger on his right, or pitching, hand, and a bruised right shoulder. He was a passenger in a car driven by a female friend, who was killed in the crash when she fell asleep at the wheel.
"Padilla's agent, Rudy Valenzuela, informed us of the accident this morning," said Phillies general manager Ed Wade. "He told us that Padilla went to the hospital and was fine. We have been trying to reach Vicente to express our concern for him and the situation."
In 2003, Padilla was 14-12 with a 3.62 ERA. Last year, when he was named to the National League All-Star team, he was 14-11 with an ERA of 3.28.
Borchardt out with fractured finger
SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Center Curtis Borchardt of the Utah Jazz will begin the 2003-04 NBA season where he spent all of his rookie campaign -- on the injured list.
The team announced Friday that Borchardt has a fractured left index finger and will be sidelined at least four weeks. The Jazz will place Borchardt on the injured list before they open the regular season on Oct. 29.
"It's very disappointing," said Borchardt, who missed all of his rookie season with a broken right foot. "I was counting on this being no big deal."
The 7-foot Borchardt suffered the broken finger on his non-shooting hand when he attempted to reach in and steal the ball on a pick-and-roll play in practice on Monday. An MRI taken Wednesday revealed the fracture.
Utah's first-round pick in 2002 averaged 16.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocked shots as a junior at Stanford before entering the draft.
