Boston again tries to avoid elimination
BOSTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The start-and-stop baseball playoffs start up again Saturday night with the Boston Red Sox facing their second elimination game against Cleveland.
Curt Schilling will attempt to duplicate the efforts of Boston teammate Josh Beckett, who turned in a strong performance Thursday night to keep the Red Sox alive in the American League Championship Series.
Cleveland will take a 3-2 lead into Game 6, hoping to finish off Boston and set up a World Series date with the Colorado Rockies.
If Boston wins Saturday night, a deciding seventh game will be played Sunday evening in Fenway Park.
Of the five playoff series completed thus far, four have resulted in sweeps, leaving baseball out of the October spotlight far more than usual.
Colorado, winners of 21 out of its last 22 games, will have a record eight days off between the clinching of its league championship and the beginning the World Series.
Buckeyes look to avoid upset bug
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Ohio State tries to avoid the siege of upsets that have swept the world of college football this year when the Buckeyes play host to Michigan State Saturday.
LSU, USC, California, Oklahoma and Florida have had their seasons disrupted by unexpected losses this year, and South Florida became the latest victim when the third-ranked Bulls fell to Rutgers Thursday night.
The Buckeyes will take a No. 1 ranking and a 7-0 record into their meeting with the Wolverines.
The other unbeaten teams among the top 25 are Boston College (ranked second), Arizona State (12th), Kansas (15th) and Hawaii (16th). Boston College will have the weekend off before taking on 11th-ranked Virginia Tech next Thursday.
Fourth-ranked Oklahoma and fifth-rated LSU hope to improve their chances for a berth in the BCS game. Oklahoma will visit lightly-regarded Iowa State and LSU will host Auburn, which handed Florida its first loss last month.
No. 6 Oregon will be at Washington, No. 7 West Virginia will entertain Mississippi State and No. 8 South Carolina will be at home against Vanderbilt.
California and USC share the No. 9 ranking. California will be at UCLA and USC travels to Notre Dame.
Ryan Moore seeks first PGA win
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Ryan Moore, seeking his first PGA Tour win, leads by three after a day of low scores all around Friday at the Fry's Electronics Open in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Moore shot a 7-under 63 at the Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor Course for a two-day total of 129.
Ben Crane, Daisuke Maruyama and Mark Hensby were all at 132. Hensby -- who began the day tied for 80th place -- turned in the day's low round, a 61 that included nine threes and a two.
Mike Weir was among those at 133.
Phil Mickelson, who helped make the tournament's field the strongest of the tour's so-called Fall Finish, missed the cut by a shot.
Moore was the low amateur at the Masters two years ago and has had three runner-up finishes since turning professional. The most recent of those came this year at the Memorial, where he birdied five of the last six holes in the final round to jump into contention.
Gordon wins pole at Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE, Va., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Jeff Gordon, who is closing in on the Nextel Cup championship, turned in the fastest qualifying lap Friday for Sunday's Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Midway through the 10-race chase for the series title, Gordon owns a 68-point lead over Jimmie Johnson and a 78-point advantage over Clint Bowyer.
The pole was Gordon's seventh of the year, the 63rd of his career and the sixth he has claimed at Martinsville.
He covered the half-time oval in 19.938 seconds -- or 94.974 mph.
Martin Truex Jr. had the second-fastest time, followed by Kevin Harvick and Johnson. Bowyer qualified 21st.
Gordon has won on this track seven times and has been in the top 10 in 23 of his 29 starts at Martinsville. Johnson, however, has won the last two races here.
