Cubs clinch share of division title
CHICAGO, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Adam Kennedy's grand slam helped boost St. Louis to a 12-6 win over Chicago Friday, but the Cubs still clinched a share of National League Central title.
Chicago wrapped up no worse than a tie for the division crown when Milwaukee lost later in the day to Cincinnati.
The Cubs will try to secure the NL Central pennant on Saturday when they again host the Cardinals.
Kennedy had four hits, drove in five runs and scored three times as part of an 18-hit assault by St. Louis. The Cardinals have won two in a row after dropping seven straight.
Adam Wainwright (10-3) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings to pick up the win.
The loss went to Carlos Zambrano (14-6), who in his previous outing had thrown Chicago's first no-hitter in 36 years. Zambrano allowed eight runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Americans start fast in Ryder Cup
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan teamed to win two matches Friday and pace the United States to a three-point lead after one day of the Ryder Cup.
The Americans have lost to their European rivals in the last three renewals of golf's top team event, their longest losing streak ever, but seized the advantage after the opening day for the first time since 1995.
The U.S. team lost only one of the eight matches played Friday and had a 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 lead going into Saturday's eight team matches. The competition will conclude Sunday with 12 singles matches.
Leonard and Mahan lost the first two holes of their morning foursomes match against Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey, but came back for a 3&2 victory. In the afternoon fourballs, Leonard and Mahan never trailed and defeated Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez 4&3.
Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim fell behind by three holes in both their matches, but came back to halve one of them and win the other. The 1 1/2 points earned by Mickelson Friday equaled his contribution in the last two Ryder Cups combined.
Mickelson and Kim halved with Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson in the morning and defeated Harrington and Graeme McDowell in the afternoon 2-up.
The only full point won by the Europeans came from Ian Poulter and Justin Rose in the afternoon. They defeated Steve Stricker and Ben Curtis 4&3.
The teams of Leonard-Mahan and Mickelson-Kim will be in action again Saturday morning. European captain Nick Faldo shook up his lineup and will leave Garcia out of action in the morning matches.
Jeff Gordon wins Delaware pole position
DOVER, Del., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Jeff Gordon drove his Chevrolet to the pole position on Friday at the Camping World RV 400 Sprint Cup auto race at Dover, Del.
With a speed of 157.061 miles per hour around the Dover International Speedway, the circuit's "Monster Mile," the four-time points champion captured a pole for the third time this season and the 66th time in his Sprint Cup career.
"This is really going to boost this team hopefully to get us through this weekend," Gordon said. "I know it's just qualifying (but) it's still a small victory."
Runner-up Mark Martin just missed the pole by 0.001 of a second and will start the second race in the season-ending "Race for the Chase" in the second position.
Martin did not qualify for the Chase.
Elsewhere, Denny Hamlin, sixth in the "Chase" standings, qualified third. Kurt Busch was fourth and Greg Biffle, last Sunday's winner at the Sylvania 300 in Loudon, N.H., will start fifth.
Report: Offer to buy Steelers shares nixed
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Billionaire businessman Stanley Druckenmiller has withdrawn his offer to buy into the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
The newspaper said Druckenmiller withdrew after he was informed by four of the five Rooney brothers that his offer for their shares, believed to be in the neighborhood of $550 million, would not be accepted.
At least three of the five brothers -- sons of team founder Art Rooney Sr. -- want to sell their equal shares partly to avoid costly future inheritance taxes for their children and grandchildren.
"Of course I'm disappointed," Druckenmiller told the newspaper in a statement. "But those are their shares and they have every right to seek a higher price for them."
Druckenmiller said he made it clear throughout the discussions that if the family could resolve its problems internally, he would step away.
It is believed that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell strongly favors the family retaining control of the franchise.
"While we would have preferred our bid to have been accepted, we will continue our efforts to maintain the ownership of the Steelers in our family," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement late Friday. "We have been told on many occasions the other family members prefer to keep the franchise in the family. We look forward to ongoing dialogue within the family toward that goal."
