Diamondbacks reach World Series
ATLANTA, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks are going to the World Series for the first time and the team they will face will likely be the one that has been to baseball's biggest show more than any other.
A clutch pitching effort from Randy Johnson and a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Erubiel Durazo sparked the Diamondbacks to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves Sunday night, giving Arizona the National League pennant. Arizona eliminated Atlanta in five games and the Diamondbacks will host Game 1 of the World Series next Saturday night.
The New York Yankees, winners of the last three and four of the last five World Series, need just one more victory to become Arizona's opponent.
Alfonso Soriano hit a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall with one out in the ninth inning for a two-run homer Sunday night, finishing off yet another gritty performance by the Yankees. they defeated the Seattle Mariners, 3-1, to take a three games to one lead in the ALCS.
No expansion team has ever made it to the World Series quicker than the Diamondbacks.
Johnson, who joins with Curt Schilling to make up a formidable power-pitching combination, took a seven-game playoff losing streak into the NLCS. But he won Game 1 and was the winning pitcher in Game 5 Sunday night.
He allowed seven hits over seven innings, but Atlanta stranded nine batters while Johnson was on the mound and Byung-Hyun Kim came on to limit the Braves to one baserunner over the final two innings.
In addition to their inability to come up with the big hit that might have made the difference, the Braves also suffered another key lapse in the field that ultimately ended their season.
After allowing six unearned runs in a blowout loss Saturday night, Atlanta was undone Saturday night when second baseman Marcus Giles botched a grounder off the bat of Craig Counsell leading off the fifth.
Counsell was erased on a fielder's choice grounder by Luis Gonzalez and Reggie Sanders struck out for what should have been the third out of the inning. Durazo then came on to bat for Mark Grace and he launched a homer that provided the winning run.
The home run gave Arizona a 3-1 lead after the teams had battled to a 1-1 deadlock through four innings.
In New York, the Yankees did not get a hit until the sixth inning, trailed with five outs left in the game and then managed to rally on homers by Bernie Williams and Soriano.
Andy Pettitte will pitch for the Yankees tonight as they try to close out the series while Seattle will counter with Aaron Sele.
Seattle starter Paul Abbott did not give up a hit during his five-inning stint, but he walked eight and was consistently pitching in trouble.
And when Norm Charlton came on to relieve Abbott in the sixth inning, he immediatly got into a jam, which reliever Jeff Nelson inherited when he came to the mound with one out and two on. Charlton walked pitch-hitter Shane Spencer to load the bases, but escaped when Scott Brosius grounded into a double play.
New York left eight runners on through the first six innings while New York starter Roger Clemens and reliever Ramiro Mendoza were blanking Seattle on one hit through seven. Clemens left the game after five innings with an apparent flareup of a hamstring problem.
New York's wasted chances appeared ready to haunt the Yankees when Bret Boone hit a two-out homer in the eighth to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
Rams remain unbeaten
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Things are turning upside down in the National Football League, except where the St. Louis Rams are concerned.
The Rams remained the only unbeaten team left in the NFL Sunday, using a 195-yard, two-touchdown rushing performance by Trung Candidate to down the New York Jets, 34-14. Candidate was filling in for the injured Marshall Faulk.
St. Louis became only the second team in NFL history to have a 6-0 start three consecutive seasons. The Green Bay Packers, coached by Curly Lambeau, started 8-0 from 1929-31.
While the Rams put together a typical offensive display, things around the rest of the league were not so normal.
Chicago took the lead in the NFC Central, Cleveland passed defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore in the standings by beating the Ravens for the first time, New England blasted Indianapolis for the second time this season and San Diego moved within a half game of the lead in the AFC West with a dominating performance against Denver.
In addition, Green Bay was cooled off by Minnesota and Washington won for the firt time this season. The only winless team left in the league is Detroit, which lost an overtime decision to Tennessee.
In Cleveland, Tim Couch threw for a pair of touchdowns and the Cleveland defense collected seven sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery to give the Browns their first win ever over the Ravens, 24-14.
Art Modell, who moved the Browns' storied franchise to Baltimore five years ago, was not in attendance to witness the latest defeat for his suddenly struggling Super Bowl champions.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota put together a surprisingly effective running game and shut down Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre to down the Packers, 35-13.
Favre is 2-8 lifetime at the Metrodome.
In San Diego, Doug Flutie threw a pair of touchdown passes and the San Diego Chargers got a big effort from their defense to pull away from the Broncos, 27-10.
In 2000, the Chargers endured the worst season in club history, going an NFL-worst 1-15. But after wholesale changes by new general manager John Butler, San Diego has won four of its first six games this season.
In Indianapolis, journeyman receiver David Patten was involved in four touchdowns to double his career total as the Patriots recorded their second straight surprising victory with a 38-17 upset of the Colts.
Patten caught two scoring passes, including the longest pass play for a touchdown in New England history, threw for a score and also reached the end zone on a 29-yard run as the Patriots (3-3) rolled over the Colts (2-3) for the second time this season.
Other NFL results: Atlanta 20, New Orleans 13; Washington 17, Carolina 14 in overtime; Chicago 24, Cincinnati 0; Pittsburgh 17, Tampa Bay 10; Tennessee 27, Detroit 24; Arizona 24, Kansas City 16.
The Philadelphia Eagles will host the New York Giants tonight.
Jon Klemm burns former team
CHICAGO, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Jon Klemm scored the winning goal against his former team early in the third period Sunday night, giving the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
The defenseman took a pass from Alexei Zhamnov at the point and fired a slap shot over Patrick Roy's shoulder and just under the crossbar to give Chicago a 3-2 lead.
Prior to signing in Chicago, Klemm spent nine seasons with the Quebec-Colorado franchise, helping it win a pair of Stanley Cup titles. He was considered one of the team's top free agents along with Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy and Rob Blake, but received little attention from the club when the free agency period began.
Zhamnov finished with a goal and two assists and Jocelyn Thibault improved to 4-2-2 as he made 14 saves to preserve the win.
In the only other NHL game on the schedule, Anaheim defeated Vancouver, 3-1.
Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. dove under Bobby Labonte on the last lap Sunday, saw a huge 16-car crash on the backstretch in his rearview mirror and then held off Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton to win NASCAR's EA Sports 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
Stewart finished 0.388 seconds behind Earnhardt.
Earnhardt was able to maneuver his Chevrolet Monte Carlo under Labonte's Pontiac Grand Prix entering the first turn of the final lap.
That pushed Labonte high toward the wall. His car went sideways in front of Bobby Hamilton. The cars touched, sending Labonte's car into the outside wall before it flipped upside down. Johnny Benson's Pontiac slammed hard into the outside wall with Ricky Craven's car out of control.
That sent cars scattering across the backstretch and into the infield grass.
Earnhardt was able to keep his cool at the front of the field and fended off Stewart for the victory, his first at Talladega.
Coceres captures second tourney of 2001
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Jose Coceres of Argentina claimed his second career PGA Tour title Sunday, holding off Davis Love III at the National Car Rental Golf Classic.
Coceres proved his April victory at Hilton Head was no fluke, overcoming a shaky front nine en route to a 4-under-par 68. His 72-hole total of 23-under 265 left him one in front of Love.
Love, battling a disk problem in his neck, came up just short of his second victory this season, making a birdie at the 18th hole after a 20-minute rain delay.
Tee times were bumped up several hours to avoid expected rain in the Orlando area.
Even a pairing with one of the world's best players could not shake Coceres, who has missed the cut in seven of 18 starts this season.
He is one of only three South Americans to win a PGA Tour event, joining countryman Roberto de Vicenzo and contemporary Carlos Franco of Paraguay.
The 38-year-old Coceres took control with three straight birdies beginning at the ninth and led by at least two shots until Love's closing birdie. Love moved within within two shots with a birdie at the 15th.
MLS Cup goes to San Jose
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- San Jose completed a journey from worst to first Sunday as Canadian international Dwayne DeRosario scored a goal six minutes into overtime to give the Earthquakes a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup.
DeRosario, who had entered the game as a substitute in the 85th minute, raced down the line past defender Adam Frye and steered the ball into the far left of the net with a 30-yard blast.
The goal kept the Galaxy winless in four MLS Cup finals appearances.
Although it was a well-played match, the tone was muted by the huge numbers of empty seats -- the result of having two West Coast teams playing at an eastern site and having neither Chicago nor Columbus in the finals.
Those that showed up were treated to an elegant passing game and 90 solid minutes of attacking soccer.
Davenport completes triumph in Zurich
ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Lindsay Davenport cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 4 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia in Sunday's final of the Swisscom Challenge.
With her third title at this event, the third-seeded American capped a week that saw top-seeded Martina Hingis undergo ankle surgery and the ascension of Jennifer Capriati to the world No. 1 ranking.
But Davenport stole the headlines away, posting a three-set semifinal victory over Capriati and winning her second straight tournament on Sunday. She needed just 63 minutes to defeat Dokic for the fourth time in as many meetings and earn $175,000.
Saudi Arabia earns World Cup berth
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia became the 22nd country to qualify for the 32-nation field that will compete in next year's World Cup.
Saudi Arabia needed a victory Sunday, plus either a loss or tie by Iran, to earn a World Cup berth. Saudi Arabia defeated Thailand, 4-1, and Iran lost its final qualifying game to Bahrain, 3-1.
The second-place finishers in the two Asian qualifying groups -- Iran and the United Arab Emirates -- will meet in a home-and-home series over the next two weeks with the winner then taking on Ireland for a spot in the World Cup. Iran qualified for the tournament four years ago and wound up being placed in the same group as the United States. Iran defeated the Americans in their group match.
Grizzlies lose for first time
PHOENIX, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Tony Delk scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth quarter Sunday night to give the Phoenix Suns a 102-88 exhibition victory over the previously unbeaten Memphis Grizzlies.
Delk had a pair of baskets in a 10-0 surge that turned a close game into a 95-81 advantage with 5:23 remaining. He made nine of 12 shots from the field.
Stephon Marbury had 16 points and nine assists and Shawn Marion had 19 and nine rebounds for the Suns (4-1), who shot 47 percent and held a 46-33 rebounding advantage.
Memphis rookie forwards Shane Battier and Pau Gasol had solid games. Battier, the sixth overall pick in the draft, scored 21 points and made five three-pointers. Gasol, the third overall pick acquired in a draft day trade with Atlanta, had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Lorenzen Wright had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who shot 42 percent and played without their starting backcourt of Jason Williams and Michael Dickerson as well as center Bryant Reeves.
The Grizzlies (4-1) had been the last unbeaten team in preseason.
Other NBA exhibition results: Los Angeles Clippers 105, Orlando 97; Houston 92, San Antonio 87; Seattle 100, Golden State 84.
