Woman saved by Edmonton players
EDMONTON, Alberta, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A 24-year-old woman was saved by a group of players from the Edmonton Eskimos Sunday as she leaped from the fourth floor of a burning apartment building.
The players all live in the building. Police say they formed a chain with their arms to catch Teri McLeod to break her fall. It is likely the group's action saved her life.
"I tried to get out of the apartment but the hallway was black with smoke," MacLeod said. "It was getting hotter and hotter in the hallway so I went back into the apartment and went to the window. I decided to jump. They put their arms together to catch me. They broke my fall. I didn't have time to think about what I was doing. It was amazing. They had their hands out ready for me. I felt I was going to be safe, and I am."
Unfortunately, a man also living in the building jumped as well and wasn't as lucky. He died from his injuries.
"I was up on the seventh floor when I heard a thump," said linebacker Sheldon Benoit. "I looked out the window and I could see some legs sticking out. When we got down there his head was all busted in."
"We're not heroes," said running back Ron Williams. "We didn't do anything no one else would have done. It was something tragic that happened. Even though you save a life, another was lost. It was just a catch."
The Edmonton Journal reported the players also helped convince other panicked residents not to jump, to stay where they were until help arrived.
Firefighters climbed ladders to pluck five other trapped residents from their windows and take them to safety.
The paper said six people went to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. None were seriously hurt.
Arson investigators have called the blaze suspicious.
Arizona tries again to capture NL West
PHOENIX, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- After getting swept in a three-game weekend series at Coors Field in Denver, the defending world champion Arizona Diamondbacks still can clinch their third playoff appearance in the five-year history of the franchise Monday night with a win.
Arizona will clinch at least a wild-card spot with a victory at National League Central champion St. Louis on Monday night. The Dodgers are idle before they begin a series at home against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
Arizona's magic number for clinching the National League West title remains at three.
The San Francisco Giants (90-66) are in second place in the NL West, two games ahead of the Dodgers in the wild-card race.
The Diamondbacks allowed a whopping 35 runs in losing three games to the Rockies over the weekend. Their magic number for making the playoffs was reduced to one when the Dodgers lost to the San Diego Padres on Friday, but the Dodgers bounced back with wins in the last two games of the series.
The Cardinals captured the NL Central title for the second time in the last three seasons on Friday. Their division title came in a year marked by a series of tragedies in the organization. Pitcher Darryl Kile died in June, just days after legendary broadcaster Jack Buck passed away after a long illness.
In addition to those tragedies, the Cardinals had to persevere by using 26 pitchers, including 14 starters.
With its spot in the postseason secured, St. Louis could be headed for another showdown with Arizona. Last season, the Cardinals lost to the Diamondbacks in five games in the NL division series.
Rams try to get first win
TAMPA, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Rams, in danger of falling to 0-3 for the first time since 1987, Monday night visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will have no sympathy for the team that won the Super Bowl three years ago and returned last year.
"You can't let anybody up off the mat," said Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson. "Regardless of who they are, what time of year it is, you don't feel sorry for anybody. They have a bunch of champions over there, some of the best players probably in the league, and they just haven't come away with some wins. If they could convert two fourth down conversions, they'd probably be 2-0."
In the fourth quarter of last week's 26-21 loss to the Giants, the Rams had a 4th-and-1 at their own 40 with three minutes left, but star running back Marshall Faulk was stuffed at the line of scrimmage and fumbled.
In the season opener, the Rams trailed the Broncos, 16-13 late in the third quarter when quarterback Kurt Warner threw an incomplete pass on a 4th-and-1 play at the Denver 10.
"Right now, they're not in sync for whatever reason," said Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks. "You want to give credit to the teams playing them as well. Whatever the reason is, I
don't have all their answers. But I can't worry about what they're going through and the things that they're doing. We've just got to make sure we're on top of our game."
The Bucs posted a 24-17 victory at St. Louis last November. Defensive tackle Warren Sapp dominated the line of scrimmage and had two sacks and a safety. Meanwhile, strong safety John Lynch clinched the win with a late interception.
Warner has just one touchdown pass in the Rams' first two games and committed three turnovers in the loss to the Giants.
The Rams lead the series, 10-5.
Alabama loses star running back for season
TUSCALOOSA, Al., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The college career of Alabama running back Ahmaad Galloway is over after he tore knee ligaments Saturday night in a 20-7 victory over Southern Mississippi.
Coach Dennis Franchione has confirmed that Galloway tore the ACL in his left knee and is lost for the season. The senior already has used his redshirt year and appeared in too many games this season to apply for a medical redshirt.
"We lost a little bit of the heart and soul of this team," Franchione said.
Galloway has been Alabama's leading rusher each of the last two seasons and had a team-high 257 yards after the first four games this year.
Shaud Williams, Santonio Beard and Ray Hudson are likely to get additional carries with Galloway sidelined. Williams ran for 135 yards against Southern Mississippi.
Alabama (3-1) also lost quarterback Tyler Watts, who left Saturday's game with a foot injury, but Franchione has not updated Watts' status.
The Crimson Tide plays at Arkansas this weekend.
Kentucky football coach gets contract extension
LEXINGTON, Ky., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhardt announced Monday that the contract of football coach Guy Morriss has been extended through the 2007 season.
Barnhardt said the decision was made to begin the process of stabilizing the school's football program, which has been disciplined by the NCAA for rules violations.
"We've had some bad news in our program, the ability not to go to a bowl game, and this coaching staff stood strong through the whole thing," Barnhardt said. "As we prepare for a nationally televised opportunity with this football team against Florida this weekend, I wanted our players to know that we are in full support of their coach and their coaching staff and the things that are being done so far. I don't think we could show any more support than to extend to this family a guaranteed contract. We've had a lot of success in recruiting early on in the fall, attributed to this coaching staff. And they did so under very difficult circumstances, going out there with basically a single-year contract. They have done remarkably well establishing relationships within our state and within the southeast. And again, I couldn't be happier with the way all of that has panned out for us in recruiting, not the least of which is on the field results."
"I want to say thank you to the coaching staff for all their efforts," Morriss said. "I couldn't have done it without them. This is not a one-man band, I promise you that. More than anybody, I have to say thanks to the players. They've never wavered, they've never blinked, they've never taken a step back. They've done everything we've asked them to do. And they've really done an admirable job. I love these guys."
This season, the Wildcats (4-0) have won their first four games on the gridiron for the first time since 1984. The season began with a 22-17 upset of highly-regarded and then nationally-ranked Louisville, but gets quite a bit tougher this Saturday when they travel to "The Swamp" in Gainesville to play ninth-ranked Florida.
Reds C Larue to have season-ending surgery
CINCINNATI, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A spokesman for the Cincinnati Reds said Monday that catcher Jason LaRue will have season-ending surgery Tuesday morning to repair a hernia.
LaRue, 28, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list, established career highs with a .249 batting average and 52 RBI.
He also tied his career best with 12 homers and had a 13-game hitting streak from Sept. 1-17. He was batting .327 this month.
Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the team's medical director, will perform the surgery at The Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.
The Reds recalled catcher Corky Miller to take LaRue's place on the roster. Miller hit .250 with three home runs and 15 RBI in 37 games during an earlier stint with the Reds from April 11-July 14.
Miller hit .231 with six homers and 21 RBI in 43 games at Triple-A Louisville of the International League.
Miami remains a strong No. 1 in poll
ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Tennessee slipped seven spots while Notre Dame moved into the top 10 of the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches college football poll.
Florida (3-1) rolled to a 30-13 victory at Tennessee (2-1) on Saturday, dropping the Volunteers seven spots to No. 11. Florida, which was routed by Miami two weeks ago, moved up to ninth.
Notre Dame (4-0) continues its steady rise under first-year coach Tyrone Willingham, escalating two more places to No. 10 after a 21-17 win at Michigan State.
Penn State (3-0) also continued its climb, ascending three more spots to No. 12 after a 49-17 rout of Louisiana Tech. The Nittany Lions cracked the poll at No. 25 two weeks ago.
Defending national champion Miami (4-0) picked up one more first-place vote, giving the Hurricanes 59 of a possible 61 votes and 1,523
points overall in the nationwide poll.
The Hurricanes extended their winning streak to 26 games with a 38-6 victory over Boston College.
Texas (3-0) is No. 2, retaining its two first-place votes and receiving 1,436 points after a 41-11 win over Houston.
Idle Oklahoma (3-0) lost its first-place vote and remained third in the poll, followed by Florida State (4-0) and Virginia Tech (4-0), which beat Texas A&M, 13-3. The loss knocked A&M
(2-1) out of the poll.
Ohio State (4-0), Georgia (3-0), Oregon (4-0), Florida and Notre Dame round out the top 10.
Washington (2-1) is 13th, followed by Michigan (3-1), North Carolina State (5-0), Wisconsin (5-0), Kansas State (4-0), Washington State (3-1), Nebraska (3-1) and LSU (2-1). Iowa State (4-1) moved up three spots to No. 21 while Southern California (2-1) slipped 11 spots to No. 22 after a 27-20 loss to Kansas State.
Colorado State (3-1), Oregon State (4-0) and Auburn (3-1) complete the top 25.
UCLA (2-1) also dropped out of the poll.
