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The Red Sox and catcher Jason Varitek reached a preliminary agreement Friday on a $5 million, one-year contract, two people familiar with the talks said. The deal contains player and team options that allow him to earn $8 million to $10 million over two seasons, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not yet final.

Pakistan will not host the Champions Trophy this year after several teams voiced concerns about playing in the country, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Sunday.

GLENWOOD, Ill. - A funeral was held yesterday for the ex-girlfriend of Knicks center Eddy Curry and her daughter. The service for 24-year-old-Nova Henry and 9-month-old daughter, Ava, took place at Calvary Baptist Church in Glenwood, Ill...

PHILADELPHIA - Vince Carter and Derrick Stafford met again last night. Stafford officiated a Nets game for the first time since the New Year's Eve game in Detroit in which Carter was ejected amid a wave of controversy. Carter charged that...

I was angry last year when the Hall of Fame committee put Fred Dean and Andre Tippett in Canton instead of Derrick Thomas. In my mind, and the minds of many Chiefs fans, Dean and Tippett never came close to being the type of player Thomas was. It felt like a slap in the face.

The Los Angeles Lakers are gunning for their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance but have hit their first real crossroad of the season. The Lakers won their 37th game of the year but the win was tempered by the uncertain status of Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who left the game in the first quarter with a sprained right knee. X-rays were negative and further tests will be done Sunday in New York where the Lakers face the Knicks the following day.

Jonathan Toews scored twice and ended Evgeni Nabokov's franchise record scoreless streak in leading the Chicago Blackhawks to their first victory over San Jose in nearly six years, 4-1 on Saturday night.

The Coyotes have recalled center Joel Perrault from their San Antonio affiliate after he cleared re-entry waivers. The 25-year-old Perrault scored seven goals and had 10 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 49 games for Phoenix last season, setting career-highs in games played, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes.

Jonathan Toews scored twice and ended San Jose G Evgeni Nabokov's franchise record scoreless streak in leading the Blackhawks to their first victory over San Jose in nearly six years, 4-1 on Saturday night. Kris Versteeg and Duncan Keith also scored to help the Blackhawks win for the second time in five games. Nabokov made 26 saves in the game as his record falls to 27-6-4 on the year.

By ANTHONY ANDRO A top spot in Baseball America’s ranking of organizations usually leads to the playoffs. Only three times since the magazine began ranking prospects in 1984 has a No. 1 team failed to reach the postseason within five years. Here’s a look at how the No. 1 teams have done since the rankings started. 1984, ’85: MetsTop prospects: RHP Dwight Gooden, RHP Calvin Schiraldi. In 1986, former No. 1 prospects OF Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden led the Mets to the World Series title. The Mets added an NL East title in 1988.1986: AthleticsTop prospect: OF Jose Canseco. The Athletics were blessed with the future Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire (No. 6 prospect). Chemically altered or not, the duo helped propel the Athletics to the World Series in 1988. They won the World Series the next year. 1987, ’88: Blue JaysTop prospect: OF Sil Campusano. The Jays reached the playoffs for the first time in 1989 and won back-to-back World Series titles in