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John Madden, the most recognized analyst in television sports, is calling it quits. In a statement issued Thursday morning, Madden, who was NBC's No. 1 NFL analyst on the Peacock's Sunday night package, said: 'It's time. I'm 73 years old...It's been such a great ride.'

Since the Orioles have a day off Thursday, manager Dave Trembley said it was likely Mark Hendrickson would start in Alfredo Simon's (elbow) spot for the series finale at Boston on Monday. Hendrickson started Wednesday night in the finale against the Rangers. 'We'll need a starter for Tuesday, but I don't know if that's a spot start or if it's somebody we bring up for a long-term basis,' Trembley said. Trembley said he expects Albers, a former starter, to remain in the bullpen. The likely spot starter would be Brian Bass out of the bullpen, while the prospect call-up would be the major league ready Bradley Bergesen over the elite talent Chris Tillman.

Despite the viral rumors, John Wall says he's not going pro. Which is great news for coaches who think he could be the next Derrick Rose, writes Luke Winn.

The Pens didn't need great talent to beat the Flyers. Their smarts were enough, Inside Hockey says in a Day 1 playoff breakdown.

Mike Hampton delivered a vintage performance.The Houston left-hander pitched six shutout innings and the Astros snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.Hampton (1-1) allowed four singles, walked one and struck out eight.'It was nice to go out there and pitch well and get a win for us,' Hampton said. 'It's something we needed. Hopefully, it gives us some momentum. We played a great game all-around tonight.

RANDY GALLOWAY It’s nothing new. April is always like this when the NFL releases the schedule for the upcoming season. But that doesn’t make it any less amazing.Or as Gil Brandt was saying Wednesday, 'It’s a phenomenon. It really is.'Go back a decade and beyond. Go back 12 years, even 13, all the way to 1996. Based on what has happened on a football field over that span, a case could be made that the Dallas Cowboys are among the least relevant teams in the league.Not that you need the reminder, but they have won nothing. Not even a playoff game in 12 years.Speaking of a case being made, you could say, based strictly on football results, that the receiver known as No. 81 was booted out of Dallas and then signed with Buffalo.Nowhereville to Nowhereville.The gold standard in the NFL for the last decade is New England. Great everything, including Lombardis.There’s certainly the Steelers as a model franchise, from ownership, to head coach, to the most recent Lombar

By EDDIE SEFKO The Dallas Mavericks can only hope to inflict as much damage to San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs as they did to Houston in the regular-season finale. They cost the Rockets plenty Wednesday night, grinding out a 95-84 victory at American Airlines Center that pushed the Mavericks up to No. 6 in the Western Conference and earned them a date with the Spurs, who will be playing without Manu Ginobili but will have home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series. ?We?re going to do everything we can to take momentum into this thing — it doesn?t guarantee anything, but it?s nice to have,?? coach Rick Carlisle said. ?It?s a great matchup between two great teams. We respect them a great deal and I think they respect us, too.?? The Mavericks proved they truly are playoff ready with 30 points and 15 rebounds by Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd?s 103rd career triple-double, 23 points by Jason Terry and a comeback from 14 points down in

FRANK Lampard fears the influence Lionel Messi will have on Chelsea's Champions League semi-final following the loss of Ashley Cole.

Don Newcombe likes the diversity on the Dodgers, with six African Americans now wearing Dodgers blue. But forward motion comes in drips and drabs. 'Have you seen what we've got now?' asks Don Newcombe, sitting proudly in the stands at Dodger Stadium on a Wednesday night that was bathed in symbolism and dedicated to his great friend: Jackie Robinson. 'We've got some real numbers now. I wasn't even really aware of it until Frank McCourt told me the other day . . . we're making progress.'