National Digest

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Sister match NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams barely got the better of older sister Venus Williams in a U.S. Open quarterfinal that was fit for a final, coming back in each set to win 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7) Wednesday and break a tie in their head-to-head series. In the semifinals, the fourth-seeded Serena will meet No. 6 Dinara Safina, who advanced earlier in the day by overpowering No. 16 Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3. No. 2 Jelena Jankovic will face No. 5 Elena Dementieva in Friday’s other semifinal. The start of the latest all-Williams showdown was delayed by more than an hour because of two lengthy matches that preceded it on the tournament’s main court, including No. 6 Andy Murray’s four-set victory over No. 17 Juan Martin del Potro in the men’s quarterfinals. The long day was capped by No. 1 Rafael Nadal’s 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win against unseeded American Mardy Fish in a quarterfinal that didn’t even start until 11:30 p.m. and concluded with the scoreboard showing 2:10 a.m., making it the third-latest finish in tournament history. NFL kickoff NEW YORK (AP) — Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield are kicking off the NFL season with a free concert that’s expected to draw thousands to Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. They are scheduled to perform Thursday afternoon. A video about the Super Bowl champion New York Giants will be shown before the NFL Kickoff show. Traffic at the busy intersection at the foot of Central Park is expected to come to a virtual stop as fans and speakers — including Mayor Michael Bloomberg — turn out for the event. The NFL will air portions of the concert live on its network prior to Thursday night’s game between the Giants and the Washington Redskins at Giants Stadium. Rays lose By The Associated Press Tampa Bay lost to the New York Yankees 8-4 on Wednesday night and had its AL East lead over Boston cut to three games, after the Red Sox rallied to beat Baltimore 5-4. The Rays have now lost the first two games of the series to New York, which trails Boston by seven games for the wild card. Astros rolling By The Associated Press The Houston Astros have won eight straight games for the second time in less than a month. The Chicago Cubs have lost five in a row for the first time this season. Randy Wolf threw a six-hitter for his first shutout in more than four years in the Astros’ 4-0 win over the Cubs on Wednesday night. Houston won eight straight from Aug. 7-14. The second winning streak has the Astros back in the NL wild card picture, 6 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Postponed BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU postponed its football game against Troy after Hurricane Gustav damaged Tiger Stadium and battered Louisiana’s capital city far worse than anticipated. The university made the decision Wednesday after having a full day to get a handle on damage to the stadium and the community, much of which is expected to be without power into next week. The seventh-ranked Tigers’ game against the Trojans will be played Nov. 15. BASEBALL ST. PETERSBURG. Fla. (AP) — Baseball’s first use of instant replay backed an onfield call of a home run for Alex Rodriguez during the ninth inning of the New York Yankees game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. Third-base umpire Brian Runge signaled a home run after A-Rod’s towering, two-run shot off Troy Percival caromed off the catwalk behind the foul pole in left field. Rays catcher Dioner Navarro protested the call, bringing manager Joe Maddon out of the dugout. The umpires convened before leaving the field to check the replay on a monitor not far from the field. It took 2 minutes, 15 seconds to uphold the homer that gave the Yankees an 8-3 lead. Rodriguez was denied a homer on May 21 at Yankee Stadium on a ball that cleared the fence but was not ruled a home run. Baseball instituted replay for home run calls only last Thursday. GOLF CHEROKEE VILLAGE, Ark. (AP) — Tommy Bolt, the 1958 U.S. Open champion who had one of golf’s sweetest swings and most explosive tempers, has died. He was 92. His wife, Mary Lou Bolt, said he died Saturday after “his liver shut down.” Bolt won 15 times on the PGA Tour, with his lone major at Southern Hills in the 1958 by four shots over Gary Player. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002, which he called the highlight of his career. But it was temper that gained him the most notoriety. Bolt was called “Terrible Tommy” and “Thunder,” and he was often fined and suspended by the PGA Tour for slamming clubs and using abusive language. He set up a special fund from his earnings to pay the fines. PRO FOOTBALL FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady participated in the New England Patriots’ practice, a sign he’s expected to play in Sunday’s season opener after missing all four exhibition games. Wednesday’s practice report listed the quarterback with right shoulder and foot injuries. But last year’s practice reports listed him with the shoulder injury in every game and he started all of them. Brady has started 127 straight games, the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history. Brady had said Monday that his right foot has improved and he could have played in all four exhibition games. But he stopped short of saying he would play Sunday against Kansas City. OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Quarterback Kyle Boller was placed on injured reserve by the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday, ending his season and perhaps his stay with the team. Boller hurt his shoulder in Baltimore’s second preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings and has not played since. Coach John Harbaugh described the injury as either a torn labrum or other damage that would render Boller unable to play this year. Boller was to enter his sixth NFL season. COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells is not taking contact or putting pressure on his injured right foot but still holds out hope of playing this weekend. Team officials and doctors will huddle within the next day or two to decide if and when Wells will play next. The second-ranked Buckeyes play Ohio on Saturday, then travel to take on No. 1 Southern California on Sept. 13. PRO BASKETBALL OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Six weeks after the name first surfaced, team officials officially announced Wednesday that the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics would be known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The announcement had long been anticipated, but everyone knew what was coming. The local ABC affiliate reported in mid-July that Thunder had been chosen as the nickname. Then the NBA Web site listed NBA.com/thunder as a link to the Oklahoma City team’s page. Then the Orlando Magic’s site listed games against the Oklahoma City Thunder.