National Digest
Farewell
NEW YORK (AP) — Even Yogi Berra knew this was the end.
As baseball said farewell to Yankee Stadium, one of the game’s most beloved players stood beneath the stands in a full vintage uniform. Now 83, the man who coined the phrase “it ain’t over till it’s over” put his own stamp on the day.
“I’m sorry to see it over, I’ll tell you that,” Berra said.
The goodbye completed an 85-year-old run for the home of baseball’s most famous team. What began with a Babe Ruth home run on an April afternoon in 1923 ended with Mariano Rivera retiring Brian Roberts on a grounder to first baseman Cody Ransom, completing a 7-3 victory over Baltimore on a warm September night.
Biffle wins
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Greg Biffle made it 2-for-2 in the Chase for the championship, making another late pass — this time with nine laps to go — and holding off Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
Roush Fenway Racing teammates Biffle, Kenseth and Edwards engaged in a thrilling run over the final 20 laps at Dover International Speedway, but Biffle made another textbook move to the outside late to pull away.
Biffle, the winner last week at New Hampshire after passing Jimmie Johnson with 12 laps left, is third in the Chase points standings. Biffle and Johnson are both 10 points behind Edwards for the lead, but Johnson holds the tiebreaker.
Cubs clinch
CHICAGO (AP) — The Cubbies are in. Now, how far can they go?
The Chicago Cubs clinched their second straight NL Central title Saturday, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 behind Ted Lilly’s seven innings at rocking Wrigley Field.
The 41,597 fans jammed into the old neighborhood ballpark were ready to party as they watched the Cubs earn back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since they participated in three straight World Series from 1906-08.
And no one can forget 1908. That’s the last time the Cubs won the World Series, a 100-year championship drought they’ve been hearing about since they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round a year ago by Arizona.
Ryder Cup
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — U.S. captain Paul Azinger sprinted up the stairs to the clubhouse balcony and grabbed the biggest bottle of champagne he could find to join an American celebration he felt was a long time coming in the Ryder Cup.
They didn’t need a miracle putt or an amazing comeback like their last victory in 1999. They didn’t even need Tiger Woods.
Strong as a team and equally mighty on their own, the Americans rode the emotion of a flag-waving crowd and their Kentucky heroes on Sunday to take back the Ryder Cup with a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory over Europe.
Kenny Perry, the 48-year-old native son who dreamed of playing a Ryder Cup before a Bluegrass crowd, delivered a 3-and-2 victory that was part of an early push that swung momentum toward the U.S. team.
J.B. Holmes, legendary in these parts for making his high school team in tiny Campbellsville as a third-grader, showed off his awesome power with two final birdies that set up the Americans for victory.
The clinching point, appropriately, came from Jim Furyk.
He felt hollow six years ago at The Belfry as Paul McGinley made a par putt that clinched victory for Europe, the first of three straight victories that extended its domination of a passionate event that Americans once owned.
For all the birdies and spectacular shots over three inspirational days at Valhalla, the Ryder Cup ended with handshake.
Miguel Angel Jimenez conceded a short par putt, giving Furyk a 2-and-1 victory and the Americans the 14 1/2 points they needed to show they can win on golf’s biggest stage — and without Tiger Woods, out for the year with a knee surgery but staying involved by text messaging Azinger throughout the final day.
Anthony Kim set the tone by handing Sergio Garcia his worst loss ever in the Ryder Cup and keeping him winless at Valhalla. Boo Weekley galloped off the first tee using his driver as a toy horse, drawing laughter for his antics and cheers for his birdies.
Hunter Mahan, who criticized the Ryder Cup earlier this year as a money-making machine, was the only player to go all five matches without losing at Valhalla. His match was the only one to reach the 18th green, all because of a 60-foot birdie putt from Mahan that slammed into the back of the cup on the 17th hole.
He wound up with a halve against Paul Casey, and a new appreciation for this event.
Ben Curtis and Chad Campbell, the final player picked for this U.S. team, won the final two matches against Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington for a lopsided score that for the last three years had been posted in European blue.
It was the largest margin of victory for the Americans since 1981.
GOLF
Viking Classic
MADISON, Miss. (AP) — A day after blowing a lead with a triple bogey on the final hole, Will MacKenzie birdied the par-5 18th three straight times to win the Viking Classic in a playoff for his second PGA Tour victory.
A free spirit who dropped out of golf for almost 10 years and lived in his van for five, MacKenzie rallied to beat Marc Turnesa on the second playoff hole after Brian Gay dropped out on the first extra hole. At the second extra hole, MacKenzie two-putted from 63 feet for birdie, and won when Turnesa missed his 18-footer.
MacKenzie, who lost the third-round lead after a triple bogey on 18 that included a two penalty strokes, birdied three of the last four holes of regulation for a 4-under 68 to match Turnesa (70) and Gay (68) at 19-under 269 on the Annandale course.
Also the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open winner, MacKenzie earned $648,000.
TENNIS
MADRID, Spain (AP) — The U.S. reign as Davis Cup champion ended, with an ailing Rafael Nadal beating Andy Roddick in a straight-sets victory that sent Spain to the final for the sixth time.
The top-ranked player won 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 on a clay court at the Las Ventas bullfighting arena, giving Spain an insurmountable lead in the best-of-five format.
Spain will play for the title against Argentina.
Nadal said after the match he nearly didn’t play because an MRI scan Saturday showed a strained buttock muscle.
In the finale, Feliciano Lopez defeated Sam Querrey 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in a meaningless match to complete a 4-1 victory.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina eliminated Russia in the Davis Cup when Juan Martin del Potro defeated Igor Andreev to set up a championship showdown with Spain in November.
Del Potro won 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 to give Argentina a 3-2 victory in the semifinal. In the first reverse singles, Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko evened the score at 2-2 when he beat David Nalbandian 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-0 in a match between top-10 players.
This will be Argentina’s third appearance in the Davis Cup final and its first as host.
