Former Yanks great Murcer dies at 62  —  Bobby Murcer, a personable, popular five-time All-Star who went on to a successful broadcasting career with the New York Yankees, died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer.  He was 62.  —  After experiencing a general lack of energy …

Game 94: Yankees at Blue Jays  —  YANKEES (49-44)  —  BLUE JAYS (46-47)  —  Darrell Rasner (4-7, 4.94) vs. the Toronto hitters.  —  Jesse Litsch (8-5, 4.01) vs. the New York hitters.  —  Notes: The Yankees are 0-2 on their road trip, having scored two runs in the two games. ...

Seattle's Ibanez on Mets' radar for outfield help  —  Now that the Mets know Moises Alou isn't coming around the corner, they can turn their attention to trading for a replacement before the July 31 non-waivers deadline.  —  One name on the Mets' radar, according to a baseball official, is Seattle leftfielder Raul Ibañez.

Ortiz expects to play July 25 … BOSTON (AP) — David Ortiz is expected to return to Boston's lineup in less than two weeks.  —  Manager Terry Francona said Saturday that Ortiz is tentatively scheduled to return to the team on July 25, the opening game of a weekend series at Fenway against the New York Yankees.

Notes for tonight's game against the Orioles  —  The Red Sox and the Orioles play game two of their three-game series at 7:05 p.m. The O's took last night's game 7-3, snapping the Sox three-game winning streak and also snapping the O's five-game losing streak.

Harden Ks 10 in debut, Cubs win in 11  —  CHICAGO (AP)—Rich Harden left his Cubs debut to a standing ovation with Chicago ahead by seven runs.  The game, however, was far from over.  —  Harden struck out 10 for the Cubs, who gave up two runs in the eighth and then blew a five-run lead …

FUENTES PREFERS YANKEES  —  Rockies closer Brian Fuentes heard enough rumors about a potential future with the Mets that he recently sought out Amazin's counterpart Billy Wagner for advice.  —  The left-handed Fuentes can become a free agent after this season, and the Mets are pursuing …

MLB trade deadline looms: Will Braves move Teixeira?  —  Big-money offers from big-market teams likely for future free agent  —  San Diego — The July 31 trade deadline nears and The Question looms: Will the Braves trade Mark Teixeira?  —  “I would say right now we're more concerned …

Rays ace Kazmir blasts teammates' focus  —  CLEVELAND — LHP Scott Kazmir accused teammates of paying more attention to their competitors' results than their own play and said that is a primary reason for the Rays' recent struggles.  —  “We've got to worry about ourselves and concentrate …

Can Of Corn  —  Double Standards  —  The unfortunate reality—both now and throughout recent decades—is that football as the NFL practices it is the most popular sport in the United States.  There's no accounting for taste, of course, but this fact nonetheless speaks ill of our ability …

Reading between the lines of Dodgers' demise  —  Al Campanis' ‘The Dodger Way to Play Baseball’ was a template for decades of success, but they stopped playing by the book after the O'Malleys sold the team 10 years ago.  —  Branch Rickey disciple Al Campanis wrote “The Dodger Way to Play Baseball” in 1954.

Easley homers, Mets win seventh straight  —  NEW YORK (AP)—The pain rippled through Damion Easley's leg as he twisted away from an inside pitch.  The New York Mets second baseman needed to take a few extra moments before stepping back in the batter's box.  —  Easley bought enough …