Shane Victorino and the Philadelphia Phillies struck back with long balls rather than beanballs to move within one win of the World Series. That's the way they've played it all year. After ducking a pitch thrown over his head the previous day, Victorino and much-traveled pinch-hitter Matt Stairs delivered two-run homers in the eighth inning Monday night, lifting the Phillies to a 7-5 victory over...

Through weeks of frustration, injuries and a near-quarterback change, the Cleveland Browns never lost hope in this season. On Monday night, they may have saved it. With quarterback Derek Anderson outplaying Eli Manning, Braylon Edwards making big catches and Eric Wright returning an interception 94 yards for a touchdown, the Browns won on Monday night for the first time since 1993, ending New...

B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and the rest of the Tampa Bay Rays have quickly become a playoff monster. Upton hit a three-run home run and Longoria also homered off a suddenly shaky Jon Lester, then Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena cleared the Green Monster later Monday to give the Rays a 9-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox and a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.

Tommy Bowden decided he'd done all he could do for Clemson football, telling his athletic director Monday he'd step aside for the future of the program. AD Terry Don Phillips said his intent Monday morning was to have a candid, heart-to-heart with Bowden about the football team. So Phillips was surprised when Bowden offered to walk away in midseason.

Alexei Cherepanov, a 19-year-old first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, died Monday during a Continental Hockey League game in Russia. Former Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr played a shift with Cherepanov and was talking to his young Avangard Omsk teammate on the bench shortly after they left the ice, when Cherepanov suddenly collapsed, said a Rangers spokesman who talked to Jagr.