PHILLIES SHUTOUT DODGERS WITH DOMINANCE

Cliff Lee dominated the Dodgers, giving up only 3 hits, while Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth provided the big swings early and the Philadelphia Phillies cruised past Los Angeles 11-0 Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the NL championship series. Lee became the only pitcher in postseason history to have 10-plus strikeouts with no walks while not allowing a run in a game.

5 ERRORS, 13 INNINGS & YANKS WALK-OFF WET

The Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels for the second straight night to take a 2-0 lead in the ALCS, as the series shifts to Anaheim Monday. New York scored the winning run on a throwing error by Maicer Izturis in bottom of the 13th inning, the second error of the game for the Angels and the fifth overall.

ERRORS LIFT NEW YORK & LA AT HOME
C. C. Sabathia kept the Angels stuck in their tracks for eight innings of a 4-1 Yankees victory, allowing four hits and striking out seven with a walk, as Angels errors proved costly. The Dodgers scored two runs in the eighth inning to eke out a 2-1 victory against the Phillies after a throwing error by second baseman Chase Utley. On a night of errors for the teams wearing red, the teams in blue gained ground. The Yankees lead the ALCS 1-0, and the Dodgers have tied the NLCS, which moves to Phildaelphia for Game 3 Sunday.

PHILLIES TAKE GAME 1 WITH EASE
The Phildelphia Phillies seized momentum as Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez homered, and Ryan Howard upped his career playoff RBI total to a franchise-best 18. Closer Brad Lidge and the Philadelphia bullpen hung on to help carry the defending champs past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 in Game 1 of the NLCS in LA.

STAGE SET AS LA AWAITS NLCS
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are set to square off in a highly anticipated National League Championship Series tomorrow at Dodger Stadium. The rematch of last year this time favors the Dodgers. With home field advantage, Clayton Kershaw and Randy Wolf in the rotation, left-handed answers to the potent left-handed bats of Philadelphia sluggers Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, the Dodgers have the edge. Last year, Los Angeles started right-handed pitchers in all five games. Game 1's first pitch is 5:07.

NEW YORK HUNGRY FOR 27TH RING

Not only are the New York Yankees looking for their first World Series title in 9 years, but they are battling the Angels Friday at the ready-to-go Yankee Stadium (above) for their chance at putting their brand new ballpark into the World Series spotlight in its very first season. The city that never sleeps is bursting with anticipation for its first ALCS since the Yankees infamously squandered their 3-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in 2004. The Yankees have never played the Los Angeles Angels in a best-of-seven series.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~ANOTHER LATE RALLY PROPELS PHILLIES TO NLCS

After the Rockies rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 4-2 lead, all seemed over in Game 4. Thunderous celebration echoed in the stands of Coors Field, and Huston Street, the hero of Game 2, was in to close the door. But, instead, for the second consecutive night, Street collapsed and the Phillies rallied- this time for three runs of their own. The 5-4 lead stuck and Brad Lidge put away the final out. For the second consecutive year, the Philadelphia Phillies are headed to the NLCS with a shot at repeating 2008. The Colorado Rockies were the only series-losing team to win a game of the 2009 Division Serieses. But, the sour defeats of the last two nights mean heartbreak for Denver's faithful- yet to see Colorado win a championship in one of America's most hardcore sports towns. Instead, Philadelphia is celebrating its date with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2009 National Leauge Championship series.

YANKEES, ANGELS TO BATTLE FOR AL CHAMPIONSHIP

With respective sweeps of the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red

Sox, the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees have advanced to the American League Championship Series to be broadcast nationally on FOX starting Friday. The Angels had never beaten Boston ina postseason series. The Yankees had lost three consecutive Division Series. Both teams exorcised those demons with road victories Sunday to put themselves in what is sure to be a dramatic ALCS. For video of the Angles victory, click here. For video of the Yankees victory, click here.

WITH EVERYONE WATCHING, TEBOW AND GATORS STUN TIGERS

A true Cinderella story. Two weeks after sustaining a concussion, Tim Tebow — and Florida’s swarming defense — silenced L.S.U. Tebow tossed a go-ahead 24-yard touchdown pass in a 13-3 victory that could have been the Gators’ toughest regular-season test. Tebow completed 11 of 16 passes for 134 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 38 yards. The game broke college football television rating records and stormed a unprecedented media and blog frenzy that shut down over a dozen websites with traffic. The story even overshadowed the Los Angeles Dodgers sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and advancement into the National Leauge Championship Series.

YANKEES & ANGELS UP 2-0 IN ALDS

In a classic comeback for the ages Friday night at Yankee Stadium, the Minnesota Twins fell victim to the bats of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Texiteria. After A-Rod tied the game with a two-run bottom-of-the-ninth bomb into center field, New York forced extra innings. An hour later, Mark Texteria led of the bottom of the 11th inning with a walk-off long ball into the left field corner to give the Yankees a triumphant victory and 2-0 series lead. On the other side of the country, the Los Angeles Angels rocked the West Coast, joining the Dodgers with a 2-0 division series lead after defeating the Boston Red Sox 4-1 with an explosive 7th inning. The Rockies and Phillies are set to break a 1-1 series tie when they square off in front of a cold, loud and routy Denver crowd Saturday night at Coors Field.

ERROR COSTS ST. LOUIS GAME AS DODGERS TAKE COMMANDING SERIES LEAD AFTER CLASSIC COME FROM BEHIND WALK-OFF

St. Louis' Matt Holliday dropped James Loney's slicing line drive with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that would have ended the game. With the reprieve, Ronnie Belliard singled off Ryan Franklin to tie the score and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta singled home Casey Blake for a stunning 3-2 Dodgers win over the Cardinals in Game 2 of the NL Division Series. The Dodgers will go for a series sweep Saturday in Missouri. Check out a fantastic slideshow of the Dodgers win. In other postseason news, the Rockies evened things up with the Phillies after a nail-biting 5-4 win at Citizens Bank Park, giving them the home field advantage as the series shifts to Denver Saturday. And, to cap off Thursday's action, the Angels shut out the Red Sox 5-0 to take a 1-0 series lead in Anaheim.

PLAYOFFS BEGIN WITH 3 HOME WINS

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-1 behind Cliff Lee's complete game 4-hitter, the New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins 7-2 behind C.C Sabathia's gem and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 to cap off a long day of postseason baseball. All three Division Series's Game 1s were won by the home team. Above, Derek Jeter homered as the Yankees improved to 8-0 against Minnesota in the year 2009. Click here to read about the Phillies victory, the Yankees victory or the Dodgers victory.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

TWINS WALK-OFF CHAMPS AFTER BATTLE FOR AGES

The Minnesota Twins are champions of the American League Central and are facing the New York Yankees in the 2009 Division Series. After coming out victorious in their 12 inning 163rd game of the season, the Twins forced the Detroit Tigers out of contention. In the classic see-saw battle, the Twins used home runs, triples and sensational defense to defeat their division rivals. Winning 17 of their last 21 games, the Twins have put the Metrodome into the postseason in its final year as their home. After the game, fans and players celebrated for hours inside sport's nosiest venue. Read the full recap of the historic game. Watch a video of the walk-off.

REGULAR SEASON COMES TO CLOSING

The 2009 regular season has come to a end. In a year of tragedy, triumph, disaster, misery and celebration, two majestic ballparks opened, one is set to close and 8 are headed to the postseason with teams from across the country making trips looking for anything from their twenty seventh title to their first. Notably, the Orioles lost 13 consecutive games, and the longest winning streak of the season was held, surprisingly, by the Padres. Above, Citi Field, home of the Mets will not shine into the postseason but made itself noticed in its first year to impress (with big crowds and beautiful sunsets, at least). The first postseason game is tomorrow, as the Tigers and Twins face off in a one-game playoff to determine the American League Central championship.

UNSTOPPABLE SAINTS WIN BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATED & TRUMP NEW YORK

A vastly improved defense with a penchant for big plays has the New Orleans Saints undefeated through four games for the first time since 1993. Darren Sharper returned one of his two interceptions of rookie Mark Sanchez 99 yards for a score, Will Smith forced a fumble in the end zone to produce a second defensive touchdown, and New Orleans handed the New York Jets their first loss, 24-10 on Sunday.

DODGERS LIFT NL WEST CROWN

With their 5-0 defeat of the Colorado Rockies in front of a routy sell-out at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles secured a National League West crown and a return to the playoffs with the 7th spot. The Rockies, obtaining the 6th spot through the Wild Card will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS while the Dodgers will face the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Tigers, vying for the 8th and final spot, fell to the White Sox 5-1, which combined with the Twins 5-4 victory over Kansas City extend the crowning of the American League Central champion until tomorrow afternoon as Justin Verlander is on the hill against John Danks for Chicago. For Minnesota, Carl Pavano squares off against Luke Hochevar for the Royals. If both teams win or lose, a 1 game playoff will determine the champion. If one wins and one loses, the winning team will advance to the ALDS.

TWINS HANGING ON BY A THREAD

The Twins opened the Metrodome's final series with Friday's 10-7 win over the Royals, paring their AL Central deficit to one game behind Delmon Young's first-inning grand slam. The Tigers loss, 8-0 to the White sox put the Twins within reach of the AL West crown. With two games left for both teams, the crown will be determined Saturday or Sunday.

ROCKTOBER RETURNS TO SPORTS

It's a Rocktober redux for the Colorado Rockies, who are back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. Aaron Cook pitched four-hit ball over eight spectacular innings in his second start since missing a month with a sore shoulder, and Garrett Atkins drove in three runs for the Rockies in a 9-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

PHILLIES GRASP 3RD CONSECUTIVE DIVISION TITLE

Combining a Braves loss with their 10-3 win over the Houston Astros, The Philadelphia Phillies celebrated their third consecutive National League East Division Championship at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia Wednesday night. Check out the fans reaction to Raul Ibanez's home run which gave the Phillies a seven run lead. Meanwhile, the Rockies broke their single season attendance record and reduced their Wild Card magic number to 1 with their win over Milwaukee.

CUBS GO 101 YEARS WITHOUT TITLE

Finishing the 2009 season far behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs extended their title-less drought after the Rockies' 7-5 walk-off win over the Brewers in 11 innings knocked them out of playoff contention. The Texas Rangers met the same fate Tuesday night, falling to the AL Western Division Angels 5-2 to complete their elimination from the Wild Card race. The Florida Marlins were also finished by the Rockies victory.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

ANGELS CHAMPIONS OF THE WEST

A season that began with some of the darkest days in franchise history reached familiar territory Monday night as the Angels clinched their fifth division title in the past six seasons with an 11-0 victory over the Texas Rangers. Rocked by the tragic death of Nick Adenhart and battered by a steady stream of injuries, the Angels were a losing team in April (the only losing month in the past 20 for the team) and tethered to .500 as late as June 11. But they went 63-35 after that to reach the 90-victory plateau for the seventh time in the past nine seasons and qualify for the post-season for the sixth time in the past eight. The Angels are the first team to win the A.L. West title in three consecutive seasons since the Oakland A’s in 1988-90.

FARVE HEROIC FOR UNDEFEATED MINNESOTA

The end was as good as the Vikings could have imagined: Brett Favre zipped a pass to a little-used reserve wide receiver in the back of the end zone in the final seconds for a classic Favre finish. The Vikings remain undefeated at 3-0. In other news, the New York Yankees grasped an American League East Championship, with their 100th victory of the season, 4-2 over the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx, and Micheal Vick triumphantly lifted the Eagles in his Philadelphia debut.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

CARDINALS CLINCH 2009 CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field to clinch a division championship yet again. The 6-3 victory was the Cardinals 90th of the year. Slideshow

YANKEES CLINCH, BREAK HOME RUN RECORD, CRUSH RIVAL SOX

It was all Yankees in the playoff-clinching opener between the Bombers and Red Sox. Alex Rodriguez led the way with four RBIs, even hitting the Yanks' 127th long ball at Yankee Stadium, breaking the club record from 2004 and '05.

S. CAROLINA UPSETS UNCHARACTERISTICALLY SHAKY MISSISSIPPI

Fourth-ranked Mississippi is going to take abuse and ridicule for its pathetic performance in a 16-10 loss to unranked South Carolina. The win for South Caroilina, however, is huge news for a University not known for dramatic upsets or nationally televised victories.

WALK-OFF GIVES MARLINS SERIES OVER 1ST PLACE PHILLIES & BIG PUSH UP IN WILD CARD

Down to their last out and desperately needing a victory, the Marlins beat Brad Lidge and the Phillies, 7-6, on Brett Carroll's clutch RBI single after Jorge Cantu's single tied the game. Lidge's rough season has handed him 11 blown saves. ESPN put Wednesday's game as the #1 story online.

TAMPA BAY ELIMINATED

After a triumphant last-to-first American League Championship in 2008, the Rays could not follow with another dominating season, falling short of the Wild Card and finishing in third place in the AL East. Their demise was brought on primarily by an 11 game losing streak in early September that put them out of the playoff picture. With a loss to Seattle 4-3 tuesday, the fall was made official.

ANGLES GIVE YANKEES A TASTE OF

AN OCTOBER THAT COULD BE

Vying for the American League's top record, the Halos moved to four games behind the Yankees in the loss column with Monday's 5-2 victory, which saw Joe Saunders go 8 1/3 innings. Vlad Guerrero, the face of Anaheim hit an RBI double, and celebrated above. The Angels are 5-2 against the Yankees in 2009, now 4-0 at home.

GIANTS STEAL SHOW IN COWBOY'S STADIUM DEBUT

The Cowboys went ahead 31-30 on a touchdown run by Felix Jones with 3:40 left, but a field goal by kicker Lawrence Tynes, right, sealed the victory for the Giants at the last second. Eli Manning struggled but found a groove with receivers Steve Smith and Mario Manningham in the Giants’ victory at the new Cowboys Stadium.

RED HOT TWINS FIGHTING FOR

DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the 8th inning facing a dominating Justin Verlander, the game seemed over for Minnesota. But a fly ball lost in the roof Saturday helped as Jason Kubel's two run single gave the Twins a 3-2 lead. Then Michael Cuddyer came through with a 3-run-home run (Video). to beat the Tigers, 6-2, and draw Minnesota within two games of Detroit in the AL Central.

FRESNO FALLS AS BOISE TAKES CLASSIC

Jeremy Avery scored on a 67-yard screen pass and added a 74-yard run, providing just two of the many highlight-reel plays in No. 10 Boise State's 51-34 victory over Fresno State on Friday night.

THE BRAVES WIN AGAIN

The Atlanta Braves overtook the Marlins in the NL East and Wild Card races with their sweep-completing 7-3 victory over the Mets on Thursday, which also extended Atlanta's win streak to seven games. The Braves now have to face the first place Philadelphia Phillies this weekend.

MARLINS HAVE PLAYOFFS IN SIGHT

Florida defeated St. Louis 5-2 Wednesday at Bushe Stadium. The Marlins have won 6 of their last 8 games and find themselves only 4.5 games out of the National Leauge Wild Card after their victory over the Cardinals.

DICE K DOMINANT AS RED SOX EXTEND WILD CARD LEAD, WIN STREAK AND PLAYOFF PUSH

The Boston Red Sox are slowly crushing the Texas Rangers hopes of a dream season. With a six game winning streak, the Red Sox have built a 5 game lead in the AL Wild Card. Daisuke Matsuzaka dominated Tuesday night's game at fenway as Boston defeated the Los Angeles Angles 4-1 for their sixth consecutive victory. Meanwhile, as the race heats up in Major Leauge Baseball's postseason hunt, a dozen teams now find themselves eliminated from contention, including teams predicted to go far early on like the Mariners, Mets, and Blue Jays. Plagued by injuries and failures to preform in the clutch, many teams find themselves far behind the herd. The Rangers could soon join if they don't make a big push into October.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

DEL PORTO DEFEATS FEDERER, STUNS WORLD

Sixth-seeded Juan Martín Del Potro upset Roger Federer, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and claimed the men’s singles title, which Federer won the past five years. The see-saw match was a true open classic.

BEARS FACE DEVASTATING BLOW

Brian Urlacher, who suffered a broken wrist after play Sunday, will be out for the season. As the Chicago Bears star linebacker, Urlacher defined himself over the off-season as the core player on the team. Without him, the Bears could be doomed to no playoffs in 2009. In a text message sent to the Chicago Tribune Monday, Brian Urlacher said: "season is over.'' While the big news came out of Sunday's NFL action, huge things came out of the U.S Open as well, including a championship victory for Kim Clijsters.

SERENA'S SHOCKING EXPLOSION LEADS TO EJECTION

Serena Williams, at the end of Saturday's semifinals against Kim Clijsters, went crazy. After a bad call by the lineswoman, Serena shouted in disgust "I will take this fucking ball and shove it down your fucking throat". This was her second penalty of the match, and resulted in her ejection and a win for Clijsters. The match, which was at first a phenomenal battle took a turn for the ugly when Williams lost it, and shortly after, she could be heard exclaiming "I did not say I would kill you! Are you kidding me?" before she walked off the court to cheers and jeers from the New York audience. The anger-charged barrage, Serena says, was inspired by John Macenroe, who later stated that even he could not defend Williams, calling her actions "indefensible". Bloggers went crazy as the story broke big and hit the internet hard.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

GIANTS FADING AWAY AS DODGERS HOLD FIRST

The Los Angles Dodgers, who have suddenly found themselves battling to stay atop the National League West as the red-hot Colorado Rockies have won 8 straight games to inch 2 games within first, held their ground as they defeated their division rivals in San Francisco. The Giants, who feel 10-3 Friday night at AT&T Park, are now 5.5 games out of the wild card and 7.5 games back in the west. With New York's headlines dominated by Derek Jeter's franchise-

leading hit and the US open's rain-forced postponements, the major's west

coast race dominated news in LA. Hiroki Kuroda tossed eight superb innings while James Loney and Casey Blake combined for six RBIs as baseball remembered September 11th, 2001 with patriotic caps in all 15 games Friday. Check out more photos from the huge win.

PITTSBURGH KICKS OFF SEASON WITH BIG WIN & BIGGER INJURY

The defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Tenessee Titans in overtime to jump start the NFL season with a win, but safety Troy Polamalu injured his left knee and could miss three to six weeks.

JETER TIES GEHRIG'S HIT RECORD

Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's Yankees all time hit record Wednesday night as New York won their fourth straight game over the Tampa Bay Rays. With the best record in the Majors at 91-50, the Yankees, who have won 9 of their last 11, are just one victory away from becoming the first team in the majors to reach 50 home wins. Derek Jeter is just one hit away from becoming the all-time Yankees hit leader. As one of the greatest athletes of all time, Jeter has put together all 2119 hits as a member of the greatest team in sports history, the New York Yankees.

MURRARY FALLS IN YET ANOTHER UPSET

With monumental upsets occurring every day and night at this year's US Open in New York, the question of who will take the titles becomes harder and harder to predict. As mens action moves into the quarterfinals, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, both top seeded players, won't be participating. Murrary, seeded number two, fell to Marin Cilic Tuesday in straight sets in perhaps the most shocking upset yet. Now, Cilic draws del Potro in the quarterfinals after del Potro advanced with a dominating 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero in their fourth-round match. In another womens upset Tuesday, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark upset sixth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

COLORADO EXTENDS LEAD

Putting an end to the Cincinatti Reds seven game winning streak Monday, the Colorado Rockies won their fourth consecutive 4-3 at Coors Field. They now have a two game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card race and hold one of the best records in the majors, 18 games above .500. Ian Stewart, pictured above, homered.

~STORY OF THE WEEK~

IN BIZZARE MATCH, VENUS FALLS TO CLIJSTERS

In the strangest upset the 2009 US Open has seen thus far, Kim Clijsters defeated Venus Williams 6-0, 0-6, 6-4. For the first two sets, it was as if the players switched roles entirely from dominant to dominated. The third set was a normal, competitive one, but Clijsters came out victorious. The stark unevenness and immense contrast between all three sets was perhaps the oddest event the Open has seen in years, but upsets themselves have been the hallmark of this years tournament, with top contenders being eliminated early on. Venus's fall is the latest in many star players eliminated early. Article

UPSETS CONTINUE AS INSER TRUMPS RODDICK

The 55th-ranked John Isner smacked 38 aces to beat Andy Roddick, the 2003 Open champion. The upset over No. 5 ranked Roddick was a shocker and as the match went on, the crowd shifted from heavily pro-Roddick to underdog-supporting Isner.

DENT PUTS ON CLASSIC SHOW AT OPEN

Taylor Dent and Ivan Navarro, in a classic throwback of serve-and-volleyers that started in the late afternoon and ended in darkness, played one of the most dramatic and entertaining matches of this United States Open from the opening volley until the fifth-set tie breaker. After 4 hours 12 minutes, Dent’s comeback from back surgery continued apace as he ousted Navarro with a stirring 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (1), 7-5, 7-6 (9) victory.There were 255 combined net approaches by Taylor Dent, above, and Ivan Navarro - a staggering number in today’s world of baseline sluggers.

MAJOR UPSET LAUNCHES OUDIN INTO THIRD ROUND

Melanie Oudin defeated Elena Dementieva for a dramatic 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win Thursday in the second round of the US Open. Looking fierce and at times dominant, Oudin upset Dementieva to advance to the third round.

SERENA, FEDERER AND NADAL OPEN WITH COMPLETE MASTERY

Roger Federer and Rafeal Nadal, who have never met in a U.S Open championship match despite classic grand slam thrillers in all four major tournaments both won in straight sets Wednesday to advance to the second round. Serena Williams, whose match lasted only 53 minutes defeated Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-1, 6-1. Article/Recap

RANGERS BATTLING FOR SPOT, DOMINATING HOME

The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 5-2 for the second straight night and pushed within three and a half games of the American Leauge Wild Card behind the Boston Red Sox. The Rangers are 43-25 at home this season.