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But in a meeting Monday, Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona asked him to replace seven of his assistants, several executive committee members told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make public statements about the meeting.

Grondona and others asked Maradona to remove close friend and assistant Alejandro Mancuso along with six others. The Argentine sports newspaper Ole on Tuesday called Grondona's actions a "concealed goodbye." Grondona and Maradona have made no statements.

Maradona's contract with AFA ended with Argentina's humiliating 4-0 loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Two weeks ago, the AFA offered Maradona the chance to renew his contract for another four years. But Maradona put off meeting Grondona to travel to Venezuela. Maradona is friends with President Hugo Chavez, who extended an invitation.

Maradona also ruffled feathers in the Argentine government. President Cristina Fernandez twice invited Maradona to meet with her but the coach never responded to phone messages by her secretaries, cabinet chief Anibal Fernandez said last week.

Maradona's relationship with key figures in Argentine soccer is also tense. He kept leaders of AFA and businessmen with commercial ties to the organization from practices in South Africa while allowing reporters to enter.

Maradona's results as coach have been mixed. Since he took the job in November 2008, the team has played 15 games, with eight victories and seven losses. Two of the defeats rank among the worst in the team's history: the 4-0 loss to Germany in Cape Town and a 6-1 loss to Bolivia during World Cup qualifying in La Paz.

If Maradona resigns, Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella and Racing's Miguel Russo are likely candidates to succeed him. But an interim coach would likely be needed for an Aug. 11 exhibition game against Ireland in Dublin.



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Jones was transferred to the hospital June 29 after suffering serious injuries to his left leg and ankle in an early morning, single-car accident in New Orleans on June 24.

Jones has undergone several surgeries both in New Orleans and New York since the accident. He plans to rest and recuperate in New Orleans before returning to New York in several weeks and undergoing further surgery.

The Giants open training camp Sunday at the University at Albany. The team has neither made a roster move with Jones nor discussed how his injuries might affect his career.

Jones signed his contract about a week before the accident.

"Chad is in great spirits and excited to be getting out of the hospital," said Giants vice president of medical services Ronnie Barnes, who visited Jones on Tuesday morning. "All has gone well thus far for Chad, and he will return in probably six to eight weeks for another surgical procedure."

A two-sport star in college, Jones was injured when his SUV slammed into a pole in a dawn wreck.

Police were not able to test his blood-alcohol level before he went into surgery. Officers were able to interview Jones' two passengers, who had only minor injuries, and found no evidence that alcohol was a factor.

The hospital likely conducted its own blood or urine tests, but authorities have not decided whether to subpoena those, police said. Jones was cited for careless operation of a vehicle.

A play-making safety with the Tigers, Jones was part of LSU's 2007 national championship team and was a left-handed relief pitcher for the 2009 Tigers squad that won the College World Series. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers weeks after the Giants selected him in the NFL draft.



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Messerly says Huggins told him Sunday he was doing well.

Huggins injured himself in a fall in his Las Vegas hotel room Friday.

He was in Nevada on a recruiting trip.

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Yao missed last season after foot surgery. He tells Xinhua News Agency he doubts he will play at the 2012 London Olympics. He says if the injury does not heal next season he "might choose to call it quits."

Yao also says Chinese basketball administrators were too focused on the Beijing Olympics and neglected developmental teams and the domestic professional league.

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As Finch placed her cleats at home plate in a gesture symbolic of her retirement, she left a set of shoes no one may ever fill in the same way in the softball world.

Beyond being one of the game's most dominant pitchers, the blonde beauty has become recognizable even to those who didn't follow softball - attracting attention to the sport at a time when it is desperately needed. Softball has been dropped from the Olympics for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, drying up one primary means for funding the sport around the world and taking away its main platform to spread the game.

But while Finch doesn't plan to play for Team USA ever again, she isn't leaving the sport in the lurch. Through her own camps and whatever ambassador role she can fill, she plans to campaign to get softball back on the Olympic program - whether that's in 2020 or beyond.

"As far as being labeled 'the face,' 'the icon,' I don't know. I just love what I do. I love this sport, I love this game and I want to be able to give back as much as I can and do as much as I can," Finch said after her teammates bid her a tearful farewell.

"Maybe I have a platform, maybe I don't. But it doesn't matter what platform I have, I'm still going to give as much as I can on whatever level that is."

Fans stood throughout a postgame presentation to honor Finch, then lined up from her spot at the right-field foul pole halfway around the outfield for one final chance to spend a moment with softball's starlet. Even Japanese players stopped by to snap pictures with one of the game's most recognizable players.

She stuck around an extra 15 minutes and still didn't put a dent in the longest line of any player in the autograph session. As she walked back across the field, fans lined up behind the U.S. dugout - some of them rewarded with a high-five as Finch gathered her belongings before taking a family picture.

"I don't think Jennie will ever not be the face of softball," pitcher Monica Abbott said. "She carries it so well and she's done more, and I think that even though Jennie's retiring with her on-field skills, the limits are boundless for her. I think that we should all expect the best from her.

"I think that her impact on the game is going to jump up a level from here."

Mike Candrea still remembers when a skinny Finch arrived at Arizona and was unable to do even one lunge with a barbell - even without the weights on the end. She started out lifting a broomstick and worked her way into the form that allowed her to win an NCAA record 60 straight games, including the 2001 Women's College World Series title, under his tutelage.

"The thing that I want people to know is that she's more than just a good-looking young lady. She's crossed some barriers that a lot of people have not been able to, and it's not just because of her looks," said Candrea, who also coached Finch at two Olympics. "She's a fierce competitor that works very hard at what she does."

Where exactly she's headed now is to be determined. Finch plans to finish out the season with the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league, with her final game coming next month.

After that, her main focus is on spending more time with her husband, Casey Daigle, and 4-year-old son, Ace. Daigle, who pitches at the Triple-A level in the Houston Astros' organization, surprised Finch by showing up at her final game and handing her a bouquet.

The couple hope to have more children, but beyond that she wants to continue passing along the same experience she had while growing up as softball was just getting into the Olympics for the first time.

"I've been able to live my dreams out," said Finch, a 2004 gold medalist. "I can remember being in those shoes and dreaming of wearing USA."

Softball faces largely a political fight to get back into the Olympics, needing to convince the International Olympic Committee members who dropped it from the program to change their minds. Golf and rugby were added to the 2016 Games in a vote last year when softball pitched itself as a doping-free sport played in more than 120 countries that would bring more participation from women in the Olympics.

Finch's role in that campaign is unclear, but she's already proven she can win people over to the sport.

"I just want to continue to give, continue to give as much as I can because I've been given so much," Finch said. "I love being out on the field and inspiring young women and I hope to continue to do that in any and all ways, and I hope to be involved in this great game in any and all ways."



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"It's an exciting thought that the 2012 London Olympic Games are only two years away," said Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, Calif.), a three-time World champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 200 meters. "Making the U.S. National Team is an extremely challenging task, and I am training hard to make my third Olympic team. It's such an honor to represent my country and compete alongside the world's greatest athletes."

As usual, the storylines for Team USA will be many. Athletes like shooter Kim Rhode (pictured above) will be one story to follow as she aims to win her fifth consecutive Olympic medal in five Olympic Games - something no other U.S. Olympian from an individual sport has accomplished. Other athlete and sport storylines likely to unfold over the next two years are available here: 2012 Storylines.

With the Opening Ceremony on July 27, 2012, London will become the first city to stage the Olympic Games three times (1908, 1948 and 2012). Approximately 10,500 athletes from 205 nations are expected to participate in 26 sports, including the newest Olympic disciplines of women's boxing and mixed doubles in tennis.

BADMINTON: Bach & Gunawan Earn Bronze

The USA Badminton men's doubles team of Howard Bach (San Francisco, Calif./Orange, Calif.) and Tony Gunawan (Orange, Calif.) continued their strong showing on the international badminton tournament scene, this time with a bronze medal performance in men's doubles at the 2010 Yonex OCBC U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championships in Orange, Calif.

BASEBALL: 18U National Team 2-0 at Junior World Championships

John Simms (The Woodlands, Texas) struck out 11 in six shutout innings to lead the USA Baseball 18U National Team over Italy 10- 0 Sunday in USA's second game of the 2010 IBAF "AAA" (18U) World Junior Championships. USA scored 10 runs on eight hits to defeat Italy in seven innings due to the 10-run rule, improving the U.S. to 2-0 in pool play.

Team USA registered a team-best five doubles and was paced by Francisco Lindor's (Clermont, Fla.) 3-for-3 and two RBI performance.

The 18U National team will play their third game of pool play Monday at 7 p.m. against Chinese Taipei from Port Arthur Stadium. The U.S. will challenge Venezuela Tuesday at 7 p.m. and France Wednesday at 9:30 a.m to round out pool play. The medal rounds will begin July 30.

BASKETBALL: USA Women Capture Inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship Gold

Medal

Rolling undefeated through the inaugural 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship, the 2010 USA Women's U17 World Championship Team (8-0) capped its impressive performance with a 92-62 win over host France (5-3) in front of a raucous crowd in the tournament's gold-medal game on July 25 in Toulouse, France. The Americans had previously beaten the home team in its opening game of preliminary play back in Rodez, France on July 16.

For a fifth time in the eight-game tournament, all 12 U.S. players scored, led by 20 points and six assists from Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook H.S./Bolingbrook, Ill.), 15 points and five rebounds and three assists from Kaleena Lewis (Mater Dei H.S./Anaheim, Calif) and 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks from Elizabeth Williams (Princess Anne H.S./Virginia Beach, Va.).

Even though a pair of forwards led each team in scoring, depth and talent at the guard position, just as it had been throughout the USA Men's National Team's week-long training camp in Las Vegas, was on display in the USA White's 114-96 win over the USA Blue in the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.

Both teams, playing in the intra-squad scrimmage that concluded the USA National Team's 2010 Las Vegas training camp that opened July 20, combined to shoot 29-of-51 from 3-point range, and the White's 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) mark from behind the arc helped lead it to a 114-96 win in front of a crowd of 11,635 and an ESPN2 national broadcast.

The White's Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) led all scorers with 28 points, and was named the player of the game. Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies) led the Blue with 23 points.

BOWLING: Hamilton takes silver at World Youth Championships

Junior Team USA's Brittni Hamilton (Webster, N.Y.), earned the silver medal in girls singles Sunday in the opening event at the 2010 World Tenpin Bowling Association World Youth Championships. Hamilton's silver-medal finish was the highest in any event at the World Youth Championships for the Junior Team USA girls since 2004. The three-time Junior Team USA member lost in the gold medal match to Korea's Yeon-Ju Kim, 192-155.

DIVING: Olympian Mary Beth Dunnichay makes Junior World team; Ipsen picks up 15th junior national title

Kassidy Cook (The Woodlands, Texas) and Colten Young (Mission Viejo, Calif.) won their second titles Sunday at the 2010 USA Diving Junior National Championships.

2008 Olympian Mary Beth Dunnichay (Elwood, Ind.), David Bonuchi (Columbia, Mo.), Daria Lenz (Altadena, Calif.), Bryce Klein (Southlake, Texas) Kaylea Arnett (Spring, Texas), Dashiell Enos (Indianapolis, Ind.), Kristian Ipsen (Clayton, Calif.), and Nikki Watters (Santa Rosa, Calif.) also won national titles in the nine days of competition at the Hillenbrand Aquatic Center.

Dunnichay's win gives her a return trip to Tucson for the FINA World Junior Diving Championships in early September. Arnett, Bonuchi, Cook, Enos, Ipsen and Klein have also secured spots on the team while Toby Stanley (Conway, Ark.), Annika Lenz (Altadena, Calif.), Sarah Bacon (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Callan Buck (Keller, Texas) turned in a second-place showings to earn spots on the roster.

GYMNASTICS: Larson wins senior all-around crown at 2010 CoverGirl Classic

Mattie Larson (Los Angeles, Calif.), won the senior all-around competition at the 2010 CoverGirl Classic at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Ill. In the junior session, 2010 Pacific Rim Championships junior all-around champion Jordyn Wieber (DeWitt, Mich.), won the junior all-around title.

2008 Olympic team silver medalist Alicia Sacramone (Winchester, Mass.), made her first competitive appearance since the Olympic Games in Beijing and won the two events she competed in - beam (14.900) and vault (15.800). 2009 World and U.S. all-around champion Bridget Sloan (Pittsboro, Ind.), took second on beam (14.700).

JUDO: World Cup Victory for Eldred

Two-time Senior World Team member Michael Eldred (Fruitland, Idaho) won his fourth career World Cup medal in the 73kg division on Saturday at the Chinggis Khan World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

PENTATHLON: Isaksen, Brady capture gold at Nationals

Margaux Isaksen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and William Brady (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took home gold over the weekend at the 2010 USA Modern Pentathlon National Championships held in Colorado Springs.

Isaksen led through every phase of the event and relinquished her lead only once, through the running portion, to silver medalist Suzanne Stennius (Parkton, Md.). Brady, however, began the final event in fifth place and rallied for the victory with superb shooting at every stop of the combined stage.

ROWING: U.S. team flourishes at Under 23s

Medals at the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships were spread between 23 nations at the completion of the regatta in Brest, Belarus. The United States finished second overall behind perennial winner, Germany, and in the process set a couple of firsts.

The United States ended up with a total of seven medals which is the most medals that the country has ever won at an under 23 regatta. The previous record was in 2002 when the nation won four medals. The US set a further record by winning the first medal ever in single sculling at the under 23 level. Olympian Lindsay Meyer, 21, finished third in the women's single.

The gold medals for the United States were all won in women's sweep events. They made a clean sweep of these events by winning the women's pair, four and eight. The women's pair of Ashley Kroll and Felice Mueller was the only crew to set a new World best time at this year's regatta. Kroll and Mueller set the time when they raced last year's Under 23 World Champions, Romania in the final.

SAILING: USSDT's Erika Reineke Becomes Laser Radial Youth World Champion

US Sailing Development Team member Erika Reineke (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) continued her successful sailing streak this month by becoming the 2010 Laser Radial Youth World Champion. After winning a bronze medal at the 40th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 10 days ago, Reineke achieved another gold-medal victory with a race to spare and a healthy 27- point cushion, thanks to a string of first and second place finishes in the 44-boat girls fleet.

USOC, BMW Group Announce Six-Year Partnership

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and BMW Group announced Monday that BMW will be the Official Mobility Partner of the USOC from now through 2016. BMW Group will also be the Official Mobility Partner of four National Governing Bodies (NGBs): USA Bobsled & Skeleton, US Speedskating, USA Swimming and USA Track & Field.

Jack Pitney, Vice President of Marketing for BMW of North America; USOC Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Baird; and short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, the most decorated U.S. winter Olympian of all time, were all in New York City to make the partnership announcement.

This multi-million dollar agreement goes beyond financial support to also provide the USOC with fundraising opportunities and the four individual NGBs with BMW Group technical expertise. BMW Group will use its experts, deep technology base and facilities to help the Olympic and Paralympic Teams improve their training and performance.

BMW Group (including BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad) will be the Official Mobility Partner of the USOC, as well as the 2012, 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, and the 2011 and 2015 U.S. Pan American and Parapan American Teams. BMW Group will develop exclusive programs to support Team USA and will have a presence at the three Olympic Training Centers. These facilities welcome America's top athletes to live and train among the nation's best, including bobsled and skeleton sliders, speedskaters, swimmers, and track & field standouts.

BMW Group will also have a presence at the major events of the four NGBs, beginning with the USA Swimming National Championships Aug. 3-7, 2010, in Irvine, Calif. BMW Group's sponsorship of USA Bobsled & Skeleton, US Speedskating, USA Swimming and USA Track & Field will include support for coaching and training programs, as well as increasing awareness of the NGBs and their athletes.

SWIMMING: Team USA Swims to Three Medals at Open Water World Championships

Team USA's Alex Meyer (Ithaca, N.Y.) won the men's 25K Open Water World Championship title while Eva Fabian won the women's 5K Open Water World Championship title to pace Team USA at the Open Water World Championships in Roberval, Quebec. In addition, Fran Crippen grabbed the bronze medal in the men's 5K to help pace Team USA as well.

The overall team championship trophy at the 2010 FINA Open Water World Championships went to Italy, who earned a total of 116 points. Team USA was a close second with 111 points.

TRIATHLON: Shoemaker Posts Fourth Straight WCS Top 10, Bennett Earns Fifth in Second Straight WCS Top 10

Olympian and USA Triathlon National Team member Jarrod Shoemaker grabbed his second straight seventh-place finish and crossed the finish line in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series event Sunday at London's Hyde Park.

Shoemaker (Maynard, Mass.) covered the Olympic-distance event in 1 hour, 42 minutes, 57 seconds - just 49 seconds off the pace of winner Javier Gomez of Spain, who was victorious in 1:42:08. Always strong on the run, Shoemaker locked up yet another top-10 finish with a 30:09 10k run split.

On the women's side, Olympian Laura Bennett's fifth-place finish paced the American contingent Saturday. Bennett (Boulder, Colo.) covered the Olympic- distance course, which will host the 2012 London Olympic triathlon, in 1 hour, 52 minutes, 34 seconds. The USA Triathlon National Team member got off to a strong start on the swim and led the race into T1 before closing with a 34:39 run split to grab fifth. Saturday's race marked a second straight top-10 finish for Bennett, who was seventh in Hamburg last week. She moved into 13th in the WCS series rankings following Saturday's race.

TRACK AND FIELD: McCullough, relays golden on final day of World Junior Championships

Conor McCullough (Princeton, N.J.) crushed the meet record and his own American Junior record in the hammer, and Team USA swept the 4x400 relays Sunday on the final day of the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships. The team ended up tied with Kenya atop the medal table with 15 -- six gold, five silver and four bronze -- and dominated the placings table to score 183 points to 119 for Kenya and 104 for Germany.

McCullough, who was the silver medalist at this meet in 2008, had a massive personal best of 80.79-meters on his second attempt to add more than eight feet to his previous AJR. He followed up with two more 80m+ throws as he dominated the competition and defeated top-ranked Akos Hudi of Hungary.

After a relatively sub-par qualifying run, the women's 4x400 relay put together a superb final to beat favored Jamaica convincingly. The team of Texas prep Diamond Dixon (Houston, Texas) (54.3), Stacey-Ann Smith (Bloomfield, Conn.) (52.1), North Dakota high schooler Laura Roesler (Fargo, N.D.) (52.3) and Regina George (Chicago, Ill.) (52.5) zipped to a 3:31.20, the fastest junior time in the world this year.

VOLLEYBALL: May-Treanor/Branagh take AVP Long Beach

Long Beach State alum and two-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor returned home to win the AVP NIVEA Tour Long Beach Open, partnering with Nicole Branagh to defeat Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan, 21-16, 21-19, Sunday to win the women's final. On the men's side, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser won their fifth straight AVP tournament, defeating second seeded Sean Scott and John Hyden in Sunday's final. The top-seeded men's team in the tournament and the defending Olympic gold medalists lost the first game, 17-21, but came back to win games two and three 21-17, 15-6.

The U.S. women's beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross finished fifth on Saturday at the FIVB World Tour World Series 13 in Marseille, France. Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), seeded fourth in the tournament, were the defending champions, but were defeated by Austria's 12th-seeded Doris Schwaiger and Stefanie Schwaiger, 21-14, 21-16 in 42 minutes in the final round of consolation on Saturday.

WATER SKI: 36 Athletes Win National Titles at 2010 Barefoot Water Ski Nationals

Thirty-six athletes won national titles at the 33rd annual Parson's Roofing Barefoot Water Ski National Championships, July 22-24, at Mystic Lakes in Maize, Kan. More than 100 barefoot athletes in respective age divisions - ranging from nine and under to 80 and older - as well as Open Men, Open Women, Open Pro Men and Men's International competed for titles in wake slalom, tricks and jumping during the three-day event.

In Open Pro Men, Keith St. Onge (Winter Haven, Fla.) swept titles in slalom (19.7 points), tricks (12,450 points), jumping (84 feet) and overall (2,988.4 points). In Open Women, Elaine Heller (Alma Center, Wis.) swept titles in slalom (13.4 points), tricks (3,060 points), jumping (61 feet) and overall (3,000.0 points). In Open Men, A.J. Porreca (Willowbrook, Ill.) won jumping (75 feet) and overall (2,954.8 points); Paul Stokes (Waunakee, Wis.) won slalom (15.5 points); and Brian Heeney (Helena, Mont.) won tricks (3,800 points).

WRESTLING: Anthony wins gold; Maroulis and Perry get bronze at Junior World Championships in Hungary

Victoria Anthony (Huntington Beach, Calif.) became a two-time Junior World champion, after winning the gold medal at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. at the Junior World Championships at the Syma Arena on Friday. Anthony defeated Davaasuren Bayarmagnai of Mongolia in gold-medal match, 1-0, 6-0.

Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md.) won her second career Junior World bronze medal, defeating Karima Sanchez Ramis of Spain, 5-0, 3-1 in the bronze-medal match. Maroulis was the aggressor in the match and got things rolling with a slick three-point takedown in the first period. Maroulis was also a Junior World bronze medalist in 2008.

Chris Perry (Stillwater, Okla.) at 84 kg/185 lbs also won a bronze medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. at the Junior World Championships. Perry defeated Attila Szmik of Hungary in a bronze medal match, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0. Perry, who competes for Oklahoma State, placed fifth in the 2009 Junior World Championships.

WEEKLY PREVIEW - JULY 27-AUGUST 1

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: The SWATCH FIBA World Tour A1 Grand Slam 10 will take place July 28, 2010 to August 01, 2010 in Austria.

SHOOTING: International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rouge will officially open The 2010 World Shooting Championships on Friday, July 30 in Munich, Germany. The competition will take place July 30- August 11 and the first 69 Olympic Quota Places for London 2012 will be distributed to the best performers in the 15 Olympic events of rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting.

WATER POLO: The 2010 FINA World Cup is set to take place July 27-August 1 in Oradea, Romania. The U.S. men's team will face China, Serbia and Croatia in Group B beginning July 27.

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Ivanovic, who has dropped down to No. 63 in the world rankings, bested Russian Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3, 6-2, on the hardcourts at Taube Family Tennis Stadium. Kleybanova had beaten Ivanovic in two previous meetings this year.

Safina, however, was ousted by Kimiko Date Krumm, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, in two hours, 22 minutes. Safina, currently the 35th ranked player, lost to the native of Japan in the first round of this year's French Open and has dropped six consecutive matches overall.

Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, the tournament's only seeded player in action on Monday, had a tough time disposing of South African Chanelle Scheepers, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

In the other two first-round matches, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia cruised past American Hilary Barte, 6-2, 6-2, and Olga Govortsova of Belarus made quick work of Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1, 6-1.

This week's top seeds are French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur and Russian star Elena Dementieva, who has been sidelined by a calf injury since retiring from her semifinal match against eventual champion Francesca Schiavone at the French Open early last month.

France's Marion Bartoli, seeded fourth this week, surprised American Venus Williams in last year's Stanford finale.



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David Ortiz hit two homers in the same stadium where he won the Home Run Derby nearly two weeks ago, and Clay Buchholz pitched seven strong innings in the Red Sox's 6-3 victory over Dan Haren and the slumping Angels.

Haren struck out eight in his Angels debut before getting tagged by Kevin Youkilis' fifth-inning line drive while trying to catch it. Los Angeles traded four players to Arizona to land the three-time All-Star, whose forearm will be re-evaluated Tuesday.

"It's pretty sore, but I don't think it hit bone or anything," Haren said while standing in front of his new locker. "It was just the meat of my forearm. They said I was lucky, that it looks like I'll be fine to go next time. It swelled up pretty good, but it's nothing I'm worried about."

Ortiz hit a solo shot in the third inning and a two-run drive in the eighth during the 37th multihomer game of his career. Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the Angels, but J.D. Drew hit a two-run double in the ninth for Boston, which is unbeaten in five meetings with the Angels this season.

Youkilis had three hits and Victor Martinez had a run-scoring single in his first game back from the disabled list for the Red Sox, who opened the final series of their 10-game West Coast trip by winning the AL division series rematch.

The Red Sox were grateful to hear Haren's injury doesn't appear serious.

"That's not really the way you want to see somebody getting out of the game," said Ortiz, who struck out against Haren in the first inning before putting a fly into the short right-field porch in the third. "That was kind of scary. Every time you see a guy getting hit by a line drive, it seems like everything stops. But he was tough tonight, let me tell you. That first at-bat I had against him, he threw me some nasty pitches."

Bobby Abreu homered early in the fifth loss in six games for the Angels, who had a tumultuous opener to a key six-game homestand after landing Haren (0-1). The durable veteran's debut in his native southern California was both promising and worrying.

"I thought he was pitching well, going right after hitters," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Outside of the home run to Ortiz, he was pitching great baseball. You have to give Buchholz some credit."

Haren yielded seven hits and two runs before Youkilis' two-out drive back to the mound. Haren dropped to his knees in pain on the infield grass, and the Angels' training staff quickly ushered him off the field.

Haren largely stayed out of trouble during 62 pitches over 4 2-3 innings, but again yielded a healthy number of hits - at least six for the 20th time in his 22 starts this season. He expects to be even more comfortable if he's cleared to make his next scheduled start Saturday against Texas.

"Today was the most relaxing day I've had in a while," Haren said. "Going through the (trade) rumors was a little exhausting. Playing for a team that's that many games below .500 can drag you down a little. It's tough to come in there every day - not saying I wanted to leave (Arizona). I just want to win, and you've got a lot of guys in here that have won."

Buchholz (11-5) was impressive in his second start back from a stint on the disabled list with a strained hamstring, striking out seven and giving up just five hits. The All-Star selection pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the second inning, retired 11 straight in the middle innings and threw 114 pitches to win for the eighth time in 10 decisions.

"In the third inning, I just thought it was going to be another long day for the bullpen," Buchholz said. "Fortunately, I was able to throw a couple of changeups, and sort of caught the feel for it."

After Ortiz boosted Boston's lead in the eighth against reliever Fernando Rodney, Matsui trimmed it back to one run with a two-out homer, the fourth in six games for the once-struggling slugger.

With setup man Daniel Bard resting, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon came on for the final out of the eighth. Drew then hit a double off the lip of the right-field wall against Angels reliever Michael Kohn, making his major league debut.

"A couple more inches, and we're all right," Drew said. "But it worked out pretty good."

Drew then appeared to score from third base on an errant pitch by Rich Thompson, but umpire Wally Bell ruled Thompson had tagged him out at the plate. Boston manager Terry Francona vehemently argued the call.

"I was easily in there, but that's the nature of the game," Drew said.

Papelbon finished up the ninth for his 23rd save.

NOTES: Martinez missed the past 22 games with a broken thumb. ... The Angels sent RHPs Trevor Bell and Matt Palmer to Triple-A Salt Lake before the game while recalling the hard-throwing Kohn, who struggled in a high-pressure situation just a few hours after learning he was headed to Anaheim.



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