Notes: Lamb gets first playoff start
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Mike Lamb had not started any of the Houston Astros&#39; first 10 playoff games, so he was somewhat surprised when he saw his name on the lineup card prior to Game 6 of
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After Cardinal Spellman lost its second South Sectional final in a row in 2003, coach Pat Lamb warned his team against becoming the Buffalo Bills of basketball. But having lost a third straight final in March, Lamb is taking a different approach heading into the 2004-05 season.
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Cleveland Browns running back Lee Suggs may be ready to play his first game of the season Sunday. Suggs, who had been expected to start at running back this season, missed the first three games because of a neck injury.
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Right now, things are going Jeff Gordon's way &#151; and that should enhance his chances of winning a fifth NASCAR championship. Thanks to a rainout of qualifying Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway, points leader Gordon will start from the pole in the first event of the new 10-race playoff for the Nextel Cup championship.
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Steve Finley thrust his fists in the air as the ball left his bat. His ninth-inning grand slam Oct. 2 beat the Giants and assured the Dodgers' first postseason appearance since 1996. Three days later, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Dodgers to begin the NL division series behind five home runs &#151; two by Larry Walker.
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The American League playoff teams are set. All that remains to be determined are the first-round matchups.
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Priest Holmes rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns to help the Kansas City Chiefs pick up their first win of the season, 27-24 over the host Baltimore Ravens Monday.
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The Red Sox become the first team to earn a playoff spot, rallying on ninth-inning home runs by Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo to beat the Devil Rays.
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With 10 of 12 playoff berths solidified on the final day of the regular season, there will be an eye on the future in many stadiums today. That is especially true in Oakland, where quarterback JaMarcus Russell is scheduled to make his first career start.
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Bryan Cupito was 10-of-12 for 279 yards and a touchdown in his first start, Minnesota&#39;s running backs picked up where they left off last season and the No.
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Jeff Garcia threw a 46-yard touchdown pass and ran for another TD in his Cleveland debut, leading the Browns to their first opening-week win since 1999, a 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
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He enters a game now not to the menacing sound of Metallica. Mariano Rivera does that -- and Rivera is on the outside looking in. Keith Foulke needs no impending-doom tune to signal his arrival. His pitching seems to be working just fine.
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Carson Palmer connected with  T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the home team's only touchdown of the  game as the Cincinnati Bengals beat Baltimore 13-7 on Thursday  to prevent the Ravens from becoming the first team to reach the  playoffs.
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Chien-Ming Wang finished his first full major league season with his 19th victory over the Baltimore Orioles and will be the game one starter of the division series next Tuesday.
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Third-string quarterback Sage Rosenfels likely will make his first career start Sunday for Miami against Baltimore in place of AJ Feeley, who has a rib injury.
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The Washington Redskins, who snagged the last NFC wild-card spot after four successive victories, kick off the playoffs on Saturday (4:30 p.m. EST) against the Seattle Seahawks.
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Mark Prior allowed five hits in 7 2/3 innings to outpitch Carl Pavano, and the Chicago Cubs moved one percentage point ahead of San Francisco atop the NL wild-card standings by beating the Florida Marlins 5-1 in the first game of a