Fast Break

Baseball

Phillies Howard edges Pujols

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies was voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player on Monday after leading the majors in home runs and RBIs, beating out the St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols for the honor.

Howard, 27, received 20 first-place votes and 12 seconds for 388 points in balloting by a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Pujols got 12 firsts, 19 seconds and one third for 347 points.

Howard, the 2005 N.L. Rookie of the Year, had 58 homers and 149 RBIs while batting .313. He had the most homers in the major leagues since Barry Bonds hit a record 73 in 2001.

He set Phillies records for home runs and RBIs, producing the highest totals in those categories in big league history for a second-year player.

NFL

Andre Waters dies at 44

Andre Waters, a defensive back who spent most of his 12 seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound early Monday. He was 44.

His body was found at about 1:30 a.m. at his Tampa, Fla., home, the medical examiner’s office said. He had shot himself in the head. Toxicology reports were ordered and results will be available in four to six weeks, the office said.

Waters, an assistant football coach at Fort Valley State in Georgia, joined the Eagles out of Cheyney State in 1984 and played with them at cornerback and safety through 1993. He was known as one of the NFL’s hardest hitters and often was fined for some of his tackles. He spent his last two seasons with Arizona.

College basketball

Zags crack coaches Top 25

Gonzaga University broke into the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 men’s basketball poll Monday at No. 23, its first appearance in the top 25 this season.

The 4-0 Bulldogs are coming off a 92-48 win over the University of Texas at San Antonio on Sunday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. They face No. 2 North Carolina on Wednesday in the semifinals of the NIT preseason tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Zags are No. 27 in the Associated Press poll, 20 points out of the Top 25.

Prep football

Time change

Gonzaga Prep and St. John-Endicott state semifinal football game times on Saturday have been swapped.

Following a Sunday revision, the Bullpups (11-1) will play Oak Harbor (11-1) at 1 p.m. at Joe Albi Stadium. Their game will be followed at 4 by the Eagles (11-1) against Pateros (9-3).