Longoria, Soto named top rookies of 2008 season
The rookie races were all but over by July, when Evan Longoria and Geovany Soto gave an All-Star glimpse of things to come.
Longoria won the American League Rookie of the Year award in a unanimous vote and Soto ran away with the N.L. honor Monday, capping impressive seasons that included All-Star appearances for both players at Yankee Stadium.
Pretty rare stuff for a pair of first-timers – but these were no ordinary freshmen.
“I had a great year, bar none,” Longoria said. “I know I have the ability to do more.”
•Lester earns Hutch Award: Boston left-hander Jon Lester, who has recovered from cancer, clinched the World Series for the Red Sox in 2007 and threw a no-hitter last season, was selected as the recipient of the Hutch Award.
The award is given annually to a major league player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of former major league pitcher and manager Fred Hutchinson, who died from cancer in 1964 at age 45.
•Holliday heading to Oakland: Star outfielder Matt Holliday appears headed to the Oakland Athletics in a surprising move for a franchise known more for shedding stars than adding them.
Two people familiar with the proposed deal said the A’s and the Colorado Rockies have reached a tentative agreement. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized and details were still in the works.
•MLB won’t test for HGH: Major League Baseball won’t be testing for human growth hormone any time soon, even though it would like to do so.
Drug experts are looking for a viable way to detect HGH, but no athlete has ever tested positive for it. And there are even questions about whether HGH enhances performance.
•Doctor indicted over steroids: A doctor accused of supplying professional baseball players with illegal performance-enhancing drugs was indicted in a separate case involving a Cleveland police lieutenant.
Dr. Ramon Scruggs, of Santa Ana, Calif., was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on 13 counts of drug trafficking. He is accused of prescribing steroids over the Internet for non-medical purposes from January 2003 to June 2007.
Basketball
Blazers earn road win
Brandon Roy scored 27 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their first road win with a 106-99 victory over the Orlando Magic in Orlando, Fla.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and a season-high 18 rebounds and Hedo Turkoglu added 35 points for the Magic, who finished their homestand 4-1.
Point guard Steve Blake and reserve Travis Outlaw had 20 apiece as Portland’s bench outscored Orlando’s 40-12.
•Pierce lifts Celtics: Paul Pierce scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Boston Celtics to a 94-87 comeback win over the Toronto Raptors in Boston.
Boston scored 58 points in the second half after getting just 36 in the opening 24 minutes.
•Pistons without Stuckey: The Detroit Pistons will begin their West Coast road trip today without guard Rodney Stuckey, who experienced symptoms of lightheadedness and dizziness in Sunday night’s loss to Boston.
•Duke starts big: Kyle Singler scored 12 of his 19 points during the decisive first half, and No. 8 Duke opened its season by routing Presbyterian 80-49 night in the first round of the 2K Sports Classic in Durham, N.C.
Football
Retirees rewarded
A federal jury ordered the NFL Players Association to pay $28.1 million to retired players after finding the union failed to properly market their images.
Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of 2,056 retired players who contend the union failed to actively pursue marketing deals on their behalf with video games, trading cards and others sports products.
•Man pleads not guilty in shooting of Collier: Tyrone Romaro Hartsfield, the man charged with shooting Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Richard Collier 14 times, has pleaded not guilty in Jacksonville, Fla.
•Ex-Raven sentenced: Former Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Javin Hunter was sentenced to six months in jail for a fatal hit-and-run accident last year in Bel Air, Md.
•Two shot after Alabama-LSU game: Witnesses said a man and his former wife in Mobile, Ala., were shot to death over an argument about the Alabama-Louisiana State University football game, though a spokesman for the slain man’s family disputed that.
“Basing it on this ball game is totally false,” said Shannon Odom, the half brother of Dennis James Smith.
Smith, 41, and Donna Kaye Hall Smith, 39, were shot to death about 7 p.m. Saturday in the rural community of Owassa in southern Alabama, the Conecuh County sheriff’s office said.
Michael W. Williams, 28, was charged with two counts of murder in the shooting at his home, where he and others had watched the game. He was being held without bond and a sheriff’s investigator did not know if he had an attorney.
Miscellany
Oilers win in SO
Ales Hemsky scored the only goal in the shootout and undefeated rookie goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 40 saves for the Edmonton Oilers, who ended their longest road trip of the season with a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in New York.
•Federer, Roddick lose: Roger Federer lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Gilles Simon of France at the Masters Cup in Shanghai, China.
In the other Red Group match, Andy Murray of Britain survived a second-set lapse to beat Andy Roddick of the United States 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
•Nadal to miss Davis Cup final: Rafael Nadal will miss Spain’s Davis Cup final against Argentina because of a knee injury.