Fast Break

BASEBALL

Red Sox all but in playoffs

David Ortiz hit a two-run homer, Daisuke Matsuzaka remained unbeaten on the road and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Sunday afternoon, clinching a tie for the American League wild card.

Boston needs one more win or a New York loss to secure its fifth playoff berth in six seasons.

New York defeated Baltimore 7-3 in the final regular season game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night.

College football

Vandy arrives in rankings

The Southeastern Conference needs to find another pushover.

Vanderbilt, for years the weakest team in college football’s toughest league, moved into the AP Top 25 on Sunday for the first time in 24 years.

The unbeaten Commodores are No. 21 in the latest rankings.

“I think it’s a pretty good reward for a good start,” Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said Sunday in a telephone interview. “Our guys are pretty smart. They realize it won’t help you win games.”

At the top of the Associated Press media poll, little changed after No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 Oklahoma were idle.

The next three spots went to the SEC. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida held their spots and LSU climbed one place to No. 5.

OUTDOORS

There’s nothin’ like home fishin’

Dave Kromm of Kennewick outfished 122 pro anglers last week to win the $100,000 top prize in the FLW Series National Guard Western Division bass tournament held on the Columbia River in his backyard out of the Tri-Cities.

Kromm, 37, said he caught his three biggest smallmouth bass Saturday in the final 20 minutes before the deadline for the four-day event.

The payday is double his previous career FLW earnings and might be enough to lure him onto FLW’s national tour.

“That’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said. “It’s a good way to blow through $100,000.”

The Columbia tournament is set to be televised on FSN on Nov. 23.