Billy Wagner seemed to have a mix of amusement and annoyance at all the attention his left shoulder has received over the last two days. The Mets closer had an MRI exam on his throwing shoulder today morning that showed no structural damage. He...

The Yankees adopted a Mr. Mum policy last night on the results of catcher Jorge Posada's visit to reknown surgeon Dr. David Altchek. Posada was scheduled to undergo an MRI yesterday at the Hospital for Special Surgery but a Yankee spokesman said...

Well, so much for fighting for his job. Point guard Marcus Williams , who recently vowed to fight for his minutes after the Nets acquired Keyon Dooling, is headed to Golden State for a future first-round pick. The trade will be announced later...

Joe Blanton's success against the Mets is not the only reason the Phillies acquired him, but it's likely more than a coincidence. While with Oakland, Blanton was filthy in his two starts against the Mets. Last season on June 23, Blanton threw...

Scott Niedermayer is getting his money back ... all of it ... every single cent of the $490,909.08 he was improperly fined by the NHL for missing Anaheim's training camp last season, The Post has learned. As originally reported by The Post on...

Jon Lester (8-3) carried a shutout into the eighth inning and Jason Varitek slugged a two-run homer as the road-weary Red Sox snapped a three-game skid with a 4-0 win over the Mariners last night in Seattle. Rays 4, Athletics 0 In St. Petersburg...

The Fish were no drop in the bucket last night for Hondo as they flopped against Los Bravos to lower the earnings to 645 dalrymples. Tonight, he'll take a flier on the Phils out at Flush ing's Lame Duck Dump - 10 units on Blanton. $ TOUR DE...

If Hideki Matsui's left knee fills with fluid again, GM Brian Cashman believes it will be impossible for the Yankee DH to avoid a second knee surgery. "If the knee swells up we are dealing with last call," Cashman said last night after Dr. Scott...

Though he received a no-decision in the Staten Island Yankees' 4-1 loss to the visiting Brooklyn Cyclones at Richmond County Ballpark last night, Brad Rulon saw his ERA shrink even further. Rulon, a 22-year old right-hander who was selected in the...

Scott Niedermayer is getting his money back ... all of it ... every single cent of the $490,909.08 he was improperly fined by the NHL for missing Anaheim's training camp last season, The Post has learned. As originally reported by The Post on...

The Giants have traded disgruntled tight end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for a second-round and a fifth-round draft pick in 2009. Always outspoken, Shockey missed last year's run to the Super Bowl championship with a broken fibula...

Richard S. Johnson birdied three of his last four holes to shoot a 6-under 64 and win the U. S. Bank Championship yesterday in Milwaukee for his first PGA Tour victory. Johnson finished at 16-under 264 on the 6,759-yard Brown Deer Park Golf Course...

CINCINNATI - The Reds celebrated their Hall of Fame last night, but it was the Met batters who looked like they belonged in a museum. Three times Met hitters stood like statues as strike three flew past them, killing potential rallies and...

CINCINNATI - Pedro Martinez rejoined the Mets yesterday, but don't expect to see him on the mound before the end of the week. Martinez threw 33 pitches in the bullpen during last night's 7-2 Mets loss to the Reds, but none at full speed. It was...

THERE was a lot going on around here last week, thus when Billy Packer, after 28 years, left CBS on what seemed to be on business-like, room-temperature mutual terms, a big off-season story was forced off the road. It's a sad story, too, and not...

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Rams and defensive end Chris Long, the second overall pick in the draft, reached an agreement on a contract last night, according to a report. Long, the son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, is expected to sign a deal that...

The hottest thing at the Meadowlands last night wasn't the weather. It was Art Official, who captured the $1.1 million Meadowlands Pace in a world-record 1:47. Trained by Joe Seekman and driven by Hall of Famer Ron Pierce, Art Official (11-1) had...

After finishing Friday and yesterday in second place at the State Farm Classic, Michelle Wie was one good round away from finally living up to her deep potential. Then, minutes after tapping in her last putt of the third round, Wie sat red-eyed at...

When all else fails, become a potted plant and take one for the team. After 4 hours, 45 minutes of sweaty ineptitude by both lineups yesterday, Jose Molina had the good sense to let Lenny DiNardo's cutter drill him in the right knee. Not a great...

Catherine Kraayeveld's father has flown in from Seattle. Point guard Loree Moore's mother and high-school coach are in from California. More than 18,000 tickets have been sold for tonight's historic basketball game at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and last...

CINCINNATI - This time there was no comeback, no utwór dramatyczny and no good vibes. The Mets' 10-game winning streak came to a halt at the hands of Bronson Arroyo and the Reds as the Amazin's fell 5-2 last night. The loss prevented them from tying the...

CINCINNATI - The Great American Ballpark has a reputation as a hitter's paradise. Just don't try telling that to Jose Reyes. The Met shortstop has never had success in this ballpark, and the last two days have been no different. He's 0-for-9 in...

SOUTHPORT, England - The jagged lines etched onto Linn Strickler's 58-year-old face resemble some of the rugged fairways he's trudged for the last 20-something years while caddying for several of the top players in golf history, including a...

The wait is almost over. After sitting out 2007-08 with an injury, last year's No. 1 pick Greg Oden is gearing up for his Blazers debut. The 7-footer may be tall, but he's down to Earth with big dreams, Mike Freeman says.

On their way to a date with history, the Liberty found their identity last night in a 77-56 demolition of the Washington Mystics. A zespół built on defense, the Liberty squeezed the life out of Washington, holding the Mystics to 17, 15, 13 and 11...

CINCINNATI - The All-Star break proved to be no match for the runaway train that is the New York Mets - make that the first-place New York Mets. With last night's dramatic comeback 10-8 victory over the Reds, the Mets ran their winning streak to...

CINCINNATI - All of that good mojo the Mets' pitching staff was feeling before the All-Star break vanished in a few hours last night. First, the Mets announced Pedro Martinez received an anti-inflammatory injection in his right hip yesterday and...

STRIPED bass fishing, along with bluefish and fluke, remains in the top spot this week for inshore anglers. There were three 50-pound bass taken in the Montauk surf last week, but these fish did not come close to the 70.6-pounder taken by Mike...

SOUTHPORT, England - Rocco Mediate, an unlikely muzyka rockowa star at age 45 after his magical tussle with Tiger Woods at last month's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, has taken his act abroad. And the Brits love it. Mediate, who lost the U.S. Open title to...

Hondo had a thoroughly enjoyable ride on the Metamucil bandwagon last night as they rallied on his behalf to increase his accumulation of dead presidents to 790 kanehls. Today, Mr. Aitch is letting three arms out of his star-studded stable of...

WELCOME to the corner of Predictable and Preposterous, the home of New York sports. Two days ago, the początek of the last scheduled regular-season game in the current Yankee Stadium - Sunday, Sept. 21 - was declared a late-night game, an 8:05 start...

LOS ANGELES - The Super Bowl champion Giants tied Tiger Woods with three victories in the ESPY Awards last night, winning best game, best upset and best play honors, the latter for David Tyree's leaping catch of Eli Manning's pass that kept the...

SOUTHPORT, England - Defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington appears headed for an 11th-hour withdrawal from today's opening round. Harrington, who defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff to win the British last year, is suffering from a...

After Curlin - who was on track to head to France for Oct. 5 Arc de Triomphe - finished second at 2-5 making his turf debut in Man o'War last Saturday at Belmont, plans for the champion are up in the air. To help determine Curlin's future, owner...

A busted television may help clear up the picture in the case against Roger Clemens. Convicted steroid distributor Kirk Radomski said that while he was moving a broken television off a dresser in the bedroom of his Long Island home last Sunday...

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - On-field skits with Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez look-alikes and Madonna's hits playing between innings were just a couple of ways a minor-league zespół near A-Rod's former baseball home tried to cash in last night. The Grand...

It takes a lot to humble George Steinbrenner, but last night's All-Star Game and ceremony in his poczucie własnej godności did the trick. The Yankees owner sent out a statement today regarding last night's game in The Bronx. "The 2008 All-Star Game was one of the...

Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon was the least popular player in kombinezon last night - and that was before he allowed an eighth-inning run to put the NL ahead. At least Papelbon doesn't have to live in infamy as the losing pitcher in the final...

Giants righty Tim Lincecum was suffering from the flu and dehydration and didn't attend last night's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Lincecum actually ended up at New York Presbyterian Hospital, though he was later released. "Just got the flu,"...

SOUTHPORT, England - There was growing concern yesterday that the defending champion might not get the chance to defend his British Open title. Padraig Harrington, who defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff last year at Carnoustie, has a wrist injury...

Two familiar Yankee Stadium faces returned to The Bronx for last night's All-Star Game. George Steinbrenner, who hasn't attended a game since Opening Day, was back, and Willie Randolph, fired as the Mets manager last month, attended as...

Major League Baseball promised the ultimate All-Star Game show last night at Yankee Stadium and delivered a performance that won't be forgotten. Even if a home-equity loan was needed to pay for tickets and the game lasted almost to breakfast...

Convicted steroid distributor Kirk Radomski handed over shipping receipts to federal investigators for a package of human growth hormone that he claims he sent to Roger Clemens' home in Texas in 2002 or 2003, it was reported last night. Clemens...

Some of the defense last night was pretty impressive. Dan Uggla's in particular was just plain deplorable. The Marlins second baseman suffered through an atrocious All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, committing three errors and putting the outcome...

By the end of last night's All-Star Game it was nearly impossible to remember - but Derek Jeter, fittingly, got the first hit of the night. The Yankees captain got a single in the first inning off Milwaukee's Ben Sheets. The ball was a flare...

If this was the last szef rządu event under the Yankee Stadium lights, the old ballpark sure received a proper farewell last night. Nothing resonated more loudly than a ceremony that included 49 Hall of Famers taking the field during pregame...

Major League Baseball promised the ultimate All-Star Game show last night at Yankee Stadium and delivered a performance that won't be forgotten. Even if a home-equity loan was needed to pay for tickets and the game lasted almost to breakfast...

Commissioner Bud Selig insisted that last night's All-Star Game was going to be played until a winner was determined regardless of how long it would take – and regardless of who was on the mound when it would finally end. "It all worked out,"...

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, a late sensation as a rookie last season, was released from Southwest Virginia Regional Jail yesterday after serving a 30-day sentence for what has been termed a violation of his probation. According to...

Mets starter Mike Pelfrey's recent Cy Young impression earned him National League Player of the Week honors yesterday. Pelfrey went 2-0 and did not allow a run in one początek each against the Giants and Rockies last week. Pelfrey scattered nine...

They don't call him The Natural for nothing. In a jaw-dropping display of might that awed the fans and his fellow All-Stars alike, the Rangers' Josh Hamilton single-handedly revived the Home Run Derby last night at Yankee Stadium. Thanks to a...

EARLIER in the day, Josh Hamilton said it was possible to hit a baseball clear out of Yankee Stadium. He nearly did it three times last night in his legendary first round of the Home Run Derby. The first tape-measure shot zoomed far over my head...

It seemed impossible, but Clay Counsil's second visit to Yankee Stadium was even better than his first. The 71-year-old served as Josh Hamilton's Home Run Derby pitcher last night, and served up the pitches the Rangers slugger crushed during a...

CBS yesterday confirmed a report that Billy Packer, synonymous with college basketball on CBS the last 28 years, is no longer with the network. Clark Kellogg will replace Packer as Jim Nantz's courtside partner, this season. Packer, 68 and who...

From the mad house that was the Grand Hyatt to the "House that Ruth Built." Joe Morgan told me in an interview last week, "Just walking onto the field at Yankee Stadium will give you goose pebbles." After taking my first steps, it's tough to...

Ted Nolan's return to NHL coaching ended today after only two years when he split with the Islanders over "philosophical differences" with general manager Garth Snow. Although there had been a growing rift throughout last season between Nolan and...

The 51,293 on hand last night rose to their feet, twirling their white towels and chanting Mike Pelfrey's name. A year ago they booed him, but now they were cheering, urging him off the bench and, finally, to the top preria of the Mets dugout for his...

Sure, it was just the Rockies and Giants, also known as two of the worst teams in baseball. But who knew the Mets suddenly would turn into the '71 Orioles? The Amazin's incredible weeklong run of lights-out pitching continued unabated last...

LAS VEGAS - Mike D'Antoni's offense requires a pack of thoroughbreds, so what better place for the new era to kick off than Saratoga. D'Antoni revealed the Knicks will hold their Oct. 1 training camp at Saratoga, the quaint village 30 minutes...

The Liberty had a 14-0 run to get back in it. And a 14-0 run to make it a victory. Don't misunderstand. There wasn't one 14-0 run for the Liberty last night that took them from losers to winners. There were two of them, two different stretches...

Hondo, still flying high over his Friday night win with the O's, bagged another beauty last night as he kept it reel with the Marlins to increase the haul to 550 waners. Today, he'll close out the czoło nine with a birdie - 10 units on Cabrera and...

JOLIET, Ill. - Kyle Busch passed Jimmie Johnson after a restart on the next-to-last lap last night to win his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fajerwerki of the season. Johnson had gone by Busch with 17 laps remaining in the LifeLock.com 400. But on the...

It was known then as the "new Yankee Stadium," so you can imagine just how long ago it was that the All-Star Game was last played in The Bronx. Why, it was so long ago that the All-Star break was about the game itself, not a magic carpet ride...

The Jets have no set starter at quarterback, and a Hall of Famer appears available. But don't expect Brett Favre to don a different type of green jersey this season. Favre, who retired publicly amid tears and cameras after last season...

LAS VEGAS - Stephon Marbury bounded off the Knicks' załoga bus at Vegas' Valley High last night - a new tattoo inscribed on his left temple. The "3" logotyp found on his Starbury sneaker and apparel line is now a permanent part of his bald head. Good...

Hondo made a big score last night with the Orioles over the Sawx, which caused the wad to expand sig nificantly to a crisp 485 klippsteins. Tonight, he'll go Coastal with Nolasco - 10 units on the Marlins. $ Bad nius for fans headed to the...

Cliff Lee (12-2) pitched six stellar innings in a warm-up for a possible All-Star Game start, and the Indians defeated the Rays 5-0 last night to extend Tampa Bay's season-high losing streak to five games. Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer and...

TORONTO - Forty minutes after Roy Halladay made the Yankees look silly, Derek Jeter paid him the biggest compliment a hitter can throw a pitcher. "He is the best starter in baseball," Jeter said of the Blue Jays right-hander. Anybody who watched...

Melvin Booker, a former NBA point guard and teammate of Danilo Gallinari's on Milan last season, proclaimed the Italian Stallion will prove his critics wrong. The Knicks rookie was booed mightily on Draft Night. "The boos will only put a fire...

The Mets third baseman fell short in the fan voting for the final National League spot in Tuesday's All-Star Game, finishing second to Milwaukee's Corey Hart, whose statistics are a sliver below Wright's. Wright made the All-Star zespół the last...

IF THE Mets' revival is owed at least in part to the all-for-one, one-for-all mentality fostered by the Jerry Manuel administration, Barry Bonds is the last person anyone needs to see walk through the clubhouse door, no matter how many walks he...

Never mind Fernandomania, this is more like Fernando Maniac. The Mets have received plenty of big contributions during their turnaround over this last week, but the list of credits begins with the name Fernando Tatis. Need a go-ahead home run...

KANSAS CITY - Juan Pablo Angel's return wasn't enough to keep the Red Bulls from dropping a 2-1 decision to the Wizards last night. Angel, making his first początek since June 5, scored in the 68th minute as the Red Bulls tried to overcome an early...

The Chisox should adopt a new bullpen policy: Don't ask Dotel. Had that been in effect before last night's game in KC, Hondo's earnings might not have been trimmed to 400 moschittos. Tonight, he'll ride the longshot against the Bosawx up in Fewnay...

Paula Creamer knew she was playing well. She was surprised just how well. Creamer birdied nine of the last 11 holes, including the final three, for a course-record 60 on the par-71 Highland Meadows layout yesterday. She held a five-stroke lead...

After almost 52 years, Don Larsen's World Series perfect game returned to New York last night, when the only known recording of the game was screened for fans at BB King Blues Club. With Yankee Stadium closing its doors at the end of the season...

Never mind Fernandomania, this is more like Fernando Maniac. The Mets have received plenty of big contributions during their turnaround over this last week, but the list of credits begins with the name Fernando Tatis. Need a go-ahead home run...

Moises Alou's rehab is on hold, after the 41-year-old outfielder felt "cramping" in his left hamstring while diving for a ball last night while playing for Double-A Binghamton. Alou will be brought to New York today for further examination, a Met...

This is the day that will determine if Wright is an All-Star for the third straight year or is left out in the cold for the last All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Going into this final day of the Final Vote he trails Milwaukee's Corey Hart. "It...

Johan Santana could have received less support during his six-game winless streak, but only if he pitched without a jock strap. Last night the Mets gave their $137.5 million prized possession the gift of three runs during his rain-shortened...

When the rain stopped, Aaron Heilman knew the ball was coming his way. Johan Santana had pitched five innings of beautiful baseball but a 42-minute rain delay ended his night with the Mets up 3-0. As the tarp came off the field, Heilman sensed it...

Hall of Fame harness driver Catello "Cat" Manzi scored his 13,000th career win when he piloted 3-year-old trotter Manningly to victory in the third sztuczne ognie at the Meadowlands last night. Manzi, 58, has been driving for 40 years and was inducted into...

The Reds had Hondo making some off-color re marks last night when they gummed up the works in Wrigley to lower the earnings to 455 blasingames. Tonight, the price seems right in KC for Buehrle and those darn Chisox. Ten units. $ A piano teacher...

The pinstriped coffins ordered last koniec tygodnia haven't been cancelled even though the Yankees rode a four-game winning streak out of The Bronx yesterday. All two wins over AL East rivals Boston and Tampa Bay did was make sure the Yankees season...

The pinstriped coffins ordered last koniec tygodnia haven't been cancelled even though the Yankees rode a four-game winning streak out of The Bronx today. All two wins over AL East rivals Boston and Tampa Bay did was make sure the Yankees season didn't...

The Knicks expect to sign Bulls free-agent backup point guard Chris Duhon today after last night inking their first-round pick, Danilo Gallinari, to the wzorzec rookie two-year, $5 million pact for sixth overall picks. Stephon Marbury? He still...

SAN ANTONIO - Becky Hammon scored 27 points against her former załoga and Sophia Young added 23 as the Silver Stars won their fifth straight game with a 83-79 victory over the Liberty last night. It's the third time in as many games that Hammon has...

A 24-year-old right-hander with terrific stuff took over Shea Stadium last night, just as many had expected. Oh, forget Tim Lincecum. This was Mike Pelfrey's night. In his sharpest outing of the season, Pelfrey continued to remind everyone why...

The Mets might want to hold off on moving Carlos Beltran to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. Last night, he looked like every bit of a cleanup hitter. The center fielder cleared the bases in the first inning with a three-run home run off...

BASEBALL ROUNDUP Joel Pineiro and three relievers combined on a six-hitter and Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick hit solo homers last night as the Cardinals beat the Phillies 2-0 in Philadelphia. Brewers 7, Rockies 3 In Milwaukee, C.C. Sabathia...

Hondo treaded water last night as Duchscherer and the A's made quick work of the M's to offset the shoddy work at Shea by Lincecum and the Giants to leave the earnings holding steady at 505 pignatanos. Tonight, he'll take a 10-unit stab in the...

CHOLET, France - Stefan Schumacher of Germany took the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, and now says everything else is a bonus. He knows his early lead won't last. "Everybody dreams of this jersey," Schumacher said yesterday. "It's...

Jorge Posada insists he is healthy and that his once ailing shoulder is no longer an issue. "I'm fine," Posada said. Yet for the third straight game, Posada started as the DH last night, with Jose Molina behind the plate. The 36-year-old...

Whether the Yankees gain any ground this series pan grodowy down to today's finale. Whether they ultimately catch the first-place Rays pan grodowy down to the next three months. But in facing off against their new rivals last night in a critical game, Andy...

Plaxico Burress reveals that last summer, while he was nursing a tender left ankle, he purposely broke curfew during training camp "a couple of times because I was bored." The Giant wide receiver, who revealed the rule-breaking in his new book...

PHILADELPHIA - Of course they said it. Didn't you? If you are a Mets fan of any vintage at all, then you yelled the same exact thing at the screen when Jayson Werth's ball finally landed in Endy Chavez's glove, same as Gary Cohen said on TV, same...

Hondo, who'd lost three straight, put a halt to the hemorrhaging last night when he hooked the Mar lins to boost his bulging bankroll to 505 lindblads. Tonight, he'll give the nod to Duchscherer (or Chsch, for short), who has been showing some...

EUGENE, Ore. _ From the sekunda Tyson Gay strained his leg and hit the Hayward Field ground, the 200-meters has loomed over the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. In last night's finale it encapsulated them; from Walter Dix' thrilling rally to win...

OMAHA, Neb. - Dara Torres already knew she was going to the Olympics. That's not good enough anymore. The 41-year-old Torres won the 50-meter freestyle last night with another American record, giving her the chance to swim two individual events...

Brett Gardner, now you're officially a Yankee. The rookie's persistence paid dividends in the bottom of the 10th inning last night as he slapped a Jonathan Papelbon splitter off shortstop Alex Cora's glove, giving the Yankees a 5-4 victory and...