Games This Season

Quote: "If they win, I'll have to come back and do the magic little pep talk again."-- Magician Jeff Scanlan after entertaining the Cubs during the rain delay yesterday.It's a fact: The Brewers play 28 of their first 43 games on the road and have just 28 away games after the All-Star break.Who's hot: After a 1-5 start on the road, the Diamondbacks went 8-2 in a homestand against Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia, including four straight wins heading into their longest road trip of the season.

Athletics: Jimmy Haynes became the first Oakland pitcher with 100 strikeouts in a season since 1995. The six homers were a season high. They also were a season high for homers allowed by the Blue Jays.Blue Jays: Jose Cruz extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.Red Sox: The day game was the 14th consecutive sellout at Fenway Park, but the night game drew only 26,677. Pedro Martinez has seven double-digit strikeout games this season, 34 in his career.Yankees: New York has hit 67 homers since the All-Star break, the most in the majors, including 39 in the past 20 games.

Braves: Tom Glavine has pitched consecutive shutouts for the first time since April 27 and May 2, 1992. He has three complete games this season.Giants: Barry Bonds has withdrawn his appeal of a three-game suspension for charging the mound and instigating a bench-clearing melee in the Aug. 2 game against Philadelphia. Bonds will begin serving his suspension today.Pirates: Jason Kendall has seven hits in his last 12 at-bats, including three homers.Reds: Have scored 36 runs in Pete Harnisch's last three starts, but he's 1-1 with a no-decision.

CHICAGO -- As he emerged from the Chicago Bulls' huddle, walking onto the United Center court with a swagger, Michael Jordan knew it was his moment. Who else do you call a play for with the game tied and just over four seconds left -- Luc Longley?Jordan started the final sequence under his own basket, somehow pulling free from the two-handed waist-grip applied by Atlanta Hawks guard Steve Smith. Taking the inbounds pass at the top of the key, Jordan dribbled twice to his right in a move that put Smith and forward Chucky Brown -- running to double team Jordan -- on a collision course.

Albert Mouring dreamed the same dreams of all the kids who decided one afternoon they wanted to be basketball stars. He shot the same shots, practiced the same moves, and won millions of imaginary games at the buzzer.But dreams of this high school senior, who's been called "The Man" since middle school, sprung not from hardscrabble inner-city courts that so often mold those dreams into reality. His dreams started on a backyard dirt court and a tiny playground miles from the last square of city sidewalk.

LANDOVER -- It was a season that came to an end with 58 seconds left for Juwan Howard, and as the Washington Bullets' All-Star forward walked toward the end of the bench, he said he was a bit touched by the standing ovation offered by the home fans."