Contra Costa Times: Kiffin, Russell both still evolving

ALAMEDA - As a matter of fact that was Lane Kiffin coaching the Raiders. Next question.

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Contra Costa Times: From Cy Young to Cy Done?

SAN FRANCISCO - His old pitching coach was in the other dugout. Rick Peterson didn't want to say anything about Barry Zito. "Haven't seen him in five years,'' was Peterson's terse refusal.

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Oakland Tribune: Lakers-Celtics? Who reset the time machine?

THERE'S SOMETHING quite right with a Lakers-Celtics final. Even though for a great many of us there's something quite wrong.

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San Mateo County Times: Harkleroad bares it all for Playboy

A tennis pro whose future was yesterday, Ashley Harkleroad had been recovering from surgery when the phone rang with an offer.

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Contra Costa Times: A's help Thomas have a happy birthday

OAKLAND - Nothing stops the A's these days. Not singing gorillas, at least not a girl dressed up as one. Not the sparsest of crowds. Not a minor injury to Frank Thomas. Not a Toronto Blue Jays team which had won five in a row.

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Contra Costa Times: Quieting Red Sox fans is one job A's Duchscherer can finish

OAKLAND -- This is the new world of baseball, the one where if you don't throw a no-hitter you don't pitch nine innings. As Justin Duchscherer found out Saturday night. Along with the rest of us.

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Oakland Tribune: Giants are what we thought they'd be: Bad

SAN FRANCISCO — The reliever said he's at a loss for words. He shouldn't be. There's a great deal to say about this year's Giants. Most of it repetitive. Most of it negative.

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London Daily Telegraph: Sergio Garcia silences critics at Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH — The criticism of Sergio Garcia ended here. At the 17th hole of a golf course as tough as they come.

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CBS Sports: Left-handed compliment: It could be Phil's Masters, after all

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- This was supposed to be Tiger's Masters, but at the halfway mark it's looking more like Phil's Masters. And while Tiger's struggle might be a surprise -- all right, it is a surprise -- Phil's success is not.

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Oakland Tribune: Mystique of The Masters grows on fans

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The skepticism is understandable. All that reverence, that praise. For a sporting event, a golf tournament.

On a course at odds with America's concept of egalitarianism.

On a course where the hedges are high and privacy is at an extreme.

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Independent (Ireland): Giants of men tear asunder 'perfect' Patriots

It was no less than the second biggest upset in the history of the Super Bowl. Only No III, in which Joe Namath of the then upstart New York Jets beat the mighty Baltimore Colts was larger. This one on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLII was stunning, surprising, enlightening.

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London Daily Telegraph: Beating Tom Brady's Patriots is a titanic task

Glendale, Arizona - The slogan on their T-shirts and on our minds is, "Talk is cheap, play the game". It is the mantra of the New York Giants and tomorrow, after a week of talk, the Giants finally play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

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CBS Sports: Wimbledon: The tourney that attracts everyone and everything

WIMBLEDON, England -- The Empire no longer exists. The games created here -- soccer, rugby, tennis, cricket -- are under the dominion of other lands. David Beckham is moving across the sea to the former colony. Still, there's always Wimbledon.

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CBS Sports: Don't bet against the Big Three: Tiger, Lefty, Vijay

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- You have to pick Tiger. Or Phil. Or Vijay. That's what you always do at the Masters, stay with the favorites, stick with the champions.

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London Daily Telegraph: Meek hero anxious to share glory

He handled triumph the way he had defeat, with aplomb and no attempt to make us believe the credit awarded now was any more deserving than the blame given him in the past.

The Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning had shaken the monkey he denied was on his back. Finally, after the four years at the University of Tennessee, the nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Manning had won the big one.

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Oakland Tribune: '96 Masters, when golf broke Norman's heart

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Golf, it's been said, is like a love affair. If you don't take it seriously, it's no fun. If you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart.

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Sunday Herald (Scotland): Art Spander with the Baltimore Ravens in Tampa

They call it America's Great Timeout, a day when the country supposedly forgets its cares and en masse watches a gridiron football game, although the masse may be smaller than ever relatively speaking and a power emergency in California may disrupt portions of the telecast.

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