NEW YORK Richie Sexson finalized his contract with the New York Yankees on Friday and was immediately plugged into the starting lineup against Oakland left-hander Greg Smith.

ATLANTA No one is making any guesses about Mike Hampton's next move after his latest injury.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Joe Paterno has his own take on Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi" and the challenge a riverboat captain faces trying to navigate the waters of a mighty river. For Paterno, it's a little bit like coaching college football.

MILWAUKEE Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy restated his support for general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy on Friday in the standoff with Brett Favre.

SAN ANTONIO Welterweight boxer Oscar Diaz remains in critical but stable condition two days after collapsing during a fight, but the doctor who performed surgery on him said he should survive.

COLUMBIA, S.C. Steve Spurrier laughed off questions about speculation that he's grown frustrated with trying to build South Carolina into a championship contender and could walk away from the Gamecocks before his contract runs out.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa In the end, it was a split second and not a court's decision that kept double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius from competing in the Beijing Olympics.

PHILADELPHIA Marreese Speights, taken by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th overall pick in June's NBA draft, signed with the team on Friday.

NEW YORK As the U.S. struggles with immigration policy, Americans will get a chance next month to see their melting-pot nation through the prism of foreign-born athletes competing in USA uniforms at the Beijing Olympics.

Some of the foreign-born athletes who will be competing for the United States at the Olympics in Beijing next month, listed by sport with country of birth in parentheses:

MIAMI The Philadelphia Phillies moved Adam Eaton to the bullpen Friday to open a spot in the rotation for newly acquired Joe Blanton, who is expected to start for the team Tuesday against the New York Mets.

Second-seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic lost his second-round match Thursday, while fifth-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic pulled out at the clay-court Croatia Open Umag.

NEW WAVERLY, Texas Shayla Worley's trip to the Beijing Olympics ended in rural Texas.

NIMES, France Mark Cavendish wants to talk about his latest stage victory - not doping. British cyclist David Millar pleads with fans: "Please, don't give up on us."

SAN FRANCISCO A federal judge has declined to toss out track coach Trevor Graham's false statement conviction.

PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Penguins' march to the Stanley Cup finals has paid off for coach Michel Therrien, who agreed to a new three-year contract on Friday.

LEXINGTON, Ohio For the Rahals - team owner Bobby and his racing son Graham - returning to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a lot like eating comfort food: familiar and satisfying.