UNIVERSITY PARK — About 40 people occupied the Medlar Field luxury suite reserved during the weekend for "Ernst family and friends."

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Two close games and some quality mid- May matchups have prevented the early release of the District 6 baseball playoff pairings from stealing the luster this week has the chance to provide.

BELLEFONTE — The 2008 Centre County League season opened with a pitcher's duel in Bellefonte.

UNIVERSITY PARK — With multiple victories Saturday, Penn State's track and field teams engineered an outstanding Penn State Open performance in preparation for the upcoming Big Ten Championships.

This is the first in a series of eight columns on what amounts to a farewell tour that will cross the retirement finish line on June 30. In the coming weeks, I'll share with you what I consider my favorite players, coaches, athletes, events and people from these past 41 years. There are far too many to include in one last column and probably too many even for eight.

UNIVERSITY PARK — When the ball left the bat, Joe Blackburn’s first thought was: Sacrifice fly. And a deep fly ball would have been enough to score Scott Kelley from third and give Penn State a win in its last at-bat.

BALTIMORE Looks like Big Brown won't be the lone Kentucky Derby horse in the Preakness after all.

NEW YORK Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh spent nearly 3 1/2 hours talking to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about Spygate on Tuesday, then headed to Washington to meet with Sen. Arlen Specter.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. The Pennsylvania Superior Court has rejected the appeal of a former youth baseball coach convicted of offering a player $25 to bean a 9-year-old autistic teammate.

The International Olympic Committee has decided to give $1 million in financial support to help relief and recovery efforts following a devastating earthquake in China.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. The Buffalo Bills released Kevin Everett on Tuesday, clearing the way for the former tight end to receive disability benefits for the spinal cord injury that ended his career.

NEW YORK Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh arrived at the NFL offices Tuesday morning to meet with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss New England's videotaping of opposing coaches' playcalling signals in violation of league rules.

BEIJING The Olympic torch relay will be simplified, downscaled and open with a minute of silence Wednesday when a leg starts in the southeastern city of Ruijin, a symbolic gesture to thousands who died in a massive earthquake in central China.

PITTSBURGH A Pittsburgh sports bar co-owned by Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward is to be auctioned this month in federal bankruptcy court.

CLEVELAND Back to even, and back to Boston - with authority. LeBron James scored 21 points, jamming in a powerhouse dunk over a defenseless Kevin Garnett in the final two minutes, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the homesick Celtics 88-77 in Game 4 on Monday night to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Carlos Zambrano didn't let the chilly mid-May temperatures affect him on the mound, or at the plate. Zambrano won his fifth straight decision and had two hits on a 41-degree night, leading the Chicago Cubs past the San Diego Padres 12-3 on Monday night.

Asdrubal Cabrera went deep in the first game of the doubleheader, and turned three all by himself in the nightcap. Despite the strong play of Cabrera, who pulled off the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history, and two stellar pitching performances by Fausto Carmona and Cliff Lee, the Indians could only manage a split with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

Carlos Zambrano didn't let the chilly mid-May temperatures affect him on the mound, or at the plate.

Asdrubal Cabrera went deep in the first game of the doubleheader, and turned three all by himself in the nightcap.

SAN FRANCISCO For Barry Zito, a no-decision became a positive thing - a sign of progress. Lance Berkman is too much for any pitcher to handle right now.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Monday that an independent arbitrator from the North American Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that weightlifter Josh Moreau was suspended for two years due to doping.

ANAHEIM, Calif. Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in four runs, Nick Adenhart recorded his first major league victory and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 10-7 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

ARLINGTON, Texas The only real fireworks between Texas and Seattle this time were the pyrotechnic displays after back-to-back home runs by Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley, and then the 10th-inning game-winning shot by Ramon Vazquez as the Rangers rallied for a 13-12 victory Monday night.

VOORHEES, N.J. Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn is doubtful for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals after taking a puck in the face on Sunday night.

PITTSBURGH Tim Hudson showed again that a well-pitched game is the easiest and best way to end an extended streak. Or, on this day, a number of streaks.

VOORHEES, N.J. Danny Briere laughed off questions about officiating and whether Pittsburgh Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get more calls than they deserve.