Gamecocks win a wild (pitch) one

TUSCALOOSA — Jacksonville State's Amy Brown didn't have to wait long for her shot at redemption. Brown failed to score from third on a fly ball to right field in the fifth inning Thursday, momentarily keeping the Gamecocks tied with Florida State in their NCAA Softball Regional opener at the Alabama Softball Complex.

No first-day misstep for Tide

TUSCALOOSA — Alabama smashed Chattanooga 8-0, getting three doubles and three runs from Brittany Rogers and shutout pitching from Charlotte Morgan and Chrissy Owens to win by the eight-run rule at the Alabama Softball Complex.

Dispute civil for Collins clan at JSU-FSU game

TUSCALOOSA — Doug and Kelly Collins were the textbook definition of divided loyalties on Thursday. The husband and wife couple from Niceville, Fla., saw their two daughters play against each other for perhaps the first time in their lives in the opening game of the Tuscaloosa Regional.

LSU takes out Auburn

AUBURN — DJ LeMahieu hit two run-scoring doubles and left-hander Ryan Verdugo earned his eighth victory in 10 decisions as No. 16 LSU beat Auburn 6-4 Thursday at Plainsman Park.

Tide baseball rained out

ATHENS, Ga. — The first game of Alabama's series with Georgia was rained out Thursday night and will be made up as part of a doubleheader today. The teams will play two nine-inning games starting at 2 p.m.

Mayo denies receiving money

LOS ANGELES — Former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo has denied allegations that he received cash and gifts from events promoter Rodney Guillory and said he was confident an investigation will determine he did not violate NCAA rules.

JoePa hospitalized, sent home same day

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State coach Joe Paterno spent several hours at a hospital being treated for dehydration before returning home late Thursday.

Let it snow: Ranburne will ride strong, yet small, hurler

RANBURNE—Ranburne's Samantha Snow is not your average high school softball pitcher. For starters, she doesn't posses the size and apparent strength associated with the prototypical hurler.

Munford coach's contract not renewed

The meeting room at the Talladega County Board of Education office was overflowing on Thursday, as Munford High School softball coach's contract was not renewed.

Spring ball not for all: Only 8 of 13 county schools go out of season

Football isn't usually associated with spring. But with the biggest sport in the country comes added responsibility coaches feel to practice as early and as much as possible, within the rules. The high school football programs in Calhoun County are no different.

State softball roundup

Scores and briefs from area high school games.

Ellison hopes to defend title, find spark

Jaylon Ellison's approach to this weekend's Anniston Country Club/Wilfred Galbraith Invitational is the same as it is for every tournament he plays. He just wants to get in position to contend on Championship Sunday.

Vickers' crew wins Pit Crew Challenge

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brian Vickers' team kicked off NASCAR's All-Star week activities by winning the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Thursday night, beating Denny Hamlin's team in a battle of Toyotas in the final round.

Bran Strickland: All-Star weekend could be better

As all-star weekends go, NASCAR is way behind the curve in some respects, yet ahead of it on others. In no way is NASCAR's all-star race the joke that the NFL's Pro Bowl has become, with athletes playing in front of a half-filled stadium.

NASCAR notebook

Heading into Saturday night's sprint race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Jeff Gordon was seeking to keep up the momentum from two straight top-10 Sprint Cup finishes.

Falcons hope QB Ryan, RB Turner and LT Baker start of new chapter

Welcome to the new-look Falcons. At times, they will look bad. At times, they will look promising. For certain, they will look different. No team in the NFC cleaned house like the Falcons — a new general manager, a new coaching staff and a revamped roster with the majority of starting spots up for grabs.

Braves trip on Hamels: Philadelphia ace picks up first career shutout

PHILADELPHIA — Cole Hamels finally finished what he started. The Philadelphia left-hander pitched his first career shutout, Ryan Howard homered and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Thursday night.

Pats' Daboll says he doesn't remember talk with Walsh

NEW YORK — Former New England assistant coach Brian Daboll told the NFL he doesn't remember speaking with Matt Walsh about the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough Walsh attended the day before the 2002 Super Bowl.

Spurs just need road win to advance

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

Yankees sitting in last after loss to Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Music blared in the Tampa Bay clubhouse and four large, flat-screen televisions mounted around a column in the middle of the room were tuned to the same in-house channel displaying the American League East standings.

No-no bid, big catch just tip of Nats' win

NEW YORK — Willie Harris helped put Washington ahead with a key sacrifice bunt, then saved the slick-fielding Nationals by making a sensational catch in the ninth inning of Thursday's 1-0 victory over the New York Mets.

MLB notebook

Major league batting leader Chipper Jones was held out of the Atlanta Braves' starting lineup for Thursday's game at Philadelphia because of a sore groin.