AM800 Sports

 

The wait is over for fans of U.S college football.  The University of Michigan is home to U-Conn tomorrow for the first game of the season.  Kick off at The Big House is 3:30pm.   The Wolverines are listed as the two-and-a-half point favorites.  Michigan State is home to the Broncos of Western Michigan.  The Spartans are the 24 point favorites.

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The last of the original Houston Texans is gone.  The N-F-L team has cut kicker Kris Brown, the last player from its inaugural 2002 season.  Brown lost a competition in training camp to Neil Rackers, who was signed in the off-season.  Brown is the only player to appear in all 128 games in Texans history.

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Mario Lemieux is being inducted into a different type of hall today.  The retired hockey star is among 53 people getting the Order of Canada, along with the likes of former prime minister Kim Campbell.  Campbell will become a companion of the order, its highest grade.  Lemieux is being invested as an officer, the second-highest grade.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have gone shopping for scoring depth in the N-H-L's free agent bargain bin.  The team has signed veteran forward Mike Comrie to a one-year contract.  He will earn 500-thousand U-S, which is the least he is allowed to make.  The 29-year-old has appeared in 568 career games.

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Talks continue between the Wings and Kirk Matlby.  The veteran forward, who has played in Detroit since 1996, has also looked into the free agent market.  The Wings have reportedly made him a one-year contract offer.  If Maltby failed to make the roster in Detroit, he would then be assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.

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New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has split with his long-time agent.  The slugger said he and Scott Boras had a good run, but that he no longer needs some of the things he needed 20 years ago.  A-Rod is in the third season of a record 275- million deal that carries through the 2017 season.

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New York is hosting Toronto today. 

The Tigers are in action tonight.  Detroit opens a three game series in Kansas City.  Jeremy Bonderman is scheduled to take the mound against Royals ace Zack Greinke.

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Samantha Stosur and Elena Dementieva beat their opponents and out-raced Hurricane Earl today at the U-S Open.  Both players registered quick victories as the storm loomed over the eastern seaboard.  The forecast from the tournament's meteorologist called for intermittent showers.