(CNN) — Everton held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw Saturday in another setback for the defending champions as they attempt to catch early season pacesetters Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Red Devils were cruising after Darren Fletcher opened the scoring in the 22nd minute.

The Scot ran on to an inch-perfect pass from Ryan Giggs on the edge of the area before calmly slotting the ball past Tim Howard for his third goal of the season.

United continued to dominate the match, with Howard forced to produce a couple of vital saves in the space of a minute.

Defender Nemanja Vidic got in front of his marker and glanced a header the American keeper did well to reach. He then tipped Giggs’ excellent drive around the post.

The match turned in the 63rd minute when Everton’s $30 million record signing Marouane Fellaini nodded in a cross from former United midfielder Phil Neville.

Everton nearly went ahead two minutes later when Yakubu took advantage of a mis-kick from England defender Rio Ferdinand and curled in a shot which was touched on to the post by Edwin van der Sar.

Wayne Rooney, who was looking to score his 100th career goal against his former club, enjoyed a frustrating afternoon and was eventually substituted shortly after being yellow-carded.

“The referee (Alan Wiley) was to blame because he booked him for nothing and the crowd was egging him on, wanting him to be sent off,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “In that situation you wonder who will be next.”

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written by Andrew

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The World Series begins tonight. Cole Hamels will start the opener for the Phillies against Scott Kazmir. Hamels is 3-0 with a 1.23 in the postseason, including a pair of wins in the NLCS against the Dodgers. Kazmir also has started three playoff games this year, going 1-and-0 with a 4.02 earned run average.

The Rays will be playing three days after winning Game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox. The Phils haven’t played a meaningful inning since Hamels helped them wrap up the NL pennant last Wednesday.

It’s been 17 years since a World Series game was played in a non-retractable dome, and even longer since the Fall Classic began in the middle of the week. Both will occur Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

Scott Kazmir was selected 15th overall in the 2002 amateur draft and Cole Hamels went No. 17.

A pair of high school lefties, both brimming with promise. The comparisons were inevitable.

Six years later, Kazmir and Hamels are certainly fulfilling those lofty expectations. They’re set to square off on baseball’s biggest stage Wednesday night when the worst-to-first Tampa Bay Rays host Philadelphia in Game 1 of a World Series matchup that hardly anyone expected.

“Seems like we were pretty much in every single league going through the ranks,” Kazmir said of his Phillies counterpart. “I got to see quite a bit of him and kind of follow his career a little bit.”

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written by Andrew

BOSTON – Fenway Park fell silent, and the Boston Red Sox were on the verge of going down without a whimper. Then baseball’s comeback kings did it again.

Trailing by seven runs with seven outs left in their season, the Red Sox pulled off the biggest postseason rally since 1929. Boston staved off elimination in the AL championship series with an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night when J.D. Drew singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth.

“The first six innings we did nothing. They had their way with us every way possible,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said after a draining 4-hour, 8-minute thriller. “And then this place came unglued, and we’ve seen that before. But because of the situation we’re in, it just — that was pretty magical.”

The Red Sox, who twice this decade rallied from 3-1 deficits to win the pennant and then the World Series, have a chance to do it an unprecedented third time in five years when the series resumes in Tropicana Field. Josh Beckett is scheduled to face James Shields in Game 6 on Saturday night.

The cowbells will be clanging again for the home team. The tarps will come off the upper deck to accommodate the Rays’ newly found fans. And the catwalks are definitely in play for another game.

The AL winner faces Philadelphia in the World Series starting Wednesday night.

“There’s a lot of fight in that dugout,” Drew said. “And a lot of guys knew as soon as we got some runs on the board, we could get something going.”

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(CNN) – Wayne Rooney scored two second half goals as England maintained their perfect start to World Cup qualifying with a 3-1 win over Belarus in Minsk on Wednesday night.

The Manchester United striker continued his rich scoring vein by putting England 2-1 ahead in the 50th minute and wrapped up the victory in the 74th minute with his fifth goal in his last three international games.

“We had to work very hard,” Rooney told Associated Press.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my teammates. It’s a great three points. Twelve points from the first four games is a great boost for us.”

Rooney had set up Steven Gerrard to put England ahead early in the Group Six match at the Dinamo Stadium, the Liverpool star curling his shot home from 25 meters.

But Pavel Sitko headed an equalizer after 28 minutes as the hosts finished off a 23-pass move and they continued to unsettle the England defense.

Fabio Capello’s men showed their fighting qualities and re-established their lead soon after the break with the excellent Emile Heskey muscling his way past Sergei Omelyanchuk then crossing for strike partner Rooney to sidefoot home.

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LOS ANGELES - The losingest team in pro sports history was soaked in champagne and whooping it up Wednesday night. Next stop for these Philadelphia Phillies: the World Series.

Jimmy Rollins got them rollin’ with a leadoff home run, Cole Hamels pitched his third gem of the playoffs and Philadelphia beat the bumbling Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 to win the NL championship series 4-1 for its first pennant since 1993.

“After hearing about the ‘93 team over and over and over again, we finally have a chance to make our mark,” Rollins said. “This was an organization that I felt when I got here I wanted to try to change. And I had my opportunity to. You know, we had been used to losing.”

Now, the Phillies will go for their second World Series title beginning next Wednesday night at Tampa Bay or Boston. The Rays lead the Red Sox 3-1 in the ALCS, which resumes Thursday night at Fenway Park.

Last year, the Phillies became the first professional team to lose 10,000 games. This season, the ball is bouncing their way.

The NL East champions, who didn’t clinch a playoff berth until the final weekend of the season, took advantage of three errors by shortstop Rafael Furcal in the fifth inning and shrugged off another homer by Manny Ramirez.

Brad Lidge closed it out for the Phillies, who won their lone championship in 1980 by beating Kansas City in six games. They also reached the World Series in 1915, 1950, 1983 and 1993, when they lost to Toronto in six games on Joe Carter’s ninth-inning homer off Mitch Williams.

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LOS ANGELES - The Philadelphia Phillies used their favorite staple, the long ball, to move within one win of the World Series.

Shane Victorino and much-traveled pinch-hitter Matt Stairs hit two-run homers off two of Los Angeles’ most reliable relievers in the eighth inning Monday night, lifting the Phillies to a 7-5 victory over the Dodgers and a 3-1 lead in the NL championship series.

It was the first time the visiting team has won a game in 12 meetings between the teams this year.

Phillies ace Cole Hamels, who won the series opener, can pitch Philadelphia into its first World Series in 15 years Wednesday night in Game 5. He’ll be opposed by Game 2 loser Chad Billingsley.

Eleven teams in baseball history have come back from 3-1 deficits to win a best-of-seven postseason series — two in the NLCS.

With a runner at first and one out in the eighth, Victorino lined Cory Wade’s first pitch into the right-field bullpen to tie the game at 5. Then, after a two-out single by Carlos Ruiz, Dodgers manager Joe Torre called upon closer Jonathan Broxton, the seventh Los Angeles pitcher.

Broxton tried to throw a 3-1 fastball past Stairs, and the 40-year-old left-handed hitter drove it halfway up the the right-field pavilion to put the Phillies ahead.

Broxton, the seventh Los Angeles pitcher, allowed only two homers in 69 innings during the regular season.

The Phillies picked up Stairs from Toronto on Aug. 30. He has played for 11 teams in his career.

The Phillies hit an NL-leading 214 homers during the regular season, and have nine in eight postseason games, good for 17 of their 35 runs.

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MILWAUKEE - The Philadelphia Phillies found plenty of power to go with their pitching, right in time for the NL championship series.

Pat Burrell broke out of his slump in a big way with two homers, one a three-run shot, and Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth added solo homers Sunday to lead the Phillies to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that clinched their first trip to the NLCS since 1993.

Overshadowed by the offensive barrage was a gem by Joe Blanton, who held the Brewers to one run after an eight-day layoff.

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(CNN) — Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the decisive goal on Tuesday to give Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg in Group H of the Champions League.

The Spanish giants had not won in seven matches on the road in Europe since beating Steaua Bucharest 4-1 in Romania in October 2006.

"We scored a very important and very tough victory," Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said.

Vincenzo Iaquinta scored two goals to help Juventus rally for a 2-2 draw with BATE Borisov in the night’s other group clash.

Van Nistelrooy struck for Real with a left-foot shot in the 31st minute — six minutes after Russian record buy Danny equalized for Zenit following Andrei Arshavin’s cross.

Madrid, who beat Champions newcomers BATE Borisov 2-0 in their opening group game, had taken the lead in the fourth minute when Tomas Hubocan scored an own-goal

Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart launched the attack down the right and was helped when his marker Igor Denisov slipped allowing him to cross — Hubocan diverting the ball past keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Real were relieved to come away with a win after sustained pressure from Zenit failed to stop the nine-time European champions.

"St. Petersburg deserved a draw," Schuster said. "But for some reason in the first half, they didn’t play the way we expected them to. Only after substitutions in the second half did they raise the tempo."

UEFA Cup and Super Cup holders Zenit, coached by Dutchman Dick Advocaat, were boosted by the return of Arshavin who sat out their opening loss to Juventus.

"We created an unimaginable number of chances, but couldn’t score," Advocaat said. "I can’t step on the pitch to do it instead of the players."

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CHICAGO - Thanks to Jim Thome’s bat and Ken Griffey Jr.’s arm, the AL Central has a winner at last: the Chicago White Sox.

John Danks pitched eight innings of two-hit ball on short rest, Thome homered and Griffey threw out a runner at the plate with a tough tag by A.J. Pierzynski, helping Chicago beat the Minnesota Twins 1-0 in a 163rd-game tiebreaker for the division title Tuesday night.

The White Sox joined the crosstown Cubs in the postseason, the first time since 1906 that both Chicago teams made it. And just as the Cubs did when they clinched the NL Central crown, several White Sox players came back on the field after the final out and sprayed fans with champagne.

"We’re so happy from our end that Sox fans get to enjoy this ride," Thome said.

Next up for the South Siders, a first-round matchup with the surprising Rays. Game 1 is Thursday at Tampa Bay, which won the AL East.

"Look at this," Thome said with the crowd roaring all around him. "This is what it’s all about — October baseball."

The White Sox got a huge boost Tuesday from two of their oldest players: Thome and Griffey, both seeking their first World Series championship.

Thome’s long drive on a 2-2 pitch from rookie Nick Blackburn cleared two rows of shrubs in center field, traveling an estimated 461 feet to snap a scoreless tie in the seventh. It was the 541st homer for Thome, who raised his right fist as he rounded first base. He hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2001 with Cleveland.

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CARSON, Calif. - Shane Mosley stopped Ricardo Mayorga with one second left in the 12th round of their junior middleweight bout Saturday night to possibly put himself in line for a title shot.

Neither fighter appeared seriously hurt before Mosley floored Mayorga with about 15 seconds left in the final round. Mayorga staggered to his feet and took the mandatory eight count before a short left put him down again. There was no way Mayorga was going to get up after that. Referee David Mendoza stopped the bout just before it was going to end in a decision.

Mosley led by one point on judge Nelson Vasquez’s scorecard and five on Tony Crebs’ entering the 12th round. Mayorga had a one-point lead on judge Pat Russell’s card. The Associated Press had Mosley ahead by three points entering the 12th.

Antonio Margarito watched the fight from ringside. Mosley, a former four-time world champion, has lobbied for a shot at Margarito, who stopped Miguel Cotto on July 26 in Las Vegas to win the WBA welterweight championship. Cotto earned the title by scoring a close but unanimous 12-round decision over Mosley 10 1/2 months ago.

"Mayorga is a tough fighter, he took some good shots," Mosley said. "But I wore him down. He was a lot heavier than me. He put on at least 10 pounds."

Both fighters weighed 153 1/2 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in.

"I caught him with the side of my right hand and an uppercut, so I knew I hurt him and he got wobbly," Mosley said. "I felt him getting weaker during the fight, but he was trying to stay strong. I felt I was winning the fight and he stole a few rounds. But I wanted the knockout. I wanted to give the fans what they deserved, and that was a knockout.

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