That litany of health issues Novak Djokovic dealt with earlier in the week -- hip, ankle, stomach and more -- seemed a tad humorous to Andy Roddick. So Roddick joked about it, first by saying in an on-court interview it sounded as though Djokovic had "about 16 injuries," then by wondering aloud whether the problems might not also include bird flu, anthrax, SARS and a common cold.

Scott Kazmir did his part to get the Tampa Bay Rays back on track. The All-Star left-hander allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, and the Rays' bullpen weathered ninth-inning home runs by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez to beat the Yankees 7-5 and avoid a three-game sweep on Thursday night. Willy Aybar homered and drove in three runs for the AL East leaders, who avoided a three-game sweep and...

The New York Giants won the Super Bowl with defense and they kicked off defense of that title with more of the same. Playing without Pro Bowl linemen Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, New York limited the new-look Washington Redskins to 11 first downs and 209 total yards and gave indications that these Giants are back for another run in a 16-7 victory that ushered in the NFL season Thursday...

Daunte Culpepper summed up his thoughts Thursday in two words, which ushered in the start of a new era for the former Pro Bowl quarterback. "Farewell NFL," he wrote. With that, a career once filled with such promise came to a most unceremonious end. Culpepper, who starred for the Minnesota Vikings before a major knee injury in 2005 curtailed his career, announced his retirement in an e-mail Thursday...

Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier is making gradual improvement from gunshot wounds but is "not out of the woods yet," his agent told a newspaper Thursday. Collier remained in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, but agent Jeff Jankovich told the Florida Times-Union he was encouraged by what limited knowledge he has of Collier's...