• Big Shoes To Fill
  

  Joe Girardi knows the pressure of being the 32nd manager of the New York Yankees. But the 43-year-old former catcher wouldn’t trade places with anyone.
  
  “Managing the Yankees was something I always wanted to do,” he said. “Because of the tradition, and basically, what the word Yankees stands for.”
  
  Success and overachievement have been Girardi’s hallmarks throughout his life. Raised in Peoria, Illinois, the fourth of five children learned the value of hard work and discipline by helping out in his parents’ Italian restaurant.

• Giving Back
  

  Chris Paul and his older brother learned their lessons at an early age. His parents, Charles and Robin Paul, insisted their sons maintain their grades, respect their elders, assist around the house, and attend church every week.
  
  “We went to church, got whuppings when we were bad, and couldn’t play our video games during the week,” said Chris’ older sibling C.J. “Some people would say it was a rough childhood,...

• Character Counts
  Last spring, Canadian politicians accused Shane Doan of making anti-French slurs towards a National Hockey League referee. They demanded his removal as captain of Team Canada, but teammates and hockey officials quickly rose to Doan’s defense. "You should get to know Shane Doan," said Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson to the House of Commons’ Official Languages Committee. "You can talk to all of his teammates that have played with him. He says 'fudge' if he gets upset. He's a Christian and a person that I am proud to know."
• Happy Homecoming
  Since 2000, only hardcore basketball fans knew the whereabouts of Anthony Parker. But after six seasons overseas, the former first-round draft pick has returned to the NBA and established a solid reputation around the league. Playing in Israel, Parker led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague championship in 2004 and captured the league’s Most Valuable Player award the following two seasons. After showcasing his talents in a 2005 exhibition game against the Toronto Raptors, ...
• Aiming For The Sky
  Hunter Smith spends his autumn Sunday afternoons kicking skyward. But the punter for the 2007 Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts doesn’t limit his weekend activities to just football. The nine-year NFL veteran aims toward a higher calling,...
• Actions Speak Louder
  Tony Dungy doesn’t fit a football coach’s stereotypical mold. He never curses, throws tantrums, or berates his players. But the head coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts commands respect from everyone involved in the game. Dungy’s actions on and off the field convey his character, intelligence, and leadership.
• Turning Defeat Into Victory
  George Foreman lost only five bouts during his 29-year professional boxing career. But the former heavyweight world champion claims his life’s greatest triumphs emerged from his two most stunning defeats.

Yahoo! Sports Headlines

• Lakers reach West finals, hold off Jazz (AP)

  

  Kobe Bryant has some time to rest his back. Not that he appears to need it. Bryant scored 34 points, 12 in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles held off a furious rally by the Utah Jazz for a 108-105 victory Friday night in Game 6, putting the Lakers in the Western Conference finals for the first time in four years.

  
  

• Cavs ride James, force Game 7 at Boston (AP)

  

  The Boston Celtics are going home for another Game 7. They handled the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron James may not be as easy. James scored 32 points -- 19 in the second half -- and the Cavaliers forced a decisive and fitting finale to this home-sweet-home playoff series with a 74-69 victory Friday night over the Celtics, who have gone from regular-season road kings to postseason road kill.

  
  

• Pats coach Belichick lashes out at Walsh (AP)

  New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick lashed out at the team's former video assistant Friday, saying in a televised interview that Matt Walsh was a low-level staffer who was fired for "poor job performance" "There's not a lot of credibility," Belichick said in an interview broadcast on "CBS Evening News." "You know, he's tried to make it seem like we're buddies, and belong to the same book...

• Magowan stepping down from Giants (AP)

  

  Peter Magowan, the owner who brought Barry Bonds to San Francisco, built a new ballpark and kept major league baseball in the city, is stepping down as managing partner of the Giants. The 66-year-old Magowan will retire from his duties at the end of the season on Oct. 1 but maintain an ownership stake, the team said Friday.

  
  

• NFL owners could opt out of labor deal (AP)

  NFL owners could opt out of their agreement with the players union next week, leaving open the possibility of a 2010 season without a salary cap. The labor agreement is on the agenda for the league meetings in Atlanta on Tuesday. "If they don't do it next week then it will be soon after that," Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, said Friday.

• Montgomery gets 46 months for fraud (AP)

  Olympian Tim Montgomery had everything he ever wanted. Once known as the "world's fastest man," Montgomery won a silver medal in the 400 relay at the 1996 Olympics and gold in the same event in 2000. In 2002, he set a record of 9.78 seconds in the 100-meter dash. "I've stood on top of the mountain," he said.

• Werth's 3 HRs, 8 RBIs power Phils to win (AP)

  

  Jayson Werth could not remember ever being this productive in a game -- that's including Little League. Werth homered in his first three at-bats and tied a Philadelphia Phillies record with eight RBIs in a 10-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. "Anything can happen on any given day, I guess," Werth said.

  
  

• Rays earn eighth win in nine games (AP)

  

  Andy Sonnanstine's strong pitching was no surprise. After carrying a shutout into the eighth inning, the right-hander has won his last five decisions for the Tampa Bay Rays. It was Sonnanstine's second-career two-hit game that the St. Louis Cardinals didn't see coming. "The guy doesn't even probably take BP, so you've got to give him credit," Cardinals starter Braden Looper said after the Rays' 3-1...

  
  

• Briscoe, 2 rookies crash at Indy (AP)

  Veteran driver Ryan Briscoe, a front-row qualifier last week, crashed hard in the second turn but was uninjured during practice Friday for the Indianapolis 500.

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