ST. PETERSBURG | Backup catcher Shawn Riggans hit a two-run home run, Scott Kazmir pitched six shutout innings and the Rays went 6-1 at home against the Angels and Yankees and take a one-game lead in the AL East.... more»

PALM BAY | Firefighters hoped to make further major gains today against a wildfire that has charred thousands of acres along Florida’s Atlantic coast, as police questioned a man seen tossing a Molotov cocktail into nearby woods.... more»

• Local Fire Crew Deployed to East Coast
• Florida Wildfires: Tuesday
• Florida Wildfires: Monday
• Florida Wildfires

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the fan violence that marred the UEFA Cup final as a "disgrace" and expressed concern Thursday that it could harm England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup. (May 15)... more»

James Drury of Lakeland, a member of the Lakeland Bassmasters, netted both the biggest bass, 6.90 pounds, and first place in the non-boater division of the Florida BASS Federation Nation Central Region qualifier on the Harris Chain May 4 with 13.38 pounds.... more»

WINTER HAVEN | As guests entered Nora Mayo Hall on Wednesday, they were greeted by a Tiki hut, palm trees, colorful lawn chairs and sand buckets, but they weren't celebrating sun, sand and sea - they were honoring four women who serve their community and serve as role models for today's young...... more»

DARLINGTON, S.C. | When Tony Stewart strides through the Nationwide Series garage on race day, he feels the eyes of other teams on him and knows they're wondering if they'll again run second to the powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing team.... more»

Strange things always seem to happen at the Preakness. A drunken fan runs onto the track and punches at speeding horses. Barbaro breaks down in 2006. A race day power outage costs Pimlico millions of dollars.... more»

DUNDEE | The town's Recreation Department will offer a variety of events, including a camp, this summer.... more»

WASHINGTON | Sen. Arlen Specter wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.... more»

Lake Region High School girls basketball coach Michael Cope will hold open gym sessions and workouts throughout the summer for girls planning to participate in the basketball program next school year.... more»

Florida Southern softball shortstop Sara Lovestrand was named a second-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association on Wednesday.... more»

Four Florida Southern baseball players made the All-Sunshine State Conference team, the league said Wednesday.... more»

Hope Hospice is accepting applications for its Rainbow Trails camp for children ages 6-16 who have had a death in their family during the past year. For more information or to receive an application packet, call 239-985-7792.haines city... more»

HAMBURG, Germany | Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic cruised into the third round of the Hamburg Masters on Wednesday. Second-ranked Rafael Nadal had to work harder.... more»

SARASOTA | Fort Meade committed two errors in the first inning allowing Jacksonville Providence to jump out to a five-run lead, and the Stallions went on to defeat the Miners, 7-0, Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2008 FHSAA Class 2A Baseball Finals at Ed Smith Stadium.... more»

The tabloid world - led by the magazine Us Weekly, along with the paradigm-exploding Web sites TMZ and Perezhilton.com - is simultaneously bursting and flat.... more»

LEXINGTON, Ky. | Big Brown figures to produce big green as a stallion, which is why the Kentucky Derby winner most likely will retire young, just as his parents did.... more»

A story on page C1 on Tuesday about the Polk County Senior All-Star high school baseball game contained several inaccuracies. The game was played at Winter Haven's Jim Whitney Field, not Denison Stadium. Johnny Wiggs is a former Polk Community College coach who now coaches at Santa Fe Community...... more»

LAKE BUENA VISTA | Walt Disney World Resort is incorporating another component into its popular Wide World of Sports complex - ESPN.... more»

TAMPA | Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback Jeff Garcia is disappointed the Bucs have not renegotiated his contract, which is entering the second year of a two-year deal. He hinted following the team’s Organized Team Activities (OTA) workout Tuesday that he may hold out.... more»

Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera completed the 14th unassisted triple play in Major League history Monday night. (May 13)... more»

The New York Knicks introduced Mike D'Antoni as their new coach Tuesday, hoping his high-scoring brand of basketball will turn around a team with seven straight losing seasons. (May 13)... more»

Having earned a milestone victory at the Kentucky Derby aboard Big Brown, Kent Desormeaux hopes to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive with a sentimental win at the Preakness. Long before he reached elite status in Southern California in the 1990s, the Hall of Fame jockey made a name for himself on...... more»

When Jenny Higgins started doing triathlons, she discovered something peculiar. She had been on her high school cross country and swim teams and her college swim team. But in 2003 she started running, swimming and cycling, and tried to excel in all three at once.... more»

They have five All-County high school volleyball players and three who have signed college scholarships. And now the 18 Red team of the Lakeland Area Volleyball Association is taking the program where it has not gone before - to the Amateur Athletic Union's National Tournament.... more»

WINTER HAVEN | Austin Robillard of Frostproof hit a high-hop grounder to short in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring Wes Crawford from third base to give the East Polk County All-Stars an 11-10 victory over the West on Monday night.... more»

Siblings Hannah and Jordan Kendall each won their age groups in the Go For The Gold swim meet the weekend of May 2 in Carrollwood.... more»

WIGAN, England | Manchester United won its 10th Premier League title in 16 years Sunday, getting a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and another goal from Ryan Giggs to beat Wigan 2-0 on the final day of the season.... more»

The Cuban national judo team returned home Monday without one of its stars, whose weekend disappearance fueled speculation that she is defecting.... more»

Survivors of this weekend's tornadoes are cleaning up and salvaging what they can. At least 24 people died in Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama after severe storms erupted Saturday over the southern plains and swept east. (May 12)... more»