Sports News-August 30, 2010

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Rafael Nadal wants a U.S. Open title, of course.  It is, after all, the only Grand Slam trophy he has yet to win.  Still, the top ranked and top seeded Nadal insists he is not consumed by thoughts of needing to leave Flushing Meadows with a championship two weeks from now.  Only 24 years old, Nadal already owns eight major titles with five being at the French Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.  He never has been past the semifinals at the U.S. Open and says he hopes to play well at the tournament that begins today, but he is not obsessed with winning in New York.  He has played rival Roger Federer 21 times overall, including in seven Grand Slam finals, but they never have met at the U.S. Open.

A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles Dodgers are close to sending Manny Ramirez to the Chicago White Sox.  The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details were still being worked out, expects the deal to be completed today.  Whether it's a trade or waiver claim is still to be determined.  The White Sox are hoping Ramirez will be energized by a change of scenery and can give them a lift similar to the one he provided for Los Angeles when he was acquired by the Dodgers in 2008.  The 38-year-old Ramirez is batting .311 this season with eight homers and 40 RBIs, but has played in just 66 games due to injuries.

The second-ranked Nebraska volleyball team fought off four match points in the third set and led 11-7 in the fifth and final set only to see No. 13 Florida win eight of the final nine points and rally for a 25-22, 25-22, 29-31, 13-25, 15-12 victory in front of 5,978 fans in the final match of the Runza/AVCA Showcase last night at Qwest Center Omaha.  With the loss, Nebraska fell to 1-1 on the season, while Florida improved to 2-0.  Four Huskers matched or set career highs in kills during the win, including senior Lindsey Licht (18), junior Brooke Delano (14), sophomore Allison McNeal (7) and freshman Morgan Broekhuis (10).  Sophomore Hannah Werth added 12 kills to give Nebraska four players with double-figure kills and two more with at least seven.  Following the first weekend of the season, Nebraska returns to Omaha on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup with in-state rival Creighton at the D.J. Sokol Arena.

Local Schedule:  Round Rock at Omaha Royals (Bsbl-7:05).

Local Scores:  Iowa 8 Omaha Royals 7 (Bsbl); Nebraska 2 Loyola-Maryland 0 (W. Socc.); Creighton 5 Loyola-Chicago 0 (W. Socc.).

AMERICAN LEAGUE
   
     Final  Kansas City     6  Cleveland       2
     Final  Detroit        10  Toronto         4
     Final  N-Y Yankees     2  Chi White Sox   1
     Final  Oakland         8  Texas           2
     Final  Baltimore       1  L.A. Angels     0
     Final  Seattle         2  Minnesota       1
     Final  Tampa Bay       5  Boston          3
   
   
       NATIONAL LEAGUE
   
     Final  Cincinnati      7  Chi Cubs        5
     Final  N-Y Mets        5  Houston         1
     Final  Atlanta         7  Florida         6
     Final  Washington      4  St. Louis       2
     Final  Milwaukee       8  Pittsburgh      4
     Final  Colorado       10  L.A. Dodgers    5
     Final  San Francisco   9  Arizona         7
     Final  Philadelphia    5  San Diego       0
   
   
       NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
   
     Final  Denver  34  Pittsburgh  17

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