second wild-card position. The Diamondbacks have fallen 3 1/2 games behind the surging Dodgers and needed lefty relief h

The two most prolific scorers in the WNBA collide Friday night, when reigning MVP Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky host Tina Charles and the first-place New York Liberty at Allstate Arena.Charles leads the league in scoring at 22.8 points and is second in rebounding at 9.6 per game. She was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June. Its the second straight month Charles has won the honor, and third time in last four months.Delle Donne is second in the WNBA in scoring, behind Charles, averaging 21.4 points per game. Delle Donne is coming off a season-high 38-point performance in a loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday. She scored 25 points in the first half and hit 10 consecutive shots during one stretch of the game.The Sky lost six of eight overall, including an 80-79 loss to the Liberty on June 24. Delle Donne had 31 points in the loss. Charles had 21 points for New York in the win.Neither teams star is receiving a lot of help from their supporting cast. Veteran guard Cappie Pondexter (12.5 points per game) is the only other Sky player averaging double figures in points, alongside Delle Donne. New Yorks Sugar Rodgers is the only other Liberty player averaging double figures (16.1 points per game), alongside Charles.The Liberty (13-6) have won three of four and are coming off a 78-74 win over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday. They have won nine of 11 overall to climb into first-place in the Eastern Conference, 3.5 games ahead of second place Atlanta.The win over the Seattle was New York coach Bill Laimbeers 199th career win. Hes looking to become the sixth WNBA coach to reach 200 wins for his career.New York boasts the third best record in the WNBA, behind only the Los Angeles Sparks and defending-champion Minnesota. The top eight teams regardless of conference will make the playoffs this season.The Liberty have won four of the past five meetings with the Sky.Air Force 1 Svart Norge .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Air Force 1 Herre Norge . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. http://www.airforce1norge.com/ . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Nike Air Force 1 Salg .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. Nike Tanjun Norge . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars.In the playoff mix for a second straight year, the Baltimore Orioles made the biggest move on a quiet trade-deadline day, acquiring Bud Norris to keep pace with the Boston Red Sox. Hoping to catch the NL West-leading Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks filled a hole in their bullpen Wednesday by sending struggling 20-game winner Ian Kennedy to San Diego for lefty reliever Joe Thatcher. Boston put the pressure on Baltimore by picking up 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy from the Chicago White Sox less than 24 hours earlier in a three-team trade. The deal was finalized quickly in part because the Detroit Tigers were eager to protect themselves in case shortstop Jhonny Peralta is suspended for his involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal. "The frank reality is that I do not know what is going to happen with Jhonny, but with this move, we now feel well protected if there is a long suspension," Tigers general manager David Dombrowski said. With all eyes on the Yankees because of Alex Rodriguezs likely suspension by Major League Baseball for his role in the wide-ranging drug case, New York never could work out a deal with the Phillies for corner infielder Michael Young, who is staying -- for now -- with Philadelphia. San Francisco also held onto left-hander Javier Lopez and the Los Angeles Angels kept second baseman Howie Kendrick after sending Alberto Callaspo to Oakland late Monday. Other than a few other minor swaps Wednesday, baseballs executives did much of their work in the weeks leading up to the 4 p.m. EDT non-waiver trade cutoff. "In general I just think everybody was dealing with a relative level of frustration knowing that the strength wasnt there, the bona fide help, per se, across the board was going to be very tough to fulfill their needs," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said after the deadline passed. The busy Cubs sent Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees, Matt Garza to Texas, Scott Feldman to Baltimore and Carlos Marmol to the Dodgers. Francisco Rodriguez, Marc Rzepczynski, Callaspo, Scott Downs and Jesse Crain also switched teams this month. The NL Central-leading Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and the struggling World Series champion Giants were among several teams that chose to stand pat Wednesday in a tepid market. In the midst of a revival that has an entire city brimming with Bucs fever, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington reluctantly held back from making any deals. "We talk a lot about, we dont want to do something stupid," Huntington said. "We were willing to do something stupid, we just diddnt want to do anything insane.dddddddddddd." Teams can make trades for the rest of the season, but it gets riskier. Players must first pass through waivers, meaning they can be claimed by another club before a deal takes place. For a player to be eligible for the postseason with his new team, swaps must be completed before Aug. 31. On Wednesday, Houston also sent outfielder Justin Maxwell to Kansas City and the Dodgers picked up backup catcher Drew Butera from Minnesota and sent him to the minors. Also, Seattle traded minor league infielder Robert Andino to the Pirates for a player to be named or cash. The young Astros, with the worst record in baseball at 35-70, dealt reliever Jose Veras -- to Detroit on Monday. Norris only had to walk down the hall to join his new team with Houston in Baltimore. Outfielder L.J. Hoes, one of two prospects sent to Houston, was initially in the Orioles lineup but ended up getting the start for the Astros. Class-A left-hander Josh Hader was the other player in the deal. A 28-year-old right-hander, Norris helps fortify a rotation that will be without injured Jason Hammel for at least the next two weeks. In his fifth big league season, Norris is 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA in 21 starts this year. He has a lifetime record of 34-46 and is under team control through 2015. "Im excited for the future," Norris said. "I pitched my way into this situation to be traded and help out a team. This (Baltimore) team is a young club, they know how to contend. They had an amazing year last year. I just want to be any piece of the puzzle I can to help this team keep pushing to the World Series." Baltimore began Wednesday five games back of Boston in the AL East and in the second wild-card position. The Diamondbacks have fallen 3 1/2 games behind the surging Dodgers and needed lefty relief help. Thatcher is 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 50 games this season. He has limited left-handed batters to a .215 average. "Its exciting to get traded. Its a big deal. It brings excitement to be in a pennant race," Thatcher said. "That is all you ask for, is to win. Im looking forward to getting over there and helping out and doing whatever they need from me." The Diamondbacks also got 23-year-old right-hander Matt Stites, who is 2-2 with a 2.08 ERA and 14 saves in 46 games with Double-A San Antonio. Kennedy, 21-4 two seasons ago, is 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA in 21 starts and hasnt won a game in two months. Hes expected to start Sunday at Petco Park against the New York Yankees, the team that took him in the first round of the June 2006 draft. ' ' '