Stairs blast lifts Phillies past Dodgers

By Jahmal Corner

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Matt Stairs belted a pinch-hit two-run homer to lift Philadelphia to a 7-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday and a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.

Stairs's moon shot to right field, the final blow in a fluctuating contest, capped a four-run eighth inning for the Phillies and was his first career homer in the post-season.

Stairs, acquired by the Phillies from the Toronto Blue Jays on August 30 as a reserve player, came through when it mattered despite limited playing time this year.

"It's something I look forward to, to get an opportunity in a situation where it's an important time in the game," Stairs told reporters. "(I was) very fortunate to connect on one tonight."

Stairs's big swing came just three at-bats after Shane Victorino drilled a game-tying two-run homer that just cleared the right-field fence off Dodgers pitcher Cory Wade.

The teams combined to use 13 pitchers with Philadelphia reliever Brad Lidge recording the save after retiring Los Angeles for the final four outs.

Dodgers starter Derek Lowe surrendered two runs during a tough start but settled in to finish five innings.

The post-season veteran was pitching on just three days rest and was replaced after just 74 pitches, a move that came back to hurt Los Angeles.

"He had to work hard every inning -- it just looked like he was fighting his emotions the whole game," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of his starter. "I just decided to make the move there."

TOOK CONTROL

The Dodgers took control of the game by scoring two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings.

Manny Ramirez, who was 2-for-2 with three walks, had an RBI single in the fifth against Philadelphia starter Joe Blanton, who went five innings and allowed three runs.

Casey hit a solo homer in the sixth in which Los Angeles claimed a 5-3 lead.

"We don't quit, and we keep coming and play all 27 outs," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

Chase Utley was 3-for-5 and had an RBI single in the first, his ninth straight playoff game hitting safely, where Philadelphia scored twice to take an early 2-0 edge.

Game Five in the best-of-seven series is on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

"We can't give up, we're still in this," said Dodgers first baseman James Loney.

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Ed Osmond)

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Armstrong to race in 2009 Giro d'Italia

File photo shows cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, September 12, 2008. (REUTERS/Christopher Pike)

By Mark Meadows

MILAN (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong will race in next year's Giro d'Italia for the first time as part of his cycling comeback, the seven-times Tour de France winner said on Monday.

The 37-year-old, who retired in 2005, will compete in the May 9-31 race before bidding for an eighth Tour title in July.

"I will give my utmost, and not only to prepare for the Tour," Armstrong said in a statement.

"Not having taken part in the Giro was one of my biggest regrets as a rider. Finally I will be able to do it. For five years I lived in Como and I am very excited to return to Italy."

The American will start his comeback in January's Tour Down Under in Australia after being allowed to compete by the International Cycling Union (UCI) despite breaching the rules.

Riders making comebacks have to be in the UCI's anti-doping program for six months prior to racing but the governing body has made an exception for Armstrong, who announced he was returning to the sport only last month.

Armstrong, who fought off cancer and unproven doping allegations during his career, is partly making a comeback with the Astana team to promote his global cancer awareness campaign, LiveStrong.

The Giro, the second biggest stage-race after the Tour, will be celebrating its centenary next year. The route has yet to be announced.

"Lance knows very well the affection Italians have for him after the years he spent living on the banks of Lake Como," said Angelo Zomegnan, the cycling director of Giro organizers RCS Sport.

"It is an affection that is not equaled in any other European country."

Many riders opt out of racing both the Giro and the Tour because of the physical exertion required. Francesco Moser, who won the Giro in 1984, was skeptical that Armstrong could properly race in both.

"At 37 years of age, to return to racing after three years is a decision I don't understand and it seems dangerous to me. To race the Tour as well in the same year is not a simple thing," he was quoted as saying in Italian media.

(Editing by Miles Evans)

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Six Sweaty Moments of Geeky Triumph

If you watch enough high school movies, you'll begin to think that jocks and geeks are always at war. Not so, however: Science fiction is full of triumphant sports moments, and not just the ones that end in death. From Battlestar Galactica's pyramid ball to Futurama's Blernsball to Arthur C. Clarke's outer space sailing, this genre has a lot to offer your gym-minded friends. Whether the stakes are high or low, these six displays of futuristic athleticism are the most energetic bits of nerdery since Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the moon.

1. Mystery Ball - Firefly:

It gets boring in the dead of space, and if you had a giant cargo bay, you'd probably be playing some weird version of basketball in it too.

2. Boxing - Battlestar Galactica:

Okay, so by the end of the clip, it's unclear whether this is more about boxing or sex, but I'm happy either way.

3. Salute of the Jugger - The Blood of Heroes:

I would probably have been a much scarier field hockey opponent if my coach was Rutger Hauer.

4. Good old-fashioned dueling - Star Trek: The Original Series:

Yes, T'Pring was clearly not eager to marry either of these men, but can you blame her when Spock is so quick to slash open his captain's shirt to reveal the rippling flesh underneath?

5. Kung fu - The Matrix:

Even a computer nerd like Neo would download kung fu knowledge before, say, quantum mechanics or gas turbine propulsion. I guess that's fair.

6. Swimming - Gattaca:

We may have advanced far enough in society to genetically engineer people for specific tasks, but there's no point in moving beyond the vindictive deliciousness of sibling rivalry.

In literary sf, there's always the heart-pounding wargame of Ender's Game — Orson Scott Card gleefully turned sedentary videogame tropes into a festival of zero-g adrenaline. Larry Niven's The Hunting Park, part of his Man-Kzin Wars collection, explores the nature of human hunting. And editors Jack Dann and Gardner Dozios have made it easy for sci-fi sports fans with their anthology Future Sports, which features a sailing story from Arthur C. Clarke and a look at no-contact sumo wrestling by Howard Waldrop.

What's next for sci-fi sports? Well, I'm hoping for cheerleading to make an appearance; maybe we could see what Bring It On is like when you adapt it for an alien planet. And you should find a sport to play — in case, for example, we ever have to battle aliens for world domination with baseball.

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