Federer Heads the Men’s Field at the U.S. Open

Roger Federer, the three-time defending champion, heads the men’s field for the United States Open, which includes all players ranked in the top 100. The United States Tennis Association announced yesterday that the field would also include the former Open champions Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin.

The Open will be played Aug. 27 to Sept. 9 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens.

With his victory last year, Federer, who has won this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, joined Ivan Lendl (1985-87) and John McEnroe (1979-81) as the only men to win three consecutive United States Open men’s singles titles in the Open era. Behind Federer on the entry list are No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, the French Open champion; No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 4 Roddick of the United States; No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia; No. 6 Fernando González of Chile; No. 7 Tommy Robredo of Spain; No. 8 Richard Gasquet of France; No. 9 James Blake of the United States; and No. 10 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

Other American men who received direct entry into this year’s tournament include No. 40 Mardy Fish, No. 45 Robby Ginepri, No. 62 Vince Spadea, No. 63 Amer Delic, No. 68 Michael Russell, No. 91 Sam Querrey and No. 97 Paul Goldstein.

Eight entrants have won Grand Slam singles titles in their careers, including the 2003 French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain; the 2002 Australian Open champion, Thomas Johansson of Australia; and the 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moyá of Spain.

Clemens Keeps the Yankees Close Enough

Among the strong impressions from the Yankees’ 6-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays last night before 52,147 slightly giddy fans at Yankee Stadium:
¶ Alex Rodriguez marched on in his quest for another Most Valuable Player award with a two-run double that provided the tying and winning runs in the seventh inning;

¶ Andy Phillips improved his chances of securing the full-time first-base job before the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline with a two-run single in the same inning and several more slick fielding plays around the bag;

¶ Roger Clemens, two weeks shy of his 45th birthday, again battled long enough and tough enough to keep his team close before handing the baton after the sixth inning to the shaky pitching hands of the bullpen;

¶ And Manager Joe Torre, who celebrated his 67th birthday, still has a few things to fret about, even though his team won for the fifth consecutive time and for the 11th time in 14 games.

“This was a nice gift,” Torre said, referring to the result on his birthday and not implying the Blue Jays gave the Yankees something not earned. But Torre quickly added that his relief pitchers have to stop walking batters and forcing him to use Mariano Rivera for five-out saves, as he did last night.

“Eventually, it’s going to catch up with you,” Torre said.

Speaking of catching up, the Yankees are doing it on two levels. Because Boston and Cleveland lost, the second-place Yankees moved to within seven games behind the first-place Red Sox in the American League East and six games behind Cleveland in the race for the A.L. wild card.

Seven is still a lot. But the Yankees trailed by 12 as recently as July 5 and by 14 ½ on May 29.

“There’s definitely a positive outlook,” said Rodriguez, who had the most important hit last night and has 92 runs batted in. Rodriguez drove a 2-1 pitch over the head of left fielder Reed Johnson, who was not playing deep enough to reach the ball that landed in front of the wall.

Two runners scored and the fans chanted, “M.V.P.!”

Toronto Manager John Gibbons came to the mound to replace starter Shaun Marcum (5-4), who mixed his pitches well in giving up only two hits over the first six innings.

Four batters later, Phillips drove a bases-loaded single through the left side of the infield off Brandon League to score two more. The victory went to Mike Myers, the first of five Yankees relief pitchers, who faced only one batter, Lyle Overbay, and retired him on a grounder to first with the bases loaded in seventh.

When asked about that critical play, Myers said the most important part was neither his pitch nor his fielding play at first base.

“Andy giving me a good feed,” Myers said of Phillips’s throw. “He’s so solid over there defensively, it’d be nice to see him there a whole year. He’s diving. He’s scooping balls out of the dirt. He’s all over the place.”

Indeed, in the Toronto fourth, with two men on and one man out, Phillips saved an inning-ending double play by scooping a relay throw from Robinson Canó.

Clemens scattered nine hits and one walk among three strikeouts as his record stayed at 2-4. He seemed to labor on a humid night and admitted he may have been working too hard on physical conditioning.

“I’m not young,” Clemens said. “My body wasn’t helping me much. I didn’t have much energy. I continue to show Joe I can get out of some of my messes.” His voice took on a determined tone as he continued.

“The training I’m doing is for October,” Clemens said. “That’s why I came here. I know what I bring when I go to the mound, especially in this stadium in the pinstripes.”

Others on the same mound in the same uniform are disappointing their manager. Luis Vizcaíno, the most reliable relief pitcher lately, needed a rest last night, and so did Kyle Farnsworth, who is struggling to hold on to his eighth-inning role.

So Torre used Scott Proctor, who walked two men, and Myers, who did well against a left-hander, his specialty; and Brian Bruney, who walked a man; and Ron Villone, who walked a man; and, finally, Rivera, who retired all five batters he faced.

INSIDE PITCH

Johnny Damon, the designated hitter for most games in recent weeks, started in left field in place of Hideki Matsui, who was the designated hitter. In the Toronto sixth, Lyle Overbay moved from first to third on a single to left by Aaron Hill. When Damon unsuccessfully tried to throw out Overbay at third, Hill moved to second. Damon has a batting average of .236. ... Joe Torre said he would let Jorge Posada catch Mike Mussina tomorrow night instead of Mussina’s usual catcher, Wil Nieves. Posada will rest today because it is a day game after a night game. ... Phil Hughes, who is returning from ankle and hamstring injuries, worked four innings yesterday with Class AA Trenton and gave up a run and two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He will work next for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday.

Steam Blast Jolts Midtown, Killing One

A steam pipe explosion beneath a street near Grand Central Terminal yesterday propelled a giant scalding jet of brownish steam toward the sky, sending commuters who had been heading home stampeding to safety.

Officials said that one person died and more than 30 were hurt, two of them critically. The city said that three firefighters and one police officer were among the injured.

The blast, near 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, raised fears of terrorism, but officials were quick to dismiss that possibility. “There is no reason to believe this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said.

The explosion sent up a foul cloud of hot steam mixed with mud, rust-colored gunk and pieces of pavement just before 6 p.m. in one of the busiest parts of the city. The mayor said that some telephone lines had been knocked out, but that electric power had not been.

As people on the sidewalks scrambled to flee and office workers in the buildings above looked down in horror, debris from the geyser pelted nearby skyscrapers. Then it rained on the streets like a sudden hailstorm. Some witnesses said the jet of steam roared like Niagara Falls.

Some people ran so fast their shoes came off. Others dropped their briefcases and purses. Men in tailored suits were caught in a lapel-singeing cloud. At a health club high up in the Grand Hyatt hotel next to Grand Central Terminal, people working out on the treadmills said the explosion was so powerful they worried the building would collapse. The steam shot up from a crater that looked like that of a volcano, with orange flames and bubbling mud around the edges. The explosion packed enough force to flip over a tow truck that ended up in the crater, which was about 35 by 40 feet. Several hours after the blast, officials said the crater could grow even larger because pavement at the edges was in danger of collapse.

The cloud of steam — and the hail of debris that followed — lasted more than two hours and raised concerns about asbestos, which was used when the pipe was laid in the 1920s. Officials advised people who had been in the neighborhood to discard their clothes and bathe carefully.

The mayor said the explosion appeared to have been caused by cold water that reached the pipe, which measured more than a foot and half in diameter and dated to 1924. “Cold water apparently causes these to explode,” he said.

Con Edison, which maintains the steam pipes beneath the city’s streets, said the pipe ruptured at 5:56 p.m. Kevin Burke, the chairman of Con Edison, said crews had checked the pipe after the thunderstorm that soaked the city in the morning. He said a heavy rain can cause a “vapor condition” if rainwater seeps onto a steam pipe, causing the steam to condense. He said the inspection earlier in the day had given no indication that anything was amiss.

Michael S. Clendenin, a spokesman for the utility, said tests would be conducted for asbestos. “We always assume there’s asbestos in a steam pipe,” he said, “so we are treating these materials sent up by the rupture, including piping, as if asbestos were in them.”

There have been more than a dozen steam pipe explosions in the city in the last 20 years. One of the largest shook the neighborhood around Gramercy Park in 1989 and did millions of dollars in damage. Three people were killed, two of them Con Edison employees who had been working in the street before the explosion.

Within hours of the blast yesterday, Con Ed and the city’s Department of Environmental Protection began taking air samples to determine whether asbestos had been released. They were also checking the debris that littered the street. Mr. Bloomberg said subway entrances and exits would also be tested.

The mayor urged people who might have come into contact with mud or soot from the blast to wash carefully, and to have their clothes cleaned separately as soon as possible.

Jessica Leighton, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, also cautioned people inside buildings near the blast to close windows and set air-conditioners to recirculate the air inside instead of drawing in air from outside.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen. Most health officials say there is no safe level of exposure. But asbestos-related diseases generally are linked to sustained exposure in industrial settings over many years.

Powell happy with Euro 2009 draw

England Women have been drawn against the Czech Republic, Spain, Belarus and Northern Ireland in the qualifiers for Uefa Women's Euro 2009 in Finland.

England coach Hope Powell told the Football Association's website: "I am happy with the draw. There are a couple of groups you have to say are tougher.

"It's a bit strange to be looking ahead to another tournament when we are still nine months away from the World Cup.

"But it was great to see us among the top seeds for the first time."

Wales are up against defending champions Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium.

Scotland face Denmark, Ukraine, Portugal and Slovakia while the Republic of Ireland will play Sweden, Italy, Hungary and Romania.

The Finns will be joined by 11 qualifiers for the finals, with six group winners progressing automatically.

Six runners-up and four third-placed teams with the best record against the nations finishing first, second and fourth in their groups will be drawn into five two-legged play-offs for the remaining spots in the summer 2009 finals.

Germany are going for a fifth-straight title since 1995 and their seventh overall, while 2005 runners-up Norway are going for a third European crown.

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd

Late goals from Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry saw Arsenal come from behind to earn a dramatic win over Premiership leaders Manchester United.

United went in front when Patrice Evra drilled in a cross for Wayne Rooney to powerfully head in at the far post.

But Van Persie got in behind Gary Neville to slide in Tomas Rosicky's 83rd-minute cross, although he broke a bone in his right foot celebrating.

And in stoppage time an unmarked Henry rose to head in Emmanuel Eboue's cross.

Interview: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger
Interview: Man Utd assistant boss Carlos Quieroz

United had looked like extending their Premiership lead to nine points, with 10 minutes left on the clock.

But Van Persie's sixth goal in seven games pegged them back and Henry stunned the visitors with a late, late winner.

Both managers had predicted an entertaining encounter in the 200th meeting between the clubs.

And in blustery conditions the two rivals produced a game full of intrigue and incident, even if neither side were able to find their top form.

United settled first, with Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo both off target as Arsenal battled against the wind in their faces.

606 DEBATE: Your thoughts on Arsenal's win

The first flashpoint led to Kolo Toure and Rooney exchanging slaps but, despite both players coming away holding their faces, it did not merit any cards from referee Steve Bennett.

Giggs and Evra both went into Bennett's book for lunging challenges as the game began to simmer.

Henry should have done better than head straight at keeper Edwin van der Sar from an Emmanuel Adebayor cross.

With Arsenal gaining the ascendancy, Bennett looked to have denied them a clear penalty.

Wayne Rooney put Manchester United in front
United thought they had won the game through Rooney's header
With Henry running across the area, Neville stuck a leg out, missed the ball but got the Frenchman, who tumbled to the turf, but Bennett looked to have dodged the decision by neither awarding a spot-kick nor booking Henry.

United finished the half strongly - Rooney and Henrik Larsson both testing Jens Lehmann with headers.

Eight minutes after the break United went in front through Rooney, who was looking closer to his best form even if he was somewhat stifled by having to spend much of the game out on the flanks.

Evra emerged down the left like a runaway train and, with Cesc Fabregas too late to stop him in his tracks, he had time to drill a cross that was gratefully lapped up by Rooney at the back post for only his second goal in 14 games.

Manchester United endured some nervous moments as Rosicky had a couple of stabs at an equaliser before Adebayor instigated a goalmouth scramble that left Van der Sar with a sore mouth.

But that will be nothing compared to the pain United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will be feeling after seeing three valuable points slip away.

Rosicky's centre went under Henry and Van Persie the poacher pounced at the back post to keep their unbeaten home record alive in front of a record Emirates crowd.

But Arsenal were not finished there as Eboue sent in a cross and Henry was left free to thump a header past Van der Sar to the delight of the home fans - and no doubt Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue (Hoyte 90), Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Hleb (Van Persie 67), Fabregas, Flamini (Julio Baptista 79), Rosicky, Adebayor, Henry.
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Denilson.

Booked: Toure.

Goals: Van Persie 83, Henry 90.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo (Heinze 90), Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney, Larsson (Saha 81).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Brown, Fletcher.

Booked: Giggs, Evra, Ronaldo.

Goals: Rooney 53.

Att: 60,128.

Ref: S Bennett (Kent).

The story behind the Beckham deal and the economics

It has been almost a week since the Los Angeles Galaxy drew the biggest headlines in Major League Soccer history by signing David Beckham to a blockbuster five-year contract.

Last Friday I sat down for a lengthy interview with the man who orchestrated the landmark signing: Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Galaxy. For more on my interview with Leiweke check out my article in this week's Sports Illustrated, but for now I wanted to answer five pertinent questions about the Beckham deal.

1. Is Beckham's contract with the Galaxy really worth the reported $250 million?
No, and it's not even close. Leiweke refused to discuss the details of Beckham's deal, but league sources confirmed that Beckham's guaranteed salary will be around $50 million over the entire five-year length of the contract. That's hardly chump change, but it's still less than the salaries of a lot of U.S. sports stars.

Nor will Beckham's salary bankrupt MLS. Per the league's new designated-player rule, MLS's owners (who otherwise share the costs for all player salaries) only have to contribute $400,000 a year for each of the league's 13 designated-player exceptions. (Right now Beckham is the only one.) The rest of Beckham's salary comes from Galaxy owner Phil Anschutz. The result: Anschutz is on the hook for around $48 million guaranteed with Beckham, while MLS owners only have to pay $2 million.

Don't worry about Uncle Phil's ability to pay: He has a net worth of $7.8 billion, according to Forbes.

There is more to Beckham's deal than the guaranteed salary, however. Beckham will also earn 40-to-50 percent of Galaxy jersey sales and an undisclosed share of ticket revenues. And that's not all. "There are certain aspects of the deal that are ultimately about the upside value of the league as a whole that David can participate in," says Leiweke. "Our partners all had to sign off, and they did. We had a couple of interesting board calls, but they did."

Long story short: Beckham may or may not earn $250 million over the next five years, but the majority of his income will continue to derive from endorsements and not from the Galaxy or MLS. From my perspective, it's a shame that the phrase "$250 million contract" became gospel in the media, because it's terribly misleading and just not correct.

In any case, Leiweke feels confident about the agreement. "This is an economic deal that makes sense for everybody," he says, and as long as Beckham doesn't suffer a serious injury or become a total bust on the field, I'm inclined to believe he'll be worth the investment.

2. Why should fans hold off buying a green-and-gold Galaxy jersey with Beckham's name on the back?
Simple answer: because Becks will never wear green and gold with the Galaxy. The team is deep into the process of rebranding itself with new colors, a new shield and new uniforms. "We made a decision that it was time to start thinking through how we create a more worldly brand," Lewieke says. "We have a good name. Galaxy works. But we need a more legendary, traditional kind of look that's more of a soccer look."

Leiweke predicts the new jerseys will be available in the next two months. What color will they be? "The last time I checked, when you're looking at a Galaxy it's not green or yellow. It's either black or dark blue," Leiweke says. Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas is more specific: "When I think of the Galaxy I think of dark blue."

Then there's the issue of a shirt sponsor, which MLS rules are allowing for the first time this season. Leiweke had said two companies were in the running last Thursday, but he told me on Friday that a third company was now in the mix for what will surely be a multi-million-dollar sponsorship. A deal will be made in the next 30 days, he said, and probably sooner rather than later.

Admitting I whiffed on Oregon, 'Bag-Bilastrator, more

The 'Bag has messed around with the Magic Eight and other things the last couple weeks, so we thought it was time to get serious about answering reader questions -- straight, no chaser. Saddle up...

I know you're going to get all kinds of crazed fans questioning your logic about your Magic Eight, but I'm really confused. I don't object to including Washington State. But how can you use the reasoning for including Wazzu and not even include Oregon in your "Left Out" section?
-- Matthew, Diamond Point, N.Y.

After Oregon's terrific wins against UCLA and Arizona, it's time for a full mea culpa: We whiffed on the Ducks. We whiffed on not including them among the group that just missed making the Magic Eight (even though we wouldn't put them in the final eight itself). And we whiffed on our prediction in Sports Illustrated last month that coach Ernie Kent would be replaced in 2007 by Mike Montgomery.

Fact is, Oregon is a heck of an entertaining team to watch, and now that Malik Hairston is back in good form, this is a team that can be called (as I did in this week's SI) a real threat to win the national title. A lot of it has to do with dynamite team chemistry and everyone filling his role. Aaron Brooks is a top-notch floor general and clutch shooter who has outplayed rivals Darren Collison and Mustafa Shakur in recent games. Tajuan Porter has been a solid two-guard, and Maarty Leunen is an underrated horse in the middle who grabs a ton of rebounds. We just wish the Ducks would have as much fun with their hoops uniforms as the football team does with its jerseys.

You've had one miss on the Magic Eight, and you didn't learn your lesson. Who reminds you of Syracuse '03 this season? Maybe Texas, with Kevin Durant playing 'Melo, A.J. Abrams playing G-Mac, and rangy athletes working hard on improving their D and playing quite a bit of 2-3 and 3-2. Outside of overall youth what else kept you from picking the Horns for the Magic Eight?
-- Rocky Van Husen, Midland, Texas

Well, that was the killer: youth. We swear, though, it came down to a choice between Tennessee and Texas, and we ended up choosing the Vols. Probably not the correct choice in hindsight. Has anyone seen a more exciting game this season than Oklahoma State's 105-103 triple-OT win over Texas on Tuesday? I have probably learned more about Texas and its amazing freshman, Durant, in two close losses (to Tennessee and OSU) than I have in any of its other games. I know it was 3 OTs, but Durant went for 37 big ones, cracking 30 yet again. If he keeps it up he's definitely getting into Carmelo territory.

I was perusing some stats and noticed that Duke frosh Lance Thomas has now played 227 minutes in college without recording an assist. Can we give him a shout-out for this? Could this be something to watch during the season (most minutes played before recording first assist)?
-- Steve, Hackensack, N.J.

Sorry, Steve, Thomas won't be the Yinka Dare of college hoops. Thomas bagged Assist No. 1 of his college career in the Blue Devils' win over Miami on Sunday.

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