Patty Viverito is still the commissioner of the newly named Missouri Valley Football Conference, not Jack Webb of Dragnet fame The Gateway moniker was abandoned this spring as the league moved to take advantage of its historical roots and to better identify its programs with a league in which many of its football-playing schools are core members.

One thing that remains the same is the fact that the MVFC is going to be one of the nation's toughest FCS conferences. It already held that status and things got tougher with the addition of two teams from the Great West Conference - North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

Tampa signed Douglas as a free agent on March 18.

A nine-year veteran who spent the last three seasons with the 49ers, Douglas had three sacks and 71 tackles in 16 starts for San Francisco in 2007. The 6- foot-2, 292-pounder has 19 career sacks. His best output came in 2004 when he had 5 1/2 sacks for the Ravens.

Crawford, 22, started all six games for the Lakers Summer League squad this past July, averaging 11.3 points including .455 (5-of-11) shooting from behind the arc, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 32.7 minutes.

A three-year starter at the University of Kentucky, Crawford finished off his four-year tenure at the school averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 127 games (76 starts).

A native of St.

Petersburg, Russia, Abrosimova helped her country win the bronze medal at the Olympics in Beijing, averaging 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in eight tournament games.

Louis, MO (Sports Network) - The St.

Louis Cardinals purchased the contract of first baseman Josh Phelps from Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, and optioned pitcher Jaime Garcia to Memphis.

Banks, 26, was 3-6 with a 4.75 earned run average over 17 games, including 14 starts for the Padres this season.

The second-year player appeared in three games with one start for Toronto last season.

Sakic had been deliberating about whether to return for a 20th NHL season. He has inked a one-year deal, financial terms of which weren't disclosed.

"Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," said Sakic in a release by the club.

Vlasic, 21, played in all 82 games for the Sharks last season, notching two goals and 12 assists in his second year with the club. A second-round choice (35th overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft, Vlasic was named to the All-Rookie team in 2006-07 after scoring three goals with 23 assists in 81 games.

"Marc-Edouard is one of the top young defensemen in the game and we are excited to have him in the fold for the next several years," said Sharks general manager Doug Wilson. "He has a tremendous future with this franchise and we look forward to watching his continued development." The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Montreal native also ranked third on the team in blocked shots (85) and average ice time (21:36) last season.

A couple more bubbles the next week when the Red Bulls earned a tough road point on the other side of the country, starting a modest two-game unbeaten run.

The bubbles began to roll when, in back-to-back weeks, New York earned decisive victories over Eastern Conference rivals D.C. United and Toronto FC to get back into playoff contention.

Greeley will oversee the day-to-day business operations and will be the top Fire executive leading the strategic planning and overall management of the franchise and its home stadium, Toyota Park.

"Dave has a wealth of sports industry knowledge and experience," said Andell Sports Group Managing Director Javier Leon, who oversees the franchise for Fire owner Andrew Hauptman. "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to bring such a talented executive to the Chicago Fire. As the Fire celebrates its 10th anniversary of Chicago soccer, I am confident he will lead the franchise into a new exciting chapter filled with success on and off the field." Greeley will manage the Fire staff, team affairs, marketing, sales and sponsorships, stadium operations, and work with MLS on related busin...

Busch and Edwards, the top two drivers in the Sprint Cup standings, will be on probation starting at this Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in Fontana, California. The probation will also cover races in Richmond, Virginia; Loudon, New Hampshire; Dover, Delaware; Kansas City, Kansas; and Talladega, Alabama.

The altercation on Saturday was set up when Edwards nudged Busch from behind with 31 laps to go. Busch got loose, allowing Edwards to move underneath him for the lead.

By Chris Symeon, Motorsports Editor Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - After a wild night of racing at the Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday, the Sprint Cup Series will run under the lights again this Labor Day weekend at the Auto Club Speedway. The Nationwide Series will join the Sprint Cup in Fontana, Ca, while the IndyCar Series heads to "Motown" for a date at The Raceway at Bell Isle in Detroit.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 - Auto Club Speedway - Fontana, CA Just two races remain before the 2008 "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship begins September 14th at New Hampshire. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have already clinched their spots in the "Chase," with Busch securing the top seed after accumulating 80 bonus points for his eight wins and Edwards capturing the second seed with 50 bonus points. Despite six victories for the year, Edwards has 50 bonus points since he was deducted 10 points for a rules infraction after winning a...

The third-seeded Kuznetsova was tested in the first set before cruising to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Day 3 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The three-time major finalist Kuznetsova captured her lone major title here in Flushing four years ago and lost to Belgian Justine Henin in last year's Big Apple finale.

The third-seeded Kuznetsova, of Russia, was tested in the first set before cruising to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 decision against Romanian Sorana Cirstea on Day 3 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The three-time major finalist Kuznetsova captured her lone major title here in Flushing four years ago and lost to Belgian Justine Henin in last year's Big Apple finale.

The new requirement was revealed to the tour's increasing South Korean membership in a mandatory meeting at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Oregon on August 20. The LPGA plans to suspend any golfer's membership if they don't comply.

LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens has given players to the end of 2009 to comply and all players who have been on the tour for two years must pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension.

Sergio Garcia lost to Singh in the playoff and stayed fourth, while Kevin Sutherland also fell in the extra session. Sutherland rose 43 places to No. 57.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and two-time 2008 major winner Padraig Harrington held their spots from last week, followed by Garcia and Singh.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday that Muhammad, the son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad, died at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center just days after undergoing open-heart surgery.

A longtime Chicago resident, Muhammad managed Ali's career from 1966 until 1981, and continued to work for Ali during his post-boxing career until 1991. Muhammad was also an advisor to his father, and served as the Nation of Islam's business manager while overseeing the organization's newspaper.

IBF junior featherweight champion Steve Molitor, who found himself embroiled in a heated triangle of promoter/trainer/fighter dissension in early June, has emerged from the fray unscathed and newly focused on his next order of business in the ring in late August.

The 28-year-old Canadian will risk his slice of the 122-pound pie for the fifth time one week from Friday, when he faces largely anonymous Argentine export Ceferino Labarda in his big Ontario backyard at Casino Rama - about 100 miles north of Toronto.

Colonel John, ridden by Garrett Gomez, went off as the 4-1 second choice behind 7-2 favorite Pyro. Harlem Rocker and Mambo in Seattle were both 5-1 with Jim Dandy Stakes champ Macho Again getting little attention at 7-1.

Da' Tara, winner of the Belmont Stakes, set the pace, closely followed by Tizbig in the 1 1/4 mile race. The two colts held their positions up the backstretch while Colonel John and Tres Borrachos dueled behind them.

Go Between, trained by Bill Mott, snapped a three race streak in which he finishedsecondin each start.

After winning the Sunshine Millions Classic in January he was the runner-up in the Santa Anita Handicap, the Ben Ali and the Hollywood Gold Cup.