ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Joey Porter and Brandon Marshall just can’t leave the trash talk on the field.

Still steamed over the Miami linebacker calling him soft after the Dolphins’ 26-17 win at Denver on Sunday, the Broncos star receiver returned the insults Tuesday.

“Yeah, Joey Porter’s one of them guys, when you got guys who talk a lot of trash, just want to talk about people or put people down, they have their own insecurities,” Marshall said. “And his insecurities I don’t know. But he’s definitely one of those guys who all those muscles are popcorn muscles. He’s soft.”

Porter, who leads the league with 11½ sacks, helped hold Marshall to two late catches Sunday and then continued his jawing in the locker room afterward, suggesting Marshall pouted after not getting an early catch and allowed all the taunting to affect him mentally and knock him off his game.

“He’s one of those soft receivers, where he has to have the ball all the time. If he don’t get it, he’s going to mope and cry. He did it to himself,” Porter suggested.

Marshall was clearly frustrated by the effective coverage he faced and after the game took shots at his quarterback, Jay Cutler, for not finding him on the few occasions he was in single coverage and at Denver’s defensive coordinator for giving Miami’s receivers so much cushion.

Marshall didn’t hear about Porter’s jabs until after he had left Invesco Field on Sunday night. After a day off, Marshall was eager to return the ridicule Tuesday.

“You know, we hear stories floating around the league all the time about him as far [as being] in nightclubs dancing with his shirt off like a girl or in the playground getting beat up back in California,” Marshall said. “He’s one of those guys that no matter how big he is, he can still get knocked on his butt and he’s soft. He’s soft at heart and you can tell by the way he talks.
“And his nickname is ‘Peezy.’ I don’t know what ‘Peezy’ is,” Marshall added, then paused and leaned forward to deliver the punctuation: “Joey!”

The Dolphins were off Tuesday and Porter wasn’t available to respond to Marshall’s volleys.
But what about Porter’s allegation that defenders can get into his head and take him out of the game? Is there some truth to that?
“

No, no, you’ve got to understand the situation, they’re winning and we’re going back and forth and he won because they won the game,” Marshall said. “It wasn’t nothing to do with us talking, going back and forth. And he ran with it. He ran with it pretty good.
“Getting in my head? Never. He can’t get in my head because I’m always trying to make plays and I’m always trying to make things happen,” Marshall insisted. “I’m never shutting down. I don’t care if we’re down by 40 points or we’re up by 40 points, I’m never shutting it down, I’m always going to try to do my best and make plays.”

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

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The Pistons will trade guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Denver Nuggets for guard Allen Iverson.

Iverson, 33, is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 assists through three games this season. He is in his 13th NBA season and beginning his second full season in Denver. He spent the first 10 1/2 seasons of his career in Philadelphia and has averaged 27.7 points and 6.3 assists for his career.

Billups, 32, is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 assists through two games this season. He is in his 12th NBA season and his seventh year with the Pistons. He was born in Denver and played college ball at Colorado. He is averaging 14.8 points and 5.5 assists for his career.

McDyess, 34, is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds through two games this season. He is in his 13th NBA season and his fifth year with the Pistons. He spent his first two seasons with the Nuggets.

Samb, 24, is in his second professional season. He has not played this year.

Click to read more about this trade.

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Phillip Fulmer’s run as coach of the University of Tennessee football team is over, The Tennessean and ESPN are reporting.

Fulmer was a player at Tennessee and was also a long-time assistant there before becoming head coach in 1993.  If indeed he is being ousted, he will be the rare coach to win a national championship (1998) and still be forced out or fired by his school.

Fulmer has coached Tennessee to 150 victories, 23 short of the school record 173 by Gen. Robert R. Neyland.

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The Phillies World Championship parade route and time have been set but what about tickets?

John Weber, Vice-President of Ticket Sales for the Phillies says there’s only one way to get tickets to tomorrow’s festivities at the ballparks.

Even if you get tickets to Lincoln Financial Field you will still see your Phillies as they parade through with the trophy before heading across the street to Citizen’s Bank Park.

The parade will begin at City Hall, before heading down Broad Street and ending at Citizens Bank Park.

To get your free tickets go to the Phillies website at 3PM.

Patrick Edwards — a ride receiver for the University of Houston’s football team — suffered a compound leg fracture in an accident during the Cougars’ 37-23 loss at Marshall.

Houston QB Blake Joseph threw deep in the end zone to WR Edwards, causing him to run and smash his right shin into a band equipment cart. The impact caused a compound fracture of Edwards’ right leg.

The cart had been left a few yards past the out-of-bounds line. It is not clear why the cart was there in the first place, but is however stirring speculation that Edwards and his family may file a lawsuit.

Cougars’ coach Kevin Sumlin told the Houston Chronicle that while he had “his opinions” on the subject, he would have no comment.

Houston Athletic Director David Maggard said he would pursue the matter with Marshall officials.

“It was duly noted, and I think we’ll save the conversation for another day,” Maggard told the Houston paper.

“I don’t think there is any question that it is a problem. We all noticed it, and we want to find out why something like that would occur. It was a serious injury, no question about it.”

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers provided a glimpse of the balance, depth and defense they hope will take them all the way to the NBA title this season.

Greg Oden Injured

Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists Tuesday night, leading Los Angeles to a 96-76 season-opening victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and spoiling rookie Greg Oden’s debut, which was cut short by another injury.

Bryant orchestrated a versatile offense for the defending Western Conference champion Lakers, who also played tenacious defense and held Portland to 35 percent shooting.

“I’m surprised,” Bryant said of the margin of victory. “This is a team that gives us a lot of trouble. But we played very well and I am very pleased.”

Oden hurt his right foot early in the game and left just before halftime. X-rays were inconclusive and an MRI was set Wednesday for what was diagnosed as a mid-foot sprain. The 7-foot, 285-pounder said after the game that his foot was “tender” but that he’s not really concerned.

Pau Gasol had all of his 15 points in the first half as Los Angeles moved in front to stay. Trevor Ariza finished with 11 points and Jordan Farmar had nine. Andrew Bynum, back after sitting out since last January with a knee injury, had eight points, three rebounds and three blocks. Lamar Odom, in his new sixth-man role, had nine points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.

Gasol was pleased by the team effort.

“We worked very hard defensively and we played together as a group,” he said. “We just had so many weapons to use and we had that talent that we need to win.”

The 20-year-old Oden missed all four of his shots, had five rebounds, one turnover, blocked one shot and picked up two fouls before leaving the game.

Taken by Portland with the first pick in the 2007 draft, Oden missed all last season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee.

Explaining how he got hurt against the Lakers, he said: “I was trying to go get a rebound and kind of came down on Derek Fisher’s foot on like the third play of the game. I kind of fell and didn’t think twice about it. I tried to play the rest of the half with it.

“I wanted to play in the second half. I was taped. I was trying to run. It just wasn’t happening. I’m just trying to get through it and trying to get back. It’s just a little setback. I’ll still be in the gym tomorrow.”

Portland coach Nate McMillan said, “I hope it’s not serious because he’s worked so hard to get himself back. We’ve tried to do all we could to get him into the season, and here we are — the first game. Hopefully in a couple of days, he can be back.”

Travis Outlaw led Portland with 18 points and Rudy Fernandez had 16.

The Lakers were in control of the game virtually from the start, but the Trail Blazers briefly made it interesting when they cut the deficit to 49-41 early in the third quarter. Bryant, however, hit a 3, made a reverse layup, then sank four consecutive free throws to build the lead back to 17 points, and Los Angeles led 72-53 heading into the final 12 minutes.

The Lakers were Western Conference champions last season and lost to Boston in the NBA Finals.

Game notes
Along with the usual cast of celebrities that included actors Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington, soccer’s David Beckham was sitting courtside. … Bynum averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks and shot a league-best 63.6 percent from the floor in 35 games before injuring his knee last January. … Portland, coming off a .500 season, hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002-03, the league’s longest current streak. … Late in the f

The Celtics [team stats] didn’t have to fret much about whether they’d have the homecourt advantage in the playoffs last season. With their 66 victories, they finished seven full games ahead of Detroit for that right.

And staying in the Eastern Conference, the next best team was Orlando – 14 games behind the Celts.

Things did get a little dicey in the postseason, with seven games needed to defeat both Atlanta and Cleveland. The Pistons were a bit of a relief at just a six-game series.

In that The Finals are their own special animal, the Celtics will again be focusing on their own conference

Lebron James

and the teams they see most often during the interminable 82-game warmup to the playoffs. They will get very familiar with LeBron James and Dwight Howard and Elton Brand and a conference that should be significantly more competitive.

With their health and talent, the Celtics are still the clear leader of the pack as they drive into the season. The rest remain in the rearview mirror.

But as you are well aware, objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear. Here, in no particular order, are the main threats to keep the Celts from The Finals.

Cleveland – The Cavaliers are hoping the biggest offseason acquisition in the league is one of the smallest. Mo Williams stands all of 6-foot-1, but he is expected to be a pressure release valve for a team that, for all its ability, still relies too much on LeBron. Williams is a true playmaker who should allow James to move without the ball, set his man (or men) up and score while expending less energy.

Cleveland will still try to bang you inside, with people like Anderson Varejao a nice X-factor, but the Cavs hope to get out and score a bit more in transition. Williams will be important here as a director of traffic.

As good as Williams can be, however, what he does well coincides with a major Celtics strength. Rajon Rondo [stats] dominated Game 6 against the Lakers with his defense, and there is no reason to believe he will turn into a 3-point launching diva this season.

Philadelphia – Forget about the Lakers. The 76ers have historically been the Celtics’ biggest and most intense rival. And with the arrival of Elton Brand, Philly could be formidable once again.

The Sixers have Andre Miller at the point, young star Andre Iguodala flying on the wing and gangly Samuel Dalembert swatting shots in the middle. Brand gives them a double-double guy and an instant halfcourt game.

This team still needs better outside shooting, but Brand could be a very interesting matchup for Kevin Garnett.

Orlando – The thought of Dwight Howard another year older and wiser and better able to put that muscular frame to work is rather frightening. But the Magic remain wedded to the long ball – perhaps too much.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu can fill it up, but they’re going to need to play a more varied game to be successful as the days in May slip off the calendar. Jameer Nelson will be a big key at the point, and newcomer Mickael Pietrus should add important depth that allows Orlando to keep its game going throughout the rotation.

Detroit – As he put coach Flip Saunders out to pasture, president Joe Dumars said there were no sacred cows. But after being unable to pull off any great trades, the Pistons will be trying to milk the same old crew that has been found wanting late in the playoffs.

Rodney Stuckey was a nice addition last year and, yes, he will be even better this time around. It’s just that it’s hard to envision anything fresh out of Rasheed Wallace and friends. Amir Johnson will take on a greater role, but will that amount to enough when they run into the Celtics next spring?

By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

PHILADELPHIA — Major league baseball has postponed the resumption of Game 5 at least another day due to deterioating weather conditions.

Major League Baseball umpires (L-R) Tim Tschida and Tim Welke explain their reasoning for suspending Game 5 of the World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays will continue the game tied 2-2 with the Phillies coming to bat in the sixth inning. Philadelphia leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 and will look to clinch their second World Series title Wednesday at the earliest.

“While obviously we want to finish Game Five as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. “We are closely monitoring tomorrow’s forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow’s schedule.”

Ovechkin Backstrom

The Twilight Zone statistic of the first month of NHL season: Alexander Ovechkin is tied with George Parros in goal scoring, with two apiece.

Now this is just a hunch, but Ovechkin, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season with a retro 65 goals, probably will overtake the Anaheim enforcer, whose goal output figures to droop along with the corners of his moustache. (Parros, who entered the season with four goals in 158 games, and who never has had more than two in a season, is a Princeton-educated fellow well aware, as the well-worn hockey expression goes, that he is a crusher and not a rusher.)

Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals’ incandescent left-winger, began this season with 163 goals in his first 245 regular season games, an average of .62 per game — a statistic that compares favorably with Wayne Gretzky (.60), Brett Hull (.58) and even the Rocket himself (.57).

But when Ovechkin, who through Monday’s games was tied for 97th in goals, has one fewer than defensemen like Anaheim’s François Beauchemin and Nashville’s Shea Weber and also trails the Vancouver pair of, no, not Daniel and Henrik Sedin but Mason Raymond and Jannik Hansen, there is only one question: What’s going on?

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau is not quite sure himself.

“He had five really good scoring chances against Dallas (last Saturday),” Boudreau says. “Nothing went in. The chances are that given the law of averages, they’ll start going in soon.”

Even in Washington, D.C., the law of averages is not subject to a presidential veto. And certainly Ovechkin, the Hart Trophy-winner, has not suddenly grown reticent about putting pucks on net. He had 41 shots in eight games, which suggests he is functioning much like he did during his first three seasons when he put 1,263 shots, an average of a little more than five per game, on target while playing in all but one of Washington’s games. (The match he misses against Nashville on Tuesday — he returned to Moscow to attend to an ailing grandfather — will be his first out of the lineup since his rookie season, a remarkable accomplishment considering his hell-for-leather, physical style.)

Nor has his enthusiasm waned. Ovechkin, who is without a goal in six games (and had a drought of seven last March) is, according to Boudreau, “still the same guy willing to do anything for the team. On our west coast trip, I was going over video with the team and, let’s just say I wasn’t real happy with the video. Alex comes over to me and says, ‘Make sure you give me crap. Don’t leave me out.’ Not that he deserved any of it, but he just wanted everyone to know that he can get (yelled at), too.”

If there is any lingering cause for the Capitals’ concern about Ovechkin’s slow start, it is the indifferent play of his center, Nicklas Backstrom, who had 55 assists last season as a rookie. He and Ovechkin shared a fine working relationship, along with right winger Viktor Kozlov, but Backstrom has been sluggish, with no goals and three assists.

“They were two peas in a pod who played very well together,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know if they’re getting frustrated, but I have the utmost faith in their abilities to pull themselves out of this.”

There is, however, a Russian named Alex who is scoring in bunches for the Capitals. Alexander Semin, who is as shy as Ovechkin is boisterous, was tied for third in the NHL with seven goals. He has been helped by the counsel of Sergei Fedorov, the late-season acquisition in 2007-08 who re-signed with the Capitals. Fedorov can do it all apparently: play forward, defense and psychologist. Incidentally, Scotty Bowman, the Chicago Blackhawks’ senior advisor who coached him in Detroit, thinks Fedorov, the 1994 Hart Trophy-winner, has slam dunk credentials for future election to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Loose Leafs

The jokes are usually about the Toronto Maple Leafs, not during the Maple Leafs’ practices. But in the first month of the season, there has been a considerable dose of old-fashioned hockey tomfoolery on a team that looked like it would be laughed at and not laughed with.

Twice, so far, Leafs players have sawed coach Ron Wilson’s stick so it broke when he tried to shoot a puck. They upped the ante on Monday, stealing the pea from the coach’s whistle and stuffing the aperture. Wilson asked assistant Tim Hunter, standing nearby on the ice, to blow his whistle and feigned that nothing was amiss, but the coach is plotting his revenge.

“Payback is sweet,” Wilson laughingly said Monday afternoon. “What I really like about this is that some of the European guys have been a part of this. You don’t get that on some teams, but here they’re right in it, part of the group. I like a team that has fun, that’s vocal, that’s enthusiastic. You don’t want a team of robots. Sometimes the weight of expectations squelches the excitement on some teams, but here there weren’t any.”

The Maple Leafs have had a creditable start. Let’s see if there is any sophomoric slump.
Boxheads

At the general managers meeting last week, Montreal’s Bob Gainey proposed that players not be allowed to dive in order to block shots. The one-foot-on-the-ice suggestion, while impractical to enforce by referees who already have a lot on their plates, nonetheless was outside-the-box thinking in an effort to ratchet up goal scoring. Fewer blocked shots, theoretically, will result in more goals.

Meanwhile a few days later, Doug Weight of the New York Islanders caught Carolina’s Brandon Sutter with an absolutely clean yet brutal neutral-ice check, shoulder to head, that put Sutter in the hospital with a concussion.

The issue of headshots continues to bedevil the NHL, as Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford noted. Maybe the time has come for GMs to leave the fringes of the game and start thinking inside the box, unless they are willing to take the risk of one of their players being put in one.