Hamlin takes pole at Dover International Speedway

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Could it really be true love between Denny Hamlin and Dover? So far, it's at least a crush. His performance Sunday will really determine the fate of this relationship. Trying his best to adjust his approach toward his least favorite track, Hamlin's reignited courtship produced fantastic results Saturday when he turned a lap of 159.299 mph to win the pole at Dover International Speedway. Hamlin has been open in his disdain for the 1-mile concrete oval and knew he'd have to conquer his Dover demons to keep his driven bid for his first career Cup championship rolling along. Hamlin, third in the points standings, turned to a sports psychologist for advice. The message for Hamlin was this, ''Let your challenge for the week be to fall in love with this track.'' Hamlin says the good karma, and a great No. 11 Toyota, all played a part in the turnaround. ''I think that right now we have everything rolling,'' Hamlin said. ''That part of it is giving me a ton of confidence.'' Hamlin is six points behind Brad Keselowski and seven points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. Johnson starts 11th as he chases history at Dover. He raced his way into the track's history books in June with his seventh win on the concrete, matching the mark held by Hall of Fame drivers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. No active driver owns the track like the five-time Sprint Cup champion. Johnson led 289 of the 400 laps and looked every bit like the driver who swept the two Cup races at Dover in 2002 and 2009. Johnson also won at Dover on Sept. 26, 2010 and he won the September 2005 race. Dover has traditionally given Hamlin fits. He has an average finish of 20.5 in 13 career starts at Dover. He finished 36th or worse during a four-race stretch from 2007 to 2009. He's said he just doesn't like the track known as the Monster Mile. Here's a curve. On Saturday, he talked about winning. ''We've got a car that's very capable of staying in the front and hopefully we'll have a shot to win,'' Hamlin said. Hamlin won his 12th career pole, third this season, and, no surprise here, his first pole at Dover. He had never started better than third. Hamlin praised crew chief Darian Grubb, who led Tony Stewart to the championship last year, for putting the No. 11 in position to take the pole. ''I think there's a lot of drivers out there that could be able to do what I do with the cars that Darian has been giving me the last few weeks,'' Hamlin said. ''I'm going to give him pretty much all the credit and ride his back as long as it will hold me.'' Nine other Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers filled the top 13. Clint Bowyer starts second and Martin Truex Jr. is third. Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon start sixth and seventh. Kasey Kahne, Keselowski, Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick are ninth through 13th. Stewart starts 24th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 25th for Sunday's 400-mile race. ''We didn't have a good car in practice and we didn't find any good speed or find any good balance,'' Earnhardt said. ''It's going to be a tough day, I think. It's going to be a tough race for us. We are just going to have to work hard and see what happens.'' Truex had a nice qualifying run on the site of his only career Cup victory. Truex, from nearby Mayetta, N.J., finished ninth and 17th in his first Chase races and is 10th in the standings, 34 points behind Johnson. He posted the fastest time in the first practice Friday and has the speed needed to race into contention for that long-awaited second win. ''We felt good about our car yesterday on long runs,'' Truex said. ''We had good long run speed. That's what it takes here. We'll see if we can get it done tomorrow.''

A's rally to beat Mariners 7-4 in 10 innings

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Brandon Moss still had remnants of a whipped-cream pie splashed across both sides of his beard in the clubhouse. When someone pointed out the smears, Moss plucked the rest from his face and licked his fingers clean. ''Last time, I didn't eat any,'' he said. ''But this time, I ate a lot of it. I left my mouth open.'' Winning sure taste better in a late September playoff race. Moss hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning after Josh Donaldson's tying two-run shot in the ninth, and the Oakland Athletics gained ground on the first-place Texas Rangers with a stunning 7-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. ''Epic,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''It's a pretty dramatic win, maybe as dramatic as all.'' For a low-budget ballclub that has had its share of you-have-to-be-kidding-me moments this season, that's quite a statement from the manager. After what Melvin had just witnessed, perhaps it's hard to blame him. Coco Crisp singled off Oliver Perez (1-3) leading off the final inning for his fourth hit. Stephen Pryor entered with one out and walked Yoenis Cespedes on four pitches. Moss hammered the first pitch against Pryor well over the wall in right for his 21st home run, sending Oakland (90-68) streaming out of the dugout to celebrate its major-league leading 14th walk-off win. The A's are 2 1/2 games back of Texas in the division and 2 1/2 ahead of the Los Angeles Angels for the final wild card. The Angels-Rangers game Saturday in Texas was postponed by inclement weather, and the teams will play a doubleheader Sunday. Tampa Bay also is three games behind Oakland. Oakland hosts Texas in the final three games of the season starting Monday. If the Angels lose the doubleheader and Tampa Bay falls in its finale at the Chicago White Sox, the A's could clinch at least the wild card with a win Sunday. ''Our mind is still focused on trying to go after the division,'' Donaldson said. ''Every game out there is the biggest game of the year for us. That's the way it's been for the last month.'' Considering the way the A's have played since the All-Star break, no goal seems silly anymore. Donaldson's drive off Tom Wilhelmsen in the ninth landed just over the wall in center field for his ninth home run to start Oakland's latest rally. Grant Balfour (3-2) pitched a perfect inning to earn the win. With each game becoming bigger than the last, the A's have shown no signs of a young team overwhelmed by the pressure. Players tossed a football around during batting practice. Right fielder Josh Reddick even wore a camouflage shirt and punted the ball in flip-flops. The laid-back approach carried over again - just not right away. Dan Straily allowed four runs, four walks and three hits in 4 1-3 innings while striking out three, though he ended up jumping over the couch in the clubhouse watching Donaldson's homer, admitting he was so excited ''I have no idea how I got there.'' His bullpen backed him up, though, with five relievers tossing scoreless ball. John Jaso walked leading off the second inning and took advantage of a pair of errors for Seattle's first run. Justin Smoak grounded out to Moss, who stepped on first base and threw the ball into left field. Cespedes tried to throw out Jaso at third and instead sailed the ball into Oakland's dugout, allowing Jaso to score and give the Mariners a 1-0 lead. ''It almost hit our Purell container in the dugout. That would have bothered me,'' Melvin could joke later. ''I use that quite often in the dugout. It just hit the water cooler. That would have been really devastating if it knocked over the Purell container. We can take a run there, we just don't want to lose that.'' Kyle Seager hit a solo shot over the wall in center and Michael Saunders lined a two-run homer to right to put Seattle ahead 4-0 in the fourth. It was the 19th home run for each this season. Cespedes singled and scored from first on Moss' single in the bottom of the inning. Cespedes was stealing second on the play, and his hesitation around third base fooled right fielder Casper Wells just enough to slide in safely and slice Seattle's lead to 4-1. Once again, Jason Vargas quieted the A's. He struck out seven and walked none in seven innings. The lefty is 2-1 and has allowed only 10 runs in six starts against Oakland this season. Moss also doubled in the eighth against Wilhelmsen to score Crisp and Stephen Drew was waived home from first by third base Mike Gallego. Second baseman Dustin Ackley's relay throw from Wells in right easily got Drew out at home to end the inning and leave the possible tying run stranded at second. Moss made a diving grab to rob pinch-hitter Jesus Montero for the final out of Seattle's ninth to save at least a run and set the stage for another thriller he would finish. ''Those guys are feeling it over there,'' Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. ''The fans are feeling it. Obviously the players are feeling it. You can sense the excitement in the air.'' NOTES: A's LHP Brett Anderson (4-2, 2.57 ERA), who strained his right oblique Sept. 19 after a strong return from last year's Tommy John surgery, played toss from 120 feet before the game. He will pitch a bullpen session as soon as Monday, and could be back if the A's make the playoffs. ... Oakland slugger Jonny Gomes received the 2012 Dave Stewart Community Service Award from the former A's pitcher during a pregame ceremony. ... Lefty Tommy Milone (13-10, 3.74 ERA) starts for Oakland opposite Mariners RHP Erasmo Ramirez (1-3, 3.42 ERA) in Sunday's series finale.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks out for Eagles game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Giants will be without wide receiver Hakeem Nicks for Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team announced Saturday that Nicks will miss the contest because of a knee problem and will not make the trip to Philadelphia. He previously missed a Sept. 19 win over Carolina with a sore foot. Coach Tom Coughlin has said Nicks developed swelling in his left knee after working out Thursday. It was his only expected practice for the game. Nicks banged his knee making a catch against Tampa Bay. The Giants will likely start either Domenik Hixon or Ramses Barden. Hixon missed the Carolina game with a concussion, but is probable this week. Barden picked up the start against Carolina and had career bests of nine catches and 138 yards.

Hechavarria has big hit as Blue Jays beat Yankees

TORONTO (AP) -- The New York Yankees are making the last week of the season very difficult for themselves. Adeiny Hechavarria doubled home the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-2 on Saturday. New York fell into a first place tie with Baltimore after the Orioles beat Boston 4-3 later Saturday. ''We had chances to blow that game open and we didn't,'' manager Joe Girardi said. ''You look at the opportunities that you have and you say, 'We could have a pretty big lead here,' but we didn't do it.'' Toronto's Rajai Davis homered and had three hits as the Blue Jays heaped more pressure on the Yankees, who wasted several opportunities early. New York went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. New York's only hits with runners in scoring position were both singles, and neither brought home a run. ''We had some opportunities tonight, couldn't make it happen,'' Nick Swisher said. ''It's not like we're going to get down on ourselves. We've got to keep pushing, come back here (Sunday) with a fire.'' Still, even Swisher conceded that New York's margin for error is thin with just four games remaining. ''(Sunday) is going to be a must win,'' he said. ''We put ourselves in this situation, our destiny is in our own hands and we've got to go out and take it. No one is going to give us anything.'' Pitching out of the bullpen for the first time in his career, Shawn Hill (1-0) worked three innings of scoreless relief for the win, his first since Sept. 23, 2010. Casey Janssen closed it out for his 21st save in 24 chances. In all, Toronto got six scoreless innings from its bullpen after left-hander Ricky Romero had to leave with a sore left knee. ''An outstanding job by the bullpen today,'' Toronto manager John Farrell said. ''Shawn Hill gave us a huge lift.'' Andy Pettitte's stretch of 11 scoreless innings since his return from a broken lower left leg was halted in the first when Davis hit a one-out solo homer to left, his eighth. Davis had hits in his first three at-bats after a 4-for-4 night Friday, giving him seven straight hits before he struck out in the seventh. The Yankees loaded the bases twice in the first inning but managed just a pair of sacrifice flies by Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson. New York loaded the bases again in the third but failed to score, coming up empty when Hechavarria made a diving catch on Eduardo Nunez's sharp liner for the third out. ''When you get a guy on the ropes early on you want to capitalize,'' Alex Rodriguez said. ''It's never a good sign when you let the other team hang around a little bit.'' Toronto tied it in the fifth when Jeff Mathis led off with a double, took third on a fly and scored on a two-out infield single by Davis. Davis' bouncer up the third base line appeared to be headed foul. Rodriguez, who was playing in to guard against the bunt, fielded it but couldn't throw to first in time to beat the speedy Davis. ''In hindsight, I think it would have gone foul,'' Rodriguez said. ''With Rajai running, it's kind of a split-second decision. I took my chances.'' The Blue Jays chased Pettitte (5-4) and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Yunel Escobar walked, Yan Gomes reached on a bunt single and Moises Sierra flied out before Mathis hit another deep drive, with Granderson making a running catch on the warning track. Joba Chamberlain came on to face Hechavarria, who doubled off the wall in right, scoring Escobar. Gomes went too far around third on the play and was thrown out, killing Toronto's rally. Pettitte allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked three and struck out four. ''Obviously it was a loss so I don't feel good about that,'' Pettitte said. ''The guys gave me a lead and I wasn't able to hold onto it and it ended up being a loss for us.'' In his final start of a disappointing season, Romero injured his knee in the third and didn't return for the fourth. Farrell and assistant trainer Hap Hudson came to the mound after Romero missed high on a 2-2 pitch to Andruw Jones in the third and hopped around the mound in pain. After a few practice pitches, Romero stayed in the game to strike out Jones, then escaped when Nunez lined out. Romero, who did not speak to reporters, was scheduled to undergo additional tests. He allowed two runs and three hits, boosting his ERA to 5.77, highest among qualified AL starters. He also walked two, giving him an AL-high 105 walks. ''It was clear that it wasn't something that we were going to push,'' Farrell said of Romero's injury. A first time All-Star in 2011, Romero struggled mightily this year, losing 13 consecutive decisions between June 22 and Sept. 24. Derek Jeter started at designated hitter with Nunez at shortstop, but Jeter entered the game in the sixth. Girardi, who had hoped to get Jeter a day off the turf, said the move was made for defensive reasons. NOTES: Yankees INF Jayson Nix returned to New York for an MRI on his injured left hip, leaving Nunez as the team's primary backup infielder. ... Girardi said 1B Mark Teixeira (left calf) was fine after playing an Instructional League game in Florida, and remains on track to rejoin the Yankees next week. ... Hechavarria extended his hitting streak to 10 games. ... Hill is the 54th player used by Toronto this season, a club record. ... Attendance was 36,139, putting the Blue Jays over 2 million for the first time since 2008. Toronto has four home dates remaining.

Officials gather for contract ratification vote

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- NFL officials on the verge of approving a new contract say they're excited to get back to work. Officials started arriving Friday at a Dallas-area hotel to discuss and vote on an agreement reached with the league late Wednesday. Some planned to fly directly to their assigned cities for Sunday's game. The deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. Some said they thought Monday night's Packers-Seahawks game, which ended in chaos after a call in the end zone gave the Seahawks the winning touchdown instead of a Packers interception, provided the final push toward a settlement. Many fans commentators - and players in the league - thought the call was botched. Monday night's call brought the three-week furor over replacement officials to a fevered pitch. ''It's all history now,'' head linesman Tom Stabile said. ''For us, it was a benefit. It may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.'' Line judge Jeff Bergman said he could see the play coming as he watched at home. He noticed that players were starting to take advantage of replacement officials struggling to keep control of the game. ''The last play of the game was something that was going to happen sooner or later,'' Bergman said. ''It gave us and the league an opportunity to get together and hammer out a deal that was going to get hammered out anyway.'' Referee Ed Hochuli, who led weekly tests and conference calls for officials to stay sharp during the lockout, declined to say whether the replacements made the right call. ''You really don't want to see that,'' Hochuli said. ''You don't want to see the controversy. You don't want to see teams lose games that they shouldn't have lost, if indeed that's what happened. We're not making a judgment on that.'' After three weeks of games marred by mistakes, the regular refs said they were heartened by the support they've received from fans, players and coaches - even if they don't expect it to last very long now that they're back. ''You're not really beloved by the public. You're tolerated. And to see that type of reception that our guys got last night was really heartwarming,'' said Bergman, who will head to Green Bay for Sunday's game, one week after Packers players ripped the replacements for calling Monday's disputed play a touchdown. ''After the euphoria of the moment wears off, probably sometime early in the second quarter, it'll be back to regular NFL football mode,'' Bergman said. ''Players will be questioning our judgment, our ancestry. Coaches will be screaming at us. And it'll be life as back to normal on Sundays.'' One crew returned to work Thursday night. Cheered from the moment they walked onto the field, the men in stripes ran a smooth and efficient game as the NFL's lockout of officials came to an end with the Baltimore Ravens' 23-16 win over the Browns. ''To just be applauded by 50,000 people prior to anything happening, it was something that kind of chokes you up,'' referee Gene Steratore said. ''It was a very special feeling.'' --- AP Sports Writers Joseph White and Rachel Cohen and AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner contributed to this story.

Jets not ready to rule out Revis for season

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -- Rex Ryan has not dashed his Super Bowl hopes - or the chance Darrelle Revis will be there on the field with the New York Jets this season. Revis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at Miami last Sunday, but the Jets will wait until after the All-Pro cornerback has surgery in a few weeks to decide on his fate. ''You know what, and I've talked to Darrelle and all that, let's just have him go through surgery,'' Ryan said Friday. ''Let's see what happens when he goes through surgery because there's that 0.0002 percent chance that he could play in the Super Bowl or something, so why would you take that option away from him?'' It wasn't a bold Super Bowl guarantee or prediction, as Ryan has been known to offer in the past. But, rather, it's the coach holding onto the hope that his best player might make an incredibly fast recovery - as the team makes a deep playoff run. ''Let's just put it this way: My thought is, if you're fortunate enough to make it to that big game and he's fortunate enough to be healthy,'' Ryan said, ''I know our fans will want him playing just like I would want him playing.'' The 27-year-old Revis was injured in the third quarter of the Jets' 23-20 overtime victory, falling awkwardly and grabbing his knee without making any contact with another player. An MRI exam confirmed the Jets' worst fears Monday morning that the ACL was torn. Typically, patients with similar injuries wait a few weeks before surgery but begin the rehabilitation process to strengthen the leg in hopes that that will help expedite the healing after the operation. In fact, Revis' business agent posted pictures on Twitter of the cornerback working out Friday. While it seems highly unlikely Revis will return this season, even as late as February for the Super Bowl, what the Jets are doing is not unprecedented. In 1995, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson became the first player to return from reconstructive knee surgery in the same season. Woodson tore an ACL in the season opener against Detroit, but the Steelers kept his roster spot open - and he came back to play in the Super Bowl against Dallas. San Diego's Philip Rivers tore an ACL in the AFC championship game in 2008, but was back on the practice field for minicamp 100 days later. New England's Wes Welker also returned about four months after a similar knee injury in 2010. ''I just want to take him through surgery and see what the doctors say when they're in there,'' Ryan said, ''and we'll see what happens.'' By not placing Revis on IR now, the Jets essentially will be going one man short of the 53-player roster maximum until they make a final decision. New York has not ruled out putting Revis on the NFL's new injured reserve/designated for return list, which teams can use for one player per season. That player would be able to return to practice after six weeks and play in a game after eight. But for now, it makes sense for the Jets to wait until after surgery instead of risking using that designation on a player who could end up missing several months anyway. Ryan added that there wasn't necessarily anything the team saw in the MRI exams to give them heightened optimism, but just wants Revis to have the surgery before a decision is made. ''You don't have to make a snap decision and say, 'Well, let's just place him on IR and replace him with somebody,''' Ryan said. ''Like I said, if you are fortunate enough to get (to the Super Bowl), why wouldn't you at least, if he does well in the surgery and he is healthy for that and is targeted for that, why wouldn't you believe in yourself enough to give yourself that opportunity? ''And, again, I'm not guaranteeing it's going to happen by any stretch.''

Wizards' Wall out at season's start with hurt knee

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Washington Wizards point guard John Wall called his upcoming absence because of a left knee injury ''a minor setback.'' Team president Ernie Grunfeld labeled it ''a bump in the road.'' However it's described, Wall is expected to miss the first dozen or so games of the NBA's regular season after the Wizards announced Friday that their best player - the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft - was diagnosed with the early stages of a stress injury to his left knee cap. The Wizards said the injury does not require surgery. If his rehab goes as expected, Wall will be sidelined for about two months in all, including about the first month of the regular season, which begins Oct. 30 for Washington. Wall said he ''started feeling discomfort'' about a month ago, and he got an MRI exam that Grunfeld said did not show any sort of problem. But Wall still was bothered by his knee while working out and went for a second opinion. He was examined Thursday in New York by orthopedic specialist Dr. David Altchek, and a new MRI revealed the injury. ''Just something that happens when you work out very hard, that's all I can say,'' Wall said. ''It's very tough for me,'' Wall added. He led the Wizards by averaging 16.3 points and eight assists last season. He also topped the team with 95 steals and averaged 4.5 rebounds. The Wizards finished 20-46 during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, the second-worst record in the league. ''The good thing about this is that we caught it when we did. It's not going to be a best-case scenario, but we also have to look at this in a positive way. ... My expectations of what John can do this year, it being his third year, is not going to change. He's just going to start a little later,'' Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. ''We were lucky that we came and saw it before there was any type of fracture or anything of that nature.'' The Wizards open training camp Tuesday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. They also expect to be without their second-best player, Nene, for most of training camp. He has a foot injury. Until Wall can return to action, he said, ''I'm going to try to be there and be a coach and a mentor.'' But he also pointed out that he wants to ''make sure I don't rush back.'' Grunfeld, meanwhile, said he will ''look around, see who's available'' and would consider signing a player to help fill out the roster while Wall is sidelined. ''We have a deep roster right now, and we have a lot of players at a lot of different positions,'' Grunfeld said. ''We have players that can pick up the slack, and it's not going to be up to one player.'' And, as Wittman noted: ''Obviously, we're going to miss John.'' --- AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.