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Pitcher Mike Ford remembers lobbying hard just to make the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Foresters traveling squad for the NBC World Series.

Manager Bill Pintard remembers Ford making his case in a scrimmage, after which hitters raved about his fastball.

Regardless of whether he slipped in the door or kicked it in, Ford went from borderline bullpen guy to NBC hero in two weeks. Friday, he threw a five-hit shutout in Santa Barbara's 2-0 win over Seattle in the championship game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

"Coach was thinking about leaving me at home, just because he didn't think I was right on," Ford said. "I convinced him otherwise, kind of begged and pleaded my way in."

Good decision. Ford, a right-hander from Cal Santa Barbara, saved the Foresters with an eight-inning relief effort Sunday in a win over Vienna (Va.). Friday, he went nine innings and held the Studs to five hits. He struck out nine, walked one and allowed one runner to reach third base.

For the second straight year, the Royals needed nearly every minute before the deadline to reach an agreement with their first-round pick.

Less than five minutes before the 11 p.m. cutoff Friday, the Royals agreed to terms with Eric Hosmer, an 18-year-old left-handed slugging first baseman who immediately becomes one of the organization’s top prospects.

Hosmer receives a $6 million bonus, the biggest in franchise history, surpassing the $4 million for Mike Moustakas last year and Alex Gordon in 2006.

The contract is not a major-league deal, meaning the Royals still have one open spot on their 40-man roster.

“This is a very proud moment for this organization,” said scouting director Deric Ladnier. “Anytime this organization has the opportunity to secure an excellent talent, and a guy we feel is going to be a major part of putting this organization on the right track, we can’t miss out on those types of opportunities.”

The Kansas offense may still be a little "rough around the edges," as KU coach Mark Mangino put it after Friday's open practice, but it was clear from watching the Jayhawks scrimmage that the unit has come a long way since the spring.

At the spring game in April, playing without five starters from 2007, the first-team offense failed to score a touchdown in the first half against the second-team defense. KU quarterback Todd Reesing was hounded constantly and threw two interceptions.

On Friday, Reesing looked more comfortable in the pocket. And junior-college transfer running back Jocques Crawford continued to wow spectators with his breakaway speed and vision. Throw in the fact that Mangino has settled on redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes at right and left tackle, and the Jayhawks appear to be coming together.

"I like what our offense is doing," Mangino said. "We're executing a lot of things we did last year maybe even better. I like the way we're running the football, I like the way we're throwing the ball. Our offense is on track."

Crawford took most of the repetitions with the first unit, alternating with Jake Sharp and Angus Quigley. He showed an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield to go along with his instincts carrying it.

Rays 7, Rangers 0 -- Matt Garza didn't allow a hit until a debatable call with two outs in the sixth inning, then finished with a two-hitter for Tampa Bay.

• A Tampa Bay lineup missing injured stars Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford hit four home runs in 4 2/3 innings off Kevin Millwood (6-7), who was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list to start.... Texas got its first hit when Ian Kinsler hit a looping flyball into short center that ricocheted off the glove of charging outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Any questions about that costing Garza a no-hitter were erased when Josh Hamilton led off the seventh with a solid single up the middle.

Indians 3, Angels 2 -- Cliff Lee became the AL's first 17-game winner by pitching his third complete game of the season, leading Cleveland over Los Angeles.

• The Angels scored 48 runs in their last six games but could muster just eight hits and two runs against Lee (17-2). The left-hander struck out six, won for the sixth time in seven starts and lowered his ERA for the season to 2.43.

Twins 9, Mariners 3 -- Jason Kubel homered and had three RBIs in a seven-run fourth inning, and Minnesota beat up on former teammate Carlos Silva.

Following a big night on the mound, New York Mets starter Mike Pelfrey gave all the credit to his defense.

Pelfrey pitched seven shutout innings to lead the New York Mets to their fourth straight victory, a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.

The Mets are 12-3 in Pelfrey's past 15 starts.

But the right-hander received some help.

Center fielder Carlos Beltran threw out Adam LaRoche at home plate in the seventh inning with the Mets leading 2-0. David Wright turned a nifty double play in the second with two runners on by stepping on third base and firing the ball to first baseman Carlos Delgado.

Mariano Rivera's first wild pitch of the season allowed the tiebreaking run to score in the ninth inning, and Jason Giambi flied out with the bases loaded to end the Kansas City Royals' 4-3 victory over the fading New York Yankees on Friday night.

Mark Teahen hit a two-run double, and Kansas City got another solid outing from Gil Meche, who hasn't lost in eight starts since July 2. The last-place Royals improved to 6-29 at Yankee Stadium this decade by beating New York for the fifth time in eight meetings overall this season.

Pinch-runner Justin Christian was inexplicably picked off at first base for the first out of the ninth inning, the latest abysmal play by an injury-depleted Yankees team that is falling fast in the playoff race.

New York, which hasn't missed the postseason since 1993, dropped seven games behind Boston for the AL wild-card spot.

After Joakim Soria picked off Christian, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs. But the All-Star closer preserved Kansas City's second victory in nine games when Giambi hit a routine fly to center.

The St. Paul Saints rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, but came up short against the Wingnuts in a 6-5 loss in St. Paul, Minn.

Wichita reliever Byron Embry struck out Heath Keel to end the game with the tying run in scoring position.

Kevin Hooper led off the game with a solo home run, his first of the season, and the Wingnuts never trailed.

Michael Thompson added a solo homer for Wichita in the eighth inning, his 10th of the season, making it 4-1.

Carl Pettersson supported moving the Wyndham Championship to Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. After a performance like this, it's easy to see why.

The local favorite produced the latest record-breaking round at Sedgefield, shooting a tournament-record 61 on Friday to match the PGA Tour's 36-hole mark at 15-under 125. He opened with a 64 on Thursday.

He had a three-stroke lead over Garrett Willis (64). Scott McCarron (64) was four strokes back, and Kevin Streelman (64) was another shot behind. Jerry Kelly (65), Bob Sowards (66) and Tim Clark (67) were 9 under.

But clearly, the day belonged to Pettersson, a Swede who went to high school in Greensboro, played at North Carolina State and serves on the tournament's board.

Play was delayed late in the day for 1 hour, 11 minutes because of rain.

The Cowley County Community College women's volleyball team is ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll. Butler Community College opens the season ranked No. 19.

BASKETBALL

The Butler men's basketball team has signed Carlin Jacobs, a 6-foot-3 guard out of World of Life Traditional School, for the 2008-2009 season.

Jacobs averaged 26 points, seven rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.5 steals per game last season.

• New Orleans Hornets guard Jannero Pargo signed a one-year deal with Dynamo Moscow of the Russian League, agent Mark Bartelstein told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday.

Former cycling star Greg LeMond has reached a $39.5 million settlement with the owners of an exclusive retreat for the super rich that has its own ski resort and uses ex-Secret Service agents for security.

Wednesday's settlement resolves a two-year legal dispute in which LeMond, his in-laws and an associate accused businessman Tim Blixseth of trying to buy out their minority stake in the Yellowstone Club for less than its true value.

A related settlement between Blixseth and his estranged wife, Edra Blixseth, in their divorce case also resolves a bitter struggle over control of the enterprise.

Most of the top poker pros believe that a tournament really begins when the antes come into play. That's when starting pots grow. That's when you can build a big pot.

But early in tournaments, top players spend a lot of time trying to manage the pot size, weighing aggressive play against careful reads to protect against getting bet off a good hand that isn't the nuts.

In the 2007 World Series of Poker $10,000-buy-in main event, with blinds at the opening level of $50-$100 and starting stacks at $20,000 in chips, young pro Amnon Filippi drew A-6 offsuit on the button. Action folded to him after noted pro Kenna James limped under the gun with pocket deuces. Filippi called. The big blind checked his option.

The flop came 6-6-4, giving Filippi trips but making him a big underdog against pocket 4s.

James led out for $550, overbetting the pot in a move to take it down right there.

"Gutter balls only, please!" someone yells during a rehearsal at the Lucky Strike bowling alley for the CW's new series "90210." So co-stars Jessica Stroup and Shenae Grimes downplay their bowling skills.

The spinoff on the fabled '90s teen drama premieres Sept. 2. If the show mimics the hot bodies, hip fashion and angst-ridden affluence of "Beverly Hills, 90210," it will also play edgier and less preachy, says co-executive producer Gabe Sachs.

"Look, we're not stupid," Sachs says. "We know people are probably expecting a cheese fest and that's just not what we do."

Sachs and partner Jeff Judah cut their teeth as producers on the quirky yet short-lived teen series "Freaks and Geeks" and "Life as We Know It."

CW tapped the duo to produce its rich-kids reprise after Rob Thomas, creator of moody teen drama "Veronica Mars," dropped the project.

Helen Thomas has covered nine presidents, becoming such a fixture at the White House she's been dubbed "first lady of the press." Now Thomas, 88, reminisces about her career in a new HBO documentary that traces her journey, from a Detroit childhood as the daughter of immigrants to her work as White House correspondent.

"Asking questions of presidents has always been a huge responsibility" for Thomas, said filmmaker Rory Kennedy, JFK's nephew. "She feels that if she doesn't ask the question, it won't get asked."

In the program, Thomas recalls her career as a White House correspondent for United Press International and, later, Hearst newspapers. The special includes video and photos of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and the current President Bush, along with Thomas' verbal sparring in presidential press conferences.

Kennedy talks with Thomas in the documentary but does not appear on camera.

"She has incredible recall," Kennedy said. "She tells very specific stories and has great insight about life and presidents."