ANAHEIM—On a perfect day weather wise here in Orange County,California, the American and National Leaguers hae begun to take batting practice.Later tonight is the Home Run hitting contest. Chicago has three players in Tuesday’s Mid Summer Classic. Matt Thornton and newly added Paul Konerko of the White Sox and Marlon Byrd of the Cubs. The Brewers have three, Ryan Braun,Yovani Gallardo and Corey Hart.

2010 All-Stars

Starting lineups:
AL starters |
1. I. Suzuki, RF, SEA
2. D. Jeter, SS, NYY
3. M. Cabrera, 1B, DET
4. J. Hamilton, CF, TEX
5. V. Guerrero, DH, TEX
6. E. Longoria, 3B, TB
7. J. Mauer, C, MIN
8. R. Cano, 2B, NYY
9. C. Crawford, LF, TB
SP: D. Price, LHP, TB

NL starters |
1. H. Ramirez, SS, FLA
2. M. Prado, 2B, ATL
3. A. Pujols, 1B, STL
4. R. Howard, DH, PHI
5. D. Wright, 3B, NYM
6. R. Braun, LF, MIL
7. A. Ethier, CF, LA
8. C. Hart, RF, MIL
9. Y. Molina, C, STL
SP: U. Jimenez, RHP, COL

2010 All-Stars

Starting lineups:

AL starters |

1. I. Suzuki, RF, SEA
2. D. Jeter, SS, NYY
3. M. Cabrera, 1B, DET
4. J. Hamilton, CF, TEX
5. V. Guerrero, DH, TEX
6. E. Longoria, 3B, TB
7. J. Mauer, C, MIN
8. R. Cano, 2B, NYY
9. C. Crawford, LF, TB
SP: D. Price, LHP, TB

NL starters |

1. H. Ramirez, SS, FLA
2. M. Prado, 2B, ATL
3. A. Pujols, 1B, STL
4. R. Howard, DH, PHI
5. D. Wright, 3B, NYM
6. R. Braun, LF, MIL
7. A. Ethier, CF, LA
8. C. Hart, RF, MIL
9. Y. Molina, C, STL
SP: U. Jimenez, RHP,

LES

LOS ANGELES—This was a fitting way for the Cubs to finish their awful first half with yet another awful performance. Carlos Silva,who was questionable for this game,was hit hard and also wild. He was also ejected in the bottom of the second after a second ‘bang bang’ call by first base Umpire Brian Runge went the Dodgers way,and LA went on to a 7-0 rout. Silva departed with the Dodgers already ahead 5-0,and with the bases loaded. It started badly in the bottom of the first when Rafael Furcal lined a double down the RF line. Matt Kemp walked,and that was a quick sign that Silva(9-3)normally with good control,didn’t have it.After Andre Ethier fanned, James Loney(he of the key grand slam in game one of the NLDS against Ryan Dempster two falls ago)blasted a long homer into the RF Pavilion seats to make it 3-0 before many folks got off the Hollywood Freeway into the parking lots-much less into Dodger Stadium.After failing to score against Vicente Padilla in the second, things got worse in the LA half of the frame. Blake DeWitt singled to left,then Padilla(4-2)hit a slow roller to Xavier Nady and he tried to tag the runner going by but missed him by a few inches. After a brief argument Lou Piniella returned to the dugout. Furcall walked to fill the bases,and Kemp lifted a sac fly to Kosuke Fukudome in RF. Silva then walked Ethier intentionally to re-load the sacks. Loney hit a slow roller to Nady,which he handled,but he got to first about the time as the base runner and Runge called him safe.Padilla scored and Silva was quickly ejected after yelling at the Umpire.Mitch Atkins relieved and fanned Casey Blake,but then walked Xavier Paul to force in Furcal to make it 6-0 after only two innings.The Dodgers added another in the fourth and chased Atkins who walked Paul with the bases loaded-the third walk of the inning,and eight(1 intentionally)in the first four frames.That finished the scoring but an old war between Padilla and his former Texas teammate Marlon Byrd showed up in the seventh when Padilla drilled Byrd. He remembered that when the Rangers released him(Padilla)last year,Byrd was quoted as saying that “It was addition by subtraction” with Padilla being let go. In the eighth, Andrew Cashner of the Cubs hit LA’s Blake DeWitt and warnings were issued to each bench,but nothing happened.

NOTES—Attendance was announced as 45,398, but there had to be about 10,000 no shows…..The Cubs dropped three of four to the Dodgers,but still finished this road trip 4-3. LES

NEW YORK—Marshall High School Alum Cappie Pondexter scored 30 points to rally New York to a 57-54 victory over the Sky on Sunday. She scored 14 points in the final 12:15 as the Liberty came back from 13 points down late in the third quarter.Plenette Pierson added 10 points for New York (8-9), which snapped a two-game skid and won for the fourth time in six games. The Liberty moved one game ahead of the now last-place Sky in the Eastern Conference and trail fourth-place Connecticut by 1 1/2 games.Jia Perkins had 26 points and Sylvia Fowles added 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for the Sky (8-11), who have lost two straight after winning four of five.The Liberty focused on defending Fowles, who was the All-Star game MVP after scoring 23 points on 9 for 11 shooting in the U.S.’s 99-72 win over the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday. Against New York, she shot 4 for 9 and had five turnovers.Fowles, who scored just four points in the second half, made a running jumper to give the Sky a 45-32 lead, matching their biggest of the game, with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Chicago made just four field goals and scored nine points the rest of the way.Pierson had a layup and Pondexter made a jumper and a 3-pointer from the left corner to pull the Liberty within six. Kalana Greene opened the fourth quarter with a jumper and Pondexter made a layup to get New York to 45-43 with 8:07 left.Pierson’s layup with 4:38 to go tied the score at 47, and Pondexter hit a 3 – her fourth of the game – to give the Liberty their first lead since midway through the first quarter.After Perkins hit a 3 to tie the score again, Pondexter’s fadeaway jumper with 2:23 left gave the Liberty the lead for good.Mistie Bass made a layup with 7.2 seconds left to pull the Sky to 56-54. McWilliams-Franklin made a free throw less than a second later to push New York’s lead to three, and former Liberty star Erin Thorn missed a potential tying 3 in the final second.Both teams shot poorly in the second quarter as New York was 3 for 13 (23 percent) and the Sky 5 for 18 (28 percent). The Liberty picked it up in the second half, going 11 for 30 (37 percent), but the Sky were 7 for 26 (27 percent).Perkins and Fowles scored five points each as the Sky went on a 14-0 run to take a 20-10 lead with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.Pondexter’s pull-up jumper on the ensuing possession ended the Liberty’s scoring drought of nearly 3 minutes during which they missed three shots and had two turnovers, including a shot-clock violation.Perkins scored 15 points in the first half, including the Sky’s final eight points of the second quarter, to help the visitors take a 35-26 lead at halftime.

The Rush built a big second half lead and then hung on for dear life Saturday night at Allstate Arena, defeating the Arizona Rattlers 55-50 to win its 10th game of the season and clinch its ninth-consecutive trip to the playoffs.Leading by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, the Rush (10-4) looked to be on cruise control to the postseason, but things got a bit dicey in the final period as Arizona (8-5) came storming back.With the Rush leading 55-42 and just 47 seconds left in the game, Rush wide receiver Marco Thomas – who led all Rush receivers with 13 catches for 147 yards – got behind the defense and looked to be heading into the end zone for a touchdown. However, Thomas took a bad step and badly twisted his knee. On his way to the ground he fumbled the ball, and it was scooped up by Arizona.One play later, Rattlers QB Nick Davila connected with Rod Windsor for a 28-yard TD. After Arizona was successful on the two-point conversion, the Rush lead was trimmed to 55-50.Arizona then recovered the ensuing on-side kick with just 26 seconds left and looked to have all the momentum in the game.The Rattlers marched down inside the Rush 5-yard line with five seconds remaining, but Davila’s two final passes into the end zone were broken up by Rush defensive backs Nygel Rogers and Josh Ferguson, respectively, to seal the win.

“It’s not the way I wanted to play the fourth quarter,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “But I am proud of how the defense stepped up in the final series. I also thought we played exceptionally well on both sides of the ball for the first three quarters.It feels great to know we have made the playoffs, and now we need to set our sights on winning the division.”

Offensively, Rush QB Russ Michna completed 28 of 38 passes for 321 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. And while Thomas was his main target, Michna also managed to connect with Syvelle Newton seven times for 125 yards and four touchdowns.On the other side of the ball, a week after not being able to stop the Tampa Bay Storm at all during the game, the Rush defense came up with five stops – three interceptions, a stop on downs and the stop on the game’s final series. Each of the team’s three DBs intercepted a pass, but it was Chris Martin’s first quarter interception that set the tone for the evening.With the Rush leading 14-7 and 2:28 left in the first quarter, Martin intercepted Davila’s pass intended for Trandon Harvey and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 lead.Playing from ahead, the Rush lead see-sawed between a one and two score lead until the final minute of the game when things began to unravel.

NOTES—The Rush’s magic number to clinch the division is two – any combination of Rush wins and Milwaukee losses totaling two give the Rush the division title and a home game in the opening round of the playoffs … The 42 points the Rush scored in the first half was tied for the most the team has scored in the first half this season, while the 13 second half points is the fewest the Rush has scored in the second half of any game this season … Rush starting center Beau Elliott returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with a knee injury … Shawn McMackin was activated this week from the league’s Injured Reserve list and played fullback, replacing Robert Boss who left the team this week to join the coaching staff at Northern Michigan University.

“That was cool,” said Konerko, who was cheered after the crowd learned he’d been added to the AL All-Star team.

But the individual honor wasn’t nearly as impressive to Konerko as what his team has been able to do over the last month.Gavin Floyd’s strong pitching and two homers by Carlos Quentin led the White Sox past the Kansas City Royals 5-1 Saturday night — for the seventh straight win and 24th victory in the last 29 games.In early June, it looked like the White Sox’s season would pretty much be over because they were playing so poorly and had fallen nine games under .500.Now, they’re a half-game out of first and 10 games over.Gordon Beckham, who has struggled most of the season, also homered for the White Sox.Floyd (5-7), who left after Jason Kendall’s third single of the game with two outs in the eighth, gave up six hits and a run. David DeJesus ruined the shutout bid with an RBI double off reliever Matt Thornton.Sox pitching has allowed just three runs in the last three games. And Floyd is now 3-1 in his last seven starts with a 1.07 ERA. Quentin hit his 16th homer leading off the second inning against Brian Bannister. Beckham lined his third of the season over the left field fence to start the bottom of the fifth and make it 2-0. Omar Vizquel singled one out later and raced home when Konerko hit an RBI double to left with the ball momentarily rolling under the fence but still in play.K.C. left fielder Scott Podsednik retrieved the ball and relayed it to third baseman Alberto Callaspo, whose high throw was too late to get Vizquel. The throwing error allowed Konerko to move up a base and came one inning after brief but steady rain showers.Quentin then followed with his second homer of the game and third of the night off Bannister to make it 5-0.Bannister (7-7) gave up seven hits and five runs in six innings and is now 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA against the White Sox this season. The three homers ran his total to 18 surrendered in 18 starts this season.

NOTES—RHP Daniel Hudson is slated to be called up from Triple-A Charlotte and make Sunday’s start in place of injured Jake Peavy. Hudson was 1-1 in six games, including two starts, last season for the White Sox. After Saturday night’s game, the White Sox cleared a roster spot by optioning reliever Jeff Marquez to Charlotte. … Konerko, who was one of five finalists in the fan online voting contest for the final spot that was won by Nick Swisher, was named to the AL squad after the Twins’ Justin Morenau was forced to drop out because of a concussion. “I really didn’t get too much emotionally involved,” Konerko said. “I’ve been down this road. I’ve made teams and didn’t make teams. You have to kinda look at it as a win-win and I did the whole time.” … Jose Guillen (strained left quad) was back in the Royals’ lineup Saturday after sitting out the last two games. He was the DH and limped into second base after hitting a fifth-inning double. He left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.

NOTES—Manny Ramirez, on a rehab assignment with Class A Inland Empire, is expected to be activated next Thursday at St. Louis after his second stint on the disabled list this season. … Furcal was selected to replace injured Mets SS Jose Reyes on the NL All-Star roster.

DEERFIELD—Kyle Korver is following Carlos Boozer from Utah to the Bulls after agreeing to sign a three-year deal for about $15 million.Korver is a career 41-percent 3-point shooter who hit 59 of 110 last year while averaging 7.2 points. The Bulls were desperately in need of a shooting guard and now they have one.The Bulls may have held back a large sum of money for LeBron, but that doesn’t mean they’re just going to hang on to it. Hours after signing Korver, they have also inked sharpshooter J.J. Redick to a three-year, $20 million offer sheet.Redick is restricted, so Orlando has seven days to match. And most expect the Magic to match the offer and keep Redick in Orlando, but GM Otis Smith has said he won’t overpay for him . Is $6.6 million a year overpaying for Redick, a guy that averaged 9.6 points per game? I guess that’s up to Smith to decide. However, with Orlando just signing Chris Duhon this week, maybe that was a contingency plan in case the Magic lost Redick and needed backcourt depth.But if the Magic don’t match, the Bulls would have a pretty impressive sharpshooting duo in Korver and Redick. It’s not hard to picture Derrick Rose penetrating and kicking to either one of those guys for an open 3.

NOTES—Buehrle is 21-11 against the Royals and 1-2 this season…..Royals OF Jose Guillen, who strained a quadriceps muscle Tuesday, was out of the lineup…..Buehrle threw a season-high 114 pitches.

NOTES—Lou Piniella said Carlos Silva is questionable to make his scheduled start Sunday. Silva threw a “so-so” session Friday, Piniella said, adding that he expects the pitcher to be fine after the All-Star break. Silva injured his upper right calf at Arizona on Tuesday. … The Cubs gave Starlin Castro and Geovany Soto the night off before Saturday’s day game. Alfonso Soriano struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth after the Cubs scored two runs to close the gap to 9-5. … Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez and C Brad Ausmus will be at Class-A Inland Empire on Saturday for rehab assignments. … Dodgers fans cheered “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks, who smiled and waved in response.