Phil Niekro

The Fightin' Phils are going back to the playoffs. Just getting there won't be good enough this time. Jimmy Rollins made a sliding stop with the bases loaded to start a game-ending double play, and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their second...

If Mark Spitz is any example, the media will still be enamored of Michael Phelps 36 years from now when the 2044 Games are held. Or as Richard Hinds of the Sydney Morning Herald put it, "Unless someone runs a 60-minute marathon or pole vaults clean out...

Holy Goolagong! At least youngish sports fans now know how and why tennis was a huge deal in the early 1980s. What more do you need to know about Sunday's Wimbledon final than that NBC's John McEnroe repeatedly called it......

I think I have finally figured out the strategy being used by Roger Clemens and his alleged advisers in their increasingly silly-slash-desperate attempts to convince the world that the Rocket ran on clean fuel for the past 24 years. Yesterday, they...

Player, Year, Cast, Votes, Pct. Tom Seaver 1992 430 425 98.84 Nolan Ryan 1999 497 491 98.79 Cal Ripken Jr. 2007 545 537 98.53 Ty Cobb 1936 226 222 98.23 George Brett 1999 497 488 98.19 Hank Aaron 1982 415 406 97.83 Tony Gwynn 2007 545 532 97.61...

A lingering storm delayed Greg Maddux's quest for his 3,000th strikeout for nearly three hours Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, but the inevitability of the milestone made thousands of fans wait patiently for a chance to witness a little history. After...

I'm sitting in the Sports Corner Tavern and Grille Monday afternoon, watching the White Sox complete their sweep of the Orioles, when in walks "Wild Bill" Holden. Well, with his knees, walking is a generous term. He's slated to have both knees replaced on...

Greg Maddux has three more starts to try to extend his record streak of 17 consecutive seasons with 15 or more wins, an accomplishment unlikely to be matched. But Maddux now has no margin for error. He must win all three starts after falling short Monday...

(BBWAA: Elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America; VC: Elected by the Veterans Committee; NL: Elected by the Veterans Committee based on Negro league career): 1936 -- BBWAA: Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Honus...

Cal Ripken's first major-league hit came against Dennis Lamp of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 16, 1981. His last hit came against Frank Castillo of the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Oct. 5, 2001. Ripken finished his career with 3,184...

This is one time when the absence of a superstar is welcome. For each of the last three years, only one player has been elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Reggie Jackson walked alone to the hallowed ground in 1993,...