Kent Ninomiya sports

Dodgers hurler Hiroki Kuroda of Japan out-pitched San Diego ace Jake Peavy as Los Angeles launched the 2009 Major League Baseball season with a 4-1 victory. Dodgers manager Joe Torre tabbed Kuroda for the opening day outing after his wins in last season's playoffs, and Kuroda rewarded his faith by holding the Padres to four hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Dodgers notched their first victory over Peavy since September 13, 2003. Kuroda retired 17 of 18 batters in a stretch that started in the first inning and went into the sixth. However he then loaded the bases and had to be rescued ... Read Full Story

Joe Torre's trust in Hiroki Kuroda paid off with an opening-day win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kuroda outpitched San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy, leading the defending NL West champions to a 4-1 victory Monday without a hit from Manny Ramirez. The enigmatic slugger went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run on his first opening day with the Dodgers. Matt Kemp drove a 418-foot homer to straightaway center field off Peavy, and James Loney had three hits, including a two-run single. The crowd of 45,496 was the largest in Petco Park's six-year history. Torre said he figured Kuroda could handle the pressure ... Read Full Story

When it came out on Saturday that it appeared that LaDainian Tomlinson was not going to be able to go for the Chargers vs the Colts, the thought was the season would be fast over for San Diego. Not so. Little did the Colts, or probably even the Chargers for that matter, realize the player or the game that backup Darren Sproles would have. All Sproles did vs Indy was rush for 105 yards on 23 carries, and put up 328 total yards and two touchdowns, including the “walk-off” game winner in OT. “The guy who typifies what our guys are about is Darren ... Read Full Story

Darren Sproles steps in for the injured LaDainian Tomlinson to help San Diego to a 23-17 overtime victory over Indianapolis on the first day of the NFL playoffs. Read the full Article Read Full Story

  Darren Sproles caught two TD passes and had another apparent 86-yard punt return TD called back due to a penalty. SAN DIEGO — LaDainian Tomlinson can still run the ball and his San Diego Chargers finally looked like world-beaters. It might not matter, though, because the Chargers still need a miracle to get to the playoffs. Four downs » LaDainian Tomlinson passed Marshall Faulk for fifth place on the all-time career TDs list with 137. » Raiders rookie Darren McFadden was held to under 50 yards rushing for the ninth time in 10 games this season. He had one run for no gain and ... Read Full Story