National

Ouch!

That's the kind of day it was for several NFL quarterbacks, most notably Michael Vick, who broke his right hand, and Mark Sanchez, who might have done the same to his nose.

Adding more pain Sunday, both lost.

So did Sam Bradford, who was sacked five times, and Matt Ryan, who went down four times.

Vick started for Philadelphia despite suffering a concussion in last week's loss at Atlanta. He left the 29-16 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants with the broken hand in the fourth quarter after helping the Eagles overcome a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to take a 16-14 lead.

It's uncertain how long Vick will be out.

Elvis Andrus took a home run trot at Rangers Ballpark, cheering a ball that landed 1,400 miles away. Prince Fielder enjoyed a victory lap at Miller Park, hugging fans along the way. Kirk Gibson pumped his fist at Chase Field, celebrating while the crowd chanted his name.

All over baseball, it was one big wrap party.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers each clinched Friday night — only once before, on Oct. 5, 1985, had three division spots been decided on the same day, STATS LLC said.

All six divisions already locked up, still five days left in the regular season. Not since 1986, when there were only four divisions, had they all been sealed so early, STATS found.

NEW YORK (AP) — Now that save No. 602 is behind him, Mariano Rivera is happy to step back out of the spotlight and work on another big number: six.
Despite five World Series championships in 17 seasons with the New York Yankees, Rivera has never come to enjoy individual attention.
“You know me, I’m not like that,” Rivera said. “I like to be under the radar, do my job.”
There was no chance of that Monday. when the smallest crowd in the three-year history of Yankee Stadium nearly drowned out Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” as Rivera came in for the ninth inning.

MIAMI (AP) — Desperate to slow down Tom Brady, the Miami Dolphins tried playing 12 men on defense.
That didn’t work. They drew a penalty. Using only 11 defenders was even worse.
Brady threw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots opened their season Monday night by beating Miami 38-24.
Brady and the reigning AFC East champions picked up where they left off last season, when he was a unanimous choice for NFL MVP, and his team led the league in scoring.
“He’s a great quarterback,” teammate Aaron Hernandez said, “and the world knows that.”