Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kris Benson is making a final, desperate attempt to avoid surgery on his injured right shoulder with aggressive rehabilitation. Following the advice of two of the three medical experts he consulted, Benson will start a program geared toward easing the pain from a torn rotator cuff. If successful, it would allow him to pitch this season.

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Barry Bonds arrived at spring training Tuesday with two waves for the swarm of people waiting to see him, then quickly entered Scottsdale Stadium to get to work. Noticeably absent were his two personal trainers, Greg Oliver and Harvey Shields, who no longer can be with the San Francisco slugger at the ballpark. Bonds, who spent the weekend in Las Vegas for the NBA All-Star game, was flanked by his two publicists and a Major League Baseball security guard assigned to him.

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The Chicago Cubs and right-hander Carlos Zambrano settled their arbitration case Tuesday, agreeing to a one-year, $12.4 million contract and avoiding a potentially divisive hearing.

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One question facing baseball this season: Will cooler heads prevail? On opening day, the sport will doff the traditional wool cap in favor of a new polyester blend model designed to wick away sweat before it can stream down a player's face. The change is part of commissioner Bud Selig's focus on boosting player performance, a Major League Baseball official said, and follows a general trend toward moisture-managing "performance" materials in sports apparel.

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Maintaining they have a fine relationship on the field and in the clubhouse, Derek Jeter resolutely refused to discuss the deterioration of his friendship with Alex Rodriguez away from the ballpark.

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Jeff Pendergraph had 14 points and 15 rebounds as Arizona State beat No. 22 Southern California 68-58 Sunday night, snapping a school-record 15-game losing streak. The Sun Devils beat a ranked opponent for the first time since March 20, 2003, when they defeated No. 19 Memphis in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Trailing 32-23 with 15:15 to play, the Sun Devils outscored USC 24-7 to take a 47-39 lead with 6 minutes to go, then hung on for the win.

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