Sweep | featured news

Smart pitching. Clutch hitting. Sharp fielding. Plus an MVP Panda. All the right elements for a sweet World Series sweep for the San Francisco Giants. Nearly knocked out in the playoffs time and time again, and finally pressed by the Detroit Tigers in Game 4, Pablo Sandoval and the Giants clinched their second title in three seasons Sunday night.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 21 points and 12 assists, and the Boston Celtics swept their way into the Eastern Conference semifinals, holding on for a 101-89 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Fans jumped up and down, shaking orange pompoms, waving scarves and chanting "Sweep! Sweep!" While the Giants are looking more and more like a baseball juggernaut, they're only halfway to their first World Series title in 56 years. They hope to wrap it up on the road.

The Orlando Magic are playing like a team that will settle for nothing less than its first NBA championship....

The Phoenix Suns would be thrilled to finally beat the Spurs in the playoffs by any margin. But a sweep? That would be especially sweet. Phoenix is one win away from ending years of playoff misery against San Antonio, taking a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals with a 110-96 victory Friday night, putting the Spurs in a historically irreparable hole.

"I think it's safe to say that may have been the best fourth-quarter performance I have ever seen in a playoff game," Suns forward Grant Hill said.

As the final seconds ticked down, Dwight Howard was back in his familiar spot on the bench and coach Stan Van Gundy was steamed at his superstar for fouling out again....

Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier provided the offense as the Dodgers got a strong outing from Vicente Padilla to advance to the National League Championship Series for the second year in a row.

With J.D. Drew rested and refreshed, the Boston Red Sox are on a roll. Drew homered twice, Jon Lester pitched eight strong innings and the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep.

LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series.