>> bob: this game was del 16 minutes ago. what you were looking at has been happening the last 16 minutes. it's coming down extremely hard and it will take a while to get this field ready if and when this stops. we understand this rain could be around for a while. it's an official ballgame. marlins lead 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh. every 30 minutes, top of the hour, bottom of the hour, we'll keep you posted from land shark stadium in south florida. diamond. who looked the part of a former winner? espnews starts now. >> fe hello, welcome to espnews where we always help you stay current with the latest news, highlights and scores. alongside will sell virginia,

i'm mark morgan. feet agency period kicks off at 12:301 a.m. eastern time -- 12:301 a.m. eastern time. two hours away. it could start cranking up soon. mark stein with espn.com will be along to discuss that in a moment. >> first, on the diamond. the cubs and the pirates, cubbies 3 1/2 games back of the division leaders. bottom seven, here we go. pirates leading 2-0, one on, two out for freddy sanchez. that drops in for a double, one run scores. pirates end up winning 3-0. the cubs been shutout for the second time in three dames. the lost 7 of 9 overall. lilly suffering his first career loss, first to pittsburgh. the pirates, they've won 5 of 7 overall. >> nba free agency news, carlos boozer of the jazz decides not to opt out of the last year of his contract. he will stay in salt lake city. he was joined by center oak

fewer, oak fewer decided to stay with the jazz. >> allen iverson is out there, looking for a new team. came to the pistons in a highly touted november trade that didn't work out. detroit swept by the cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. jason kidd will decide between at least the knicks, the mavs and possibly the blazers. we'll discuss more on that in a moment. turkoglu also testing the free agency market, averaged 175, and 5 a game for orlando last year. bulls guard ben gordon likely to attract a lot of attention, 24 game in chicago's seven-game loss to the celtics. >> and once again welcome back espn.com nba reporter mark stein. mark, it's been quiet for the last few hours as far as free agency is concerned. why? >> well, the main thing is, we got to wait until midnight, unfortunately, the big deal today was just seeing the guys like boozer, kobe bryant, okur

waiting for them to opt out. believe me, there's plenty of activity and phone ringing and meetings and things like that that will all start at 12:01. >> how did the economy affect the decisions by both boozer and okur to stay with the jazz? >> yeah, they're really the latest victims of this, we've been talking for months, now, about how the global economic downturn has really gripped the nba. and teams, first of all there aren't that many teams with money to spend because everyone has positioned themselves to try to have cap space next summer when the whole -- the class of lebron and wade and bosh and the free agents we've been talking about, when they hit the market. that's factor number one. the other thing is, with these so few teams that are willing to spend, there isn't anywhere for guys like boozer and okur to go. detroit is the only team that anyone expects to do any kind of

significant spending above the midlevel exception this summer. and if that's the case, that kind of can help detroit prevent detroit from really having to overpay any one guy. and so it just behooves guys like boozer and okur to wait one more summer and be in that group in 2010. not everybody is going to be able to bet low bron or bosh or wade. there is going to be a lot of money that needs to be spent next summer that probably helps some one like carlos boozer. >> there is a market right now for allen iverson? >> honestly, there doesn't appear to be a big one. charlotte keeps getting tossed out as a monthsbility. -- as a possibility. but when basically iverson went into exile, at the end of the regular season, i reached out to numerous teams to kind of get a handle on it. and the issue there is, the comparison that's drawn is kind of like sprewell at the end of his career. latrell could have kept playing but he didn't want to play, he didn't want to take the major,

major salary cut. and iverson has been basically a $20 million player for a long time. in this economy, he is probably going to get offers that are below the midlevel exception which means a contract starting at less than $5.6 million. and probably significantly less than that. so is allen iverson really willing to play for that much? until it's proven otherwise, the expectation among pretty much everyone i talk to, is that there isn't a heck of a lot of money out there for them. does iverson want to keep going when he's looking at that kind of pay cut? >> jason kidd courted by at least the knicks, mavs and blazers. where do you think kidd will end up. >> dallas is the strong favorite. no question that the kidd -- the knicks are interested. there's no question that kidd not only has an affinity for new york but a strong affinity for mike d'antoni who he spent team with on team usa. the knicks are going to have to be willing to give him more than

a year. there's no way kidd is going to take a one-year deal. any time the knicks start contemplating a multi-year deal, that could potentially affect their cap space. they have to do loster maneuvering to keep as much flexibility as they plan to go after not only lebron, but another top free agent. it's complicated for the knicks to try to sign kidd when they're so limited this summer and they also have david lee and nate robinson to deal with. i still it this most likely scenario, is he stays with the mavs, who don't have those restrictions. and can outbid anyone to keep him. the wildcard is portland. the blazers do have about $9 million in cap space, that's the projections. we won't know until july 8. but the blazers also have interest in turkoglu and andre miller. it is not clear yet where kidd falls on their wish list, whether he's 1, 2 or 3. the early signs are that he's probably closer to 3. >> two quick thoughts on two

players where they may end up. turkoglu, then gordon. >> gordon overwhelmingly, everybody would say detroit or chicago. he is going to go to the pistons or stay with the bulls. hedo sleetly tougher call. there's been indications in the last day that charlie villanueva has passed him on detroit's wish list. you say portland is mroibt favorite for hedo, toronto and sacramento have interest in hedo as well but less flexibility to go after him. >> is there any scenario that you see turkoglu going back to orlando? >> i don't think the magic can afford it. i think they'd like to have him. you heard dwight howard tonight make the plea for the magic to bring him back. bringing in vince carter was such a big -- so expensive for them, and they've also got others to worry about. you could worry they probably need more stiez at this point. -- more size. hedo is such an important part

of that team, he was their fourth quarter closer. the guy they went to for big shots. so in a perfect world they'd love to have him back. but financially it's hard to see how they could possibly afford to keep him when they've just made this huge financial commitment to vince carter. >> mark, thank you, appreciate that report. >> you got it. >> michael curry era didn't last long in detroit. just one season. pistons firing curry today. detroit started the regular season with high hopes, but never really recovered following the allen iverson trade. pistons campaign ended with the cavs playoff sweep. joe dumars told espn.com's stma stein, quote -- >> espn the magazine chris broussard on what the move means. >> the firing of michael curry in detroit means that harmony could return to the pistons' locker room. curry has problems with several

players last year, most notably richard hamilton. another season like that would have ruined another campaign in motown. now, in the short list to replace curry, doug collins, avery johnson and sam mitchell. collins appears to be the frontrunner right now. but it's early in the process. and we've heard collins mentioned as a favorite for many coaching jobs in the past. stay tuned. >> tennis, lady's quarters, venus williams and radwanska. compare serves, radwanska's first serve, clocked at 93 miles an hour. venus takes the lead 4-love. venus firing away, 117 miles an hour coming at you. venus taking the first set in 27 minutes, five aces. later, venus would come back down 0-2 to lead 4-2. then she takes that game to make it 5-2. match point, venus, nice serve, nice forehand winner.

she advances 6-1, 6-2. >> serene rein a, seeded number 2, taking on azarenka. first set, serena leading 5-2. a blistering return that azarenka can't handle. has a sense of humor. took serena 27 minutes to win. serena serving 5-3, watch out, almost clipped the ball boy's head. serena follows up with an ace. 30-love, make that 40-love. simple match point for serena williams. serena, with a tough serve. then the forehand winner. that is that. venus, happy for her sister who wins 2 and 3. serena 9 aces, 26 winners, 27 unforced errors. >> i really wanted to do well today. i didn't do well the last time we played. i was not feeling great. and i felt like i wanted to

really show up today. >> are you thinking at all about a final against venus? >> no. right now you'll just thinking about winning my next round. which is another tough match. and i'm thinking about, usually when i go into a match, play the winner of this and this, and now it's the finals. >> venus and serena have reached the semis a combined 14 times in 23 appearances. combined, the sisters have won 7 of the 9 wimbledon titles awarded this decade. >> number one seed safina phase ing lesicki of germany. two set points in the first, but misses an easy forehand wide. 6-5 in the tie-break. safina, opportunity to come back, double faults. got to be tough on the racket. lesicki takes the first. safina up 5-3, misses the

return. not pleased. she yells, gets emotional, loses that game. safina serving for the set at 5-4. after a rally, lisicki missed the backhand. safina takes that second set 6-46789 move to the forward, safina leads 3-1 about a chance to break. a huge return of serve, lisicki can't handle it. safina showing emotion again, up 4-1. a trainer runs on to the court to treat lisicke for what appears to be cramps. lisicki shanks that one wide, and that is that. safina despite 15 double faults wins 6-1 in the third. >> for the second time in four years the top four seeds all reach the semifinals of the all england club. two-time defending champion williams must get past safina. an astounding 7-0 for venus williams.

serena gets dementieva who she defeated in the siems of the australian open. >> still to come a cy young bonanza in major league baseball. which former winner struggled tonight. also ahead, tiger woods preparing to host the at&t national. but he also answered one of his critics. so a guy calls us and he starts asking me all these questions about televisions. the differences between lcds and plasmas. 10,000 versus a 15,000 contrast ratio. hmm, those are very specific questions. so i asked him, "where are you calling from?" and he's like, "ah, i'm at walmart." and i'm like, "ok, you're obviously calling us because we're knowledgeable. and then we've got the price match guarantee. so why don't you come on in and we'll get you set up with exactly what you need."

he was really happy and excited by the time he left the store. i think he's a best buyer for life.

>> d-backs snapping a five-game skid. hairston, swinging. two batters later, brandon phillips, swinging. haren, stellar in this event. d-backs up 5-0. hearen, come on, will.

are you kidding me? a pitcher going yard? i'm not -- >> what's wrong with that? >> if you can hit -- >> you don't see it very off. first home run of the year. haren, 7 innings pitched, gave up one earned run, struck out nine. he has given up two earned runs. the d-backs snapped their five-game losing streak. 26 rbi in june, most he has had in a single month.♪ dash ♪ >> a matchup of former cy young award winners in st. louis. chris carr pen area and randy johnson, fourth time carpenter has gone head-to-head with the

former cy young award winner in this season. carpenter faces lee, santana this year. the cardinals are 1-2 in those games. carpenter and randy johnson both out of the game. the giants cling to a 3-run lead in the top of the eighth. albert pujols, the machine, has not one but two home runs. he has five career home runs off of randy johnson. his 30th career multi-home run game. elsewhere, the brewers are beating the mets 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh. santana, you see his numbers, he was knocked out of the game, 6 innings pitched, 9 hits, 5 earned runs and four ks. prince fielder, home run in the seventh, three home runs in the last six games. >> our cy young parade continues. john smoltz won the award with the braves in 1996. tonight smoltz making the second start for the red sox. boston looking to beat the

orioles for the ninth straight time. last thursday, smoltz allowed four runs in a 3 who-pitch first inning, took the loss a 9-3 defeat in washington. so smoltz, only goes four innings, despite all that run support. he had a long rain delay in baltimore. red sox up by a score of 10-1. and cliff lee got banged around by the indians, gave up four first inning runs, three innings pitched for lee, the shortest start since may 29 of 2006. twins, justin morneau with a home run, twins all over the royals 8-1. >> joe maddon and the rays hosting toronto. top one, first pitch of the game, b. 1y upton -- b.j. upton, we have liftoff. seventh home run for him. rays leading 1-0. and the rays doing more skeet shooting, pull! carl crawford, solo home run.

top six, six hole, i'm going to say it again, willie aybar, pull! he got that one. no doubt about it mark. the rays hit a franchise record for home runs in a month, with 41. oh, by the way, the rays have won seven straight overall. scott rolen, 1 for 4, he extends his hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the second. thats the longest current streak in mlb. >> later this week tiger woods hosts the at&t national. coming off that sixth place finish at the u.s. open. earlier tonight, woods was a guest on "pte" and discussed among other topics former nhl star jim brown's comments saying woods needs to be more socially active. >> jim brown was critical recently saying, and i want to read this quote accurately, he is a killer, he'll run over you. but as an individual-for-social change terrible, terrible i

don't know if you heard that from jim brown. and i wonder what your reaction was, not the first time you have heard that sort of thing. but if you had a reaction, is it any different than you've heard over the past few years? >> well, i try and help as best i can, through my foundation. i think we do a pretty good job of that. obviously, certainly in southern california, here hopefully in the d.c. area soon, we've made an impact with over 10 million kids involved in our foundation and around the country. we've made our impact. the social change that jim is referring to, you know, i haven't talked to him about it. i can't tell you. but what we're doing in our foundation, doing here in the united states, obviously what we're doing in thiailand shortl, i think we've done a pretty good job. >> you ever feel like having a conversation with him might be a productive thing? even just the status and the stature that you have? >> i don't know. i don't know. depends on if both parties show up open-minded.

that's the whole idea. >> still to come this no-call created a controversy at the n confederation cup. what unprecedented move fifa may take to prevent it in the future. also our top stories ahead. one of which, the williams sisters, just keep on rocking and rolling at wimbledon. (announcer) what does greatness taste like?

round of miller lite. (announcer on call) ...here it comes... watch this now... got it! my goodness! now you have seen it all. (announcer) that's what greatness tastes like. triple hops brewed. great pilsner taste. miller lite. taste greatness.

>> holdsclaw, it gets you, in

transiti transition, 2 of her 14 points, draining down a bucket. lynx up. candice will ins, three-ball good. lynx, a 10-point lead. montgomery wants the lead, lynx wins, they've won three of the last four. . >> the 911 call that browns' receiver donte stallworth made to officials after he struck and killed a pedestrian has been made public. stallworth is serving a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to dui manslaughter in the man 14 death of 59-year-old mario reyes. stallworth also has two years house arrest after his release from jail and he's suspended indefinitely from the nhl. this is a portion of the 911 call

>> 18 days after of the incident he was charged with dui man sluiter. he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. roger gaudell suspended stallworth indefinitely from the

league on june 18. >> baseball, phillies and braves, just gone final. bottom ten, runners at second and third, one out, bra dough -- prado, that's it, over the left fielder's head. braves end up winning 5-4. prado, a solo jack in the fifth, he had three career home runs entering this season. batting .500 over his last seven games. taking a 5-4. if you look at the current n.l. east standings, the phils, a two-game lead over the marlins, 2 1/2 game lead on the mets. >> elsewhere, in soccer, fefa president says he's not opposed to using instant replay as a means of preventing episodes such as the one in the confederation final between

brazil and the u.s. the linesman and referee did not give brazil the goal after the header crossed the goal line. >> speaking of kaka he was introduced in front of 50,000 madrid fans, the indefinite sit suspension of nationwide series crew chief bryan berry lifted july 67. he was suspected for an alleged use of a racial epithet toward an african-american driver mark davis. >> straight ahead, it's been a quiet night but all that could change between now and 12:01 a.m. when the nba f

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