Cincinnati

Reds manager Dusty Baker went deep into his dominant bullpen to find someone who could put away the New York Yankees. Jose Arredondo worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his first major league save, Joey Votto hit a three-run homer and Cincinnati held on for a 6-5 victory Saturday. New York scored twice off Sean Marshall in the ninth, but Baker pulled his regular closer in favor of Arredondo and he got the job done. "I could have done without the drama, but we did win the game," Baker said.

The beat-up Braves just wanted to leave. Reds rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco capped a series full of homers with his first career grand slam on Thursday night, leading Cincinnati to a 6-3 victory and a four-game sweep. Atlanta has played 16 of its last 20 games on the road. The Braves won nine of those first 12 road games, then fell apart in Cincinnati, where they hadn't been swept in a four-game series since 1980 at Riverfront Stadium. "Oh, I'm so ready to go home," said reliever Kris Medlen, who gave up the slam in the sixth.

CINCINNATI -- Bob Huggins agreed yesterday to step down as Cincinnati's basketball coach, ousted by a school president determined to change the program's image. One day after Huggins was given a choice of resigning or being fired, he agreed to take a $3 million buyout of his contract. The school's offer includes a chance to stay for three more months, giving advice on basketball recruits and related matters. "We are working on the details of the agreement, which may or may not be finalized in the next 24 hours," said Richard Katz, the coach's attorney.

A gay student who sued his Ohio high school for prohibiting him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays will be allowed to wear the shirt to school whenever he chooses. A judgment agreed to by Maverick Couch and the Waynesville Local School District was entered Monday in federal court in Cincinnati. It allows the teenager to wear the "Jesus Is Not A Homophobe" T-shirt and says the district must pay $20,000 in damages and court costs. The lawsuit alleged that the district northeast of Cincinnati had violated Couch's freedom of expression rights.

Ohio State took care of business against sixth-seeded Cincinnati in the nightcap of a Sweet 16 doubleheader Thursday night, efficiently picking apart the Bearcats, 81-66, to set up a showdown of heavyweights Saturday for a trip to the Final Four. While Syracuse struggled to dispatch Wisconsin in the first game, Ohio State proved against Cincinnati that the Buckeyes might be the team to beat in this regional. Sophomores Jared Sullinger and DaShaun Thomas, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in scoring respectively, combined for 30 points in the first half.

Separated by slightly more than 100 miles, Ohio State and Cincinnati might be geographic acquaintances, but they've never been mistaken for friendly neighbors, at least when it comes to their basketball programs. There's a history between the two, going back to two games played half a century ago. Sweet or bitter, depending on which side you pull for. And because of what happened way back when - plus a few other reasons - there haven't been many basketball games since then pitting the Bearcats against the Buckeyes.

As Thad Matta walked to his halftime interview, he put his hand on the shoulder of Deshaun Thomas. "Nice job," he said. It was as understated as the Ohio State coach could get. Thomas, after all, had just poured in 20 points before the break, more than half of the Buckeyes' 37. Matta seemed relaxed. That wouldn't last long. It looked good for Ohio State at that point, as the Buckeyes, trying to reach the Elite Eight, took a 12-point lead into halftime after dominating the first 20 minutes.

Dion Dixon stole the ball and dunked to put Cincinnati ahead for good with 1:32 left as the Bearcats edged Florida State, 62-56, in Nashville Sunday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. Cincinnati (26-10) will play No. 2 seed Ohio State at TD Garden in Boston Thursday night, joining Syracuse and Wisconsin as semifinalists in the East. Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points, Dixon finished with 15, and Yancy Gates had 10 for Cincinnati. JaQuon Parker grabbed 11 rebounds.

Sean Kilpatrick hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left and Cincinnati beat No. 13 Connecticut, 70-67, last night at Storrs, Conn., for its seventh straight road victory in the Big East. Kilpatrick scored 16 points to lead five Bearcats in double figures as Cincinnati (15-4, 5-1 Big East) withstood two big UConn second-half runs and a half-court shot by Niels Giffey at the buzzer that rimmed out. Cashmere Wright and Yancy Gates each had 13 points for Cincinnati, which is in second place behind Syracuse in the conference.

Edinson Volquez pitched seven sharp innings in Cincinnati's first game at Yankee Stadium in 32 years, and the Reds beat Mike Mussina and New York, 4-2, last night to end a five-game skid. Jolbert Cabrera had four hits before departing with a dislocated finger and Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati, which snapped New York's seven-game winning streak. Ken Griffey Jr. added an RBI single in his first game in the Bronx since 1999. Mussina (10-5) allowed four runs and 10 hits in eight innings, dropping to 0-2 in two career starts against Cincinnati.

CC Sabathia was in complete command, seeming to give the New York Yankees exactly what they needed at a time when they're struggling to score. Then suddenly, the game got away from him. The Cincinnati Reds rallied against the Yankees' ace in the seventh inning, turning a pair of solo home runs and three straight walks into a 5-2 victory Sunday that sent New York to its fifth loss in six games. "I felt like I let the team down. These guys are scratching and clawing and it's a great offense, but it's tough when you surrender the lead," Sabathia said.

Reds manager Dusty Baker went deep into his dominant bullpen to find someone who could put away the New York Yankees. Jose Arredondo worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his first major league save, Joey Votto hit a three-run homer and Cincinnati held on for a 6-5 victory Saturday. New York scored twice off Sean Marshall in the ninth, but Baker pulled his regular closer in favor of Arredondo and he got the job done. "I could have done without the drama, but we did win the game," Baker said.

Authorities in Cincinnati say six people have been wounded in a shooting during a private party at an after-hours establishment. Police say the six were shot early Sunday in East Price Hill when a man entered the building and opened fire. Lt. Don Luck tells WCPO-TV ( http://bit.ly/K36CaS) that a man believed to be the shooter's intended target is in critical condition. Two other men are in serious condition at a hospital. Three people have been released. Luck tells the station that they're looking for one shooter but don't have any information...

There was a time last season when the Pittsburgh Pirates had seemed to finally figure out Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto. Not so much anymore. The right-hander continued his mastery of the Pirates on Friday night, allowing one run and seven hits in his first complete game of the season as the Reds pulled away for a 6-1 victory. "Since he's implemented this new little tuck … we haven't had much of anything against him here in a while," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.

Paul Maholm pitched six crisp innings for his third consecutive win and the Chicago Cubs held on for a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. Maholm (3-2) allowed one run and three hits while improving to 1-5 with a 4.91 ERA in nine career starts against Los Angeles. The left-hander has won his last three outings after dropping his first two, allowing three runs over 18 1-3 innings during the streak. Matt Kemp hit a run-scoring triple and scored on Andre Ethier's sacrifice fly to get Los Angeles within one in the eighth.

The New England Patriots have selected Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower with their second pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The Patriots traded their own first-rounder, the No. 31 pick overall, to Denver along with a fourth-rounder for the No. 25 overall pick. Hightower is 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. Earlier, the Patriots traded the No. 27 pick and a third-rounder to Cincinnati for the right to pick Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones.

Authorities in Cincinnati say six people have been wounded in a shooting during a private party at an after-hours establishment. Police say the six were shot early Sunday in East Price Hill when a man entered the building and opened fire. Lt. Don Luck tells WCPO-TV ( http://bit.ly/K36CaS) that a man believed to be the shooter's intended target is in critical condition. Two other men are in serious condition at a hospital. Three people have been released. Luck tells the station that they're looking for one shooter but don't have any information on the suspect.

Shoni Schimmel scored 16 points to lead No. 14 Louisville past Cincinnati 64-59 Wednesday night in the Big East opener for both teams. After trailing for much of the second half, Louisville (9-2, 1-0) tied the score at 55 with 2:37 left in the game and went ahead on Schimmel's 3-pointer. With less than a minute left, Bjonee Reaves' jumper pulled Cincinnati (6-3, 0-1) within one, but Cardinals forward Shawnta' Dyer responded quickly to give Louisville a three-point lead with 39 seconds remaining.

Dusty Baker likened his offense to the inconsistent April weather. On Saturday, it was cold. The Cincinnati Reds were shut down by Paul Maholm and managed just six hits in a 6-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs, who stopped a six-game slide. Baker's club scored one run for the seventh time this season and has managed only 12 runs in the team's nine losses. "It's not like we didn't have chances," the manager said. "We had some chances to come back in that game. We could have pecked away and got a little closer.