sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Jackie Bradley Jr. and the Red Sox were daring on the basepaths. Jon Lester and the Boston bullpen were aggressive against a barely recognizable New York Yankees' lineup.

CHICAGO - For all his smooth jumpers and pinpoint passes at Monday morning's practice, what impressed coach Freddy Johnson most about Andrew Wiggins was something he saw at the previous night's team dinner.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Jeff Samardzija began the season as the Chicago Cubs' No. 1 starter practically by default thanks to injuries to veterans Matt Garza and Scott Baker. Don't expect the quickly improving Samardzija to give up the spot anytime soon.

The Pittsburgh Penguins got the jump on everyone by dealing for Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray in the past two weeks. That plucked some gems from market, but plenty more action is expected ahead of Wednesday's NHL trade deadline.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Nothing about the New York Mets on Monday resembled the second half of last season. Then again, opening day has often been their biggest highlight of the year. Jonathon Niese stepped nicely into his new role as No.

WASHINGTON - All it took was two at-bats on his first opening day in the majors for Bryce Harper to hit two homers — and hear some "M-V-P!" chants. The Washington Nationals' other recent No.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Yankees set a record for baseball's highest opening-day payroll at $230.4 million, almost 10 times what the Houston Astros are paying their players.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Alex Rodriguez stood in the Yankee Stadium tunnel, just in front of the entrance to the home clubhouse.

OTTAWA - When the Canadian women's hockey team dons black and yellow Livestrong jerseys in their first game of the world championship, they won't be thinking about Lance Armstrong.

HOUSTON - Many predicted the Houston Astros would be the worst team in the majors this season. On opening night, they certainly didn't look like it.