Late Moss catch thwarts Bucs' plan
Minnesota's passing game comes up with big plays late in game.

Green enjoys breakout game
He gets 11 receptions for 131 yards, but "I would trade the whole thing back for the win."

Long way to go on short-yardage play
TAMPA -- There were times last season when the offense struggled on third and short, even with the power running of Mike Alstott.

Bucs get 'A' for effort but wind up with an 'L'
The football flew into a crowd of Bucs receivers and Vikings defenders. It bounced off a chest, a hip and a knee. Then, just before receiver Jacquez Green latched on to it, the ball kissed the end zone turf in the Metrodome.

Vikes surprisingly rely on Culpepper's poise
MINNEAPOLIS -- With fingers crossed, the Vikings imagined themselves 5-0 despite young quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Not in their wildest dreams did they envision being 5-0 because of him.

Foot surgery ends season for Philadelphia's Staley
PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles running back Duce Staley will miss the rest of the season after having surgery Tuesday to repair his injured right foot.

Baseball playoffs
M's hang 0's on Yankees
Freddy Garcia, 3 relievers combine on 6-hitter in Seattle's 2-0 Game 1 victory.

Don't believe the hype
N.Y. papers count down to a Subway Series, but managers concede nothing.

Canseco dropped from roster
NEW YORK -- Jose Canseco hasn't done much for the Yankees since they claimed him off waivers from the Devil Rays.

Subway Series hype already at fever pitch
NEW YORK -- The first pitch had not been thrown in either league championship series, but the Yankees and Mets already are on their way to the World Series.

Mets don't have answer for Mac
ST. LOUIS -- The specter of Mark McGwire on the Cardinals bench is "the X-factor" for Mets manager Bobby Valentine as the teams prepare for tonight's opener in the NL Championship Series.

Clark and Cardinals become a natural fit
Acquired to fill in for injured McGwire, veteran proves exceptional with bat and leadership.

College football
Seminoles' last gasp at reason for loss: lack of defensive depth
FSU is no longer able to rotate defensive personnel like in previous seasons.

Seniors say season's not lost yet
TALLAHASSEE -- It began on the somber plane ride home from Miami on Saturday night. There in the first-class section, the Florida State seniors embraced a new challenge.

College football roundup
Palmer looks at the "woulda, coulda, shoulda'

Colleges
USF basketball not investigation target
Ex-judge says he will look at only school policies for discrimination claims, not women's program allegations.

2 more ex-USF players file discrimination suits
They say women's basketball coach Jerry Ann Winters treated black players differently.

Et cetera
NBA briefs
Despite illness, Mourning visits Heat at practice

Sports briefs
Boxer forfeits title after rejecting fight

Golf briefs
Ex-Ryder Cup captain has cancer

Outdoors
Captain's corner
With the first cold spell of the season settling in and bait plentiful on the flats, the fall fishing season should swing into full gear.

Lightning/NHL
Konstantinov sent to IHL for experience
TAMPA -- After spending five weeks in his first NHL training camp and impressing the Lightning's coaching staff, 19-year-old goalie Evgeny Konstantinov was reassigned to the team's IHL affiliate in Detroit on Tuesday.

Svoboda passes experience on
Lightning's veteran defenseman knows and enjoys his role as a teacher and leader on this young club.

NHL briefs
Stars still play listlessly in 5-2 loss to Hurricanes

Preps
Warrior has come a long way in only one year
Most sophomores harbor reasonable expectations of improvement after picking up sports for the first time as freshmen.

Panthers want to prove themselves at tourney
Plant has a chance to answer its critics when it plays in the Tampa Prep Invitational this weekend.

Seedings in doubt after PHU losses
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Palm Harbor University had control of its own destiny heading into Tuesday night's Class 5A, District 9 trimatch at River Ridge before a train wreck of a performance wrested that control away.

Craft of diving often a curiosity
Sevasti Biondi is used to the questions, even from Clearwater teammates who reside just a few yards down from her in the pool.