Murray and Marshall Win Regional Soccer Matches
It will be Murray High battling Marshall County Wednesday night after both teams claimed wins last night at the Girls First Region Soccer Tournament last night at Heath. The Tigers nipped Heath 2-1 behind a pair of goals from Carly Mathis, while Marshall County walloped Tilghman 4-0. The boys tournaent begins tonight at Graves County High School. Heath plays Murray High in the opener at 5:45, followed by Graves County and Tilghman in the 7:30 nightcap. The boys championship will be Thursday night.

CCA AND MARSHALL ADVANCE TO VBALL SEMIS
At the First Region Volleyball Tournament last night at Lone Oak, Community Christian Academy defeated Fulton City 25-6, 2518...and Marshall County defeated Tilghman 25-13, 25-7. Both teams move into Wednesday's semifinals. In tonight's other first round matches, it's Lone Oak battling Graves County in the opener, followed by Christian Fellowship and Carlisle County in the second match.

RACER MEN IN FOURTH
The Murray State Men’s Golf team is in fourth place after 36 holes of the Charleston Southern Fall Invitational being played in Charleston South Carolina. The Racers started with a 308, but improved 13 shots in round two posting a 295 the second best score in the second round in the field of 11 teams. MSU’s 36-hole total 603 was four shots behind third place team Gardner-Webb, eleven behind the leader, Stetson. Senior Mitchell Moore was in fifth place in the field of 56 competitors with a 146, while Cameron Carrico was in 19th place with a 153. The final 18 holes are scheduled for today.

RACER WOMEN LEAD IN CLARKSVILLE
The Murray State Women’s Golf squad took a two shot lead after the first 18 holes of the F&M Bank Austin Peay Intercollegiate in Clarksville, Tenn. at Clarksville CC. The Racers first round score of 310 put them in the lead ahead of second place Tennessee Tech (312), and third place Arkansas State (314). Joyce Trus and Bethany Yates each had 75’s to lead the Racers and shared third place, while Megan McKinney fired a 79 to grab 12th place in the field of 91 competitors. Morgan Cross was in 29th place after an 81, and Alexandra Hinteregger was in 54th after an 84. Rachel Duigiud is playing the event as an individual and was in 54th place after an 84. The event wraps up today with the final 18 holes.

VOLLEYBALL WELCOMES UT MARTIN
The Murray State volleyball team will face UT Martin in Racer Arena tonight at 7 in the lone match of the week for the Racers. MSU is currently in fourth place in the conference standings, with the Skyhawks tied for fifth, with their 5-5 mark in the OVC. The Racers currently own a 28-17 advantage in the all-time series, including victories in the last five matches contested in Racer Arena. MSU holds a 16-5 advantage in the series when playing in Murray.

MSU WOMEN NETTERS BATTLE BELMONT
The Murray State women’s tennis team took on Belmont in the MSU Fall Invite Saturday afternoon at the Purcell Courts. The competition featured two rounds of doubles play and two rounds of singles play. The Racers had the upper hand in doubles as they came away victorious in five of the six matches. The duo of Adriana Alvarez and Lyndsay Ottosen won both of their matches. They started the day with an easy 8-1 victory and came back with an 8-4 triumph. Alexis Webb and Cassidy Cunitz teamed up for a 9-7 victory in the first round before Cunitz teamed with Ashley Pierson for an 8-5 victory. The duo of Lynsey Bochenek and Katelyn Fulcher split their matches on the day. They dropped an 8-5 decision before rebounding for an 8-2 victory in the second round. In singles action, Alvarez, Cunitz and Ottosen each posted a pair of victories. Alvarez won her first match 6-4, 6-0 over Lauren Irick and then won her second match over Lindsay Bennett, 7-5, 6-3. Ottosen handed Abigail Hogan a 7-5, 6-1 defeat in the first round and defeated Laura Stack 6-4, 6-2 in round two. Cunitz improved her record to 4-2 on the season with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Tatiana Pozo and a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Whitnie Warren. Pierson earned a victory as he defeated Stack 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. Webb picked up a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Irick in the second round. The Racers close out the Fall season on Oct. 31-Nov. 2 when they take part in the Virginia Tech Fall Classic.

NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT

=== NFL ===

Sammy Morris ran for 138 yards and one touchdown before departing the game --
and leaving New England with little left in the backfield -- and Matt Cassel
tossed three touchdown passes, as the Patriots pummeled Denver, 41-7, at
Gillette Stadium. Two of those scoring strikes went to Randy Moss, who caught
five passes for 69 yards. Wes Welker led the onslaught with six catches for 63
yards and a touchdown. The New England ground game just bullied the Denver
front seven in the trenches, even without the services of starting tailback
Laurence Maroney, who was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder problem.
Morris ran wild on the Denver defense before falling out with a knee injury,
BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 65 yards and a late fourth-quarter score and
even Kevin Faulk reached 50 yards on just four carries. Cassel was just as
solid through the air, completing 18-of-24 passes for 185 yards, as New
England (4-2) won its fifth straight Monday Night Football appearance and
improved to 11-1 at home in October since 2003. New England, which came into
the game averaging just 297.8 yards per contest, piled up 404 net yards in the
victory to move within one game of surprising Buffalo in the AFC East race.
Jay Cutler, battling a right finger injury from the game's outset, completed
17-of-26 passes for 168 yards, one touchdown and two costly interceptions.
Michael Pittman, starting in place of the inactive Selvin Young, ran for 88
yards on 20 carries for Denver (4-3).

===

The San Francisco 49ers, losers of their last four games, fired head coach
Mike Nolan late Monday night. Nolan was replaced by assistant head coach Mike
Singletary, who will step in as head coach for the remainder of the season.
The 49ers suffered a 29-17 road loss to the New York Giants this past Sunday,
dropping their record to 2-5. The 49-year-old Nolan, who was in the fourth
season of a five-year contract with the 49ers, compiled an 18-37 record during
his tenure with the team. The best finish under his watch was 7-9 in 2006.
In fact, the 49ers haven't had a winning record since 2002, when they went
10-6 before falling to Tampa Bay in the divisional round of the playoffs.

===

Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said Monday that quarterback Tony
Romo's status for this week's game against Tampa Bay is "to be determined."
Romo, despite a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand, was active for this
past Sunday's game against St. Louis but didn't see any action in the 34-14
setback. It was initially thought that Romo would be sidelined for a month
with the injury, but Romo was throwing during practice last week with a
protective splint on the injured finger. Brad Johnson made the start in Romo's
place against the Rams and completed 17-of-34 passes for 234 yards with three
interceptions and a late touchdown for the Cowboys, who have dropped three of
four since winning their first three games of the year.

===

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush reportedly underwent arthroscopic
knee surgery Monday and is expected to be sidelined for two-to-four weeks.
Bush was hurt in the first half of this past Sunday's game against Carolina
and did not accompany the team to London for the upcoming game against San
Diego. He instead flew to Birmingham, Alabama to have his knee examined by
noted sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews. A New Orleans newspaper cited a league
source as saying Bush had a procedure to have torn medial meniscus in his left
knee repaired. The former Heisman Trophy winner leads the Saints with eight
touchdowns this season, including three on punt returns. He is the team's
leading rusher with 294 yards and the leading receiver with 42 catches for 366
yards.

===

St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson has a slight quadriceps strain and
will likely not miss the team's game next Sunday against New England. Jackson
suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 34-14 win over Dallas,
and an MRI exam on Monday provided the diagnosis. Jackson ran for 160 yards
and three touchdowns in the win. Rams head coach Jim Haslett said Jackson will
be limited in practice this week but fine for the Patriots game.

===

Cincinnati Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers will miss the rest of the
season after undergoing surgery to repair two fractures in his jaw. Rivers
suffered the injury in Sunday's 38-10 loss to the Steelers, when on the fourth
play of the game, Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward hit the linebacker on a
block. Rivers is expected to have his jaw wired shut for about six weeks. He
was the Bengals' first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft out of
Southern California and has recorded 37 tackles, a forced fumble and an
interception in seven games.

===

Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer will miss another week because of a sore
throwing elbow, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. Palmer hurt a
tendon in his throwing elbow during a road loss to the Giants on September 21,
and missed the Bengals' loss to Cleveland in Week 4. The quarterback played in
a loss to Dallas in Week 5, but has not been on the field since. Lewis said
Palmer will continue to rest the elbow and not practice this week in
preparation for Cincinnati's game this Sunday at Houston. For the season,
Palmer has completed 75-of-129 passes for 731 yards, three touchdowns and four
interceptions in four games.


=== MLB ===

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays have another workout day before
playing Game 1 of the World Series at Tropicana Field Wednesday night. It's
been a fairy tale season for the Rays, who are the fifth team among the four
major sports to advance to its league championship series the year after
having the worst record. None has gone on to win the league title. The Rays,
who beat Boston in seven games in the ALCS, are just the third team to advance
to the World Series immediately after 10 or more consecutive losing seasons.
While the Rays go for their first title, the Phillies will try to give
Philadelphia its first major sports championship since 1983 when the NBA's
76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers in that title series.  You can hear the
World Series on 1340 WNBS.

===

The Chicago Cubs and general manager Jim Hendry have agreed on a four-year
contract extension through the 2012 season. Hendry has been the club's general
manager since July 5, 2002 and will enter his 15th season with the
organization in 2009. He is already the third-longest tenured GM in franchise
history and this year became the first general manager to lead the Cubs to
playoff appearances in back-to-back seasons since 1906-08. The Cubs won the
National League Central this past season with a record of 97-64, but were
eliminated from the playoffs in the division series round for a second
consecutive year. Since Hendry took over as GM, the Cubs have a record of
537-513 with three playoff appearances (2003, '07, '08).

===

Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell underwent surgery on his right hip on
Monday to repair a torn labrum and fix a bone spur. Lowell had the surgery at
this time to be fully recovered for spring training. In 113 games during the
2008 regular season, Lowell hit .274 with 17 homers and 73 runs batted in, the
lowest marks he has posted in each category since coming over from the Marlins
in the trade that also brought Josh Beckett to Boston.


=== NBA ===

Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams will miss at least two weeks after spraining
his ankle in a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Williams
underwent an MRI exam Monday to determine the severity of the injury, and a
team physician said the fourth-year player suffered a second degree inversion
sprain. The procedure showed no bone or tendon damage. The third overall pick
in the 2005 draft, Williams suffered the injury in the first quarter when he
landed awkwardly on the ankle. He had to be helped from the floor and into a
wheelchair before going to the locker room for X-rays, which were negative.
Last season, the Illinois product appeared in all 82 games and was selected to
the all-NBA second-team after averaging career highs in points (18.8) and
assists (10.5) per game.


=== NHL ===

New Jersey Devils center Bobby Holik is scheduled to undergo surgery on
Tuesday for a broken pinkie finger and will likely be sidelined for at least
three weeks. Holik was hurt during Saturday's game against Washington and
became the second New Jersey center to suffer an injury in as many games.
Brian Rolston sprained an ankle Thursday against Atlanta. There is no
timetable for Rolston's return.

National Hockey League
                             ----------------------
Evgeni  Malkin's goal in the fifth round of the shootout lifted the Pittsburgh
Penguins over the Bruins, 2-1, spoiling Boston's home opener.

Elsewhere in the NHL:
---------------------
Dallas Stars 2, New York Rangers 1
Montreal Canadiens 3, Florida Panthers 1
Colorado Avalanche 4, Los Angeles Kings 3