Sports Desk

A trio of RBI singles by Luis Garcia, Tike Redman and Adrian Brown propelled the Nashville Sounds to a 5-2 win Sunday over the Omaha Royals. The victory moved Nashville (66-62) into a first-place tie within the Eastern Division of the Pacific Coast League. New Orleans (67-63), which has topped the division all year, as well as Memphis and Oklahoma—just a half-game and a game out respectively—are all in the hunt for the pennant. The Sounds are 12-5 for the month of August and winners of nine of their last 10 contests. After concluding their four-game series with Omaha, the Sounds will face Memphis beginning this Thursday in what will be the Soundsí last home stand of 2002 ♦ Maybe itís the fact that the Sounds are in a heated pennant race. Maybe itís the fact that the Nashville Sports Authority, and the city of Nashville itself, appears ready to invest deeply into Minor League Baseball. Or maybe with an impending strike date set by Major League Baseball players, fans are ready to support the local, cheaper product. Regardless, the fan support at Greer Stadium has been impressive this season. Saturday the Sounds drew nearly 10,000 fans and Sundayís afternoon contest attracted almost 4,000. General Manager Glenn Yaeger has effectively governed the Soundsí operations on an ultra-thin budget and created both a winner on the field and a winner in the community in the process. ♦ No need to ìfreakî out, but defensive end Jevon Kearse will miss the final two preseason contests against Minnesota (Aug. 23) and Green Bay (Aug. 30) due to an injury he suffered to his left elbow during training camp drills. An MRI showed damage to the triceps tendon—an injury that may potentially sideline Kearse for the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. But with contract negotiations coming up this season, donít bet on it. Kearse has plenty to prove to management this season. That ought to put the fear of God in opposing QBs. ♦ Cornerback Samari Rolle competed in team drills Saturday for the first time in three weeks after sustaining an ankle injury, and has been working with trainers to fast-track his recovery time. ìPsychologically, itís just good to be out with the team again,î Rolle said. Jeff Fisher said that Rolle would be a game time decision when the Titans travel to Minnesota this Friday. ♦ Take basketball, football, lacrosse and gymnastics and mix them into an extreme videogame-like blender. The wacky end result would be SlamBall. TNN is broadcasting this innovative, high-flying stunt show on Saturdays at 7 p.m., and for pure entertainment the action is tough to beat. The rules are simple: Dead balls always go to the defense; fouls are nonexistent; and an offensive playerís goal is to hit one of four trampolines and dunk—some 16 feet in the air—on the opponentís skull. The game itself flows poorly, but the dunks and painful hits make it a must-see. Itís like the XFL moved into the gymnasium, only better.

—óBrian Blackwell