Fri, Jul 03, 2009

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Villa to take 12-fight winning streak into bout tonight at Casino del Sol

the associated press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.07.2008
Tomas "El Norteno" Villa will face power-punching Rogers "The Tiger" Mtagwa tonight at Casino Del Sol.
Villa (20-5) will enter the ring on a 12-fight winning streak.
Mtagwa is 24-12 with 17 knockouts.
In a supporting bout, Tucsonan Noberto Bravo will face Jose Luis Cruz.
Gates open at 4p.m. with the first bout at 5:20 p.m. at Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater, 5655 W. Valencia Road.
BASEBALL
Peña's defense honored
NEW YORK — Carlos Peña grabbed attention for all those balls he hit. Now the Tampa Bay first baseman and his teammates are getting noticed for the ones he caught.
Peña raised the Rays' profile Thursday when he became the first player in franchise history to win the Gold Glove for fielding excellence.
Texas shortstop Michael Young became the first infielder to win a Gold Glove from a team with the worst fielding percentage in the majors. Peña, Young, Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer were first-time winners.
The outfield was a repeat from last season: Los Angeles' Torii Hunter and Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki each won for the eighth straight year, and Cleveland's Grady Sizemore earned his second award.
Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina, coming off his first 20-win season, added to his accolades with his seventh Gold Glove. Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre won for the second straight year.
● Baseball general managers plan to recommend that sites for division and wild-card tiebreakers be decided by wins and losses, rather than coin flips.
TENNIS
Venus defeats Serena
DOHA, Qatar — Venus Williams defeated her sister 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 Thursday to reach the semifinals of the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.
Serena Williams called it her worst match of the year. "I just couldn't keep a ball in play," she said. "Everything was off."
Serena Williams dropped to 1-1 but can still advance to the semifinals if she defeats Elena Dementieva today.
Includes material from a news release