Hunter pitches Rangers to 3-1 win over White Sox

Tommy Hunter scattered nine singles over seven-plus innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Saturday night.

Hunter (5-0) allowed one run, struck out three and walked one for the AL West leaders.

Hunter, who has gone at least six innings in five of his six starts this season, left in the eighth after Juan Pierre drew a leadoff walk and Alexei Ramirez singled for his third hit of the night.

The runners moved up on Frank Francisco's balk, and Pierre scored on Alex Rios' groundout.

But Francisco struck out slugger Paul Konerko and retired Andruw Jones on a fly ball to preserve the two-run lead.

Chicago's …

A HOME FOR PLAYHOUSE

There is an inherent paradox in the Hershey Area Playhouse. Despite its name, the troupe of amateur actors actually has no "playhouse." Instead, the group has put on shows everywhere from a soccer stadium to a volunteer fire station.

The organization is working to erase the paradox.

"We always joke that we have an 'edifice' complex," said Susan Cort, a member of the nonprofit Playhouse's board of directors.

The Playhouse board is made up of amateur actors, but most are seasoned professionals. For Cort, the Playhouse is a 40-hour per week commitment. Other board members put in significant hours, as well. Together, they have tallied the support of the Hersheyarea …

Selection problems for Chelsea and Newcastle ahead of weekend's game

Chelsea and Newcastle face selection problems ahead of their Premier League game on Saturday _ and not just because of injury and suspension.

Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton will spend the next six days in jail after being refused bail Friday and charged with common assault and affray, or starting a brawl.

Barton was one of three people arrested Thursday after an alleged incident in downtown Liverpool around 5:30 a.m. local time that morning.

The other two were released on bail but Barton was remanded in custody until Jan. 3.

Barton missed Newcastle's 1-0 loss to Wigan on Wednesday with an ankle injury, and last played in the 2-2 draw …

Reds back in black

Aberdeen Football Club are back in the black after releasingtheir latest financial figures.

The Dons have announced an …

Daniel Gilbert

Daniel Gilbert, 62, founder and president of two Chicagomanufacturing companies, died last Thursday while vacationing inLondon.

Mr. Gilbert headed the Chromcraft Division of Gilbert PlatingInc. and WAG Industries, manufacturers of food industrial equipmentat …

Rockies Improve to 7-0 Against Nationals

DENVER - Matt Holliday doesn't mind when opposing teams walk Garrett Atkins to pitch to him.

"I don't take it personally," the Colorado Rockies' left fielder said. "I see it as an opportunity to be productive and drive in runs."

Holliday homered and hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning to lead the Rockies to a 9-5 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.

"You live for those situations," Holliday said. "Sometimes, it turns out in your favor and sometimes it doesn't."

Holliday was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including his 27th home run of the season, and Atkins hit his 24th homer and drove in three runs.

Alfonso …

Canada finance minister says unemployment to rise

Canada's finance minister said Friday that the country's economic recovery will likely be modest and job losses will mount into 2010 even after growth has begun.

Jim Flaherty gave his most recent, sobering assessment of economic prospects in a conference call from Chile, after a meeting with finance ministers from the Americas.

Responding to surprisingly high job losses reported in the United States earlier this week, Flaherty said all of his colleagues are concerned with the toll the recession is taking on workers. He warned that while the economy may be stabilizing, labor markets are not.

"We'll start to see stabilization, which we are …