Sports Desk

Baseball

Ramirez slam lifts Chisox into playoff with Twins

Alexei Ramirez spread his arms wide, raced around the bases like a little kid and jumped into Paul Konerko's embrace at home plate.

No wonder they were so happy. The White Sox would play one more day.

Ramirez set a rookie record with his fourth grand slam of the season, and Chicago beat Detroit 8-2 in a rainout makeup Monday, forcing a one-game tiebreaker against Minnesota for the AL Central title.

The Twins will visit the White Sox tonight, with John Danks starting for Chicago on three days' rest against Nick Blackburn. The division champ begins the playoffs at Tampa Bay on Thursday.

"Tomorrow, 162 games mean nothing. It's only about one game and that's great," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "A good feeling."

When Guillen told Ramirez to relax before batting with the bases loaded, the 27-year-old infielder made a promise.

"I told Ozzie to have confidence in me. I'm going to go out and get these runners home somehow," he said.

Yankees reliever Rivera to have shoulder surgery

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will have offseason surgery on his sore right shoulder but should be ready to throw by spring training.

Manager Joe Girardi said yesterday that the procedure will shave down calcification of the A.C. joint on the top of Rivera's shoulder. The surgery hasn't been scheduled, but Girardi said it doesn't appear to be a serious injury and there is no structural damage.

"From what I've learned, he's had it the whole year. Has it progressively got worse over the course of the year? I don't necessarily think so," Girardi said. "I think he just feels more comfortable having it done and then not have to deal with it next year."

Football

Rams fire Linehan, turn to Haslett

After experiencing the wild highs and lows of the Mike Martz years, the winless St. Louis Rams opted for cool, calm, reserved Scott Linehan as their next coach.

Yesterday, they admitted their mistake and fired Linehan after four consecutive lopsided losses to open the season. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, a fiery type and polar opposite in terms of demeanor, was hired as interim coach, given the unenviable task of trying to revive a franchise that has become an NFL doormat.

The Rams have lost 17 of their last 20 games, most of them routs. But no matter how dire the situation appears, Haslett said it'll never be as bad as in his final season as head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Boldin hit draws suspension for Jets' Smith

Hours after Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt called for the NFL to review a helmet-to-helmet hit by New York's Eric Smith on Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin, the Jets safety was suspended for one game.

Boldin was resting at home yesterday, one day after being carted off the field in the Cardinals' 56-35 loss to the Jets in New Jersey.

Smith also was fined $50,000 for a flagrant violation of player safety rules, the league said late yesterday.

Whisenhunt said he believed the hit violated the safety edict issued by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but he stopped short of calling for Smith to be suspended.

"I think it's one of the hits that falls into the category of being dangerous to players," Whisenhunt said yesterday.