SOCCER

CHELSEA, AC MILAN FRIENDLY ENDS IN DRAW

Manuel Rui Costa fought off two defenders and scored in the 80th minute, rallying AC Milan to a 1-1 tie with Chelsea in an exhibition match at Giants Stadium yesterday.

Rui Costa got the ball off a scramble in front and sent a left-footed chip shot from about 12 yards that bounced high off the right post and got past Chelsea goalie Petr Cech.

After a scoreless first half, Chelsea took a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute when reserve forward Didier Drogba ran about 25 yards through two defenders and beat AC Milan goalkeeper Valerio Fiori with a left-footed shot. With the tie, AC Milan won the World Series of Football tournament by goal differential against the two Major League Soccer teams in the tournament, the Chicago Fire and D.C. United.

BASEBALL

CUBS TRADE GERUT TO PITTSBURGH FOR LAWTON

The Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Matt Lawton from the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday in exchange for outfielder Jody Gerut. The Cubs just got Gerut from the Cleveland Indians on July 18 in a trade for Jason Dubois. Gerut appeared in 11 games for Chicago, going 1-for-14. Lawton was 0-for-4 yesterday, including a game-ending strikeout as the Pirates lost in Atlanta.

BRAVES ADD FARNSWORTH TO BULLPEN

The Atlanta Braves addressed their biggest need by acquiring reliever Kyle Farnsworth from the Detroit Tigers yesterday for pitcher Roman Colon and minor league righty Zach Miner. Farnsworth, 29, was 1-1 with six saves and a 2.32 ERA for Detroit and will serve as a setup man for Braves closer Chris Reitsma.

FOOTBALL

CARDINALS LOCK UP BOLDIN THROUGH 2010

The Arizona Cardinals agreed to a six-year, $23.5 million contract extension with receiver Anquan Boldin yesterday that would keep him with the team through the 2010 season. Boldin missed a minicamp in the spring because he wanted a more favorable deal.

Two seasons ago, Boldin was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year after setting an NFL record for rookies with 101 receptions, tying the team record for any receiver. Last year, Boldin injured his right knee early in training camp, underwent arthroscopic surgery and missed the first six games.

SWIMMING

HACKETT WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT 1,500M TITLE

Australia’s Grant Hackett won the 1,500-meter freestyle at the World Championships in Montreal yesterday, becoming the first swimmer to win the same event at four straight worlds. No one was close, even though Hackett appeared to tire a bit at the end of a grueling meet. He won his third individual gold medal – one more than American Michael Phelps – to go along with a silver. Phelps’s last event was the preliminaries of the 400 medley relay. After a disappointing seventh-place finish in the 100 free and a loss to American Ian Crocker in the 100 butterfly, Phelps was left off the team that swam the final.

– Associated Press