Cardinals

If the College of Cardinals had a rock star, it would be Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 55, of the Philippines. Enormously popular on Facebook, the youngest of the leading contenders to be pope is known for tooling around the streets of Manila on his bike, delivering charismatic, inspiring liturgies and welcoming the homeless to his dinner table. His relative youth perhaps diminishes his chances — such a long reign on the throne of St. Peter could push the next conclave back decades.

ST. LOUIS — Kyle Lohse had another frustrating experience against his ex-teammates. The rest of the Milwaukee Brewers wanted to forget a 2-8 trip full of wasted opportunities and lessons learned. "Certainly, it seems like we've been on the road for a month," said Ryan Braun, who grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning of a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. "It wasn't very much fun. We didn't do many things well. " Braun said there's a good...

Life in St. Louis, for Pete Kozma , is uncertain. His position as the Cardinals ' starting shortstop seems perpetually tenuous, even as his name appears in the lineup day after day. He is chastised for who he isn't rather than embraced for who he is, criticized for what he hasn't done rather than praised for what he has. "I know people want to keep throwing his minor league record in his face all the time," said Mike Matheny, the man...

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals will promote rookie lefty Tyler Lyons from the minors to make his major league debut in place of injured Jaime Garcia on Wednesday. Down two starters for the time being, they've also plugged Mitchell Boggs back into the bullpen mix. "Throw him in there when we can," manager Mike Matheny said before Sunday's game against the Brewers. "He knew what he needed to do. He knew what he was not doing, and what he was capable of doing. " The 29-year-old Boggs...

WHEN: 3 p.m. WHERE: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. (65,000). TV: WTTG (Channel 5), WBFF (Channel 45). RECORDS: Eagles (11-6-1, wild card); Cardinals (11-7, NFC West champions).

When: Sunday, 1 p.m. TV: WTTG-5, WBFF-45. Where: FedEx Field.

Cardinals at Brewers Monday-Tuesday, Miller Park Brewers 1B Prince Fielder, who hit 50 homers last year, finally hit his first of 2008 on Thursday. Is this the start of a homer binge for the big man?

CATEGORY CARDINALS OPP Points Per Game (Rank) 26.7 (3) 26.6 (28) Yards Per Game (Rank) 365.8 (4) 331.5 (19) Passing Yards Per Game (Rank) 292.1 (2) 221.2 (22) Passing Completions-Attempts 418-630 (66.3%) 323-517 (62.5%) Rushing Yards Per Game (Rank) 73.6 (32) 110.2 (16) Rushing Attempts-Average 340-3.5 445-4.0 First Downs 328 312 Third-Down Efficiency 83-198 (41.9%)

DAYTON, Ohio, March 22 -- The crushing full-court press wasn't getting anything done against unflappable Siena. A double-digit lead had evaporated. And, from those black folding chairs on the Louisville bench to the plastic red-and-blue seats all around the arena, it was clear to everyone that the top-seeded team was starting to panic. Coach Rick Pitino called a timeout and made a challenge. "You've got to prove to yourselves now you're a great basketball team," he told the rattled players.

ST. LOUIS — A starting rotation that helped the St. Louis Cardinals race out to the best record in baseball is beginning to show some signs of wear and tear. Jeff Bianchi drove in two runs with a 10th-inning single up the middle and Milwaukee snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Saturday night. Typically steady Lance Lynn had his second non-quality start of the season, lasting just five innings while giving up four earned runs on eight hits and two walks.

ST. LOUIS — Kyle Lohse was the St. Louis Cardinals' ace last season. Maybe they know too much about him. David Freese had an RBI in a four-run fourth inning to go with big plays at third base, and the Cardinals beat their former teammate for the third straight time with a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. "Baseball is a stupid game," said Lohse, who was 16-3 for the Cardinals last season. "Baseball is weird, man. You make some good pitches and they get some...

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals have placed left-hander Jaime Garcia on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain. General manager John Mozeliak says the team became aware of the issue about a week ago and had hoped Garcia could work through it. He was charged with six runs and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in a 7-6 victory over Milwaukee on Friday, improving to 5-2 while his ERA increased from 2.88 to 3.58. This is Garcia's fourth trip to the disabled...

ST. LOUIS — David Freese waited a long time for this curtain call. He was impressed with the patience of St. Louis' fans. Freese hit a grand slam for his first homer of the season, and the Cardinals used a five-run first inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 on Friday night. "That's the biggest thing about this, you want to join the fun," Freese said. "Fortunately enough, I haven't done squat this year and we've got a heck of a record. " The Brewers made it close on a...

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jake Westbrook has received another elbow treatment, the Associated Press has learned, perhaps pushing back his return. The right-hander is on the 15-day disabled list with elbow inflammation and had been scheduled to throw Friday. He told the AP he had an injection to his elbow a day earlier. General manager John Mozeliak texted the AP that the timetable had not yet been changed. Mozeliak added he expected to have a better grasp of the situation on Sunday or...

ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright grimaced at the notion that fatigue factored into an unsatisfactory follow-up to perhaps the most dominant effort of his career. The Cardinals' ace was surprised to get lifted after six innings of a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday that prevented a four-game St. Louis sweep. Wainwright threw 120 pitches in a two-hitter against the Rockies in his last outing, holding them hitless until one out in the eighth. He matched a season low with 87...

ST. LOUIS — Rick Ankiel admitted getting a special kick from hitting his first career home run against his old team. "For me, it was just fun to do it because it was against that team," Ankiel said of his two-run homer in the seventh inning of the New York Mets' 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. The 33-year-old Ankiel has only been with the team three days, so he's still learning his way around. "I wasn't here but in talking to everybody it just seems...