League

Listed in order of 2012 finish   East Division Washington Nationals Last season: 98-64, lost to the Cardinals in NL division series. Manager: Davey Johnson, third season with the Nationals. Outlook: The Nationals fine-tuned the roster that delivered them the best record in baseball last season, landing centerfielder and leadoff man Denard Span. They also added starter Dan Haren from the Angels and former Yankees closer Rafael Soriano to an already-loaded back of the bullpen.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Darin Ruf's road to the big leagues took a detour Friday, but only after he showed once again why he was here in the first place. The 26-year-old slugger stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning and launched a long walk-off home run to left field, giving the Phillies a 7-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves. As he crossed home plate, Ruf was swarmed by his teammates in what was unquestionably the best moment of his often difficult spring training.

In a nod to the great Jackie Robinson's start with the Negro Leagues, Kansas City was announced Wednesday as the host site for the only advance public screenings of 42, which chronicles his epic story. Harrison Ford, who stars as former Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, and fellow cast member Andre Holland planned to attend the April 11 event, which will benefit Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, museum president Bob Kendrick said. Although the story of Robinson in Brooklyn is well known, Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, batting .387 while hitting five home runs and stealing 13 bases in 47 games.

The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia is trying to keep everyone's eyes on the future of the region. For the last four years, the nonprofit civic organization has engaged in what amounts to a never-ending quiz: "What does Philadelphia want to be when it grows up?" The Economy League says it is striving to build a "world-class Philadelphia," and its leaders are quick to add that the point is not to produce a glossy report with recommendations that just gets relegated to the bottom drawer of a desk.

          LEWISBURG, Pa. - Mike Muscala scored six of his 20 points during a decisive second half Wednesday night to help Bucknell capture its second NCAA tournament berth in three seasons with a 64-56 win over Lafayette in the Patriot League title game. Muscala also had 11 rebounds. Joe Willman added 14 points and eight boards for the Bison. Just like two years ago, top-seeded Bucknell (28-5) beat Lafayette (19-15) on its home floor to advance.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has decided to allow girls to play football in Philadelphia's Catholic Youth Organization league next season, rejecting the recommendation of a panel he directed to review the league's policy banning them. That rule was subject to scrutiny this winter after Caroline Pla, 11, of Doylestown, was told by the archdiocese that she would not be allowed to play next fall. She played the 2011 and 2012 seasons due to an oversight. Caroline, who started an online petition in December urging the archdiocese to reconsider the rule, said she was surrounded by an elated cluster of classmates, friends, and neighbors when she learned the news from her mother after school.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Phillies made five more cuts Tuesday, jettisoning righthanders Tyler Cloyd and B.J. Rosenberg, lefthander Mauricio Robles, outfielder Tyson Gillies and catcher Sebastian Valle to minor league camp. Valle and Gillies had just arrived back from the World Baseball Classic, where they both took part in the melee between teams Mexico and Canada. Here's what we saw from each of the players who were cut: * Righthander Tyler Cloyd: He was sidetracked by a bout with forearm tightness but appeared in three games, logging five innings and allowing six runs, all earned, with two strikeouts and two walks.

WHILE IT'S possible such a terrific feat has been accomplished elsewhere in this country through the years, would you really be surprised if it hasn't? Think about it . . . How many leagues are large enough to qualify 10 teams for a state tournament? Next, what are the chances all 10 will win their first-round games? The good, ol' Pub achieved such perfection last weekend, and the average margin of victory was 20.7 points. Know what's strange? As recently as the 2003-04 season, only one of the 10 schools - Martin Luther King, which debuted in 1976-77 - was even in the Public League.

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai lashed out at the United States in strikingly acerbic terms Sunday, implying that the American military was stoking violence in collusion with the Taliban to justify a prolonged presence and alleging that foreign troops were harassing Afghan university students. The remarks painted an embarrassing picture of discord that marred Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first foreign trip as Pentagon chief and plunged the tenuous allies into crisis mode at a time when the United States is struggling to wind down the unpopular war in a dignified manner.