Roster

As of Thursday, the Kansas City Royals had the youngest opening-day roster in Major League Baseball, with an average age of 27 years and 155 days, according to Stats L.L.C. The Houston Astros were the youngest in the National League, at 27 years and 301 days. Those baby 'Stros were closely followed by the Atlanta Braves: 28 years and 99 days. The oldest MLB roster? That would be those New York Yankees (31 and 222 days) - and that's not even counting Andy Pettitte, who will be 40 in June.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during a game last weekend against Boston. Escobar apologized to his team and "to all those who have been offended" for what he said was meant to be "just a joke. " Escobar insisted the word is often used within teams and by Latinos and "I didn't see it as something bad. " The suspension was to have started Tuesday night.

LAS VEGAS - The 76ers' Andre Iguodala, along with Blake Griffin and James Harden, was chosen Saturday to complete the roster for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. They earned the final three spots that opened after a rash of injuries knocked out at least four players who would have been on the team. They beat out Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay, and No. 1 draft pick Anthony Davis of New Orleans, who couldn't scrimmage last week because of a sprained ankle. Also heading to London for the defending gold medalists are: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Tyson Chandler, and Kevin Love.

Out of the race to nab Peyton Manning, the Arizona Cardinals are moving on with quarterback Kevin Kolb. The former future of the Eagles remained on the Arizona roster at a 4 p.m. deadline Friday, ensuring him a $7 million roster bonus that the team would not have paid if they had landed Manning. Coach Ken Whisenhunt issued a statement acknowledging that "acquiring Peyton Manning is no longer an option for us. " Also on Friday, the Cardinals agreed to terms on a five-year contract for offensive tackle Levi Brown, who had been released by Arizona on Tuesday in a salary cap move.

In 2004, Heather O'Reilly was just a 19-year-old lucky enough to be playing soccer alongside her idols. Then she scored the overtime goal that sent the United States women's national team into the gold-medal game of the Olympics. The squad went on to win the gold over Brazil. "I was definitely awestruck," O'Reilly said. "First of all by making the team and playing alongside my idols like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, all players that I looked up to for years. In 2004, I was just along for the ride.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Delmon Young's bat will be silent during the AL Championship Series. If the Detroit Tigers can get to the World Series without him, they might get back the slugger who hit three homers in the AL division series. Young is out of the ALCS against the Texas Rangers because of an oblique injury. He aggravated an earlier ailment against the New York Yankees, and the Tigers left him off their roster for the best-of-seven series that began Saturday night. Manager Jim Leyland said that even though an MRI exam "doesn't show anything real significant," the Tigers were taking no chances with Young.

As Matt Holliday walked off the field following the Cardinals' workout at Citizens Bank Park on Friday afternoon - a session in which he hit only in an indoor cage - his face was robed in uncertainty, probably because he knew that, to some extent, much of St. Louis' hopes rested in the palm of his hand. "I think I'm ready to play," said Holliday, a righthanded hitter and thrower who has been sidelined with an injured tendon in the palm of his right hand. Though the Cardinals hadn't yet made their roster official, indications were that both Holliday and Rafael Furcal would be active for their team's National League division series with the Phillies, which begins Saturday.

WHAT WE KNOW: Despite the expected loss of Roy Oswalt, the unit should once again enter the season as the class of the National League. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels each logged at least 216 innings while posting sub-2.80 ERAs. While Oswalt struggled with a back injury and saw his strikeouts drop off dramatically, he still finished 2011 with a 3.69 ERA while averaging six innings in 23 starts. Vance Worley will enter the spring with a spot in the rotation after going 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA in 21 starts and four relief appearances as a rookie.

When the Eagles open training camp Sunday, months removed from a disappointing 2011 and on the verge of another season that holds immense promise, a long list of players and coaches face questions. The answers could determine their legacies in Philadelphia. The team will hold training camp with a talented roster fueling high hopes. The Eagles and head coach Andy Reid have had time to incorporate the many new faces of 2011, to revise their game plans and study their mistakes, to give injured players time to heal, to resolve distractions and patch holes in the roster.