I can see it now. David Beckham hoisting the MLS Cup in triumph Sunday night on national TV as he conquers the league with the Los Angeles Galaxy and rides off into the sunset on a white horse to join star-studded AC Milan.

Postgame, L.A. manager Bruce Arena lets us know it was a game that came down to a few plays, and Landon Donovan breaks the news that he is heading to AC Milan with Becks to continue their friendship.

BOSTON - It sounds like someone is knocking on the door, but that's Kevin Garnett's index finger repeatedly pounding the plastic table as he briefly fields questions following Boston's 83-78 home loss to Orlando on Friday night.

Because even with a solid 13-point, 11-rebound showing, Garnett didn't fully look like the player he used to be before knee surgery. He hasn't all season.

"He's healthy, but one day he's explosive, one day he's not," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "That's just going to take time. And we know that.

Jimmie Johnson hasn't slept particularly well lately.

The three-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion has spent the witching hours counting worst-case scenarios instead of sheep, especially after his disastrous 38th-place finish in Texas two weeks ago.

And so, priority No. 1 heading into Sunday's Ford 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway for the 2009 points leader: qualifying near the front to avoid back-of-the-pack, less-experienced drivers who would be more likely to put him into the wall.

Unemployment eased in Southwest Florida in October, though it remains at a collective 12.3 percent in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties -- a level not seen since the mid-1970s.

Local work force experts are seeing a pickup in inquiries from employers, while tourism promoters report a boost in hiring with the early arrival of the winter season.

But one of the state's top economists says no one should get too comfortable with the notion of a turnaround.

For Percy and Sally Miles the tragic routine has become all too familiar, but no less emotional.

The couple again stood on the packed streets of Wootton Bassett yesterday for the 100th repatriation of British soldiers killed fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On April 5, 2007 they were at the first homecoming, of Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, 18, from Durham, and Kingsman Danny Wilson, 28, of Workington, Cumbria.

LOGAN, Utah, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Doug Martin scored three of his four touchdowns during a 28-point second period Friday, sending No. 6 Boise State rolling to a 52-21 victory over Utah State.

Utah State answered each of Boise State's first two scores, but the unbeaten Broncos then began pouring it on to improve their hopes of playing in a BCS bowl game.

Boise State (10-0) needs victories over Nevada and New Mexico State to finish off a perfect regular season.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Dany Heatley scored three times, Joe Thornton recorded his 600th NHL assist, and the San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Friday night.

Manny Malhotra, Ryane Clowe and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks, who are 7-0-2 at home.

Claude Giroux scored twice and Danny Briere added a goal for the Flyers, who lost for the second time in nine games.

Thornton, who had points on each of Heatley's goals, earned four assists. He matched his franchise record, and has 30 points this season.

New York, NY (AHN) – While many are looking to make a little extra cash for the holidays, Home Box Office Sports scored a chunk of change for the Manny Pacquiao's 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas Nov.14.

It was announced that 1.25 million people purchased ($70 million) in the pay-per-view bout this month. Pacquiao stands to collect $22 million for the Cotto fight.

Cotto, meanwhiile, will make about $12 million dollars.

Four prime pieces from North Carolina's run to the national championship last season graduated to the N.B.A., led by the four-time first-team all-American forward Tyler Hansbrough. But Syracuse could relate. Point guard Jonny Flynn hit the N.B.A. lottery with the Minnesota Timberwolves and two other starters from a Round-of-16 team left to chase their professional dreams.

Still, North Carolina and Syracuse are among the top five winningest programs in college basketball for a reason: there is always talent in the pipeline. They met Friday night for the first time since 1987, an early-season test for two unbeaten teams at Madison Square Garden in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.

State public health officials announced yesterday the death of two people from swine flu, including a child under the age of 4, underscoring the vulnerability that young people appear to have to the unusual virus.

The child is just the second in Massachusetts to die of H1N1, and the first child to die of the virus during this fall's flu season. The first child died in the spring.

"Death due to H1N1 is rare, but it does happen,'' said Dr. Lauren Smith, medical director of the state Department of Public Health. "I understand that the death of the child is a tragic thing.''

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Christian Ehrhoff's second goal got Vancouver even in the third period, and Henrik Sedin then netted the go-ahead tally as the Canucks rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on Friday night.

Steve Bernier added another goal — on a pretty slap pass from Ehrhoff — just as the first penalty in a brief 5 on 3 advantage ended with 8:21 left. Mikael Samuelsson scored on a skipping shot from the point less than 2 minutes later.

MILWAUKEE - Bucks coach Scott Skiles rarely gives glowing compliments. Even he's having a tough time containing his excitement for rookie Brandon Jennings.

"You'd be hard pressed to find a rookie's first 10 games better than this," Skiles said. "Maybe somebody has, but he's had as good a 10-game start as anybody I've been aware of in my 20-plus years in the league."

Jennings scored 29 points to lead Milwaukee to a 95-88 victory over Charlotte on Friday night, with minority owner Michael Jordan on hand to witness his Bobcats drop their seventh straight.

The resolution criticised official harassment since the election

A key UN committee has voted to approve a non-binding resolution condemning Iran for its crackdown on protesters following June's disputed elections.

The resolution also repeated annual criticism of Iran's human rights record, including the use of torture and an increasing execution rate.

It urged Tehran to end persecution of political opponents and release those imprisoned for their political views.

ROME - Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said Friday.

Three fingers, a vertebra and a tooth were removed from the astronomer's body by admirers in 1737, 95 years after his death, as his corpse was being moved from a storage place to a monumental tomb — opposite that of Michelangelo, in Santa Croce Basilica in Florence.

HAVANA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The representative of UNICEF, or the UN Children's Fund, in Cuba said here Friday that Cuba is among the countries that have best implemented the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that countries in the world should learn from Cuba on the protection of children's rights.

Jose Juan Ortiz, speaking at celebrations marking Universal Children's Day, said Cuba, still under an economic embargo and is suffering from frequent natural disasters, has significantly reduced child mortality and improved child nutrition -- to levels that can rival those of developed countries.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Thomas Coleman scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead North Carolina A&T to a 67-53 win over Davis & Elkins on Friday night.

Robert Johnson added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Aggies (2-2), while Nic Simpson chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

The Senators (1-1) were paced by Tim Turner, who finished with 22 points on 8 of 22 shooting. P.J. Turner contributed with eight points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - Aric Van Weelden hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Loyola of Chicago to a 76-73 victory over Holy Cross on Friday night.

Trailing 73-65 with 1:05 left, the Ramblers (2-1) scored the final 11 points of the game.

The winless Crusaders (0-3) led 34-30 at halftime and increased their lead to 45-36 with 15:50 left.

Loyola used a 10-2 spurt to pull within 47-46 with 12:09 left. The Ramblers again trailed by one at 64-63 with 3:24 left, and Holy Cross went on a 9-2 run to go back up by eight. The Ramblers hit their last four shots in the final minute while the Crusaders missed all four of their free throw attempts.

FAIRFIELD, Ala. (AP) — Police say a woman has died after being struck along with nine children by a car outside an Alabama middle school.

The nine children were injured in the accident Friday afternoon in Fairfield, about eight miles southwest of Birmingham. Three of the injured were listed in fair to serious condition at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.

Fairfield Police Sgt. Matthew Romei says 46-year-old Debrah Johnson died after undergoing surgery Friday night.

NEW YORK - Jim Boeheim watched Jonny Flynn depart early and become the No. 6 pick in this past June's NBA draft. Fellow starters Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf also left — or were nudged out — early.

That's not to say the Orange are Final Four caliber, but they clearly belong in the conversation among the likes of West Virginia and Villanova — the preseason Big East co-favorites — after dominating No. 6 North Carolina in an 87-71 win at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" was on course to break two box-office records in one day.

The second installment of the vampire saga broke the record for midnight ticket sales Thursday night and was expected to record the biggest single-day sales ever at the box office Friday evening.

Gross receipts from midnight shows in the U.S. and Canada totaled $26.3 million, distributor Summit Entertainment reported Friday morning.