Slugger Hopes for Shortened Prison Term

Felony amount now only 18 times higher for powder cocaine

(NEWSER) - Congress quietly eased up the federal sentencing guideline on crack cocaine yesterday, addressing one of the more glaring disparities of the drug war. In what critics have called a racist double-standard, possessing a mere 5 grams of crack is considered a felony, compared to 500 grams for powdered cocaine. The bill the House approved yesterday reduces that 100-to-1 disparity to 18-to-1, the Huffington Post reports, upping the crack threshold to 28 grams. More»

Rays at the head of the class—Rockies, Marlins at the back

(NEWSER) - Report card time! Here’s how the rambunctious kids of MLB are doing so far, in Yahoo Sports’ Steven Henson’s estimation. A students—Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, White Sox Particular kudos go to the Rays, the poor kid who went to the head of the class. B students—Cardinals, Brewers, Twins, Phillies, Yankees, Athletics, Marlins, Orioles The Cardinals have a slight edge in the wildcard race. The Yankees, meanwhile, barely scrape together a B. More»

Rangers fielder, once banished from league, having red-hot spring

(NEWSER) - Josh Hamilton can appreciate the high he's riding now, because his personal lows have been pretty rough. The first pick of baseball's 1999 draft was booted in 2004 for failing drug tests after picking up a cocaine habit. But now the Rangers outfielder has traded a bottle of Crown Royal a day for a swing at the triple crown, Sports Illustrated reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Brett Tomko pitched six innings Friday for his first victory in nearly six weeks, and two unearned runs helped the Kansas City Royals extend their winning streak to five games by beating the slumping Florida Marlins 7-6. Closer Joakim Soria allowed a run for the first time this season when he gave up a two-run homer to Jeremy Hermida in the ninth. More»

(NEWSER) - Jose Guillen homered and drove in three runs, Gil Meche pitched seven solid innings and the Kansas City Royals beat Detroit 8-4 yesterday to sweep the Tigers. Kansas City won its season-best fourth straight and improved to 6-0 this season against the Tigers, who have lost four in a row and 10 of 12 while falling into last place in the AL Central. More»