The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins have started trade talks involving Johan Santana. Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Monday that discussions are ongoing but it was too early to tell whether they would lead to a deal. He did not detail how far talks had progressed. “I don’t want to get into that at this point, as far as what they want, what we’re willing to give and all…

In a game in which the start was delayed 25 minutes by lighting and heavy rain, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins were scoreless through three quarters at Heinz Field Monday night. The Steelers drove into Miami territory on each of their seven possessions but failed to score. Jeff Reed missed 44-yard field goal with 29 second left in the third quarter.

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was critically wounded in a pre-dawn shooting at his home Monday, and doctors were encouraged when he responded to simple commands after several hours of surgery. The 24-year-old player was shot in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.

Isiah Thomas rattled off a list of all the things Stephon Marbury did right. Hard to believe it’s only two weeks since Thomas didn’t think his point guard was worthy of starting. Marbury continued his turnaround with a season-high 28 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Utah Jazz 113-109 on Monday night.

Caron Butler scored 35 points and Antawn Jamison added 27 to help the Washington Wizards hand the Dallas Mavericks their first home loss of the season and third straight overall, 110-98 on Monday night. Dallas, which started the season 6-0 at home, got 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Dirk Nowitzki, but the reigning league MVP didn’t get enough help from his teammates.

Marko Jaric scored 21 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves protected a big lead for a change to get their second victory of the season, 103-94 over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night. Sebastian Telfair scored 20 points for the Timberwolves, while fellow reserve Antoine Walker scored 17, hitting three 3-pointers and following his own miss for a key basket with 1:04 to go to stifle New…

TORONTO (AP)– Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa plans to have more surgery on his left leg and ankle and will be out indefinitely. The Raptors said Monday that the decision was made after Garbajosa met with a specialist in Baltimore on Monday. The six-foot-nine, 245-pounder broke a bone in his lower leg and dislocated his ankle while trying to block a shot in March.

Florida coach Billy Donovan isn’t sure how his team will respond to its first loss of the season. The Gators (5-1) were physically dominated by Florida State, losing 65-51 Friday and then dropping out of Sports Betting News college basketball poll three days later. “I’d prefer as a coach to learn through winning,” Donovan said Monday.

The Denver Broncos are running out of time and running backs. They might have to go into Oakland next week with fullback Cecil Sapp, their fifth option, in the backfield after Andre Hall suffered a high ankle sprain in the Broncos’ 37-34 loss at Chicago on Sunday. Hall, a third-stringer making his first NFL start, was injured on his first carry but toughed it out and finished with 98 yards on 26…

Jeff Gordon lost his car chief on Monday when Jeff Meendering joined Petty Enterprises as crew chief for Bobby Labonte.

MOORESVILLE, North Carolina (Ticker) — Petty Enterprises on Monday named Jeff Meendering as the new crew chief of the No. 43 Dodge driven by Bobby Labonte in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The many holiday tournaments didn’t cause any changes at the top of Sports Betting News’ men’s college basketball poll. The bottom of the Top 25, however, was another matter after 13 ranked teams lost a game last week. North Carolina held its slim lead over No. 2 UCLA on Monday as the top five teams stayed the same from last week.