Sun Life Stadium

He had received the call he was waiting for. Now we were getting ours. "Mom, Dad, I'm going to Miami tomorrow. They called me up. " It was Labor Day, and on the line was our 22-year-old son, Matt, who had just been told that his lifelong dream would be realized. The Florida Marlins were promoting him to the major leagues as part of the team's September roster expansion. The next day, for the first time, he would be dressing in a major league uniform for a regular-season game.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Nick Saban and Brian Kelly dropped strong hints Saturday they would be coaching at Alabama and Notre Dame beyond Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game. It's understandable the men leading the top two college football teams into the sport's top game would be considered candidates for several NFL vacancies. Saban, seeking his third national title in six years at Alabama, had the more adamant denial. "I don't have any unfinished business in the NFL," Saban said at Saturday's media day at Sun Life Stadium.

Alberto Callaspo , limited last week to two pinch-hit appearances because of a hamstring pull, Monday ran at 100% and Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said the third baseman will probably start Tuesday night. With Callaspo returning, the Angels recalled reliever Michael Kohn from triple-A Salt Lake and returned infielder Andrew Romine to Salt Lake, a move that boosted their pitching staff from 11 to 12 players. Kohn opened the season with the Angels but appeared in only five games, compiling a 4.91 earned-run average, before being sent to Salt Lake on April 10, a demotion that surprised the 24-year-old right-hander who was 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 24 games in 2010.

He had received the call he was waiting for. Now we were getting ours. "Mom, Dad, I'm going to Miami tomorrow. They called me up. " It was Labor Day, and on the line was our 22-year-old son, Matt, who had just been told that his lifelong dream would be realized. The Florida Marlins were promoting him to the major leagues as part of the team's September roster expansion. The next day, for the first time, he would be dressing in a major league uniform for a regular-season game.

Earlier this season, before returning to play at Philadelphia for the first time as a visitor, Washington's Donovan McNabb joked about accidentally coming out of the home team's tunnel. Minnesota's Brett Favre might say the same thing about playing the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. After all, Favre has started 118 games at that legendary stadium, tying him with Denver great John Elway (118 at Mile High Stadium) for the most starts by a quarterback at a given venue. Favre on Sunday will own that record alone.

The Florida Marlins broke up the monotony of a dismal June with the hiring of 80-year-old interim Manager Jack McKeon, whose introductory news conference Monday injected some much-needed humor into one of baseball's bleakest situations. The respite was temporary. The Marlins went back to their losing ways Monday night, falling to the Angels, 2-1, in Sun Life Stadium, extending their losing streak to 11, which tied a franchise record set twice in 1998, and losing for the 21st time in 23 games.

Reporting from Miami Andre Ethier was smiling and laughing. It was easy for him to be pleasant. Ethier hit a 10th-inning home run Wednesday to lead the Dodgers past the Florida Marlins, 5-4, at Sun Life Stadium. His hitting streak reached 24 games. He would soon be on his way back to Los Angeles, where he would get a day to spend with his family before his team opened a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Told that Marlins right-hander Brian Sanches hadn't given up a run in 132/3 innings leading to Ethier's home run, the outfielder laughed and said, "I'm glad I didn't know that before.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Nick Saban and Brian Kelly dropped strong hints Saturday they would be coaching at Alabama and Notre Dame beyond Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game. It's understandable the men leading the top two college football teams into the sport's top game would be considered candidates for several NFL vacancies. Saban, seeking his third national title in six years at Alabama, had the more adamant denial. "I don't have any unfinished business in the NFL," Saban said at Saturday's media day at Sun Life Stadium.

The Galaxy and Real Madrid will be among eight teams participating in a new international soccer tournament this summer that mostly will take place in six U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, it was announced Wednesday. Confirming earlier media reports, Relevent Sports, a division of RSE Ventures, said the Guinness International Champions Cup also would include Juventus and Inter Milan of Italy. The other four teams will be announced May 7. Most of the games will be televised on Fox Soccer and seen in 151 countries, officials said.

The Galaxy reportedly are one of eight teams that would take part in an international soccer tournament planned this summer that would include several European clubs. The tournament would be called the International Champions Cup and a formal announcement might be coming later this week. The Galaxy declined to comment but reports in the Miami Herald, Sports Business Journal and SI.com said the event likely would include teams from England, Italy and Spain. The tournament would open in late July in Europe, then move to the United States for seven days of competition on both coasts, the Miami Herald reported.

The Florida Marlins broke up the monotony of a dismal June with the hiring of 80-year-old interim Manager Jack McKeon, whose introductory news conference Monday injected some much-needed humor into one of baseball's bleakest situations. The respite was temporary. The Marlins went back to their losing ways Monday night, falling to the Angels, 2-1, in Sun Life Stadium, extending their losing streak to 11, which tied a franchise record set twice in 1998, and losing for the 21st time in 23 games.

Alberto Callaspo , limited last week to two pinch-hit appearances because of a hamstring pull, Monday ran at 100% and Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said the third baseman will probably start Tuesday night. With Callaspo returning, the Angels recalled reliever Michael Kohn from triple-A Salt Lake and returned infielder Andrew Romine to Salt Lake, a move that boosted their pitching staff from 11 to 12 players. Kohn opened the season with the Angels but appeared in only five games, compiling a 4.91 earned-run average, before being sent to Salt Lake on April 10, a demotion that surprised the 24-year-old right-hander who was 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 24 games in 2010.

Reporting from Miami Andre Ethier was smiling and laughing. It was easy for him to be pleasant. Ethier hit a 10th-inning home run Wednesday to lead the Dodgers past the Florida Marlins, 5-4, at Sun Life Stadium. His hitting streak reached 24 games. He would soon be on his way back to Los Angeles, where he would get a day to spend with his family before his team opened a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Told that Marlins right-hander Brian Sanches hadn't given up a run in 132/3 innings leading to Ethier's home run, the outfielder laughed and said, "I'm glad I didn't know that before.

Earlier this season, before returning to play at Philadelphia for the first time as a visitor, Washington's Donovan McNabb joked about accidentally coming out of the home team's tunnel. Minnesota's Brett Favre might say the same thing about playing the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. After all, Favre has started 118 games at that legendary stadium, tying him with Denver great John Elway (118 at Mile High Stadium) for the most starts by a quarterback at a given venue. Favre on Sunday will own that record alone.

Although CONCACAF remains officially silent, details have begun to leak out about this summer's Gold Cup soccer tournament. The U.S. is expected to be placed in a group with Belize, Costa Rica and Cuba. The Americans, who lost the 2011 Gold Cup final to Mexico at the Rose Bowl, will play its first game with Belize in Portland, Ore., on July 9, then meet Cuba in Salt Lake four days later before closing group play against Costa Rica in Hartford, Conn. Group A will include Canada, Martinique, defending champion Mexico and Panama and will open the tournament at the Rose Bowl on July 7 with Canada meeting Martinique and Mexico facing Panama.

Of the teams hoping to court Peyton Manning, the Miami Dolphins seem to have many powerful supporters. Donald Trump and Dwyane Wade have publicly said they would like Manning to play for the Dolphins, the Miami Heat star tweeting : "I'm just gonna put it out thr..peyton that number 18 wld look gr8 in a dolphins uniform..steve ross let's go.. marlins & heat style..All in" Not so fast. Dolphins Coach Joe Philbin told reporters that he has not yet spoken to Manning -- but added that he intends to soon.  "Obviously, he's had a phenomenal career up to this point," Philbin said before a Thursday evening Make-A-Wish Foundation auction at Miami's Sun Life Stadium.