DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander is the latest pitcher to silence the New York Yankees' lineup.

The Detroit Tigers own a three-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship Series and are one win away from their first World Series berth in six years following a 2-1 win over the Yankees. Verlander gave up only three hits and was sensational despite just three strikeouts over 8 1/3 innings, limiting the Yanks to a pair of Ichiro Suzuki hits and no walks until Eduardo Nunez led off the ninth with a homer. Verlander is 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA this postseason.

Verlander retired his first 10 batters before Suzuki singled in the fourth, a half-inning before Delmon Young opened the scoring with a solo blast off losing pitcher Phil Hughes.

Hughes left the game two batters after Young's blast, charged with a run and three hits in three-plus innings. The Yankees said Hughes was suffering from a stiff back.

Detroit's second run came on Miguel Cabrera's fifth-inning double. Cabrera had a chance to break open the game an inning later, but he grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH') finally ended his postseason-record batting skid. The Yankees' second baseman had been 0-for-29 since Game 2 of the ALDS before lacing a single with two out in the ninth, putting runners on first and second. But Phil Coke finally closed out the win by getting Raul Ibanez (ih-BAHN'-yehz) to strike out.

Other than Cano, the Yankees' team-wide batting slump continued despite two significant lineup changes. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher stayed on the bench after going a combined 7-for-52 in the postseason. They were replaced by Eric Chavez and Brett Gardner, who went a combined 0-for-7.

The Tigers had tossed 20 straight scoreless innings until Nunez homered. New York has scored in just two of 30 innings the entire series.

The Tigers can wrap up the series tonight in Detroit. Max Scherzer (SHUR'-zur) will start for Detroit against C.C. Sabathia, who has two of the Yankees' three postseason wins.

NLCS-GIANTS

Scutaro may play Wednesday

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy (BOH'-chee) tells The Associated Press there's a "good chance" second baseman Marco Scutaro (SKOO'-tah-roh) will play in Game 3 of the NL championship series against the Cardinals Wednesday afternoon.

Scutaro strained his left hip when the Cardinals' Matt Holliday crashed into him with a hard slide in Game 2 at AT&T Park. The second baseman went down in the first inning of the Giants' 7-1 win, then hit a two-run single in the fourth before coming out of the game after the fifth inning.

Bochy called it "an illegal slide."

NHL-LABOR

New offer by owners

TORONTO (AP) — The NHL has made a new offer to the players' association that proposes a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue and a full 82-game season starting Nov. 2. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the offer as talks resumed Tuesday in Toronto between the league and the players association.

The NHL locked out its players on Sept. 15. A Nov. 2 start date would extend the season well into June, but would preserve some of the marquee events, such as the Jan. 1 Winter Classic in Michigan.

NBA-NOWITZKE

Mavs star hurting

DALLAS (AP) — Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (noh-VIHT'-skee) hopes to avoid surgery after experiencing more swelling in his troublesome right knee. Nowitzki missed his second straight preseason game as Dallas beat Houston 123-104 Monday night. The 11-time All-Star said after the game he is going to reduce his workload over the next week and see if the swelling goes down in his knee, which has been drained twice over the past month.

The 2011 NBA Finals MVP said if there is no improvement over the next few days, he may have no choice other than to have surgery, which would probably sideline him into the regular season.

NFL-CARDINALS

Kolb out indefinitely

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (kahb) has rib cartilage damage and will be sidelined, in the team's words, "an unspecified period of time." Kolb, who took over when starter John Skelton went down in the opener and directed the game-winning drive, had the team at 4-2.

The job will revert to Skelton, who beat out Kolb for the starting job in the preseason and just now is returning to health from a sprained left ankle.

Kolb was hurt trying to make it to the line of scrimmage on a busted play late in the Cardinals' 19-16 overtime loss to Buffalo on Sunday.

NFL-COWBOYS/MURRAY

Cowboys' owner doesn't expect Murray to play Sunday

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says it "looks obvious" that running back DeMarco Murray won't play at Carolina because of a sprained left foot suffered in Sunday's 31-29 loss at Baltimore. Jones said the team is encouraged that the sprain wasn't more serious than it was.

Felix Jones is expected to start in Murray's place.

NFL-CHIEFS

QB given OK to practice

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel (KAS'-uhl) has been cleared for non-contact practice and could play in the Chiefs' next game on Oct. 28 against Oakland. Cassell sat out Sunday's game at Tampa Bay with a concussion while backup, Brady Quinn, had two interceptions in a 38-10 loss to the Buccaneers.

NFL-BROWNS

New owner for Cleveland's NFL team

CHICAGO (AP) — The sale of the Cleveland Browns to Jimmy Haslam III has been unanimously approved by NFL owners, which is leading to a change in leadership at the top of the team's front office. Haslam paid previous owner Randy Lerner $1 billion for the franchise.

In his first move as owner, Haslam announced that team president Mike Holmgren will be leaving the team at the end of the season. Former Eagles executive Joe Banner has been hired as the Browns' CEO, replacing Holmgren.

The fate of coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert, both Holmgren hires, won't be determined until after the season, Haslam added.

NFL-EAGLES

Defensive coordinator fired

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Juan Castillo is out as the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator, replaced by secondary coach Todd Bowles (bohlz). The dismissal comes after the Eagles blew fourth-quarter leads in consecutive games.

Castillo was with the Eagles for 18 years, longer than any coach in franchise history.

NFL-SAINTS

Judge rules in favor of Vilma

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal magistrate judge has ordered NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (guh-DEHL') to provide the court with documents related to the league's bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints. The order by Magistrate Daniel Knowles comes in response to suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilma's efforts to initiate the discovery process in his defamation case against the commissioner. Vilma says the NFL has allowed him to review only a fraction of documents related to bounty matter.

Knowles has issued a compromise order in which only the court, and not Vilma, may see the documents — "including reports of interviews with witnesses" — before a subsequent order is made on whether to allow discovery to proceed.

Vilma also re-filed a related lawsuit on Tuesday asking for his season-long suspension to be overturned

SOCCER-US/GUATEMALA

Americans advance

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The United States men's soccer team has advanced to next year's final round of the World Cup qualifying.

Clint Dempsey scored the last two goals as the Americans beat Guatemala 3-1 in Kansas City. Dempsey set up Carlos Bocanegra's tying goal in the 10th minute, then scored in the 18th and 36th.

The Americans needed merely a draw to advance to the six-team finals in North and Central America and the Caribbean. They topped their semifinal group with 13 points at 4-1-1.

NCAA-LSU

LSU players may have violated NCAA rules

BATON ROGUE, La. (AP) — Sports Illustrated is reporting that former LSU cornerback Tyrann (TY'-ran) Mathieu might have violated NCAA rules by promoting a night club while he was still a member of the team. The magazine reports Mathieu appeared in a video made by a group of his friends in which he promotes a party at a Baton Rouge club on March 10 of this year.

His pictures were also on fliers promoting the event. The flier also featured photographs of former LSU standout Mo Claiborne and current LSU sophomore defensive tackle Anthony Johnson.

NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from allowing their names or pictures to be used in advertising the sale of a product or service.

NASCAR

Earnhardt sees concussion specialist

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited a noted concussion specialist in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as part of the planned rehabilitation program to get NASCAR's most popular driver back in a car. Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that Earnhardt met with Dr. Micky Collins of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. He was accompanied by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, who would not clear Earnhardt to race because of two concussions suffered over the past six weeks.

PENN STATE

No new contract for athletic director

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State will not renew the contract of athletic director Tim Curley when it expires in June. He has been on leave since being charged last year with perjury and failing to report a child sex abuse allegation against Jerry Sandusky.

Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz are scheduled to stand trial in January on the perjury and failure to report charges. Both men have denied the allegations against them.

ARMSTRONG-LIVESTRONG/NIKE

Scandal ridden cyclist gives up chairmanship

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong said today that he is stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity so the group can focus on its mission instead of its founder's problems.

The move came a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive report detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005.

Armstrong, who was not paid a salary as chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, will remain on its 15-member board. His duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman in 1997.

And there is word from New York that Nike has severed its ties with Armstrong following doping scandal.

ARMSTRONG-DOPING

Status of medals up in the air and doctor to take time before reacting

UNDATED (AP) — The International Olympic Committee will wait for cycling's governing body to act on Lance Armstrong's doping case before it considers taking away his Olympic bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games. IOC Vice President Thomas Bach told The Associated Press the Olympic body also will look into removing American Levi Leipheimer's (LYP'-hy-merz) bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Games after his admission of doping.

Leipheimer has been fired by the Omega Pharma-Quick Step cycling team after confessing to doping as part of the investigation that brought down Armstrong. Leipheimer was Armstrong's teammate for five years during stints with the U.S. Postal Service, Astana and RadioShack teams before joining Quick Step this season.

Armstrong's former physician says he needs time to study the thick file of U.S. Anti-Doping Agency documents accusing him of advising widespread drug use before responding. Dr. Michele Ferrari (mih-KEHL'-eh feh-RAH'-ree) tells Cyclingnews.com "it's taken them 2½ years to gather the documents, so it's going to take me some time to go through them."

USADA (yoo-SAH'-dah) traced more than $1 million in payments from Armstrong to Ferrari from 1996 to 2006. The report details how the physician allegedly told Armstrong and other riders to dope. In July, USADA banned Ferrari for life.

SUPER BOWL-HALFTIME

Beyonce to work NFL title game

NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce will be the Super Bowl halftime show performer.

The NFL confirmed the news Tuesday afternoon after Beyonce posted a photo of herself sporting eye black, where "Feb. 3" is written on one and "2013" on the other, on her Tumblr page. The Super Bowl is set for Feb. 3, 2013 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Beyonce has won 16 Grammy Awards. Her pop and R&B hits include "Crazy in Love," ''Irreplaceable" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)."