Here is The Latest Oregon Sports From The AP

(CORVALLIS) - It's back to Omaha, for the Oregon State Beavers. Jonah Nickerson scattered five hits and Mitch Canham drove in five runs for Oregon State in a 15-nothing victory last night over Stanford.

O-S-U's Jonah Nickerson received a standing ovation when he left the game with two outs in the eighth. He struck out seven.

After a difficult road trip, the Portland Beavers return to P-G-E Park for an eight-game homestand tomorrow.

The start of the Western Hockey League season is still about four months away. But some of the young players in the Portland Winter Hawks organization had a chance to show off some of their skills this weekend...

Roethlisberger Hurt in Motorcycle Crash

(PITTSBURGH) - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was badly hurt in a motorcycle crash Monday and undergoing surgery. The extent of his injuries was not known.Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition, said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital.

"He was talking to me before he left for the operating room," Jones said before the operation. "He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he's very stable."

The 24-year-old Roethlisberger likes to ride without a helmet, a habit that once prompted coach Bill Cowher to lecture him on the dangers. It was not known whether Roethlisberger was wearing a helmet when he crashed.

World Cup: Australia Scores Late to Top Japan 3-1

(KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany) - Australia scored three goals in the final minutes Monday for a 3-1 win over Japan in Group F of the World Cup.

Tim Cahill scored Australia's first ever World Cup goal in the 84th minute after Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi failed to punch clear a throw-in. He added another in the 89th, and John Aloisi scored a third in injury time to seal Australia's first World Cup win in the team's second appearance.

Shunsuke Nakamura had given Japan the lead in the 26th minute with a cross that beat Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Rookie Hamlin Wins 1st Nextel Cup Race

(LONG POND, Pa.) - Rookie Denny Hamlin never turned a lap at Pocono Raceway before this weekend. Well, not in reality, anyway.So for his first career Nextel Cup win, the 25-year-old owes some credit to the makers of his video game.

"They got every tree on the site, everything's mapped out perfect," Hamlin said Sunday after winning the Pocono 500. "Visually, I know where my letoff points are."

There was nothing virtual about the realities of this win, though: First, a blown tire sent Hamlin spinning. Then NASCAR's elite drivers pushed him hard down the stretch.

But he never lost his poise, showing Tony Stewart, his champion teammate, that he might have some company in the points race.

Stampede Fan Appreciation Night Thursday Versus Portland

Stampede center Eric Fiegi leads the IBL in scoring with 31.5 points per game.

(SALEM) - The Salem Stampede brought fans this season speed, tons of points, and lots of intense action during their inaugural season.

On Thursday, the Stampede (9-9) take on the Portland Chinooks (7-10) at the Salem Armory which will be their last home game of the season.

As a way of saying thank you to Stampede fans, the Stampede are having a Fan appreciation night.

World Cup: Mexico Breaks Through Iran Defense in Win

(NUREMBERG, Germany) - Mexico gave its raucous fans a reason to celebrate and a grieving Oswaldo Sanchez a reason to smile.

Iran missed a chance to replace talk of its political turmoil with discussion of its on-field success.

Hours after the echoes of a protest against Iran's government faded in this Bavarian city, Iran hoped to salvage at least one point from its World Cup opener on Sunday.

Mexico, whose goalkeeper had to fly home on Thursday to bury his father, had other ideas, scoring twice in the last 15 minutes for a 3-1 victory.

Dianetics to Sponsor NASCAR Race Team

(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) - Race fans, let the couch-jumping begin.

The Church of Scientology, the religion for which actor Tom Cruise crusades, will attempt to spread its "Ignite Your Potential" message into auto racing through sponsorship of a race car in one of NASCAR's lowest levels.

Kenton Gray, a 35-year-old Californian, will attempt to make the field for a late model race Saturday night at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. His No. 27 Ford Taurus will be sponsored by Bridge Publications, which publishes Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's bestseller "Dianetics."

The hood of the car will say "Dianetics" on it, along with a volcano to mimic the book cover.

No. 8 Beavers Open Super Regional by Beating Stanford 4-3

(CORVALLIS) - Oregon State's Mitch Canham doubled home the winning run with two out in the seventh inning, lifting the No. 8-ranked Beavers to a 4-3 victory Saturday night in the opening game of the NCAA Super Regional at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. Dallas Buck pitched eight strong innings to earn the win for OSU (43-14 overall), striking out six.

The Beavers and Cardinal (33-26) will continue the best-of-three series on Sunday at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on KEJO-AM (1240) in the Corvallis area, KUIK-AM (1360) in the Portland area and KKNX-AM (840); it will be televised in the State of Oregon on the ESPN2 cable network. It can also be seen and heard live via subscription on the internet at osubeavers.com.

World Cup: Argentina Downs Ivory Coast in Debut

(HAMBURG, Germany) - Still haunted by the last World Cup, Argentina really needed this victory. And a determined Ivory Coast team made the two-time Cup winners work for it.

Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola took advantage of some shaky defense to score first-half goals, and the Argentines hung on for a 2-1 victory Saturday night in the first game of what many think is the tournament's toughest group.

"It was savage," Crespo said. "We were nervous, so much wanting to do things well. This is the first step."