BOSTON (AP) - Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 11 assists and the Boston Celtics beat the Utah Jazz 105-86 on Wednesday night to match their 8-1 start from their title-winning season two years ago.

Boston has won two in a row since its only loss, to Phoenix on Friday.

Kevin Garnett scored 18 points, Paul Pierce had 13 and Ray Allen 15 for the Celtics.

Deron Williams, who was a game-time decision because of a bruised left calf, had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes for Utah. Ronnie Brewer added 13 points, and Paul

BOSTON (AP) - Catcher Jason Varitek has exercised his $3 million option to stay with the Boston Red Sox.

Boston declined to exercise its $5 million club option on Monday, and Varitek then had two days to decide whether to exercise his player option at the lower price.

The 37-year-old was Boston's starting catcher for nine of 10 seasons through 2008, except in 2001 when he was limited to 51 games because of injury. He was the regular last season until Boston obtained Victor Martinez from Cleveland on July 31.

(NECN: Kevin Walsh, Hanscom AFB) - Boston Bruins defenseman Marc Stuart has a special treat for veterans. He bought $5,000 worth of tickets, so troops can enjoy a game on him!

And, that's not all the Bruins are doing to promote good will in the community. Retired Bruin Tommy Songin is teaching the game to as many kids as he can!

Reporter Kevin Walsh caught up with The Tommy Tour as it rolled in to Hanscom Air Force Base.

(NECN: Foxboro, Mass.) - The New England Patriots are preparing to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, November 15th, at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick says the Colts "are a team offensively that can pretty much do whatever they want to do or need to do."

"It will be a big challenge for us this week," said Belichick. "Going up against an undefeated football team...eight wins this year."

Belichick refers to the Colts as a "solid team."

Game time: 8:20 p.m.

(NECN) - As Boston Celtics fans sit in their TD Garden seats for a given game, a tilt of the head upward will lead to a sight no other fan base can claim in its home building -- 17 NBA Championship banners.

The bulk of those banners -- 13, to be exact -- come from a dominant stretch that began in the late 50s and tapered off in the mid-70s under the organizational guide of Red Auerbach. Three more were added in the 80s, during the Larry Bird era -- the time of the original Big Three.

(NECN: Jess Moran, Duxbury, Mass.) - As part of the NFL's summer program to get kids to exercise at least 60-minutes a day, they could enter a sweepstakes to bring a pro athlete to their school.

Twelve-year old Tyler Hutchinson won the contest, and was a celebrity for a day.

NECN’s Jess Moran has the story of the young man who took the Patriots' Laurence Maroney to school.

If you don't know Laurence he's a big kid in a man's body. And the kids loved him.

BOSTON (AP) - Tim Thomas stopped 27 shots for his second shutout of the season, and Sidney Crosby was held without a point for the fifth straight game as the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Matt Hunwick backhanded a rebound under the crossbar, then had to wait 77 seconds for a whistle so NHL officials could consult a video replay and give Boston the goal. Mark Recchi had the 900th assist of his career, Daniel Paille had his first goal with the Bruins, and Patrice Bergeron added a short-handed empty-netter with

NEW YORK (AP) - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and the basketball great said his prognosis is encouraging.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia, he told The Associated Press on Monday.

The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn't give any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle."

Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease. He is

BOSTON (AP) - The Red Sox have exercised their $7.7 million option on Victor Martinez and declined options on Jason Varitek and Alex Gonzalez.

They also agreed to a $5 million, two-year contract with 43-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, replacing a perpetual $4 million annual club option.

The moves on the options were expected after Boston obtained Martinez from the Cleveland Indians on July 31 and he replaced Varitek as the starting catcher. The club option for Varitek was worth $5 million, but he can stay with the team if he exercises his

(NECN) - As part of the process of approving a new NBA owner, Boston Celtics owner and CEO Wyc Grousbeck met with Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov in recent weeks.