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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Payless ShoeSource Inc. will become the exclusive U.S. seller of Dexter brand shoes, adding a big piece to Payless' strategy of distancing itself from its bargain-bin shoe past, the companies said Tuesday. Formerly found at retailers such as Kohl's Corp. and J.C. Penney Co., the 50-year-old brand will begin appearing in Payless' 4,600 stores in a limited men's line this Christmas. A full line of men's and women's casual and dress shoes will go on sale next year, Payl...

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Before the dinnertime rush, Larry Lewis was chewing over business strategy at the Fat Jimmy's pizzeria he manages. The store had absorbed sharply rising cheese prices as long as possible.

It was time to hike the price on pizzas and pass along some of the expense that had been eating into profits the past few months.

"We don't really have much choice," said Lewis, who competes in a pizza-heavy city that's the corporate home of large chains and features a large selection of pizza restaurants.

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DENVER — Dallas set an Arena League record with its 15th win and claimed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 77-58 win over Denver on Monday night.

Clint Dolezel threw eight touchdown passes to become the first in league history with 100 or more scoring passes in consecutive seasons. He finished with 107, joining three others this season.

On Monday, Dolezel completed 21 of 31 passes for 244 yards. Dialleo Burks caught seven passes for 111 yards and three TDs for Dallas (15-1).

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- John Thomson won in his debut with the Kansas City Royals, outpitching John Lackey in a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Thomson (1-0) allowed three runs - two earned - and six hits over seven innings, and did not walk or strike out anyone in his first regular-season game of 2007. The 33-year-old right-hander spent the previous 2 1/2 months in the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system before he was given his unconditional release last Wednesday.

The Royals are the Thomson's fifth team. He has also pitched for Colorado, Texas, Atlanta and the New York Mets. He was reunited with manager Buddy Bell, who had him in his rotation with Colorado during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. The nine-year veteran was a combined 11-13 with a 4.52 ERA in 35 starts for Bell, and won a career-high 14 games two years later with the Braves.

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While C.C. Sabathia has been outstanding all season, Jeff Weaver is just beginning to reverse his early slide.

Emerging as a top-tier ace, Sabathia became baseball's second 11-game winner by pitching a complete game to lead the Cleveland Indians past the visiting Oakland Athletics 5-2 on Monday night.

The left-hander tied Boston's Josh Beckett for the major league lead in wins, extending an impressive run of pinpoint control. In his past 14 starts, Sabathia (11-2) has walked only 11 batters while striking out 89.

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