Culbreth and the rest of his crew Brian O'Nora, Bill Welke and Adrian Johnson were also fined an undisclosed amount after MLB admitted its umps goofed for the second straight day.

"The rule covering pitching changes was not applied correctly by the umpiring crew," MLB said in a statement.

Culbreth and his crew worked the Padres-Rays game in Tampa, Fla., on Friday night.

He told a pool reporter after the game that he takes "all the responsibility" for what happened.

As for the discipline?

"I look at it that baseball has high standards for their umpires and I have high standards for myself and I didn't meet those standards last night, so I am absolutely OK with everything," he said.

The problem in Houston came a day after Angel Hernandez and his crew in Cleveland failed to reverse a clear-cut home run after looking at a video review. MLB executive vice president Joe Torre said the umpires made an "improper call."

Hernandez was booed when the umpires were introduced Friday night before the Washington Nationals hosted the Chicago Cubs.

It's recently been a rough run for umps. Crew chief Tom Hallion was fined earlier this month after getting into a verbal spat with Tampa Bay pitcher David Price.

The latest trouble occurred in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. And while baseball does have video replay for some hard-to-tell calls and has talked for a couple of years about expanding its scope there was no mistaking what umpires saw.

With two outs and the Astros ahead 5-3, Houston reliever Wesley Wright came in from the bullpen and threw several warmup pitches from the mound. Porter, a first-year manager, then ran onto the field to stop him and brought in another reliever, Hector Ambriz.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia argued, correctly contending Wright was required to pitch to at least one batter. But the umpires permitted Ambriz to stay in and Scioscia put the game under protest it became moot when the Angels rallied to win 6-5.

Scioscia wasn't surprised by MLB's stern ruling.

"One thing I have found is that in the course of, especially with Joe Torre and Major League Baseball, that I think there is accountability," he said Friday in Chicago. "That might not always show its face but I know behind the scenes it's there and this is one example."

Pinch-hitter Luis Jimenez was on deck when Wright entered. Once Ambriz took over, Scott Cousins came up as a pinch-hitter.

On Friday, Porter was upset that he caused the problem.

"Personally, I want to apologize to their whole crew for putting them in that position," he said. "It's unfortunate for the game of baseball."

A day later, Culbreth tried to explain what happened.

"We just got to cross-sectioning different rules within the changing of a pitcher, and just had a hard time getting back on track from that," he said. "We got confused."

Porter said he spoke with Culbreth after the game and apologized to him when he realized he was wrong. But he still wanted to make a public apology.

"There are some repercussions, and again as I sit here today, it's more that I feel sorry for the crew chief and the crew for having to wear what it is that happened last night," Porter said.

Culbreth said Porter's mistake was not the problem.

"I look at it that the players and the managers, they go out and play the game and it is our job, whether they are knowingly or unknowingly getting outside the boundaries to get them back in, and I fell short of keeping them inside those lines," Culbreth said. "And that falls on me."

Wright, one of the pitchers involved in the fiasco, thinks it's unfortunate that Culbreth was suspended. He said when it happened; he figured he was going to have to stay in to face a batter.

"When they told me I was out of the game I was just kind of like: 'Maybe I don't understand the rule,'" he said. "It was just one of those weird situations."

A day earlier, a mistake in Cleveland caused a lot of commotion.

Adam Rosales and the Athletics were certain he'd hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning against the Indians. Three umpires went to a video review and instead upheld the original call on the field that the ball didn't clear the left-field wall.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin was ejected and was later contacted by MLB officials.

The mistake drew attention all over the majors. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said he'd never before seen an obvious miss despite replay.

"This is the first one where there definitely is a line drawn where you go, 'Wow,'" he said.

_____

AP Sports Writers Kristie Rieken in Houston and Fred Goodall in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this story.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A depleted Chicago Bulls dug deep for another impressive display of character and collective strength as they stunned defending NBA champions Miami Heat 93-86 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Monday.

On the night when LeBron James was presented with his fourth Most Valuable Player award from league commissioner David Stern, it was instead the more modest but seemingly tireless talent of Chicago's Jimmy Butler which proved decisive.

Butler played all 48 minutes for the third straight game and scored 21 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds and three assists.

On top of that, in the absence of the ailing Luol Deng, Butler guarded James, restricting him to just two points in the first half, a post-season career low for the Miami forward.

Although James stepped it up after the break, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, Butler inspired the Bulls to a fourth quarter rally as they roared back from a seven-point deficit to grab the early advantage in the best-of-seven series.

"I like the mental toughness of this team," said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was also unable to call on the services of injured Kirk Henrich and long-term absentee Derrick Rose.

"When you are facing adversity, you have to be mentally tough. But this is just one game. We are going to have to play much better in the next one," he added.

Butler, who came into the contest after playing every minute in Game Six and Saturday's Game Seven series decider against the Brooklyn Nets, epitomized that spirit.

"He is a tough kid," Thibodeau said. "He is mentally tough and that is what we need him to do right now. We're short-handed. We have a number of guys playing big minutes and that is what we need."

RUSTY HEAT

Miami's Dwyane Wade, returning from a knee injury which kept him out of Game Four of the series sweep over Milwaukee was impressed with the 23-year-old Butler, who is playing like a veteran in just his second year in the league.

"Jimmy is turning out to be a really good NBA player earlier in his career than some people expected. I think he is better than a lot of people think," he said.

Despite being the most dominant team in the NBA this season, the Heat suffered from what their fans had feared after seven full days of rest - rustiness.

Sweeping the Bucks earned the Heat that week off, while the Bulls were fighting past Brooklyn, and the unusually long break carried the danger of Miami losing their edge.

That certainly looked the case in the first half with Miami failing to make the most of their opportunities, but coach Erik Spoelstra was more concerned with the way his team lost the fourth quarter 35-24.

"We are not making any excuses for time off or anything else. With 35 points in the fourth quarter you are not going to win games in the playoffs giving that amount. We didn't close out the game in the way we are capable of," he said.

"This is going to be about who is going to impose their identity on the other team. They imposed their identity in this first game, no question. We did not," he added.

The defeat ended the Heat's franchise record-tying eight game post-season winning streak and was their second loss to Chicago at home this season.

Nate Robinson top scored for the Bulls with 27 points and the former New York Knicks and Boston Celtics guard said there was a unique team spirit to the current Chicago team.

"There is something special about this group. I don't know what it is but it just feels like we have been playing together for ten years - we just love to play for each other," he said.

The series continues with Game Two in Miami on Wednesday.

(Editing by John O'Brien)

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October. Excluding a few months when the index spiked because of a homebuyer tax credit, that is the highest level since March 2007.

The increase points to healthy sales increases of previously occupied homes in the months ahead. There's generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

The rise in sales adds to evidence of a steady housing recovery. Builders are more confident in sales and are starting construction on more homes. Home prices are rising on a consistent basis, which encourages more potential buyers to come off the sidelines and purchase homes. And more people may put their homes on the market if they gain confidence that they can sell at a good price.

The report is "another indicator suggesting that the recovery in housing has broadened and has sustained momentum," Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients.

Signed contracts jumped 15.6 percent in the Midwest and rose 5.5 percent in the South. But they fell 1.1 percent in the West and dipped 0.1 percent in the Northeast.

Superstorm Sandy lowered pending sales in the Northeast, the Realtors' group said. The West was hurt by low inventories of available homes.

Mortgage rates remained near record lows this week. The average rate on the 30-year loan was 3.32 percent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said, just above 3.31 percent last week, which was the lowest on records dating to 1971.

A big reason for the rebound in housing is that the excess supply of homes that built up before the housing crisis has finally thinned out. The number of previously occupied homes available for sale has fallen to a 10-year low. The inventory of new homes is also near the lowest level since 1963.

At the same time, more people are looking to buy or rent a home after living with relatives or friends during and immediately after the Great Recession.

Those trends are also pushing up home sales and construction. Sales of previously occupied homes are near five-year highs, excluding temporary spikes in 2009 and 2010 when a homebuyer tax credit boosted purchases.

Builders, meanwhile, are more optimistic that the recovery will endure. A measure of their confidence rose to the highest level in six and a half years this month. And builders broke ground on new homes and apartments at the fastest pace in more than four years last month.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The musical "Kinky Boots," with the score by pop star Cyndi Lauper, on Tuesday earned 13 nominations for the Tony Awards, leading the field for Broadway's highest honor and closely followed by British import "Matilda," which received 12.

Both shows were nominated for best musical, along with "Bring It On: The Musical" and "A Christmas Story: The Musical." Lauper was nominated for best score along with book writer Harvey Fierstein and three members of the show's cast.

Hollywood star Tom Hanks was nominated for best actor in his Broadway debut in the Nora Ephron play "Lucky Guy," which received six nominations, including a best play nomination for Ephron, the writer and film director who died in June.

Also nominated for best play were "The Assembled Parties," "The Testament of Mary" and "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike."

A revival of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" led play nominations with eight, including director Bartlett Sher.

Several Hollywood stars, including Cicely Tyson, Laurie Metcalf, Holland Taylor and David Hyde Pierce also won nominations for acting in plays.

Taylor earned a nomination for her portrayal of former Texas governor Ann Richards in "Ann" but Bette Midler was left out for her star turn as agent Sue Mengers in "I'll Eat You Last."

Another glaring omission was one of the season's biggest box office hits, "Motown the Musical," about the record label founded by Berry Gordy, in the best musical category. The show received only four nominations, including one for actress Valisia LeKae who plays Diana Ross.

Other top-nominated shows included the first Broadway revival of the 1970s hit "Pippin," which took 10 nominations, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," which received nine nods. Both were cited for best revival of a musical, along with "Annie" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

The other best revival of a play nominees included "Orphans," "The Trip to Bountiful" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" which won nominations for lead actors Tracy Letts and Amy Morton.

The strong showing by "Kinky Boots," an adaptation of a little-seen British movie about a struggling shoe factory that reinvents itself by making boots for drag queens, was a surprise to many who expected the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Roald Dahl's "Matilda," an Olivier-Award winner in London, to dominate.

"Boots" received nominations for Fierstein, director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell and both male leads, Stark Sands and Billy Porter, in addition to several technical awards.

"Matilda" earned nominations for best book, score and for Matthew Warchus' directing. Three cast members were also nominated, notably actor Bertie Carvel, who plays the fearsome school headmistress in the ecstatically reviewed show.

The nominations were announced by Sutton Foster and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The awards will be presented on June 9 at Radio City Music Hall.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Christopher Wilson)

The "Sound of Change Live" concert on June 1 in London's Twickenham sports stadium could fund at least 120 projects supporting girls and women in more than 70 nations, if all the tickets are sold, organizers said on Wednesday.

Organized by the Chime for Change campaign, founded by Italy fashion house Gucci, every ticket buyer will be able to choose which project their ticket will fund in what organizers said was a world first for such a venture.

Beyonce, currently on a European tour, will play a 45-minute set. She will be joined in the venture by singer and dancer Lopez, R&B artist John Legend, British indie sensation Ellie Goulding and rapper Timbaland, with more performers still to be announced.

U.S. actors James Franco, Blake Lively and Jada Pinkett Smith will be among the presenters.

"Our goal is to have a great time together while we unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women around the world," Beyonce said in a statement.

Rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who helped put on the Live Aid and Live Earth charity concerts, will produce the concert which will also be broadcast internationally.

Ticket prices range from 55-95 British pounds each ($85-$150) and 52,000 tickets are on sale.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Competing portraits of Jackson emerged during the first hours of the trial, with Katherine Jackson's attorney acknowledging the pop star's drug problems while also trying to show he was a caring son and father.

AEG's attorney Marvin S. Putnam said, however, that the singer's guarded private life meant the company was unaware that he was using the powerful anesthetic propofol.

"The truth is, Michael Jackson fooled everyone," Putnam said. "He made sure that no one, nobody, knew his deepest darkest secrets."

A jury of six men and six women will determine whether AEG should pay Jackson's mother and three children after his 2009 death from an overdose of propofol. Millions and possibly billions of dollars in damages are at stake in the case that opened with private photos and video clips of Jackson dancing.

"This case is about personal choices," Putnam said about Jackson's decision to be treated by physician Conrad Murray. "Also, it was about his personal responsibility. There's no question that Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy.

"I believe the evidence will show it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," Putnam said as he ended his opening statement. Testimony will begin Tuesday.

Katherine Jackson's attorney, Brian Panish, said AEG created a conflict of interest for Murray and forced him to choose between a large payday and Jackson's care. He told the jury AEG was feeling competitive pressures and wanted the Jackson tour to work at all costs.

"They didn't care who got lost in the wash," Panish told the jury.

Panish played a song that Jackson wrote for his three children, and a note the singer had written for his mother that brought tears to her eyes as she sat in court.

Katherine Jackson sued AEG Live in September 2010, claiming it failed to properly investigate Murray before allowing him to serve as Jackson's doctor as he prepared for his "This Is It" shows. She is also suing on behalf of her son's three children Prince, Paris and Blanket.

AEG denies it hired Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death. AEG's attorneys have said the company could not have foreseen the circumstances that led to the singer's death at age 50.

Panish told jurors that AEG executives ignored warning signs about Jackson's health and were motivated to push the singer and his doctor to improve their own financial fortunes.

"We're not looking for any sympathy," Panish said. "We're looking for truth and justice."

With Jackson's mother, brother Randy and sister Rebbie seated in the front row of the courtroom, jurors were shown numerous slides and several scribbled notes.

A couple of jurors nodded when the lawyer referenced Jackson's achievements, including successful concert tours and a Super Bowl performance.

Katherine Jackson dabbed her eyes after Panish read a note that her son wrote to her, detailing his feelings about her.

"All my success has been based on the fact that I wanted to make my mother proud," the singer's note said, "to win her smile of approval."

The personal touches came after Panish spent the first half of his presentation detailing Jackson's struggles with prescription drug abuse throughout the last half of his life.

He also showed jurors numerous emails sent between AEG executives concerning Jackson's health and their concerns that he wouldn't be able to perform 50 planned concerts in London.

Putnam recounted the chaotic days following Jackson's death as investigators and the public tried to figure out how the singer died unexpectedly. He urged jurors to remember that propofol killed Jackson.

"One thing became very, very clear," Putnam said. "While the world may not have heard of propofol, Mr. Jackson certainly had. The evidence is going to show you that he had been using that drug for years and years."

Putnam told jurors that AEG executives were in the dark about Jackson's propofol use.

"How could they have known?" the lawyer asked.

He said jurors will hear from Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, who would tell them that Jackson used the anesthetic in the 1990s.

"Mr. Jackson got very, very, good at hiding his addiction," Putnam said. "He didn't let anyone see it. Not his staff, not his children. This was the private Michael Jackson."

He said physician-patient confidentiality kept Jackson's reliance on propofol from becoming publicly known.

That extended to Murray as well. "He couldn't tell anyone about the propofol use," Putnam said of the former cardiologist.

Panish, however, said AEG saw the Jackson shows as a way to make a lot of money and better compete with Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

He displayed a March 2009 email sent before a news conference featuring Jackson, in which AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips wrote to Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG'S parent company, that Jackson was drunk and refusing to address fans.

"This is the scariest thing I have ever seen," Phillips wrote Leiweke. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it's show time. He's scared to death."

Panish said Jackson's behavior was just one of several warning signs the company ignored before the death.

He told the panel that they would be the ones to assign liability for Jackson's death, but they should look at AEG's actions and not focus on Jackson's issues.

"Michael paid the ultimate price. He died," Panish said. "Michael has taken responsibility."

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report. Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

Marine Police Sgt. Finley Leonce told The Associated Press that the captain and first mate were rescued on Monday around noon by a private boat owner who was helping with the search.

"They were waving their arms," he said. "They were still swimming to shore."

The two men are employees of a local company called "Reel Irie", which owns the 31-foot (9-meter) boat that sank on Sunday off the north coast of St. Lucia while on a fishing trip. Also aboard the boat were Dan Suski, a 30-year-old business owner and information technology expert from San Francisco, and his sister, Kate Suski, a 39-year-old architect from Seattle.

Leonce said authorities picked up the Suskis on Monday near Dauphin Beach on the island's northeast coast. The Suskis told the AP that they swam for nearly 14 hours, reached shore, and then hiked for about three hours the next day until they found a farm worker who called police for help.

All four of the survivors, who had been wearing life jackets, were hospitalized and treated for dehydration and various injuries.

An unidentified man who answered the phone at the "Reel Irie" company on Friday declined to comment. He only said that captain Griffith Frederick and mate Tim Cooper are doing well and that they are not providing interviews.

The boat's make and model were not available. Leonce said police did not have those details.

Leonce said the local weather service had issued a small craft advisory the day the boat sank, meaning that all small boats should remain close to shore.

"The sea conditions were very deplorable," he said.

About four hours into Sunday's fishing trip, the boat began taking on water amid heavy swells.

When authorities received the captain's distress call, they dispatched a boat immediately, but it took 30 minutes to reach their location, Leonce said.

Police also dispatched a helicopter and a small plane, and about nine private boat owners helped in the search, which was called off Sunday night and resumed early Monday, he said.

"Visibility was very poor on Sunday," he said. "The weather conditions were not the best. It was raining intermittently, with sometimes very heavy showers."

A preliminary investigation shows that the boat's bilge system could not handle the amount of water coming in, Leonce said.

"It's a little too early for me to say definitively what happened," said Leonce, adding that foul play has been ruled out.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Lawyers argued in federal court on Tuesday over whether 4,200 former NFL players can sue the league over brain injuries or whether the issue should be decided under the players' collective bargaining agreement.

In what could be a high stakes challenge for both sides, the players want the case heard in court, their attorney David Frederick said on Tuesday. He argued that the league failed to disclose information about the risks of playing football and "glorified violence at the expense of the players."

NFL lawyer Paul Clement, however, called it a "case about workplace safety." He said suing the league is not the way to go since the NFL Players Association has a collective bargaining agreement.

"There is a certain give-and-take with collective bargaining and you don't have the same rights to sue an employer as somebody in a non-unionized industry would have," Clement told reporters outside the court.

The hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody focused on the NFL's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and the judge gave no indication as to when she would decide.

"I will rule when I sort these things out for myself," Brody said.

Outside the court, among those attending dueling press conferences was Mary Ann Easterling, widow of former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, who committed suicide in April 2012 following his diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease that his lawyers said was linked to repeated concussive blows to the head.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Gunna Dickson)

Sean Collier, who began working for Massachusetts Institute of Technology about a year ago, was found shot to death late Thursday in his vehicle in Cambridge, Mass. Police have said Collier was responding to a report of a disturbance when he was shot about 10 miles west of Boston.

His brother, Andrew Collier, has been working for Charlotte, N.C.-based Hendrick Motorsports since 2008. He works in the engine shop and is not part of the team that travels to the track each week.

"My thoughts and prayers with the Collier family, and I certainly know it's the same thing with everyone at Hendrick Motorsports," five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Friday at Kansas Speedway. "We're one big family and it's sad to see a teammate going through this."

NASCAR teams were already planning to honor victims of Monday's attacks, which left three dead and more than 180 wounded, during this weekend's races in Kansas.

Roush Fenway Racing plans to donate $100 for every lap the team leads to The One Fund Boston, which was set up to help people affected by the bombings. The team's three Sprint Cup cars will also carry "B-Strong" decals, done in Red Sox script, that have cropped up this week.

The race team is partially owned by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Red Sox.

"When events occur such as what happened earlier this week in Boston, it is our nature to be overwhelmed with a variety of emotions," Jack Roush said in a statement. "To have to withstand an act of such senselessness and cowardice against innocent people is disheartening to us all. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as the entire city of Boston."

Carl Edwards, who drives for Roush, said he hasn't had a chance to put the events of Boston in perspective, but realizes how fortunate he is to be driving a car this weekend.

"I can't quite grasp what's going on, I guess the consequences of it, but any time you see that, for me personally, it makes you realize the world is a crazy place," Edwards said.

The three entries from Michael Waltrip Racing are showing their support by replicating the bib numbers worn by Boston Marathon runners on their cars.The change in font for the car numbers was approved by each of the team's sponsors.

"The news coming out of Boston this week was very personal to me," said Michael Waltrip, who ran the Boston Marathon in 2000. "I remember thinking about what a privilege it was to be able to participate and all the hard work it took to be there. When you can see those international flags flying in Copley Square, you know you are about to complete your journey.

"I know the joy those runners were feeling at that moment when their worlds changed."

Bowyer, who drives one of the Waltrip cars, said the bombings touched everybody in NASCAR, and that the replicating bib numbers was simply one way to show their respect for the victims.

"It's a tragedy and a shame that these things keep happening," Bowyer said. "Now that I hear about the Hendrick organization, it's sad. It's been a tough week for all of us."

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda, France's Total and China's CNOOC have agreed to build a small oil refinery in the east African country, Uganda's government said, in a step towards resolving disagreements that have delayed commercial oil production.

They agreed on an initial processing capacity of 30,000 barrels per day - well below the 200,000 bpd the government had initially sought.

Explorers struck oil in east Africa's third largest economy in 2006 but wrangling over taxes and the viability of a local refinery have stalled production.

"The two parties however agreed to start with the refinery size of 30,000 barrels per day," said a statement published by the office of President Yoweri Museveni after he met executives from Total and CNOOC.

Museveni stressed that he wanted a final deal quickly, in the form of a memorandum of understanding that would include the construction of a pipeline to neighbouring Kenya for exports.

"We have wasted too much time. We are now with the issue of oil for seven years. We need to make our final decisions," Museveni told the oil companies and government officials.

Total and CNOOC entered Uganda's petroleum sector early last after both took up a third each of British explorer Tullow Oil's exploration assets for a total $2.9 billion.

Uganda has said it wants a 40 percent stake in the refinery though it is not clear where financing for the project will come from.

The country estimates its crude reserves at 3.5 billion barrels.

Rather than build a major refinery in Uganda, Total and CNOOC had favoured a pipeline to export most of its crude via Kenya's Indian Ocean coastline, saying there was insufficient local demand for a refinery of the size Uganda wanted.

The agreement appears to be a success for the approach advocated by the oil companies

Museveni wanted to refine crude locally to boost domestic earnings, help fund new infrastructure and provide cheaper energy.

The president still targets a refinery with an eventual capacity of 60,000 bpd, projecting that demand in the local market will keep rising, according to the statement.

In February, Uganda's parliament passed a law paving the way for the construction of a refinery. A U.S. investment firm, Taylor-DeJongh, is helping the government secure financing for the project, Ugandan officials say.