Rage no accident in this L.A. collision

The top of Major League Soccer’s Western Conference resembles Los Angeles’ rush hour at the midway point of the season, with six of the seven teams

Top 100 Best Footballer

100. Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)
99. Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)
98. Maicon (Inter Milan)
97. Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
96. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)
95. Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk)
94. Javier Macherano (Liverpool)
93. Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
92. Kim Kallstrom (Lyon)
91. Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan)
90. Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan)

The NASCAR Nextel Cup

The NASCAR Nextel Cup series heads to Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. The event is the first of two Cup races there this season.

Casey Mears is the defending race winner.

Who Will Win?

Jimmie Johnson: Lowe’s Motor Speedway is and always will be Jimmie’s House, as in Jimmie Johnson. The Lowe’s team will use a win on Sunday to remind everyone that Johnson, Knaus & Co. haven’t forgotten how to win. – Bob Margolis

• Given the kind of success he’s had at Lowe’s Motor Speedway over the years – five wins (including four in a row), eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 13 career starts (plus two poles) – it’s hard to pick against Jimmie Johnson. Sure, he’s finished 10th and 14th in the last two races at Lowe’s, but if there was ever a time for Johnson to reclaim the title “the house that Jimmie built,” Sunday will be the time. – Jerry Bonkowski

Roddick, Stepanek withdraw from semifinals at Rome Masters

The United States lost 2-0 Thursday to Sweden, which advanced to the World Team Cup final in the Red Group.

James Blake lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 to undefeated Robin Soderling and Thomas Johansson stopped Bobby Reynolds 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

Donovan: American great or great failure?

Landon Donovan knows better than anyone that his steps into the history books of the United States national team on Wednesday will do nothing to silence his detractors.

Barring unexpected incident, the 26-year-old will claim his 100th international cap at the sport’s most famous venue, the modern incarnation of the hallowed site that is Wembley Stadium. It will be a fitting reward for a player who has served his country with pride and productivity since 2000 and who tops the all-time national goal-scoring charts with 35.

Yet there are many who are unprepared to give Donovan any credit, preferring to pillory him with accusations that he fails to deliver on the big occasion.

Duncan scores 22, Spurs win to even series

Warming up before Game 4, Tim Duncan decided to have a little fun. He threw the ball behind his back and between his legs, then went up for the lay-in.

Yep, it was going to be that easy.

Duncan had his best game of the series against New Orleans—22 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks—to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 100-80 victory over the Hornets on Sunday.

“I’m just trying to do my part,” Duncan said. “It’s just that. You’ve got to step up at playoff time. It’s win or go home. So you’ve got to step up and make plays.”

Memphis owner now questions value of Gasol deal

For months now, maybe the man most responsible for Los Angeles’ championship run has been ripped over the Pau Gasol trade. The mere mention of suspicions over Memphis’ motives gets the Grizzlies owner’s voice rising on the telephone, gets him going on the gossip that suggests something unseemly happened on the way to a Lakers renaissance.

Messi and the ‘Hand of God’ mark II

Lionel Messi has repeatedly said he will never be able to emulate Maradona but he is giving it his best shot, managing near carbon copies of Maradona´s most famous and infamous goals in the same season.

Bremen secures second; Nurnberg relegated

Werder Bremen clinched second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at the BayArena on Saturday which ended Bayer Leverkusen’s European dreams.

A goal from Markus Rosenberg in the 80th minute won it for Thomas Schaaf’s side, who beat Schalke to second place and a spot in the group stages of the Champions League next season.

Bayer was condemned to a seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga, which rules them out of even a place in the Intertoto Cup and left their fans calling for the head of coach Michael Skibbe. Schalke sealed Nurnberg’s relegation from the Bundesliga but was unable to secure second place despite their 2-0 victory. Marcelo Bordon struck twice (19 and 60) as the Royal Blues collected their fifth victory in six games to finish in third place and secure the final qualification spot for the Champions League. Bayern Munich collected the Bundesliga title in style after an emphatic 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin.

Nedved will stay at Juventus next season

Czech winger Pavel Nedved has signed a new one-year contract with Juventus after deciding not to retire, the Serie A side said on Tuesday.

The Turin club have finished third in their first season back in the top flight following their demotion for match-fixing in 2006. They will enter the Champions League qualifiers next season, prompting the 35-year-old left winger to stay.