Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open on Friday due to a back problem, and older sister Venus Williams was beaten by defending champion Jelena Jankovic.
The world's top-three stars -- Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic -- were all straight-set third-round winners Thursday at the $2.955 million Masters Series Hamburg, a clay-court French Open tuneup.
Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.
The Boston Herald sports writer who reported the New England Patriots taped a pre-Super Bowl walkthrough by the St. Louis Rams in 2002 said he will regret the erroneous story for the rest of his life.
Jacques Martin has reached an agreement to remain with the Florida Panthers as general manager through the 2011-12 season, the team said Friday.
Scott Kazmir sparkled in his first start since agreeing to a $28.5 million contract extension, and the surprising Tampa Bay Rays dropped the New York Yankees into last place with a 5-2 victory Thursday.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno spent several hours at a hospital being treated for dehydration before returning home late Thursday.
An unearned run against Aaron Laffey caused by his own throwing error ended the scoreless streak by Cleveland Indians' starters at 44 1-3 innings but didn't interrupt their string of dominant outings.
Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised Thursday to repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges. "My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it."
Ryan Braun grinned. He had just agreed to the largest contract in Milwaukee Brewers' history.
Eight Belles had no diseases or pre-existing bone abnormalities that caused the filly to break down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.
Backed by Stephen Drew's career-high four hits, Brandon Webb became the major leagues' first nine-game winner when the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Thursday night.
Former New England assistant coach Brian Daboll told the NFL he doesn't remember speaking with Matt Walsh about the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough Walsh attended the day before the 2002 Super Bowl.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' road to the Stanley Cup finals along the Pennsylvania Turnpike took an unexpected detour.
The San Antonio Spurs' Big Three came through. Now they have to win one on the road to keep their title defense alive. Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.
Jim Thome hit a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning, A.J. Pierzynski's RBI double capped a three-run second against former batterymate Jon Garland, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Thursday night.
Not only did the Philadelphia Flyers stay alive Thursday night, they got good news on the status of injured defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn.
Yonder Alonso hit his second career grand slam as Miami beat North Carolina 12-2 on Thursday night.
Marcus Jones went 3-for-5 and Matt Payne went 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs as N.C. State beat Florida State 12-2 on Thursday night.
Ben Paulsen and Stan Widmann each drove in three runs to lead Clemson to a 9-1 win over Central Florida on Thursday night.
