National Sports

Big Brown powered to the lead turning for home and then sailed through the stretch to win the Preakness, still perfect and squarely pointed down the path toward thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown in 30 years.

Dallas is alive -- and skating, thanks to the brilliant goal work of Marty Turco in a 2-1 Game 5 victory. Turco, who struggles in Detroit, is thrilled with the outcome but knows the challenge 'only got fractionally better,' Wes Goldstein says.

The competition is enough to get drivers to leave everything on the track in the All-Star race. Throw in $1 million-plus with fans eager for thrills, and NASCAR's annual showcase is one of the wildest races every year, Pete Pistone says.

Johan Santana pitched efficiently into the eighth inning, and the Mets got home runs from Jose Reyes and David Wright to top the Yankees 7-4 Saturday in the opener of a rain-shortened Subway Series.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in his first extended spring training game on Saturday. Barring any setbacks, he will rejoin the Yankees Tuesday.

Candace Parker scored 34 points, the most ever in a WNBA debut, and added 12 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the defending champion Phoenix Mercury 99-94 on Saturday.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick lashed out at the team's former video assistant Friday, saying in a televised interview with CBS that Matt Walsh was a low-level staffer who was fired for 'poor job performance

These are trying times for Jason Giambi -- apparently not even lucky underwear can help his undersized batting average.

Ryan Ludwick hit his second home run of the game off Dan Wheeler in the 10th inning, allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to recover after squandering a four-run cushion in a 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

NFL owners could opt out of their agreement with the players union next week, leaving open the possibility of a 2010 season without a salary cap.

Maria Sharapova pulled out of Saturday's semifinal match at the Italian Open with a left calf injury.

Rafael Nadal fought off a stubborn challenge from Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 on Saturday to set up another final against defending champion Roger Federer at the Hamburg Masters.

FSU president T.K. Wetherell believes what most college football fans believe: There will be a playoff system in college football. Dennis Dodd couldn't agree more.