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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.

Hoping to move from veteran lead assistant to first-time head coach, Rockets assistant Elston Turner on Thursday became a candidate for one of the most coveted positions in the NBA.

Manu Ginobili scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 15 points in the San Antonio Spurs' 99-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The NBA's oldest player is ready for more. Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo, who will turn 42 next month, said Thursday he would like to return for an 18th NBA season.

LeBron James scored 32 points and Delonte West added 10 as the Cavaliers staved off elimination Friday night by defeating the Celtics 74-69 in Cleveland. Next up: Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

The only thing really stopping women's sports from being as overblown and out of perspective as men's sports is ... women, columnist Steve Campbell writes. And it just got tougher with two big retirements this week.

The championship of the Carlton Woods Invitational was Jamie Held's for the taking. That was before he made triple bogey on the par-3 No. 17, opening the door for Andy Cooper and Robby McWilliams, who both birdied No. 18.

Rookie Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot a 2-under 70 Friday to lead by one stroke after the second round at the Irish Open. The 23-year-old Frenchman, who won last year's European Challenge Tour, was at 6-under 138.

Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic.

The St. Louis Cardinals put struggling closer Jason Isringhausen, who has an 8.00 ERA and six blown saves, on the 15-day disabled list on Friday because of a cut on his pitching hand.

Alfonso Soriano homered in his first two at-bats, and the Cubs beat the Pirates for seven wins in games. The win leaves the Astros two back of the Cubs with tonight's game at Texas yet to come.

For thoroughbreds in Puerto Rico, being fast enough to win, place or show is a matter of life and death ? losers often don't even make it off the racetrack grounds alive.

Jaime Nared is nearly 6-foot-1 and blessed with Michael Jordan-style skills. In games, the 12-year-old can more than hold her own against the boys ? dropping three-pointers and sometimes scoring 30 points or more. And there, according to her coach, lies the problem.

Rookie drivers E.J. Viso and Will Power crashed Friday during practice for the Indianapolis 500. Viso, a 23-year-old Venezuelan, hit the wall first.

Officials are investigating whether Kansas basketball star Darrell Arthur was eligible to play in high school, which could affect whether he should have ever played for the national champion Jayhawks, according to a television report.

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

Diego Seastrunk and Rick Hague homered as the Rice Owls won 8-4 on Friday in the opener of a doubleheader at Tulane. The Owls rapped out 13 hits. Derek Meyers and J.P. Padron each had three.

HAMBURG, Germany ? Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals of the Hamburg Masters by beating Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 on Friday. Novak Djokovic also made the last four, beating Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3.

Gold-medal sprinter Tim Montgomery has been sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for fake-check scheme.

Texas? run in this year?s NCAA Softball Tournament could be a short one after it fell to Washington 2-1 in the opening round of the Houston Regional on Friday evening at Cougar Softball Stadium.

Jonathan Byrd took advantage of soft fairways and receptive greens at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead in the AT&T Classic.

Waiting exactly for the right moment in a close game in the NCAA regionals, the Texas A&M Aggies softball team found itself in familiarity territory Friday night.

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics. A sports appeals court said his artificial legs do not give him a "metabolic advantage."

Serena Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match at the Italian Open on Friday due to a back problem. Williams' back froze suddenly while she was warming up.

Houston righthander Angel Shamblin tossed the third perfect game of her career, striking out 10 batters in the Cougars? 9-0 win (in five innings) in the opening round of the Houston regional at Cougar Softball Stadium. The game ended early because of the run-rule.

Astros relief pitcher Geoff Geary, who strained his right groin in the eighth inning Thursday, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday. Righthander Fernando Nieve was recalled from Class AAA Round Rock.

LeBron James scored 32 points and Delonte West added 10 as the Cavaliers staved off elimination Friday night by defeating the Celtics 74-69 in Cleveland. Next up: Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

The Rangers blew a six-run lead before pulling away late and punishing the Astros 16-8 in the first game of the Lone Star Series, which was played in front of 32,117 fans at Rangers Ballpark.

President Leonel Fernández appeared headed for a third term largely as a result of a campaign gift to the populace that dwarfed those of his opponents — a shiny new subway system.

The teenager left his house in Crown Heights around 12:10 a.m. on Friday and was attacked and robbed a short while later.

Three opponents of a Brooklyn public school that teaches mandatory Arabic filed a lawsuit against the school’s founding principal, Debbie Almontaser.

The New York City Water Board voted on Friday morning to approve a 14.5 percent increase for water and sewer rates, the largest increase since 1992.

A new city advertising campaign seems to emphasize a connection between counterfeit and pirated goods and terrorism.

Despite criticizing Christine C. Quinn and the City Council for doling out money to favored groups, Anthony D. Weiner has sponsored earmark funds as a congressman.

The move is a bold one, given that the fiercely competitive toy market has previously plunged F. A. O. Schwarz into bankruptcy and forced Macy’s to largely stop carrying toys.

Some politicians have seized on the issue of reforming the gas tax as a way to potentially give drivers relief from escalating prices at the pump.

A young Bronx man had himself shot to avoid returning to war.

May 16, 2008.

A New York police sergeant assigned to the Police Academy has been charged with sexually abusing a boy over a period of five years.

Johathan Schwartz prepared fiscal notes on hundreds of union-backed bills involving New York City pensions in recent years, but his financial relationship with the unions was not disclosed.

The Bush administration proposed Friday to auction landing slots at two major airports, Kennedy and Newark, and to impose a limit on airline traffic at Newark.

Police could not confirm the number of bodies, but a neighbor said an elderly couple had lived there for about nine months.

A federal judge has ordered a hearing into reports that a man convicted with his wife in a modern-day slavery case may have violated his bail agreement by staying out past midnight while he awaits sentencing.

The accident occurred just before 7 p.m. as the vehicle, described as a white Chevrolet Astro, traveled south on Lexington Avenue near 125th Street.

A former State Police official who was close to Mr. Berwick said he had been scheduled for an interview with the agency’s internal affairs bureau.

Kyung-Sook Woo was victim of what seemed to have been a robbery, apparently been killed Thursday night.

Gifford Miller has hired a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in a federal investigation into the City Council’s longstanding practice of allocating millions of dollars to phantom nonprofit groups.

A Brooklyn store owner who struck a 15-year-old boy in the head with a hammer was indicted on felony assault charges.

Mr. Mondavi was the California vintner behind the rebirth of the Napa Valley wine industry who championed the idea that fine wine was an integral part of the good life.

A decision that a double-amputee sprinter was eligible for the Olympics was a watershed ruling for disabled athletes.

Senator Barack Obama responded sharply to attacks on his foreign policy and tried to turn the tables on his Republican critics.

Several states are altering their parole systems to focus on rehabilitating offenders instead of punishing them for parole violations.

Engineering skill made Japan an economic superpower, but its young people are now choosing other careers.

Mr. Netzer was an economist who advised mayors of New York City and governors of New York State and served to help pry New York City out of bankruptcy in the 1970s.

Even when his shot was off kilter, as it often was Friday night, LeBron James was the most dominant player on the court, forcing a Game 7 to be played on Sunday.

Horse rehab farms resurrect a fraction of the roughly 100,000 horses that are expected to be shipped across the border and ultimately slaughtered for meat.

There is no getting past last season’s collapse when players, much worse than fans, may believe that certain teammates didn’t have enough pride in 2007 and still don’t.

After signs of a division in the clubhouse, the Mets held a 45-minute team meeting Friday to discuss avoiding distractions and focusing on baseball.

As much as those in the horse racing industry would like to see Big Brown make history on Saturday, it is far more important that all the horses get through the races safely.

Lisa Leslie, a three-time W.N.B.A. most valuable player with the Los Angeles Sparks, will soon share the spotlight with her rookie teammate Candace Parker.