Sports Illustrated

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For a moment, Ned Jarrett thought about not voting. How could he? It had been difficult choosing five people for the next NASCAR Hall of Fame class, but when it was announced there was a tie for the final spot between Buck Baker and Fireball Roberts, Jarrett's heart sank.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — ORLANDO, Fla. -- It hit me for the first time listening to Landon Donovan on Wednesday: the U.S.'s all-time leading scorer may be closer to the end of his soccer career than any of us thought.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — Midnight Sunday in downtown Los Angeles, and in the past 78 hours I have seen Kevin Durant make a game-winning three for the Thunder, Tony Parker lead a 24-point comeback for the Spurs, a guy named King score a game-winning goal for the Kings and an All-Star's son hit his first big league home run to complete a Dodgers sweep.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — First things first, there's the Andrew Bynum pre-qualifier to deal with. A half block away from the sparkly new Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on West Church Street, there is a Bank of America. There are nine more banks and investment firms on the other side of Interstate 4, just two blocks away from where the Lakers' center might play someday.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — LONDON (AP) -Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton was banned for 12 matches by the English Football Association on Wednesday after being found guilty of repeated violent conduct in the last match of the Premier League season at Manchester City.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez gave Will Smith a rude welcome to the major leagues Wednesday night, hitting two homers off the rookie to back another strong start for Andy Pettitte and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 8-3.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — But as Leiweke looks out the window of his third-floor office, something is missing. Southwest of Staples Center is the outdated Los Angeles Convention Center, the proposed site of Farmers Field, a 72,000-seat football-only stadium that could bring the NFL back to L.A. for the first time since 1994.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — SANTA CLARA -- Randy Moss arrived in the Bay Area in 2005 with sirens blaring and a police escort. Seven years later he's come back with an invisibility cloak.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For a moment, Ned Jarrett thought about not voting. How could he? It had been difficult choosing five people for the next NASCAR Hall of Fame class, but when it was announced there was a tie for the final spot between Buck Baker and Fireball Roberts, Jarrett's heart sank.

sportsillustrated.cnn.com — Robert Smith on ... * How the cult of celebrity often can be double-edged for black athletes: "It starts from such a young age for athletes. You get treated completely differently, especially for somebody of color. It changes things for you dramatically, the fact that you're an athlete.