Lead

The Clippers have been pushed to the brink of playoff elimination despite a career effort from Chris Paul. Paul tried to carry the Clippers by himself because his running mate, Blake Griffin, could only play 19 minutes 34 seconds because of a sprained right ankle. But for as much as Paul did in tying his career playoff high with 35 points, he alone couldn't take down the Memphis Grizzlies, who won Game 5, 103-93, Tuesday night at Staples Center. BOX SCORE: Memphis 103, Clippers 93 After Memphis big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 46 points and 19 rebounds, the Clippers, who won the first two games in this series, now trail the Grizzlies, 3-2. Game 6 is Friday night in Memphis, where the Clippers lost Games 3 and 4 by an average of 16.5 points.

The elite level of the National Hot Rod Assn.'s funny car drag racing is dominated by two multi-car teams, John Force Racing and Don Schumacher Racing, which have seven funny car drivers between them. But that's of no concern to one of the sport's soloists, veteran Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon, 49, leads the funny car championship standings after his win Sunday near Houston even though he's a single-car team, with Pedregon as driver, chief engine tuner and manager. It's the first time since September 2009 that a driver who does not work for Force or Schumacher has led the funny car standings in the NHRA's premier Mello Yello Series.

OAKLAND - The Angels are a mess. There's really no other way to put it. Their ace, three of their top relievers and their third baseman are on the disabled list. They got their shortstop back from the DL on Tuesday but lost their center fielder and productive leadoff batter to a hamstring strain. Their rotation is thin, their bullpen is thinner, and their mercurial right fielder, the one they invested $125 million in last December, looked completely lost at the plate for most of April.

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt. Kobe Bryant pleaded for Lakers management to pay millions to Dwight Howard, millions to Pau Gasol, millions for the luxury tax, anything to keep the Lakers together for the final year of his contract. "It's a lot on the table for them . . . it's a tough call to make," Bryant said. "But then again, it is one more year . . . it's one more year. " Mitch Kupchak confirmed the Lakers still want to re-sign Howard, then pleaded for him to make his decision quickly so they can figure out if they can keep Kobe happy.

It's fun for mayoral candidates to imagine eliminating potholes or building new trains to link the Valley to the Westside. It's not hard to support a spiffed-up LAX (really, what's hard to believe is that it's taken this long) or legions of new police officers making Los Angeles safe. What you don't often hear from these candidates, however, is a thoughtful vision for the Port of Los Angeles. The port can seem far away, but it's crucial to the city's life. Every year, more than $250 billion worth of cargo passes through its 7,500 acres of docks and cranes.

When two groups supporting rival Los Angeles City Council candidates met on a street in Little Armenia last week, an afternoon of vote canvassing turned into an altercation. Two 17-year-old campaign workers for candidate John Choi claim they were stopped and threatened with violence by two men who are backing Mitch O'Farrell, Choi's opponent in the 13th Council District race. They allege that after they called a supervisor to come to the scene, a third man then approached and brandished a gun. Supporters of O'Farrell deny that account, saying it was the Choi workers who sparked the confrontation by falsely claiming that a prominent Armenian American leader had endorsed Choi.

Edward A. Frieman, a leading figure in American science for decades as a researcher with wide-ranging interests, a top-level governmental advisor on defense and energy issues, and director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, has died. He was 87. Frieman died April 11 at UCSD's Thornton Hospital in La Jolla of a respiratory illness, the university announced. His legacy extends to leadership posts in academia, government and private industry. There are "not many like him, and he will be sorely missed," said John Deutch, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and former CIA director and deputy secretary of Defense.

SEATTLE - It seemed like progress for Joe Blanton, who delivered his first quality start of the season Saturday night, but even after matching Seattle ace Felix Hernandez for six innings, the Angels right-hander took no solace in a 3-2 loss the Mariners in Safeco Field. “I'm not pleased, not with four walks,” said Blanton, who has averaged only 2.4 walks per nine innings in his career. “I don't like walking guys no matter what. I can live with myself when guys are smacking the ball all over the place and I'm throwing strikes.

Tim Leiweke, who helped improve Los Angeles' sporting fortunes and revive the city's once-woebegone downtown during his 17-year leadership of sports and entertainment giant AEG, on Friday was named president and chief executive of Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Leiweke, who left AEG on March 14 by what he said was "mutual agreement," will move to Canada and will assume his new role in late June. MLSE's key properties include the NHL's iconic Maple Leafs, the perennially underachieving NBA Raptors and FC Toronto of Major League Soccer.

KABUL, Afghanistan - At a pivotal moment when U.S. forces are winding down combat operations in Afghanistan and handing over the lead security role to the Afghan government, Taliban insurgents announced Saturday the launch of their annual spring offensive. In an elaborately worded statement, the Taliban proclaimed that a "monumental spring operation" would begin Sunday with the goal of "defeating this era's Western invaders. " The Islamist insurgent group, tossed from power by U.S.-led forces in late 2001, is threatening a new round of mass suicide bombings and "insider" attacks on American and coalition forces.