Smith

INDIANAPOLIS -- Danica Patrick's return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a stock car ended in a hard crash less than halfway through Saturday's Indiana 250. Patrick, the former IndyCar driver who now races in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series, was running about 20th when the top five race leaders made pit stops. Patrick remained on the track and was running behind Reed Sorenson. As the two entered Turn 1 on lap 39 of the 100-lap race, Patrick's No. 7 Chevrolet tapped the back of Sorenson's No. 98 Ford, sending Sorenson into a spin.

When producers of the upcoming science fiction movie "After Earth" wanted to create an image of what the planet might look like 1,000 years in the future, location manager Dow Griffith knew just the place. He immediately thought of the mystical redwood forests in Northern California where his parents had taken him on a camping trip as a child. "I wanted to be able to evoke that sense of what the Earth would be like a thousand years after man has left, and I always felt that these enormous trees would say that in one shot," Griffith said in an interview from his Santa Monica home.

Quarterfinal action began with a pair of upsets Friday afternoon at the Farmers Classic at UCLA's L.A. Tennis Center. Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania defeated France's fourth-seeded Nicolas Mahut, 6-4, 6-4, to reach his first ATP tour semifinal. He is the first qualifier to reach the semifinals at the Farmers Classic since Carsten Ball in 2009. Ball advanced to the championship before losing to Sam Querrey. Rajeev Ram advanced with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over third-seeded Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.

An epic battle is raging in South Florida: man against snail. The state is struggling to contain an invasion of the giant African land snail, a species that thrives in hot and wet tropical climates. These gooey and destructive mollusks grow up to 8.5 inches long, feast on 500 different types of plants and nibble on calcium-rich stucco, which they use to construct their cone-shaped shells. The snails are originally from East Africa but can now be found throughout the world. Aside from destroying plants and buildings, they can also be carriers of a type of meningitis.

Keegan Bradley had no thoughts about a course record, or the possibility of a 59, after consecutive bogeys in the middle of his opening round in the Byron Nelson Championship at Irving, Texas. Until his 136-yard wedge shot on his final hole Thursday. "It was going right at it. [A 59] crossed my mind for a second, and it would be unbelievable if I buried this," Bradley said. "But I had three feet to shoot 60. I was actually very nervous, uncomfortable over it and thank God I made it. " Bradley shot 10-under-par 60, completed by that short birdie at the 428-yard ninth hole, to break the TPC Four Seasons course record and match the best round ever at the Nelson.

Trial judges are, on the books, elected officials, and even the vast majority of those whose names never appear on a ballot are subject to election challenge every six years. Should voters not call them to account for their performance, as they do with any other politician, on election day? Should they not encourage opponents to challenge incumbent judges? Or are judges different from members of Congress or city councils? Judges are most definitely different. The last thing we want or need in California is trial judges who sit on the bench with one eye on justice and the other on how any particular ruling is going to play with the public.

Merry Clayton's spine-chilling vocal on the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is one of the most famed in '60s rock. But the 1969 classic brings painful memories to Clayton: The physical strain of the intense duet with Mick Jagger resulted in a miscarriage after the session. So audiences' frequent requests for "Gimme Shelter" might sting like salt in an old wound. Clayton, who performs at the Gardenia Room on Friday, says she was buoyed by her religious upbringing in combating the loss.

The Ukrainian TV personality who tries to out-Borat Borat got what he wanted: face time with Will Smith. In fact, he got more than that. He got face-smacking time. The morning news TV performer -- I won't call him a reporter -- named Vitalii Sediuk was evidently just up to his usual "hey-look-at-me-messing-with-this-famous-person" hijinks when he accosted Smith on the red carpet at the Moscow premiere of "Men in Black III. " Sediuk was wearing camera-glare white among dark-clad journalists as Smith moved along from op to op. Smith seemed fine for a few seconds with what seemed to start as a man-fan hug -- Smith even momentarily patted the guy on the back.

Having been born to one of the most famous couples of this century--America's greatest modern writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his talented flapper wife Zelda Sayre--Scottie Fitzgerald was thrust a heavy mantle, particularly as their only child. Add to that the heady cocktail of parental alcoholism, prescription drug abuse, numerous failed suicide attempts and schizophrenia. Talent and tragedy were genetically passed on to Scottie as surely as her blond hair and blue eyes. Until now, very little was known about the Fitzgeralds' daughter beyond her school days.

There is nothing like listening to Stephen A. Smith drop names, places and other various references to his many friends in the sporting world when he's on ESPN's First Take morning program or breaking down the NBA on various other broadcasts. A lot of people don't like his shtick, but let's face it, most of the big-time personalities on sports television mimic talk radio these days: the louder and more emphatic you say it, the better. You don't have to be right. Or wrong.

By Kari Howard These songs are a personal soundtrack for this week's wonderful Column Ones, but one below is featured on an actual soundtrack, for the Danny Boyle movie “The Beach.” The band is called Underworld, and Boyle has used them for several of his films, not to mention the completely brilliant soundtrack for the London Olympics he produced last summer. (I can die happy: I've heard the Sex Pistols' “God Save the Queen” at the Olympics.) But Boyle's movies have always had some of the best soundtracks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Around Clockers' Corner at Santa Anita, they will tell you never to ignore jockey Mike Smith in a big race, no matter the odds. Those who heeded that advice in the $1-million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old females were happy Friday. Smith, riding 38-1 shot Princess Of Sylmar, dawdled near the rear of the field most of the race and then found a hole on the homestretch and guided the filly past all the bigger-name horses to victory. The Princess paid $79.60, $29.40 and $14. Smith's horse paid $727 for a $2 exacta, $3,470.80 for a $2 trifecta, and $12,445 for a $2 superfecta.

NEW YORK - Rough night for USC quarterbacks. Matt Barkley went undrafted through the second and third rounds of the NFL draft on Friday, and fellow former Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets moved closer to the door. The Jets picked West Virginia's Geno Smith in the second round, adding a sixth quarterback to their roster and sending another none-too-subtle message to Sanchez that he's not their future. Projected by some people as a first-rounder, Barkley tumbled through the first three rounds.

J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks will be honored as the NBA's sixth man of the year instead of the Clippers' Jamal Crawford, according to a number of reports citing league sources. Early in the season, it was apparent that the Clippers' high-scoring acquisition was the front-runner for the award as he helped the team vault to the top of the NBA standings and eventually finish with a 56-26 record and their first Pacific Division title. Crawford, a 13-year veteran known for his variety of crossover moves and instant offense, finished the regular season averaging 16.5 points, 2.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 29 minutes a game.

J.R. Smith won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award on Monday after turning a role he didn't want into one of the strengths of the New York Knicks' first division championship team in nearly two decades. Smith received 484 points, including 72 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 writers and broadcasters. The Clippers' Jamal Crawford finished second with 352 points, getting 31 first-place votes. Smith averaged 18.1 points in 80 games, all off the bench. He had 29 games in which he scored 20 points as a reserve, tying Crawford for the NBA lead.

Jaden Smith thinks that "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star Kylie Jenner is "pretty awesome. " Well, what else would a 14-year-old boy think? Wait. Don't answer that. The son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and the daughter of Kardashian momager Kris Jenner and Bruce Jenner have been linked since early last month. They were spotted having lunch at Café Nero in London and having a chaperoned sushi dinner at Nobu with Big Will. Both incidents were documented by papz and have led to dating rumors.

In 1986, lawmakers decided the problem of illegal immigration had to be dealt with. More than 3 million people were living in the United States after crossing the border illegally or overstaying their visas. A new law signed by President Ronald Reagan gave legal status and a path to citizenship to most of those unauthorized residents - helping many secure a slice of the American dream but also giving fuel to critics who sought to turn "amnesty" into a pejorative. Less than 30 years later, the number of immigrants living in the country illegally is thought to have nearly quadrupled, and the freighted baggage of amnesty looms over new efforts to reform the nation's immigration laws.

Investigators don't know where 15-year-old Sierra LaMar is, but they are almost certain she is dead. For more than two months, the high school cheerleader's family has been holding out hope. They have organized repeated searches of the Northern California neighborhood where she disappeared and made numerous public appeals for help. On Tuesday, even as authorities announced the arrest of a 21-year-old suspect on suspicion of murder, Marlene LaMar vowed not to stop looking for her daughter.

A shallow magnitude 3.4 earthquake was reported Wednesday morning 21 miles from Smith Valley, Nev., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 8:07 a.m. Pacific time at a depth of 5.6 miles. The epicenter was 22 miles from Gardnerville Ranchos, Nev., 31 miles from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., 42 miles from Carson City, Nev., and 60 miles from Truckee, Calif., according to the USGS. In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

The Lakers' playoff fate is in their own hands? As far as former Houston guard Kenny Smith is concerned, the Rockets will be the ones in control Wednesday night when they visit Staples Center to play the Lakers in the regular-season finale for both teams. If Houston comes to play, Smith said, it wins. But if the Rockets opt to sit players or give a half-hearted effort in hopes of securing a first-round matchup against Oklahoma City, Smith said, the Lakers will come out on top. “It depends on how they're taking it because they are a better team,” Smith, now an analyst for TNT, said of the Rockets in an interview with The Times.