Sparks

Sparks tonight AT SACRAMENTO When: 7 p.m. Where: Arco Arena On the air: Webcast; wnba.com Records: Sparks 8-13, Monarchs 7-17. Record vs. Monarchs: 2-1. Update: This is the second day in a row the Sparks play Sacramento. The Sparks lost, 85-79, on Friday night at Staples Center. The Sparks split their last back-to-back games earlier in the week, defeating the league's top team (Indiana Fever) on Monday and then losing to the Eastern Conference's worst team (New York Liberty)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A 29-year-old farmworker was convicted Tuesday of the murder of South African white supremacist leader Eugene TerreBlanche, but his teenage companion was acquitted in the killing, which had sparked fears of racial violence. Chris Mahlangu was found guilty of killing TerreBlanche, his employer and longtime advocate of a separate state for white Afrikaners. Patrick Ndlovu, 18, who was 15 and present at the slaying, was found guilty of housebreaking with intent to steal.

Sparks attendance The average announced attendance for Sparks home games has slipped a bit so far this season. 2006: 8,311 (17 dates) 2007: 8,695 (17 dates) 2008: 9,508 (17 dates) 2009: 10,387 (17 dates) 2010: 8,577 (seven dates)

Same opponent. Different location. Same result. After losing to the Sparks in the teams' season opener on Friday, the Seattle Storm spent three days, including a shoot-around earlier Tuesday, working on jelling with one another offensively and playing more aggressive defensively. Yet, as if on cue in a rematch at Staples Center, glitches by Seattle helped trigger the Sparks' 74-61 victory Tuesday night. Candace Parker scored 21 points and Kristi Toliver had 18 for the Sparks.

AT MINNESOTA When: 5 PDT. Where: Target Center, Minneapolis. On the air: WNBA.com. Records: Sparks 2-0, Lynx 2-0. Record vs. Lynx (2011): 1-4. Update: Sparks guard Sharnee Zoll sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during Monday's practice and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Zoll, who played in Europe the last four seasons before the Sparks signed her in February, averaged seven assists in the team's two exhibition games but did not play in the team's season opener Friday.

WASHINGTON - Europe's top antitrust official said that Google Inc. may have abused its dominance to squelch online competition and urged the company to settle allegations to avoid formal charges that could carry a hefty fine. A quick resolution to the investigation that began in 2010 would benefit the fast-moving online marketplace, Joaquin Almunia, head of competition policy for the European Commission, said in a rare public call to end the case quickly. A settlement "at an early stage is always preferable to lengthy proceedings," Almunia said.

Good thing the Dodgers keep calling up minor leaguers, because they are running out of candidates for their little “Hero of the Night” club. On Monday they reached down for their backup catcher, Matt Treanor, who happily provided an early two-run homer to spark the Dodgers to a 6-1 victory over the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. It was the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive victory and 10th in 12 games, and it pushed their record to 29-13, best in the major leagues.

Like many of his teammates, Clippers guard Nick Young has been coping with an injury throughout his team's playoff series with the San Antonio Spurs. His malady hasn't gotten nearly as much attention as Chris Paul's strained right hip flexor or Blake Griffin's sprained left knee, but regardless, Young's tooth really hurts. The Reseda Cleveland High School and USC alum has been putting off dental surgery to extract a wisdom tooth so he could keep playing in the playoffs. After joining the Clippers in March, Young's scoring spark off the bench has quickly become indispensable.

In the face of privacy concerns, the Los Angeles Police Department has agreed to change the way it collects information on suspicious activity possibly related to terrorism. The department, after coming under fire from civil liberties and community groups, will no longer hold on to so-called suspicious activity reports that the LAPD's counter-terrorism unit determines are about harmless incidents. Until now, the department stored the innocuous reports in a database for a year.

ARLINGTON, Texas - C. J. Wilson, working on no days' rest, silenced a hostile Ballpark in Arlington crowd with 5 2/3 solid innings Saturday, and Mark Trumbo hit a two-run home run and sparked a two-run rally with a walk to lead the Angels to a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. The Angels also got 3 1/3 hitless innings from their bullpen, including 1 2/3 superb innings from right-hander Ernesto Frieri, to trim Texas' American League West lead to seven games. Wilson, the former Rangers ace who signed a five-year, $77.5-million contract with the Angels in December, became the first pitcher in franchise history to start consecutive games after a 1-hour, 56-minute rain delay in the first inning cut his Friday night start short after 22 pitches.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin come off the bench against the Memphis Grizzlies, the tone for the Clippers seems to change for the better. Evans and Martin play a more physical style of defense than the Clippers' starting frontcourt players, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin . "Reggie and Kenyon have experience, and they are physical guys," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "They feed off each other very well. They talk on defense.