Sports Injuries

Patty Phommanyvong, a cheerleader for Marshall High School in Los Angeles, was thrust into the air while performing a stunt at a football game two years ago. The next thing anyone knew, she was limp. Her heart had stopped beating. Paramedics were called, but by the time they got her heart restarted, her brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long and she was in a coma. Experts say she may have been inadvertently struck in the chest on her descent from the stunt. Confined to a nursing home, Phommanyvong, now 19, can't eat or speak.

Lance Armstrong, in the midst of a much-watched comeback, broke his collarbone Monday in a mass crash during the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon race in Spain and will have surgery. The injury may jeopardize his participation in the Giro d'Italia, which begins May 9, and hinder his preparations for the Tour de France, which begins July 4. This was the first time in his career that Armstrong was planning to ride in the world's two most prominent races in the same year. On Monday, in a Twitter message, the 37-year-old Armstrong said: "Broken clavicle (right)

Three of the four teams in today's NFL playoff games -- the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts -- spent the last week patiently answering below-the-belt questions about their top receivers. Below-the-thigh questions, in fact. Intrigue swirls around the toe of Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, the ankle of Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens and the knee of Indianapolis receiver Marvin Harrison. The availability of each player could play a big role in the success of his team.

There went the kneecap felt 'round Lakerdom. Here's a test for Lakers fans who are limping around today in sympathy with Andrew Bynum: What does his knee injury mean for the team's chances? A) There goes first place in the West. B) There goes first place in the Pacific. C) There goes home-court advantage in the first round. D) There goes the season. E) There goes the franchise. F) All of the above. The answer is, all of the above.

PHOENIX -- One way or another, Plaxico Burress has found a way to be the center of attention this week. The New York Giants receiver started with his mouth, making headlines by predicting that his team would upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. "I've always been a confident player," he said. "And I'll always be that way." Now he is making news with his injured ankle and knee, which caused him to miss a second day of practice on Thursday. And that could be a much bigger deal.

PHOENIX -- Eight o'clock on a desert morning, the rising sun casts an unsettling glow on the two deep, disparate shades of the NFL. In one corner of town are the stars. In the other corner are the scars. Outside a flowery suburban resort, the New England Patriots are walking into tents with hundreds of reporters to talk about the Super Bowl. Inside a sterile downtown convention center, four dozen NFL stars are limping into a half-empty ballroom to talk about what happens next.

As the 2008 professional baseball season begins, pitchers will stand atop regulation-height, 10-inch mounds to wind up. Then they'll stride, cock their arms, accelerate, decelerate and follow through to release a ball that can reach speeds of 100 mph. Now, a motion analysis study of 20 elite pitchers from the major leagues and NCAA Division I-A college teams suggests that a 10-inch mound, also standard for college and high school baseball, might contribute to injuries.

NEW YORK -- New York Rangers forward Sean Avery, 28, will spend the next few days in the hospital after lacerating his spleen during Tuesday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Avery was injured during the 5-3 loss from a hit, possibly in the first period, but played throughout the game despite worsening pain. Avery was evaluated at the arena and was "never in a life-threatening situation," team spokesman John Rosasco said. He is expected to make a full recovery.

WASHINGTON -- Umpire Kerwin Danley still has headaches, five days after he was hit in the mask by a pitch from the Dodgers' Brad Penny. Danley's condition is being monitored by Major League Baseball and he is not yet scheduled to return to work, the World Umpires Assn. said Thursday. He was briefly knocked unconscious by the fastball to the right side of his jaw and was hospitalized briefly after Saturday night's game. CT scans were negative, the union said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It was triumph and tragedy as horse racing gained a superstar and lost a competitor this weekend at the Kentucky Derby. The tragedy was the death of filly Eight Belles on a major stage. It was a freak accident, and longtime horse racing observers, including veterinarian Larry Bramlage, said they had never seen anything quite like it, a horse suffering two broken ankles at once.