Sports Injuries

Kobe Bryant will play Wednesday, I learned Monday. Actually, I didn't learn it as much as divine it from years of watching Bryant, who would play if they had to wrap him from head to foot like a mummy. Two things are certain with Bryant: 1) he's the gamer of gamers and 2) he'll never take a breath without creating a controversy, as he did once more Sunday.

It was the tweak felt around the Southland. As Kobe Bryant writhed and wrenched through lower-back spasms during the Lakers' playoff loss against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, it was an injury with which many across California and the country could empathize. Back pain is one of the most common medical problems and will affect about eight of 10 people during their lifetimes. Of course, not many of them have quite as large an impact on the Lakers advancing in the playoffs.

HOUSTON -- Jonathan Horton, an Olympic medal contender himself, says he is eagerly awaiting one matchup more than any other at the 2008 Beijing Games. "If they're both at their best it will be really cool to see Yang Wei and Paul Hamm go against each other," Horton said at the Visa National Championships men's gymnastics competition, which continues today. But there will be no Paul Hamm here today.

Big Brown's Triple Crown run has hit a snag, although it's deemed a small one at this time. It was learned Sunday that the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner has a slight crack on the inside of his left front hoof. He has already missed two days of training and will miss at least several more while being treated by specialist Ian MacKinlay for what is commonly referred to as a "quarter crack," which is a vertical crack in the hoof wall. This crack is five-eighths of an inch long.

If there is a lesson in Tiger Woods' injuries for the millions of Americans who golf, it is that they shouldn't presume they will suffer the same fate -- at least not while on the course. People generally do not tear their anterior cruciate ligament or suffer a double stress fracture while playing golf, sports medicine experts said Wednesday, but the intense twisting action forced upon the front knee during a swing can worsen an underlying problem.

HOUSTON -- The cavalry may soon be riding to the Dodgers' rescue -- and not a moment too soon since the team's disabled list grew again Monday when an MRI exam revealed outfielder Juan Pierre could be out a month to six weeks because of a sprained left knee. Shortstop Rafael Furcal, sidelined since May 6 by a sore back; third baseman Nomar Garciaparra, out two months because of a strained calf; and outfielder Andruw Jones, who had knee surgery a month ago, all made rehab starts Monday for triple-A Las Vegas, the first steps toward what could be a rapid return to the Dodgers' lineup.

Tiger Woods said he has no timetable for returning to the PGA Tour and would have undergone reconstructive knee surgery even if he hadn't won the U.S. Open. He said he made the decision after he was unable to play the Memorial four weeks ago because of two stress fractures of his left tibia, which occurred while he was preparing to play at Torrey Pines. "I decided then to bag it for the year," Woods said. Woods will be sidelined six to eight months after having surgery last Tuesday.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Every athlete at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials felt for Tyson Gay, knowing the chill of that sudden strike of pain and the hazy uncertainty that descends while you take stock of your body and desperately hope years of training have not been lost in one swift and terrible instant. Gay's stumble and fall about 40 meters into his quarterfinal heat of the men's 200 on Saturday was attributed to a muscle cramp in his left leg, and no lasting damage was found.

Abby Wambach began to heal the instant after she fractured two bones in her left leg during the U.S. women's soccer team's final match before the Beijing Games. Wambach, a prolific forward and vocal leader, knew immediately that her collision with a Brazilian defender last Wednesday in San Diego had wiped out her Olympic visions. "My knee was pointing up and my foot was pointing in a little bit of a different direction," she said.

Paul Hamm's comeback from retirement was marked first by an impressive rush to titles this year at the Winter Cup Challenge, the American Cup and the Pacific Rim Challenge, then slowed in June and, overcome by injuries, finally stopped Monday. Hamm, the defending Olympic all-around champion, announced he was leaving the U.S. team because of hand and shoulder problems. Hours after the announcement, USA Gymnastics said Raj Bhavsar would replace Hamm on the six-man competitive team.