Sports Injuries

USC's quarterback situation for the season opener and possibly beyond became muddled Friday when starter Mark Sanchez suffered a dislocated left kneecap while warming up for practice. Sanchez, a fourth-year junior, threw a pass to teammate Clay Matthews, as he does every day before stretching exercises, but then crumpled to the ground. Team trainers helped Sanchez to the sideline, where he said the kneecap was put back into place.

China's "Flying Man" is now its "Achilles." In the moments after China watched Liu Xiang, its most popular Olympic athlete, limp away from the Games on Monday, grimacing with an injury, a reporter for the state-run television stood on the floor of the National Stadium and choked back tears. Liu's exit shocked the country like no Olympic moment so far. His performance in the 110-meter hurdles was to have been a soaring moment in a national event decades in the making.

Injured Houston Texans wide receiver Harry Williams will undergo surgery today to repair a neck vertebra he fractured during Friday night's exhibition game against the Dallas Cowboys. The 26-year-old Williams was hurt early during the Texans' 23-22 loss when he collided with teammate Nick Ferguson while covering a kick return. Williams was face down on the field when the play ended.

Pop! Philip Daniels goes down. Pop! Then Alex Buzbee. Alvin Bowen, Oren O'Neal, Drew Carter, Mark Setterstrom, Daniel Sepulveda. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! All of them are NFL players, with tendons and ligaments snapping apart, brittle as bone-dry rubber bands. All done for the season.

CHICAGO -- The pennant hopes of the Chicago White Sox were dealt a severe -- and self-inflicted -- blow Friday when the team announced that slugger Carlos Quentin will undergo surgery on his fractured right wrist, a procedure that could sideline the left fielder for the rest of the season. Quentin, whose .

In one cover-your-eyes snap, the NFL has lost for the season one of its biggest stars, and the AFC has become the great wide open. New England quarterback Tom Brady, the league's reigning most valuable player, is done for the year, his left knee shredded when a Kansas City safety rolled into him in the first quarter of Sunday's opener. The Patriots put him on injured reserve Monday, entrusting the quarterback job to backup Matt Cassel, who hasn't started a game at the position since high school.

Kobe Bryant will forgo surgery on his right pinkie finger and report to training camp as scheduled when it begins later this month, the Lakers' guard and reigning NBA most valuable player announced Tuesday on his website. Bryant said on kb24.com that he consulted with "numerous hand specialists" before making his decision, and opted not to endure a post-operative recovery period that would cause him to miss the start of camp on Sept. 27.

Tiger Woods had a circular stick in his hand in Southern California again Tuesday and waggled it confidently as he stood over a golf course. It is not what you think. Tiger is not back, not quite yet. The knee injury that will be forever etched in our memory as the focal point of his courageous and dramatic playoff victory on that Monday in June at Torrey Pines is still healing. He said his timetable for returning to the PGA Tour is still uncertain. He had surgery shortly after the U.S. Open.

Hold your horses, folks. Curlin versus Big Brown isn't going to happen. Monday was supposed to bring news and drama in horse racing. Little did we know. On a day when the final hurdle seemed to be cleared for the long-awaited showdown here, there was an unexpected stumble in an unexpected place.

Put on your workout clothes and sensible shoes. Grab a whistle and a yellow flag. Now, try straddling lanes on the Golden State Freeway while looking for expired registration tags on cars as they race past. Welcome to the life of a football umpire. Of the seven officiating positions, none is more in the line of fire than the umpire, who stands unprotected in the middle of the defense, just behind the linebackers.