Steve 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.

Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith is donating $100,000 to the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting. Smith has no affiliation with Aurora and didn't know anybody who was injured during the incident but the massacre struck a chord with him. Smith said his eldest son Peyton was at a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Returns” in Charlotte, N.C., the same night that a gunman opened fire on a theater in Aurora, killing 12 and injuring 58. ...

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.

The New York Giants will have to get by for the foreseeable future without their top possession receiver, Steve Smith . On Friday, Smith was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys because of what Coach Tom Coughlin described as a partially torn chest muscle. Mario Manningham , sporting the Giants' biggest per-catch average at 15.4 yards, will replace Smith at split end. Hakeem Nicks , the NFL's top-scoring wide receiver, with nine touchdowns, will remain at flanker.

The pattern will never show up in a New York Giants' playbook, but it's one Steve Smith has known his whole life. It's called deep under cover. Despite his outstanding career at USC and two productive seasons in New York, Smith can still slip past fans the way he does defenders. That's likely to end this NFL season, as Smith steps into a more prominent role with the Giants, who no longer have stars Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress on their roster. "You've just got to put the talk to rest and go out and show them what you can do," said Smith, who will move from the slot to Toomer's spot outside.

Former University of Michigan quarterback Steve Smith, who played the last two years in the Canadian Football League, has signed a contract with the Chargers, the team said Thursday. Smith was selected by the Chargers in the National Football League supplemental draft in June of 1984. The draft was for players who had played in other professional leagues or had graduated from college with eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 200-pound Smith can play quarterback, running back or wide receiver.

Steve Smith, president of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles and a professional broadcaster, has died at 38. Smith, who had suffered from AIDS, committed suicide, friends reported. He died Monday at his Los Angeles home. Until overcome by his illness, Smith had been editorial director for KNX Newsradio. He began his broadcast career in 1982 as a producer for KNXT-TV (now KCBS-TV) and moved to the affiliated radio station the next year.

Starting Raider fullback Steve Smith ended his holdout Tuesday, signing a multiyear contract that is believed to be worth $400,000 for this season. During the latter stages of the talks, the Raiders played hardball with Smith, who earned $147,500 last season. "Toward the end, (the negotiating) wasn't easy," a Raider executive said.

Raider rookie camp opened Wednesday without three of the top four picks: No. 1 John Clay, No. 2 Bruce Wilkerson and No. 4 Steve Beuerlein, all still unsigned. The No. 3 pick, fullback Steve Smith of Penn State, agreed to terms earlier in the day and reported on time. Clay and Wilkerson are offensive linemen. Wilkerson's agent, Neal Allen, says he expects his client to play a lot this season and is asking to be paid appropriately.

If you're at a local gym and see four guys who look as if they couldn't give a group of junior high kids a good game, look again. If the tallest player is 6-feet-2 and the group tosses up a combination of soft shots that hit nothing but air or hard shots that bounce halfway back to midcourt, ask them their names. And if they all say Smith, believe them . . . and watch out. The big man is Steve Smith, starting point guard on the U.S.

In jazz, this is the era of the drummer. On a scene largely defined by the proliferation of creatively ambitious trap set experts, every year seems to bring a new crop of gifted rhythmic explorers. While steeped in jazz history, many of these musicians rove freely across stylistic frontiers, drawing from gospel, funk, folk, Balkan, Cuban and other deep musical wells. Over the next month, three drummer/bandleaders who've forged highly personal group sounds from myriad musical sources perform in the Los Angeles area.

Some of the NFL's tallest timber this season are mere bonsais in comparison to their football counterparts. The league leaders in touchdowns (Maurice Jones-Drew), yards rushing (Chris Johnson), receptions (Steve Smith) and sacks (Elvis Dumervil) are all sub-6-footers. And at 6 feet, New Orleans star Drew Brees, a most-valuable-player candidate, is the NFL's shortest starting quarterback. From 5-foot-6 Darren Sproles in San Diego to 5-8 Ray Rice in Baltimore, from 175-pound DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia to 185-pound Wes Welker in New England, pros all around the country are proving there's a place for the little man in America's biggest game.

The pattern will never show up in a New York Giants' playbook, but it's one Steve Smith has known his whole life. It's called deep under cover. Despite his outstanding career at USC and two productive seasons in New York, Smith can still slip past fans the way he does defenders. That's likely to end this NFL season, as Smith steps into a more prominent role with the Giants, who no longer have stars Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress on their roster. "You've just got to put the talk to rest and go out and show them what you can do," said Smith, who will move from the slot to Toomer's spot outside.

Steve Smith showered, dressed neatly in a suit and found his way out of the visitors' locker room at Lambeau Field, down the hall to where postgame highlights flickered across a television screen. The New York Giants rookie had every reason to be happy. His team had just defeated Green Bay in overtime, winning the NFC title, and he had contributed a couple of fourth-quarter catches. But contentment isn't his style.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Vinny Testaverde hit Steve Smith for a 65-yard touchdown pass, DeAngelo Williams ran for 121 yards and a touchdown and the Carolina Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 25-10. Testaverde's touchdown pass gives him at least one in 21 straight seasons, extending his NFL record and helping Carolina improve to 4-2. The teams played with quarterbacks who weren't on the roster the previous Sunday -- Tim Rattay for Arizona (3-3) and Testaverde.

ST. LOUIS -- Steve Smith conjured echoes of the 2003 playoffs with another long touchdown catch that propelled the Carolina Panthers to victory and quieted a road crowd. Smith outsprinted Tye Hill on a 68-yard catch for the go-ahead play in Carolina's 27-13 opening win over the St. Louis Rams. As Smith eased into the end zone, Hill stumbled and then slid on his stomach for several yards.

Steve Smith has two tattoos on his arm. One is of the square-jawed Superman, the other of the force-of-nature Tasmanian Devil. Fitting for the complex star of the Carolina Panthers, who is perhaps the top receiver in the NFL, but also one of the league's most temperamental players. While Dallas' Terrell Owens is the league's most talked-about receiver, Smith enters the 2006 season as the most feared.

All-Star forward Kevin Willis was traded Monday from the Atlanta Hawks to the Miami Heat for Steve Smith and Grant Long, The Associated Press reported. Willis confirmed the trade when he was reached at the Salt Lake City airport, and a source close to both teams confirmed the players involved. "Something in the back of my mind told me something was brewing. This afternoon it came through," Willis said. "It's a weird feeling. I said I could play ball anywhere. I have no hard feelings.

Other Trojans receivers largely overshadowed Steve Smith during his USC career, but the sure-handed senior flanker was recognized as the Trojans' most valuable player during the program's annual awards banquet Thursday night at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Smith, who was selected to one All-American team, caught a team-best 64 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns.

The text messages arrived, one after another, following nearly every bruising catch that USC receiver Steve Smith made against Washington State. "You're my idol." "I see you out there." "You've got to be the national player of the week!" When Smith returned to the locker room and scrolled through his Sidekick after the September victory, there was no mystery about the sender.