The walls of Hugh Jackman’s office are covered with posters for grand old Hollywood musicals, but on a recent afternoon the devoted song-and-dance man was in less graceful mode. Fists raised and teeth bared, he was practicing a number from swinging in the ring, not “Singin’ in the Rain.” “When I first started the role of Wolverine, back for the first ‘X-Men’ movie, I watched a lot of Mike Tyson videos in my trailer,” Jackman said as he shadow-boxed. “The way he just goes straight in. I kept saying to the writers, ‘Don’t give me long, choreographed fights for the sake of it. Don’t make the fights pretty.’ Like Tyson, if Wolverine wants to take your freaking head off, he’s going to do it. There's a lot of Mike Tyson in Wolverine.” Just two months removed from the dapper, soft-shoe duty as the host of the Academy Awards, the Tony winner has returned to his cinematic dark side. The ferocity of Wolverine, his haunted background and those famous claws have made him the most popular comic-book character created in the last 40 years. And, with the release of the Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” the Marvel Comics character is finally at the center of a fourth major film, which puts him ahead of elder creations such as Spider-Man, Hulk and the Fantastic Four. (Not to mention comics icons such as Captain America, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman, who are still waiting for their first blockbuster opportunity). The first three appearances of Jackman in the Wolverine role were in “X-Men” films, a trilogy that pulled in more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide with each installment making more than the last. Jackman's Wolverine was clearly the fan favorite in the franchise despite an ensemble stacked with major stars. In this new feature, Wolverine’s previously murky past is explored with revelations about his family, his secret military career and th read more »

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IRVING – A 33-year-old Dallas Cowboys staff member was left paralyzed and two other team staffers remain hospitalized after Saturday's practice facility collapse, which is now the subject of a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation, authorities said. Scouting assistant Rich Behm suffered a spine fracture that caused permanent paralysis from the waist down, the team confirmed Sunday. He underwent surgery to stabilize the fracture Saturday night and remains in stable condition at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Team owner Jerry Jones grimly surveyed the debris on Sunday morning. He lauded Irving police and emergency services for their actions the previous day. "We are also grateful to those Cowboys players and staff members who acted so quickly and heroically in the face of personal danger to help those around them who were in need of immediate assistance," he said in a statement. Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis will undergo surgery at Parkland Hospital today to stabilize a broken vertebra. He was not paralyzed. Assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither is expected to remain at Baylor University Medical Center for the next few days while his broken right leg heals. The other nine people who received medical treatment were released by Sunday. About 3:30 p.m. Saturday, a burst of up to 70-mph wind carried by passing thunderstorms battered the 85-foot-tall practice facility. The high-tension fabric shell and metal structure folded onto itself and collapsed during the Cowboys rookie camp. About 70 players, coaches, team support personnel and members of the media were inside. Ambulances transported 10 people; two others sought help on their own, officials said. Richard L. Weiner, a neurosurgeon at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas who is not involved in Behm's treatment, said such spinal injuries are "true disasters." "You lose all sensation and all strength and motor function of the legs," he said. "There's really not read more »

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sometimes this game brings you to tears. Sometimes it feels right to be wrong. And always it is better than O.K. when the tears streaming down your face are caused by a man in a black cowboy hat and an almost handlebar mustache, a Cajun jockey with more horse than book sense and a scrawny $9,500 gelding.Chip Woolley, Calvin Borel and Mine That Bird, an improbable — no, impossible — 50-1 long shot, did just that Saturday, running away with the 135th running of America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby. Horse racing has had some bad big days recently. Last year, the filly Eight Belles was euthanized on the racetrack after finishing second here. When the 2006 Derby winner Barbaro broke down in the Preakness, he brought greater public attention to the sport’s safety and welfare issues. Early Saturday it appeared to be more of the same: I Want Revenge, the morning-line favorite, came up lame in his left front ankle and was scratched. By 6:30 p.m., when Mine That Bird squirted through a hole in the rail and skipped from the muddy track into the lane all alone, the 153,563 at Churchill Downs checked their programs to see who the heck the No. 8 horse was. By that time, Borel and this horse he hardly knew were on their way to the winner’s circle for the blanket of roses. In 2007, after Borel guided Street Sense to a Derby victory with a similar rail-skimming, last-to-first trip, the nation was introduced to this humble, emotional man with a grade-school education and a Ph.D-sized heart. Borel, in turn, was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II at a White House state dinner. As soon as Mine That Bird crossed the finish line six and a quarter lengths ahead of 18 others, Borel’s tears flowed with the warmth and power of Niagara Falls. He patted, hugged, hollered and dripped tears on the gelding he met for the first time Monday. Finally, Borel kissed a rose and lofted it toward the heavens in honor of his late mother a read more »

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Since 1875, the Kentucky Derby has been the pinnacle of the horse racing world, eagerly awaited by sports fans and socialites alike. Frequently referred to as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports", what the Derby lacks in duration, it makes up for in extravagance. The largely unseen side of this event is the time and money invested in the years leading up to the race. Large sums are thrown toward the purchase of foals with promising bloodlines or spirited personalities, and countless hours are spent molding them into potential champions. A look at the money required to have a horse run, as well as some little-known facts surrounding the event, reveal another side of the Run for the Roses.

Ricky Hatton's boxing career is almost certainly over. The fighter's shocking knockout defeat by Manny Pacquiao has prompted calls for him to quit from his closest friends and trainer. The 30-year-old will also be urged to retire by members of his family, although the person who will have the biggest say in the decision was not even at ringside to witness the second-round annihilation. Hatton would not let his young son Campbell come to Saturday night's fight because he feared he might be knocked out. He would find it difficult now to tell him he planned to fight on. Hatton's mother, Carol, and fiancée, Jennifer Dooley, who was so traumatised when he was knocked out she unleashed a scream that sent a chill through those at ringside, will encourage him to call it a day. Hatton was taken to the Valley Hospital off Las Vegas Boulevard after the fight for a mandatory examination and released in the early hours to return to the hotel that hosted what was almost certainly his last appearance in the ring, the MGM Grand. Hatton apologised to his fans for his performance. "I'm so desperately sorry for you all," he said. "I thought I'd win but it went wrong. I'm OK but so upset for the supporters." He is due to speak about his future today before returning to England on Thursday. Among those urging him to retire after one of the most brutal endings to a title fight for years is Carl Froch, who retained his world super-­middleweight title last week. "He's up there with the best fighters in the world. He's achieved all he can achieve," Froch said. "If I were in his position after last night's performance I would definitely retire." Hatton's trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr, said: "I would suggest he retire. He tried twice, he failed twice. He lost to my son and, to lose to someone below that, it's time to leave the ring. He didn't follow instructions. He didn't do what I told him." Tensions between the pair hindered Hatton's preparations and Mayweather arrived worryi read more »

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Jose Canseco has been retired from Major League Baseball for eight years, but he keeps finding ways to put himself into the headlines. The latest example? He has agreed to fight the 7-foot-2 Korean kickboxer Hong Man Choi in a mixed martial arts tournament in Japan. The Japanese MMA promotion Dream has announced on its web site that Canseco vs. Choi will take place on May 26 in Tokyo as an opening round fight in an eight-man MMA tournament. Although that particular fight is a freak show, the full May 26 fight card, Dream 9, actually has some very good fights lined up featuring some of the top competitors in MMA, including Gegard Mousasi, Kid Yamamoto, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and JZ Calvan. But if this card gets any attention in the United States beyond hard-core MMA fans, it will be a result of the presence of Canseco, who has dabbled in boxing before (losing to former Philadelphia Eagle Vai Sikahema and drawing with former child star Danny Bonaduce) but has never tried MMA. Against Choi, Canseco will have his hands full: Choi is far from a great MMA fighter, but he's a skilled professional kickboxer who will have a huge size advantage over Canseco. If Canseco can't beat Danny Bonaduce, let's just hope he doesn't get seriously hurt against Hong Man Choi.

The reputation of Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez takes a fresh battering in an upcoming book that claims the slugger possibly used steroids at school and into his Yankees career. The claims come in the book A-Rod, by Sports Illustrated journalist Selena Roberts, due to be published by HarperCollins on May 12, The New York Daily News reported. Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman, is already under a cloud after admitting earlier this year to using steroids between 2001-03, when he played for the Texas Rangers - and when they were not banned by Major League Baseball. Roberts, who broke the story on that scandal, quotes former players and acquaintances saying that Rodriguez's involvement with performance enhancing drugs apparently started earlier - and continued far later. Rodriguez declined to address the latest allegations. ``I'm not going there,'' he said after homering in an extended spring training intra-squad game in Tampa, Florida, part of his rehabilitation after hip surgery. ``I'm just so excited about being back on the field and playing baseball.'' Ex-teammate Jose Canseco is quoted as saying that steroid could have begun in high school in Miami, where Rodriguez put on 25 pounds (11.3 kilograms) of muscle in one year. ``I worked out with him when he was 18. He could lift almost as much as I could,'' Canseco said, the Daily News reported. Roberts quotes a former high school teammate saying that the coach knew the future Major League Baseball star was taking steroids. More recently, Rodriguez raised eyebrows at the Yankees when he put on 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) in the off season in 2005, the book claims. ``No one ever asked Alex directly that I know of, but there was a lot of suspicion in house,'' a Yankee employee is quoted as saying, according to the Daily News. Rodriguez, a three-time American League Most Valuable Player, is expected to rejoin the Yankees in mid-May. He said he wasn't worried that the doping issue had resurfaced. ``I'm in a good pla read more »

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We interrupt our "Countdown to Kobe vs. LeBron" to bring you an important bulletin. According to the unsolicited goosebumps we've accumulated, the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are threatening to serve up the greatest playoff series in NBA history. Defining "greatest" can be a nightmare of interpretation, but we'll get to that later. So, just when the preamble to an expected Los Angeles Lakers-Cleveland Cavaliers showdown was threatening to ride a couple of controversial referee decisions into relevance, the Cs and Bulls mustered up enough drama to make TNT blush. Thursday night's triple-overtime riot in Chicago put this series in the historically-debated cross hairs with a Game 7 still to come. For the record, we shouldn't bother comparing this Eastern Conference hayride to first-round series that have come before it. That would be an injustice. But here goes: The Phoenix Suns rallying from a 1-3 predicament in 2006 to knock off the Lakers in seven? Yeah, that was a nice first-round skirmish with Bryant taking down the Suns on a buzzer-beater in Game 4 and Raja Bell putting the clothesline on Kobe in Game 5. The eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors taking down the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007 might deserve consideration if the Mavs had actually put up a fight. But instead of trotting out more meager first-round comparisons, we'll resort to Finals history before matching anything to the crazy goings-on between the Celtics and Bulls. Before digging up some challengers, let's review what has occurred in Boston and Chicago. With one game left to play, the Cs and Bulls have hooked up in four games that were decided in overtime (they already had a playoff record with three overtime games). In addition to the triple-OT classic of Game 6, the Bulls needed two overtime periods to win Game 4. Only one of the first six meetings (Game 3) was decided by more than three points. The nail-biting nature of these games is enough to keep us entertained at a level that fe read more »

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PRAGUE - Dominik Hasek is coming out of retirement to play for his former club in the top Czech league. The 44-year-old goaltender will play next season for HC Moeller Pardubice in the town where he was born and started his career. While Hasek will be the oldest player in the league, Pardubice has an option to extend the contract by one more year. "I'm really glad I could sign a deal with this club," Hasek told a news conference Tuesday. "It's a club where I spent the most years. I've never even thought I could play for any other club in the Czech Republic. I'm looking forward to the next season." The announcement comes less than a year after Hasek's retirement following winning won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in June. "A year ago I said goodbye to the NHL but not to hockey," Hasek said. "After a year when I was engaged in other activities I felt like returning." Hasek helped Pardubice win the Czech title in 1987 and '89. "My return won't be easy," Hasek said. "We have big goals with Pardubice. I don't talk about my age but a return to top hockey will not be easy. I want to keep winning, I'm looking forward to it." Drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1983, Hasek joined the NHL in the 1990-1991 season and won 389 games with the Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and the Blackhawks. He was a six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goaltender and two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player. He previously retired in 2002 after winning his first Stanley Cup with Detroit but rejoined the NHL in the 2003-04 season. Hasek played two games for Pardubice during the 2004-05 lockout season. He also led the Czech Republic to gold at the 1998 Olympics - and is now hoping for an encore at next year's Vancouver Olympics. Hasek said he didn't know whether the Czech coaches are interested in having him on the team, but that playing in another Olympics "will be a motivation for me in training."

Total Pro Sports - Recently the 2009 UConn Lady Huskies National Championship basketball team traveled to the White House for a ceremonial visit with President Barack Obama. During the visit, the Lady Huskies were treated to a special Presidential shoot around at the White House outdoor half-court. Obama a former high school basketball player, absolutely dominated a few of the Huskies in a short game of P-I-G. “He was pretty good from 17 feet,” said coach Geno Auriemma. “His shot’s a little unorthodox, but it goes in ... He’s got a little bit of that swagger.” [NHR] Like every other ceremonial visit to the White House the Lady Huskies gave Obama a basketball signed by the players and a Uconn jersey with #1 and his name on the back. "Number One - that's what I'm talking about," Obama joked. "I will wear it when I'm playing. Truly a special day that the 2009 Lady Huskies will always remember. Video after the jump.

PHILADELPHIA, USA - A leading Philadelphia newspaper has predicted that St Jago High sprinter Nickle Ashmeade could be the next Usain Bolt. In an article written by Frank Fitzpatrick and carried on the front page of the Sports section of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, Ashmeade was compared to the three-time Olympic Gold medallist and world record holder in the 100m and 200m. The report said in part that "many on the tiny, track-obsessed Caribbean island that had supplanted the US as the world's sprint king believe Ashmeade is heir to Bolt, who succeeded Asafa Powell, who followed other Jamaican greats such as Donald Quarrie and Herb McKenley". The article quoted Ashmeade as saying, "people would tell me I wasn't as focused as I should be, but I couldn't see it.now I realise the hard work it takes". His coach Danny Hawthorne predicted Ashmeade would be a factor at the next level according to the article. "As a senior he should be a real factor (internationally). He has all the potential in the world," Hawthorne was quoted in Philadelphia Inquirer. Ashmeade anchored the St Jago team to a repeat win in the 4x400m high school Championships of Americas here on Saturday, but fell on the second change over in the 4x100m heats on Friday, dashing the team's hopes of making it to the final, along with seven other Jamaican teams. Calabar High went on to retain their 4x100m title, breaking the record 39.96 seconds set by St Jago in 2007 with a new time of 39.91 seconds. Ashmeade, who ran on that team, has won three Penn Relay watches. The St Jago High speedster - named captain of the Jamaican junior teams several times - has won a handful of medals at the IAAF World Youth and World Junior Championships. He was second by a whisker in the 200m at the World Junior Championships in Poland last year and ran the third leg on the 4x100m team that also won a silver medal. He is also the two-time CARIFTA Games Under-20 200m champion, but lost his Champs Class One title to Cala read more »

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Howard's elbow has given the Orlando Magic's playoff hopes a major hit. Howard has been suspended for Game 6 of the Magic's playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers for his elbow on Sixers center Samuel Dalembert, the NBA announced Wednesday. The two got tangled up going for a rebound in the first quarter in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Replays showed Howard threw an elbow that hit Dalembert above the shoulders. Howard drew a technical foul for the hit."I'm very disappointed but I have to respect the NBA's decision," Howard said in a statement. "I didn't intend to hurt anyone. I have complete faith in my teammates that they will come out and get the job done tomorrow night." Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, said Howard would have been ejected from the game if any of the referees saw him make contact with his target. Jackson said the contact was clear cut on replay. "They saw the elbow thrown but they couldn't determine whether or not the elbow actually made contact with Dalembert," Jackson said. "This was an elbow that was thrown that made contact above the shoulders and by rule there's an automatic suspension." Orlando will also be without starting guard Courtney Lee, who suffered a fractured sinus after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from Howard later in the quarter. Lee's status for the remainder of the playoffs is uncertain. The Magic lead the Sixers 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Thursday. Orlando will likely start Marcin Gortat in place of Howard, and J.J. Redick for Lee. Howard was having the best playoff series of his career and has been the only consistent Magic player in the postseason. He had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds in Tuesday's win, and he's averaged 24 points and 15.8 rebounds in the series. Howard's elbow on Dalembert in Game 5 set off a wild coaching exchange afterward. Philadelphia coach Tony DiLeo said Howard should have been calle read more »

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PORTLAND, Ore. – Perhaps the biggest highlight of Dikembe Mutombo’s career came during the 1994 playoffs when he was lying on the floor holding a ball in the air in joy after leading the Denver Nuggets to a titanic playoff upset of top-seeded Seattle. Mutombo found himself lying on the floor again Tuesday night, this time pondering the end of his career. Mutombo, 42, was carried away on a stretcher in the first quarter of the Rockets’ 107-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 with what he said was a career-ending left knee injury. “It’s over for me for my career,” said Mutombo, who will be examined by team doctors when the Rockets return to Houston today. An eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo is one of the game’s great humanitarians and had a distinguished 18-year career with Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Houston. “It’s not something that I planned,” he said. “All I can say right now is I had a wonderful run of 18 years and stayed injury-free. I thank God a lot for all this blessing and putting such great people around me for all of my career in the NBA. I’m just happy. “I have to go out with my head high and not be disappointed and have no regrets. I have so many things I can be so thankful for over my 18 years.” Mutombo is in his fifth season with the Rockets after signing with them on Dec. 31. He played in only nine games, but showed his value by grabbing nine rebounds in 18 minutes in Game 1 against Portland. Mutombo, who had been in the game for less than two minutes, was battling for position under the basket with Greg Oden – who is half the age of Mutombo -- when he fell to the ground in pain and clutched his left knee. “I cried so much about it when I was laying on the floor, but when I got in the locker room (athletic trainer) Keith Jones and I talked that I needed to be positive an read more »

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SILVER CITY, N.M. — When Lance Armstrong fought through the final few meters of a climb through desolate mountains under a searing sun and across the finish line, he was not wearing a cape or even a yellow jersey. Instead, Armstrong wore sunken cheeks and a look of anguish. “It was hard,” Armstrong said Wednesday, trying to catch his breath shortly after finishing eighth in the four-hour, 94-mile opening stage of the Tour of the Gila. “It was tough.” The race was Armstrong’s first since breaking his collarbone five weeks ago when he crashed during a race in Spain. The injury requiredsurgery, with 12 one-inch screws implanted to bind his collarbone together. Similar measures may be required to hold together Armstrong’s hope of winning an eighth Tour de France, the main reason he launched his comeback last September after a four-year retirement. Not only has Armstrong missed out on a valuable month of training and racing, but the injury has — for one of the few times in his cycling career — left Armstrong with a sense of vulnerability. The toughest part of falling off the bike, as it turns out, is getting back on. “I’d never had a crash like that, I’d never had a significant injury,” Armstrong said. “Mentally, it was a shock to me. Then there’s the obvious side effects — the pain, the time off the bike and psychologically, you’re a little like, ‘I’m 37 years old, lying in a ditch in Spain. O.K., what am I doing?’ ” That is a question that might be asked of Armstrong here. As the European season kicks into gear, what is he doing in this old mining town in the corner of southwestern New Mexico riding against little-known cyclists. If not for the injury, Armstrong would be training in Italy, preparing for the Giro d’Italia, which begins May 9. The picturesque coastline of the Cinque Terre, this isn’t. As riders made their way throu read more »

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Usain Bolt, the Olympic sprint champion, amazingly escaped serious injury last night after overturning his car in a road accident in Jamaica. The 22-year-old’s BMW M3, a gift from Puma, his sponsor, as a reward for his outstanding performances at the Beijing Games last summer, careered off the rain-soaked Highway 2000, one of Jamaica’s newest routes, in St Catherine with a police officer alleging that the sprinter had been speeding. Bolt had been travelling into Kingston from Clarendon when the accident occurred. The car finished upside down in a ditch and eyewitnesses said that both front tyres were punctured and the left-front wheel was almost torn off. The front windscreen was shattered and the back windscreen was totally removed. A member of the vehicle recovery crew said that there were tyre marks for about 50 metres before the car came off the road. Bolt had been travelling with a female companion. Both were treated at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine and neither was said to have suffered worse than bruising. Norman Peart, the athlete’s manager, said that Bolt’s only injuries were three thorns stuck in a foot after he left the vehicle. “He was walking around and talking and his brother Sadiki was with him, and we expect that he will be released to go home soon,” Peart said. Olivia Grange, the Jamaica Sports Minister, also said that they did not appear to be seriously hurt. Bolt had returned recently to Jamaica from a promotional event for Puma, the sports equipment manufacturer, in Boston, Massachusetts, last weekend. He was scheduled to compete in an IAAF Area permit meeting in Kingston this weekend. Bolt won gold medals in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay at the Beijing Games last August, setting world records in all three events. Yesterday it was announced that he would be coming to Europe to compete in the 100 metres in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, on June 17. He is also scheduled read more »

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