AP - Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 17th stage of the Tour de France, taking the overall lead Wednesday from CSC teammate Frank Schleck on the hardest ride up three huge Alpine climbs.

AFP - Second-seeded Serena Williams withdrew from the 600,000-dollar WTA hardcourt tournament here with a left knee injury, hoping to be fit in time for the Beijing Olympics.

AFP - Michael Essien insisted Chelsea were the Premiership favourites after Manchester United's Alex Ferguson kicked off the pre-season mind games by casting doubt on their ageing squad.

AP - Kenny Rogers pitched six strong innings and Placido Polanco homered and drove in two runs to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 7-1 Tuesday night.

AFP - Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James sprained his right ankle on Tuesday in practice with the US Olympic basketball team, US media reported.

AP - Brian Urlacher checked into the Chicago Bears' training camp Tuesday night with a new contract, declaring he was healthy and ready to play.

AP - Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka continued his masterful pitching away from Fenway Park, and J.D. Drew's first inning homer helped the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Tuesday night.

AP - Bobby Abreu hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth and drove in three runs, leading the surging New York Yankees past the Minnesota Twins 8-2 on Tuesday night, their ninth consecutive victory at home.

AP - Bill Hall homered to snap a late-inning tie for the second straight game and the Milwaukee Brewers also caught up with Kyle Lohse, beating the St. Louis Cardinals and their surprise ace 4-3 for their sixth straight victory Tuesday night.

AP - As Team USA's practice ended, LeBron James reclined on a table with trainers tending to his sprained right ankle. A horde of television cameramen surrounded James and the trainers before team officials shooed them away.

AP - So Taguchi and Jimmy Rollins had two-run doubles in a six-run ninth, and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied against the New York Mets' makeshift bullpen for an 8-6 victory Tuesday night, taking over first place in the NL East.

AFP - Frenchman Gilles Simon maintained his championship momentum from Indianapolis as he squeezed in a 6-1, 6-3 opening win at the Toronto Masters on Tuesday before lightning interrupted matches.