Media CNFree content directory

Despite a late race flat tire that necessitated an unplanned pit stop, Denny Hamlin raced like a madman down the stretch and took the checkered flag at Monday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 NASCAR race at West Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway. It was Hamlin’s third career victory on the oldest track on the NASCAR circuit.

Landon Donovan raised his international stock with a spirited performance for the USA national team at the recently concluded World Cup. That doesn’t mean he’ll be shipping off to the Premier League or Serie A. On Thursday, Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber emphasized that the United States’ top professional league wouldn’t be accepting transfer offers for Donovan. Garber said that he’d be receptive to loan offers during the MLS off-season, but that his league plans to build around Donovan’s higher profile in his native country.

Alberto Contador held off Andy Sheck and took advantage of his rival’s unfortunate chain malfunction to win his third straight Tour De France. Contador’s margin of victory was 39 seconds and provided considerable drama to the 20th and final stage of the race. American cycling icon Lance Armstrong raced in his final Tour De France and finished in 23rd place over thirty minutes behind his longtime rival and teammate Contador.

First year USC coach Lane Kiffin infuriated most of the football fans in the state of Tennessee after he walked away from the University of Tennessee program to take over at his alma mater. Now he’s apparently raised the ire of the state’s NFL team as well. In response to the hiring away of Tennessee Titans’ Kennedy Pola to take over as the Trojans’ offensive coordinator, coach Jeff Fisher blasted Lane Kiffin questioning his professionalism and tact.

The Chicago Bulls didn’t win the big prize in this summer’s free agent sweepstakes, with LeBron James opting to sign with the Miami Heat. They’ve made some nice acquisitions despite that, however, and appear to be on the verge of signing well traveled shooting guard Tracy McGrady. McGrady is very receptive to joining the much improved Bulls, though there are a couple of contingencies that need to be worked out before a deal is finalized.

Stu Ungar didn’t have much going for him in most areas of life. In fact, it could very well be argued that he was downright inept in most areas of existence. He also had a self destructive streak that manifest itself in heavy drug use and other behaviors. Ungar, however, had one great gift–he was a prodigy with a deck of cards. He would become one of the first superstars of poker before it became a fixture on ESPN, but wouldn’t live to enjoy the ‘boom’. Ungar would eventually be done in by his baser elements, and would be found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room in November,’88.

In the first major upset of the 2010 World Cup, Switzerland used a Gelson Fernandez goal in the 52nd minute to shock Spain 1-0. Spain entered the competition as one of the favorites to win the entire tournament, but was shut down by a feisty Switzerland defense. Spain controlled possession throughout and outshot their opponents 25-9, but only 5 of their shots were ‘on goal’. It was the 5th consecutive World Cup shutout for the Swiss team, who made it through the entire 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal before being eliminated on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the NBA’s regular season with the league’s best record, and LeBron James won the Most Valuable Player award in the process. Despite this success, the Cavs will be watching the rest of the NBA playoffs on TV. Cleveland was eliminated by the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, losing game six by a final score of 94-85. Boston will now face the Orlando Magic for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

Behind a career day for quarterback Matt Schaub, the Houston Texans erased a 17-14 halftime deficit to score– points in the second half and defeat the host Cincinnati Bengals 28-17. Schaub threw for 342 yards and 4 touchdowns against one interception in the solid road victory. Against a team that had won three straight games in the final seconds, Houston never gave Cincinnati the chance to create any late drama.

The Washington Redskins are a mess right now. Head coach Jim Zorn has a tenuous hold on his job at best and after Sunday’s—6 loss to Kansas City was stripped of his offensive play calling duties. Management installed newly hired ‘offensive consultant’ Sherman Lewis as the new offensive play caller and the team has set up an awkward arrangement for him to get the plays to the quarterbacks. For that reason, starting QB Jason Campbell has some serious misgivings about the efficacy of the setup.