Briefs | Cavaliers treating LeBron James as if he has swine flu

NBA

James being treated as if he has swine flu: LeBron James and two Cleveland Cavaliers teammates have tested positive for Influenza A, and are being treated as if they have the H1N1 virus.

H1N1, also known as swine flu, is a strain of Influenza A, and though the Cavaliers have not gotten back H1N1 test results on James, Darnell Jackson or Coby Karl, the team is treating all its players and the traveling party to Texas with medication to fight the virus.

James was still congested as he talked about having to spend the past two days lying in bed. He said he drank over a gallon of water each day.

"I think I'm over it now," he said.

Jamison out for exhibition season: Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison will miss the rest of the team's exhibition games with a right-shoulder injury.

Auto racing

Johnson wins pole at Charlotte: Jimmie Johnson is returning to his dominant ways at the perfect time. His latest accomplishment: the fastest qualifying lap of the NASCAR season.

The three-time defending Sprint Cup champion and points leader looked the part Thursday, earning the pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., with a lap of 192.376 mph.

Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet had the best grip in the rain-delayed qualifying in unseasonably cool conditions.

Mark Martin, sitting second in points, will start second after a lap of 191.816 mph. Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw qualified third. Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., was 23rd.

Forbes names Kennedy most powerful woman in sports: International Speedway Corporation chief executive officer Lesa France Kennedy has been tabbed as the most powerful woman in sports by Forbes. Kennedy, a member of NASCAR's powerful France family, has played a vital role in almost all ISC acquisitions and improvement projects over the past decade.

Winter sports

Bremerton's Schaaf fastest at trials: Bree Schaaf of Bremerton won the second of four women's bobsled national-team trials races in Lake Placid, N.Y.

"It's a huge deal," Schaaf said. "I woke up this morning, ready to rock. I daydream constantly about the Olympics. It's been the driving force for this season, the driving force for a while now. I cannot wait until February, and I feel like everything is coming together for that purpose."

Schaaf was a skeleton racer until 2007, then persuaded coaches to give her a shot at driving a bobsled.

Teaming with Michelle Rzepka, Schaaf's time of 1 minute, 54.74 seconds was the day's best by 0.22 seconds over Day 1 winners Erin Pac and Elana Meyers. There's only three sleds in the women's bobsled trials, competing for two available spots on the World Cup roster, where they'll be joined by 2006 Olympic silver-medal winning driver Shauna Rohbock.

Soccer

AC Milan wants money from U.S.: AC Milan is hoping for compensation from the U.S. Soccer Federation because defender Oguchi Onyewu was injured in a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.

Onyewu tore the patellar tendon in his left knee late in Wednesday night's 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in Washington. He left Standard Liege after last season and signed a three-year contract with AC Milan in July.

USSF president Sunil Gulati declined to comment.

Blatter praises Russia's World Cup bid: FIFA president Sepp Blatter told Vladimir Putin that Russia has a "good chance" of winning the hosting rights to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

Gymnastics

Uchimura earns gold at world championships: Kohei Uchimura of Japan ran away with the men's title at the world championships in London, adding it to his silver medal from the Beijing Olympics. He led from the second event, and his final score of 91.500 points was more than 2 ½ better than Daniel Keatings of Great Britain. Russia's Yury Ryazanov was third.

The results were mixed for the Americans. Tim McNeill finished seventh at his first major international competition, while national champion Jonathan Horton, a premeet favorite for the podium, was 17th after falls on three events.

WNBA

Tulsa group to formally apply for team: With new supporters on board, a group of investors in Tulsa said they will formally apply to the WNBA to purchase a franchise. The goal is to have a team in Tulsa for the 2010 season.

Tennis

Nadal, Djokovic advance at Shanghai Masters: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had straight-set wins to advance to the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters in China.

The top-seeded Nadal, aiming for his first title since winning the Rome Masters in May, defeated Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-4. Djokovic stopped German qualifier Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-2.

Pennetta reaches quarterfinals: Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta retained her chance of reaching the WTA Championships by defeating Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the Generali Ladies quarterfinals in Linz, Austria.

Wozniacki prevails: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark overpowered Britain's Katie O'Brien 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Japan Women's Open in Osaka.

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