David Beckham returned to action after seven weeks as his team LA Galaxy were held to a 1-1 draw by New York Red Bulls.

The 32-year-old England midfielder, sidelined since late August after spraining a ligament in his right knee, began light training with the Major League Soccer (MLS) team last week.

Forget sack races and Slip 'n Slide. These days select companies are adding luxe touches to their annual employee outings.

Pau Gasol scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds to help lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 85-73 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dallas Mavericks held off the Houston Rockets 103-100 to claim a 3-2 series lead in their Western Conference quarter-final playoff.

Gilbert Arenas scored 32 points to lead the Wizards to a 117-99 home win over the Chicago Bulls.

Tim Duncan nailed 24 points and snared nine rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 104-76 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Vince Carter scored 37 points to help the New Jersey Nets clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 102-93 win over the Boston Celtics.\n

Jamal Crawford scored 21 points to help the New York Knicks end Boston's seven-game winning streak with a convincing 107-82 victory over the Celtics.

Tracy McGrady recorded 22 points and David Wesley added 21 as the Houston Rockets ended an 11-game losing streak in Sacramento with a 111-96 victory over the Kings Sunday.

Boston Celtics registered a 115-113 double overtime win over the Detroit Pistons.

Dwyane Wade scored 32 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 25 to power the Miami Heat to a 108-100 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

League scoring leader Allen Iverson poured in 48 points to lead the Philadelphia 76rers to a 118-111 win over the Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Jermaine O'Neal scored all three of his team's overtime baskets, including the winning jumper with 11 seconds to go, to lift the Indiana Pacers to a 93-91 victory over the Miami Heat.

Jalen Rose scored 30 points and played solid defence against former Toronto favourite Vince Carter to guide the Raptors to a 100-82 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets scored 31 points in front of his home fans to lead the Sophomores to a 133-106 comeback win.

San Antonio Spurs pounded the New Orleans Hornets 101-78 on Wednesday to reclaim a share of the best record in the standings.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas picked up 30 points and LeBron James added 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers pound the Los Angeles Lakers 103-89 Sunday.

Victory over the leading San Antonio Spur enabled the Washington Wizards stretch their unbeaten run to three games

Tony Parker scored 20 points to carry San Antonio past the host Charlotte Bobcats 104-85 Tuesday.

NBA champion Detroit Pistons eased past the Wizards 105-96 for their fourth consecutive win.

The Detroit Pistons moved into a first-place tie with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division after a 91-61 romp over the New York Knicks.

The Suns received 20-plus points from four different players to put up a season-high game total of 133.

LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to achieve the triple-double triple as the Cleveland Cavaliers eased past the Trail Blazers 107-101.

Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 31 points to spark the Los Angeles Lakers to a 105-96 win over Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to an 111-104 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Vivek Paul, chief executive officer of Wipro Technologies, California and Balaji Krishnamurthy, CEO of Planar Systems, Oregon have been named among 25 most "business influential" by Time magazine and CNN.

Tony Delk and Predrag Drobjnak both scored 16 points as the Atlanta Hawks stunned the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons 88-72 in National Basketball Association play Friday in Auburn Hills.

Hundreds of fans blocked a sidewalk and shouted abuse after Beijing police cancelled an event Michael Jordan was to attend on safety grounds.

The basketball great is bidding to get into shape for a National Basketball Association comeback.

The Man U ace will have the number on the back of his Real Madrid shirt.

The man widely considered the greatest basketball player of all-time left the sport on Wednesday with a loss, the Washington Wizards falling 107-87 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Los Angeles Lakers woke up after a couple of lackluster quarters, riding a 44-15 final period to a 105-103 win over Dallas to hand the Mavericks their second loss of the season Friday.

Michael Jordan started for the second successive game and performed like his old self to inspire the Washington Wizards to a 103-78 pasting of the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday.