SAN ANTONIO — Reserve Plenette Pierson scored 22 points to lead the DetroitShock to an 84-79 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Tuesday night ina matchup of conference leaders.

Peirson, who averages 11 points, scored 20-plus for the second straight gameto help the Shock (21-6) split the season series with San Antonio.

Katie Smith added 21 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and hit theclinching free throws with 2.6 seconds left. Deanna Nolan had 15 points.

Becky Hammon led San Antonio (16-9) with 26 points, going 7-for-14 from thefield and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Sophia Young added 23 points andseven rebounds.

The Shock trailed by four to open the fourth quarter, but Pierson had eightstraight points to give Detroit a 69-67 lead with 6:37 left.

After two more lead changes, Detroit took the lead for good when Smith hit a3-pointer with 4:14 to play.

The Silver Stars ended the half on a 14-2 run, hitting eight free throws inthat stretch, and went into the locker room up 44-42.

Silver Stars starters Hammon and Riley did not play in the July 1 meeting,which San Antonio won 71-68.

Riley, who was sidelined with a sprained left foot, met her former team forthe first time since being traded in the offseason. She struggled with earlyfoul trouble, picking up her third with 2:34 left in the first quarter. Sheended the game with six points.

Detroit was called for three technical fouls, with coaches Bill Laimbeer andRick Mahorn, and Pierson were each tagged with one.

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — The Chicago Bears and defensive tackle Darwin Walkeragreed to a five-year, $25 million contract on Tuesday, two days after the teamacquired him in a trade with Buffalo.

Walker will earn about $2 million this season, plus $8 million to $9 millionin bonuses and possibly another $3.5 million in incentives over the length ofthe contract, according to his agent Albert Irby.

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Chris Paul wanted to make sure he made an immediate impact the first time he met Skip Prosser. The star guard was a high school player at an AAU tournament several years ago in Florida when, in a desperate attempt to catch the Wake Forest coach’s eye, he walked directly into Prosser’s path. “I bumped into him purposefully so Coach would get to know who I am,” Paul said through tears Tuesday night…

Senior forward Tyrone Nelson was dismissed from the New Mexico State basketball team Tuesday after he pleaded no contest to charges stemming from an August 2006 robbery of a pizza delivery man. Nelson, 21, was set to be tried this week on charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and bribery. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, he avoided a trial and possible jail time.

NEW YORK — Mwadi Mabika scored 19 points to lead the Los Angeles Sparks toa 73-63 victory over New York on Tuesday night, handing the Liberty theirseason-high seventh straight loss.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin had 13 points and 13 rebounds for her secondstraight double-double, and Temeka Johnson and Sidney Spencer added 10 pointsapiece for Los Angeles (9-16).

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INDIANAPOLIS — Tan White scored 20 points to lead the Indiana Fever to a66-57 victory over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.

Tamika Whitmore added 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Fever(17-10), who snapped their six-game losing streak and avoided closing in on thefranchise record of 10 straight losses.

Alana Beard had 15 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 12 for the Mystics(10-15), who lost all four regular-season games to Indiana this season.

The Fever won for the first time since losing All-Star Tamika Catchings to aleft foot injury July 20 against Detroit. Catchings could miss the rest of theregular season.

Indiana quickly extended its six-point halftime lead to 39-28 followingTully Bevilaqua’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter. The Fever took theirbiggest lead of the game, 50-36, on Whitmore’s jumper to end the period.

Milton-Jones’ layup helped Washington close within 54-46 with 7 minutes leftin the fourth quarter, but the Fever responded with three straight free throwsto extend the lead back to 11.

Indiana, which never trailed in the game, took a 26-15 lead followingWhitmore’s basket early in the second quarter. Whitmore led all scorers in thefirst half with nine points.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Katie Douglas scored 18 points, Asjha Jones had 16points and nine rebounds, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Chicago Sky 74-56 onTuesday night.

Evanthia Maltsi added 13 points for Connecticut and Lindsay Whalen had 10.

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PARIS – Having escaped relegation, suffered the death of a supporter and saw the sacking of coach Guy Lacombe midway through the term, Paris Saint Germain will be looking for a more positive season in 2007-2008.

The 2006-2007 season, which was marked by the death of a supporter during clashes with police after their UEFA Cup defeat to Hapoel Tel Aviv in November, was a worrying time for the Parisian club and their supporters.

After an unimpressive start to the term PSG were in a lowly 16th position by Christmas which led to club president Alain Cayzac’s decision to dismiss Lacombe in January and replace him with former Rangers handler and PSG central defender Paul Le Guen.

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LONDON – As Cristiano Ronaldo shielded his eyes from the blinding explosion of flashbulbs it was clear the Manchester United winger’s transition from pride of Old Trafford to global phenomenon was complete.

After a magnificent season in which his dazzling array of feints and flicks bewitched defenders and fans in equal measure, Ronaldo has become one of the game’s new icons.

The 22-year-old’s brilliant form was instrumental in United winning their first Premiership title for four years and he was rightly showered with plaudits and awards.

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LONDON – When Cesc Fabregas picked himself up from the sodden Highbury turf and nursed bruises to his leg and his ego, the Arsenal midfielder knew it was time to come of age.

Fabregas had just been on the receiving end of a fierce tackle by former team-mate Patrick Vieira in the opening moments of a crucial Champions League match.

Vieira would have known better than anyone that Fabregas’s sublime passing could overwhelm Juventus if he was given the time to express himself, so he tried to ruffle a player not renowned for his physical power.

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