All-star | featured news

Jordin Sparks sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 2008 and for President Barack Obama this week, and now she'll perform it for baseball fans.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder top the Western Conference, while Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic and LeBron James of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the first returns of 2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile. Bryant, The Finals MVP last season, is the overall leader with 722,682 votes.

Local products Chris Bosh of Toronto and Utah's Deron Williams are headed back to Dallas for the All-Star game, which will include seven first-time selections....

After putting his name into the hat for the 2010 dunk competition, the self proclaimed King has reversed court and withdrawn.

The American League extended its unbeaten streak in All-Star Games to 13 with a 4-3 win over the National League in St. Louis on Tuesday night. A pair of first-time All-Stars, Curtis Granderson and Adam Jones, combined to produce the game-winning run in the eighth inning.

first-time All-Star Tim Wakefield earned his AL-leading 11th victory, and David Ortiz homered and drove in four runs to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Oakland Athletics 5-4 Wednesday night.