West Coast Feed

The weekend ahead

It was ho-hum, just another Lakers win, a rock 'em, sock 'em, heart-stopping L.A. victory in the last seconds that saw Ron Artest go from under dog to top dog on one shot, beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 at Staples Center. Keep the defibrillator paddles under the chairs for Game 6 Saturday night in Phoenix. These Cardiac Kids and their fans may need them to survive until this series is over.

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Memorial Day weekend will be auto racing's biggest of the year with IndyCar's Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 set for Sunday. Not much has been written or reported, at least in the Los Angeles media, about the four women who qualified to drive at Indy this year: Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, Sarah Fisher and Simona de Silvestro are all in the race, an event that has been strictly macho male for decades. Somewhere Janet Guthrie is smiling. Beatriz, who is on the outside in Row 7, had a faster qualifying time than Patrick, who is in Row 8 next to De Silvestro. Patrick, of course, is the only woman ever to win an IndyCar sanctioned race.

Best name in auto racing: Will Power, who drives for Team Penske and is in the middle of Row 1 on the starting grid at Indy.

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Baseball notes: The Dodgers move into Coors Field in Denver for a weekend series with the Colorado Rockies, who are still a lot of people's favorites to win the National League West Division.... The Phillies' Jamie Moyer is on the threshold of becoming the pitcher to give up the most home runs. He trails the late Robin Roberts, who allowed 505 in his Hall of Fame career, by five home runs. It's a record that Moyer, 47, probably wouldn't mind having, a testament to his longevity in the game.