CHARLOTTE, N.C. - All-Pro defensive tackle Kris Jenkins was lost for the season to a shoulder injury, the fourth important member of the Carolina Panthers out for the year.

It was the latest blow to the defending NFC champions, who are already without top receiver Steve Smith (broken leg) and No. 2 running back DeShaun Foster (broken collarbone.)

Star running back Stephen Davis has also missed three games with a knee injury, leaving Carolina (1-3) thin on talent all over the field.

DAVIE, Fla. - Kicker Matt Bryant signed with the Miami Dolphins and is expected to play Sunday at Buffalo in place of Olindo Mare, who is sidelined with an injured right calf.Bryant kicked for the Indianapolis Colts last week, then was released Monday after one game with the team. He spent his first two NFL seasons with the New York Giants in 2002-03 and was in the Dallas Cowboys' training camp this summer.Mare aggravated his injury warming up for last Sunday's game at New England. Rookie kick returner Wes Welker kicked a PAT and a field goal as an emergency replacement and was chosen AFC special teams player of the week.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jason Leffler will drive a third Joe Gibbs Racing entry next year in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series.Team president J.D. Gibbs said that Leffler's Chevrolet will be sponsored by FedEx. Leffler will be a teammate to returning former series champions Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte.The deal with FedEx came together through team owner Joe Gibbs, who returned to the NFL this season as coach of the Washington Redskins and whose team plays at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.

WASHINGTON - Established star Landon Donovan and rising sensation Eddie Johnson carried the United States into the regional qualifying finals for the 2006 World Cup in emphatic fashion.Donovan scored the first two goals, then Johnson, a second-half substitute, got three in a row in a 6-0 rout of Panama. It was the first U.S. hat trick in World Cup qualifying since 1968 and only the third ever.The Americans' biggest victory since beating Barbados 7-0 in 2000 moved them one huge step closer to Germany '06. They clinched a spot in the CONCACAF regional finals, where the top three of six teams automatically make the World Cup field.And they did it with an unrelenting attack that extended their longest unbeaten streak to 12 games. Only a 1-0 loss to the Netherlands in February blemishes the record. They are 3-0-2 in qualifying.

LONDON - David Beckham apologized for deliberately getting a yellow card to draw a suspension for a World Cup qualifying game. The apology came hours after FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticized him and urged English soccer authorities to take action.Beckham knew he would miss Wednesday's game at Azerbaijan because he broke a rib during Saturday's 2-0 victory over Wales. Carrying a yellow card from a previous game, he fouled Welsh defender Ben Thatcher so he could serve the automatic ban while injured.