Area race fans helped to raise more than $5,000 for Lernerville Speedway Sprint car driver Jimmy Weller III during a benefit held last weekend at the Quaker Steak and Lube complex in Sharon.

Weller, 19, was seriously injured during a racing accident in October at the dirt track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

A standing room only crowd participated in an auction of racing memorabilia to raise the money to help defray some of Weller's medical bills.

Those wishing to make a donation can send a check or money order, payable to Jimmy Weller III, to Jimmy Weller Medical Fund, 711 Ridgeview Road, Cooperstown, Pa., 16317.

HONOLULU - Michelle Wie scrambled to salvage a 5-over 75, finishing ahead of 15 men on a blustery day at Waialae Country Club Thursday.But the 15-year-old was nine shots behind Stewart Cink, Brett Quigley, Tom Byrum and Hank Kuehne, who each shot 66 for a share of the lead.Her dream is to become the first female to make the cut since the Babe Zaharias in the 1945 Tucson Open, and the odds are no longer in her favor.She didn't get much help when the rare Kona wind, which gusted up to 25 mph, calmed slightly in the afternoon to stabilize the scoring. Scoring was 1½ strokes higher than last year.

LOS ANGELES - Lakers star Kobe Bryant sustained what the team called a severely sprained right ankle midway through the first quarter of Los Angeles' 98-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and had to be helped off the court.X-rays were negative, but Bryant will have an MRI on Friday, team spokesman John Black said.Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer with a 28.2-point average, was injured when he landed on Ira Newble's right foot while going for a rebound under the Cavaliers' basket. Newble was called for a foul on the play.Bryant immediately grabbed his ankle before teammate Brian Grant and trainer Gary Vitti helped him off the court and into the Staples Center tunnel, where Grant and injured Los Angeles forward Devean George carried him into the locker room.

OAKLAND, Calif. - An Oakland Athletics executive mulling an option to buy the team has decided to concentrate on getting a baseball-only stadium built here instead of moving the A's to San Jose, one of his colleagues said.Los Angeles developer Lewis Wolff, vice president for venue development for the Athletics, is "totally focused on the Oakland situation and seeing that through," said Sam Spear, a senior consultant for the A's who is in close contact with Wolff.Wolff said he will make his decision whether to buy the team from Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann in the next three months.