Barbie has a black eye. In yet another twist in the epic Barbie-vs.-Bratz brawl, a U.S. District Court slapped Mattel Inc. with $88 million in damages after tossing out its claims that rival MGA Entertainment stole the idea for its blockbuster Bratz dolls, an embarrassment for the blond teen queen, to say the least. After a two-week deliberation, the jury in Santa Ana, Calif., also found that Mattel was guilty of misappropriation of trade secrets, a serious ethical blow to the venerable toy giant that ...

A poster hangs over the desk of Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, the red-hot athletic-apparel brand that has joined Nike, Adidas and New Balance as a major player on the market. Under Armour pitchman Eric Ogbogu, a former NFL lineman, is flexing his impressive pecs; underneath him, the tagline reads protect this house. That slogan has been at the center of the company's marketing campaign, and Under Armour has an equally muscular business: over the past five years, the ...

Jelena Jankovic was unable to claim consecutive Kremlin Cup titles after she was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the quarterfinals on Friday. Jankovic failed to hold serve in the fifth game of each set and double-faulted twice to lose the match to Kleybanova, who is ranked 27th in the world. The Serb had crucially already secured her berth in next week's season-ending WTA Championships in Doha. The tournament in Moscow has a weakened women's draw because seven ...

Australian Open organizers have granted a wildcard to former world number one Justine Henin to play in the opening grand slam of 2010. The 27-year-old Henin announced last month that she was returning to competitive tennis, shortly after fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters capped her own comeback by triumphing in the U.S. Open. Henin will be relying on wild cards or enter qualifying to get places in the main draw of WTA Tour events until she can improve her ranking. ...

Basketball legend Michael Jordan has caused a furor at the President's Cup golf tournament after the former Chicago Bulls player was snapped smoking a cigar at the Harding Park course in San Francisco. Jordan -- who is acting as the honorary assistant captain for the U.S. team at the event -- puffed while playing a practice round despite the city's ban on smoking at public golf courses. Pictures were published in the San Francisco Chronicle of the 46-year-old ...

Maria Sharapova stayed on course for her first tournament victory since returning to the WTA Tour with a battling three-sets victory over Alisa Kleybanova in the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday. Sharapova came from a set down to beat her fellow Russian 2-6 6-2 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament in Tokyo for the fourth time. Former world number one Sharapova has clawed her way back to 25th in the world after being sidelined for nine ...

Tiger Woods took the halfway lead in the Tour Championship after a second round two-under par 68 at East Lakes. The world number one is bidding for his seventh victory in the PGA Tour this season and is one shot clear of his nearest challengers on five-under 135. A closing bogey gave his chasers a glimmer of hope with Ireland's Padraig Harrington (69) and American Sean O'Hair (70) on 136. South African Ernie Els was a further shot back on ...

Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Monday after a 7-5 6-2 6-2 win over 14th seed Tommy Robredo of Spain. Federer will now play Sweden's Robin Soderling, the third grand slam in succession that the two will have met -- including the French Open final -- to qualify for the semifinals of a grand slam for a record 22nd straight time. "Robin has got a big game and we had ...

There is one man who will be pacing around the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota this week hoping to make it three majors in a row -- but you won't find his name when you trail your finger down the list of starters at the 91st PGA Championship. Though his presence may be unnoticed by spectators lining the fairways, his influence on the players he coaches is becoming far more conspicuous. That is because sports psychologist Dr. Morris Pickens, ...

Sandy Lyle apologized for disrupting Colin Montgomerie's British Open preparations on Tuesday, but did not retract his allegations of cheating against his fellow Scot. Lyle angered his friend, who he lost out to in a bid to become Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup captain, when last week he brought up an incident involving Montgomerie at the 2005 Indonesian Open. Montgomerie was accused of taking an incorrect drop in a bunker after a rain delay, and gave his prize money to charity ...