during a trial lawyers said could last seven to 10 days.The court

Two Western Conference contenders in good form collide Saturday afternoon, when the Portland Timbers host the Los Angeles Galaxy for a nationally televised showdown at always-raucous Providence Park.The Timbers (7-6-8) are riding a nine-game MLS unbeaten streak and have won four of five at home, but will be without playmaker Darren Mattocks on Saturday due to a hamstring injury. Even without Mattocks, Portland boasts two of MLS most prolific goal-scorers in Fanendo Adi and Diego Valeri.Los Angeles (8-3-8) has won its last three MLS games and five matches overall, including a 4-2 win over the Seattle Sounders in U.S. Open Cup play on Wednesday.The Galaxys Raul Mendiola scored an early goal in Los Angeles 1-0 win over Portland in U.S. Open Cup play on June 30, the two teams most recent meeting.The Galaxys Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard are dealing with injuries and considered game-time decisions. Cole has missed the last three games with a hamstring issue, and Gerrard is trying to comeback from an injury suffered in a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo last week. Gerrard is fourth in the league in assists with seven.With Mattocks out, the Timbers will lean even more heavily on Valeri, an MVP candidate who scored two goals in Portlands win over Seattle last week. Valeri is fourth in the MLS in goals with nine.He has been outstanding, Timbers coach Caleb Porter said of Valeri via Oregonlive.com. I think its in line as well with our team getting healthy. The best players are even better when they have other good players around them.Adi leads the Timbers with 10 goals and has had past success against the Galaxy with five goals in the last four games against Los Angeles.Defensively, the Timbers have settled on keeper Jake Gleeson, who has 70 saves on the season, second most in MLS. Adam Larsen Kwarasey began the season as Portlands No. 1 keeper but was plagued by injuries and transferred back to Norway earlier in the week.Galaxy keeper Brian Rowe has been solid in the net, saving 68 shots, fourth most in MLS.JJ Arcega-Whiteside Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Chuck Bednarik Eagles Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Randall-Cunningham-Eagles-Jersey/ . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Brian Dawkins Jersey Wilbert Montgomery Jersey .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers.NEW ORLEANS -- The widow of NFL star Will Smith took the stand Tuesday at the murder trial of her husbands killer, disputing the defense claim that Smith was the aggressor and telling the jury, He didnt have to do that to my baby.Racquel Smith said she thought she had defused the loud, profane argument that broke out after Cardell Hayes Hummer rear-ended Smiths Mercedes SUV on a busy street in New Orleans last April.The men got out of their cars to challenge each other, but she described locking eyes with her husband, reminding him of their three children and feeling his anger diminish.I thought it was done and I think he thought it was over, too, she testified as she was questioned by New Orleans Assistant District Attorney Laura Rodrigue.Then, she heard two gunshots.I hear a pop, pop, she said. I didnt think it was me.A burning sensation spread throughout her body, and as she stumbled around to the other side of their car, she said she heard more gunshots -- the ones she learned later had killed her husband.I didnt do anything for you to shoot me, she told Hayes.Her recollections presented a vastly different picture from the one being outlined by the defense. She insisted that she heard Hayes yelling profanely after the shooting, apparently at her husbands lifeless body, making a reference to a white friend of the Smiths who also got out to challenge Hayes.You want to show up for the effing white boy, she recalled Hayes shouting.Anticipating her testimony, the defense had already disputed that claim in opening statements. They also insisted that Hayes felt threatened by Smith and his friends, who were traveling together in three cars that night after the Smiths attended the annual French Quarter festival, had dinner at a steakhouse and then met friends at a sushi restaurant.On cross-examination just before Tuesdays proceedings ended, Racquel Smith acknowledged that her husband had had alcoholic beverages throughout the day of the shooting, beginning with one at the festival, more at a bar they visited later, wine with dinner and more drinks at the sushi restaurant.Lawyers have said a toxicology report showed Hayes was legally drunk the night of the shooting. But Racquel Smith insisted her husband did nothing to provoke the gunfire.Attorneys on both sides have suggested that Louisianas stand your ground law will be at issue during the trial. Hayes, 29, faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. Hes also charged with attempted murder after wounding the retired NFL playyers wife.ddddddddddddVideo showed Smiths SUV appearing to bump into Hayes Hummer before, blocks later, the Hummer slammed into Smiths car. Both men then got out and exchanged angry words as Hayes displayed his handgun. Exactly what happened next is the focus of the trial.Racquel said that she and her husband didnt believe their vehicle had actually hit the Hummer when they drove away.Hayes lawyer, Jay Daniels, says Smith and the friends were the aggressors, and Hayes only fired because Smith was reaching for his own gun.Will Smith went to his glove box to get his gun, Daniels insisted.Assistant New Orleans District Attorney Jason Napoli rejected that idea in his opening statement. He said nothing corroborates the defense claim that Smith was going back to his car to get a gun when Hayes shot him, but even if that were true, it wouldnt justify shooting him in the back.That isnt even close to self-defense, Napoli said. Thats murder.Smith was shot once in the left side and seven times in the back. Napoli said physical evidence indicates that Smith was facing Hayes when he was first shot, and not reaching for a gun in his car.Napoli also said Hayes provoked the confrontation by willfully ramming his Hummer into Smiths SUV. Hayes lawyer countered that it was an accident, and blamed it on Hayes looking at his phone and trying to dial 911 to report the SUVs license number after Smith drove away from the earlier contact.Napoli conceded that Smith was intoxicated that night but downplayed the significance, telling the jury that the irony of Smiths death is that the defensive football star died defenseless.Smith led the defense on the 2006 Saints team that helped lift the stricken citys spirits with a winning season after Hurricane Katrina. He also helped New Orleans win its only Super Bowl three seasons later.Hayes played football, too -- in a semiprofessional league -- and owns a tow-truck company. Friends described him as soft-spoken and even-tempered -- not the type to erupt into a lethal road rage.Jurors will be sequestered during a trial lawyers said could last seven to 10 days.The courtroom audience Tuesday included quarterback Drew Brees; former safety Steve Gleason, now battling Lou Gehrigs disease; safety Roman Harper; and guard Jahri Evans. Former running back Deuce McAllister was the first person called to testify, choking up at the loss of his friend.Cheap Jerseys [url=http://www.ches