Leading Off

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COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE TIEDEMANN Hair Ball Bay Area CyberRays defender Brandi Chastain uses Washington Freedom attacker Mia Hamm's shoulder as a launching pad to get up for a header during the Freedom's 1-0 win on opening day of the WUSA, the new women's pro soccer league.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL FRAKES Gate Gait Skip to the Stone (2), Victor Espinoza up, takes a strong first step toward his victory in the Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY KIM LUDBROOK--JOHANNESBURG STAR/GLOBALPHOTO.COM Killing Field Veli Mpungose consoles his nine-year-old daughter, Londiwe, while they mourn the death of his son and her brother, Sphiwe, age 13, one of 43 people who died in a stampede of fans during a soccer match in Johannesburg, South Africa.