■ Soccer
Mexico joins Brazil in finals
Rafael Marquez banged in a 45m strike on Thursday to give Mexico a 2-0 win over Costa Rica and secure a CONCACAF Gold Cup finals berth. Mexico will play Brazil in the final tomorrow. Brazil advanced on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory against the US in Miami. Because Brazil is an invited guest to this tournament, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, Thursday's win earned Mexico a berth in the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. Costa Rica earned a shocking 2-1 victory over Mexico in the qualifying rounds for last year's World Cup.
■ Basketball
China denies Yao injury
China's basketball association yesterday denied reports that Houston Rockets center Yao Ming broke a bone during practice with his homeland's national team, saying he suffered only a cut eyebrow. "It's just a cut," said Xu Minfeng, a spokesman for the association. "The bone was not broken." State newspapers on Wednesday quoted a doctor for the Chinese team as saying the 22-year-old Yao suffered "some fractures" in a bone above his left eye in a collision this week with another player. The doctor said Yao would need a week to recuperate.
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