■ Biathlon
Sergi Rozhkov wins 10km
Russia's Sergei Rozhkov won a men's World Cup 10km biathlon sprint Friday to take the lead in the overall standings. Rozhkov, whose shooting was clean, won in 24 minutes and 5.4 seconds. Austria's Ludwig Gredler finished second, 11.7 seconds back with one missed target. Another Russian, Sergei Chepikov, was third, 21.2 seconds behind. He also missed one target. Four-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway did not compete in the race in this central Slovak resort. Rozhkov leads the standings with 208 points, five points ahead of Norway's Halvard Hanevold.
■ Basketball
Mourning has new kidney
Former NBA All-Star center Alonzo Mourning underwent kidney transplant surgery Friday and was listed in good condition, hospital officials said. The surgery, performed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, came less than a month after Mourning retired from the NBA due to a kidney disease. The kidney donor, a family member, was also in good condition, officials said. Mourning, 33, retired from the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 24 because of complications from the disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. He was diagnosed before the 2000-2001 season, when he was with the Miami Heat.
■ Golf
Downes is up down under
Australian Chris Downes led for the third day straight Saturday, taking a one-shot lead into the final round of the Australian Open golf tournament at Moonah Links. Downes had four birdies, a bogey and a double bogey to card a 1-under 71 and go to eight-under. Fellow Australian Stephen Leaney scored a 4-under 68 to go alone in second, with seven players at six-under. Among those is 2002 US Amateur champion Ricky Barnes. Barnes, from Stockton, CA, was challenging for the lead before bogeys at the 16th and 17th. Defending champion Stephen Allan was another at six-under. He followed his second-round course record 66 with an even-par 72 to join Barnes, Stuart Appleby (68), Steven Conran (68), Matthew Millar (69), Peter Lonard (70) and Craig Jones (70).
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and