■ Basketball
Payton and Claxton fined
Los Angeles Lakers guard Gary Payton and Golden State Warriors guard Speedy Claxton were fined by the NBA on Friday for fighting. Payton was fined US$15,000 and Claxton US$7,500 for an altercation midway through the third period of Wednesday's game. After Claxton was called for a foul while trying to make a steal, Payton elbowed him in the chest. Claxton angrily shoved away Payton's arm, and Payton wrapped his arms around Claxton while driving him into the scorers' table. Coaches, teammates and officials intervened, with referee Tony Brothers tackling Payton to the floor. Payton was ejected. The Lakers beat the Warriors 100-99.
■ Tennis
Venus prepared to return
Venus Williams will return to the court for the Dubai Open, two weeks after pulling out of a tournament in Japan because of an injured right knee. Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Chanda Rubin at the Pan Pacific Open on Feb. 6. She also pulled out of this week's Diamond Games in Belgium because of the injury. The Dubai Open begins Tuesday. "I am confident my injury has improved to the point that I fully expect to be taking the court in Dubai," Williams said in a statement issued Friday. Both Venus and her sister Serena have been plagued by injuries in the last year. Serena is scheduled for a comeback at the Qatar Open in March following knee surgery on Aug. 1. Venus returned at the Australian Open after six months off with recurring abdominal muscle problems.
■ Skating
Nancy Kerrigan speaks
Nancy Kerrigan made some rare public comments about Tonya Harding in an interview to be aired on Monday, suggesting that her former skating rival squandered considerable talent. It has been 10 years since Harding's live-in ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, hired a hit man to attack Kerrigan at the 1994 US championships. Kerrigan dropped to the ground, clutching her knee and sobbed, "Why me?" Kerrigan had to withdraw from the event, but ended up winning silver at the Olympics. Though Harding has always denied knowledge of the attack, most suspect she knew something. Kerrigan always took the high road, never saying anything about the attack or criticizing Harding. But she told the CBS program "The Early Show" that Harding wasted her talent. "She had so much talent and some of the biggest jumps in skating," Kerrigan said. "It's a shame that her talent went to waste, really, because of all of it."
■ Diving
Despatie wins springboard
Alexandre Despatie of Canada won the men's 3m springboard while China's Lishi Lao and Ting Li dominated the women's 10m synchronized platform at the Diving World Cup on Friday. Despatie scored 761.7 points and edged Feng Wang of China by 15.99 points. Bo Peng of China was third with 732.27 at Athens' Olympic sports complex. The competition served as a qualifying round for the Olympics, and a test for the venue which will host the Games event in August. Lao and Li scored 343.20 points in thae 10-meter synchronized platform, beating Blythe Hartley and Emillie Heymans of Canada by 23.7 points. Mexico's Paola Espinosa and Jashia Luna finished third, just 3.36 points behind Canada's divers.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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