■ Basketball
Yao Ming highly popular
Yao Ming is more than 60,000 votes ahead of Shaquille O'Neal in the race to finish No. 1 overall in NBA All-Star game balloting. Through two rounds of voting, Yao -- the center for the Western Conference's Houston Rockets -- has 1,373,458. O'Neal, traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat in the offseason, tops the Eastern Conference with 1,311,762. Fans can vote through Jan. 23, and All-Star starters will be announced Feb. 3. The game is Feb. 20 in Denver.
■ Football
Reggie White had true grit
Reggie White was remembered as a man of goodness and humor at a private funeral attended by many current and former NFL players. Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, a longtime teammate of White, was a pallbearer and led a contingent of about 50 members of the Packers organization at the University Park Baptist Church. White, 43, died after being taken to a hospital on Sunday. White played for the Packers from 1993-1998 and helped Green Bay to a Super Bowl title in a victory over New England after the 1996 season. He played for Philadelphia from 1985-1992 and finished his career with Carolina in 2000.
■ Skiing
Manninen wins Combined
Finland's Hannu Manninen overcame a 2-minute deficit to win his 23rd combined Nordic World Cup event, beating German Ronny Ackermann by 47.6 seconds in the 15km ski race in Oberhof, Germany. Manninen finished in 41 minutes, 25.3 seconds to win his second race of the season. Ackermann leads the overall standings with 440 points, followed by Manninen at 386 and American Todd Lodwick with 240.
■ Athletics
Agency suspends Grimes
Sprinter Mickey Grimes of the US was suspended for two years after testing positive for steroids, the US Anti-Doping Agency said Friday. Grimes, 28, tested positive for the anabolic steroid norandrosterone from a sample collected in May as part of an out-of-competition testing program. The suspension began Dec. 16 and will end July 18, 2006. Grimes earned credit for a provisional suspension he accepted after testing positive for ephedrine at the 2003 Pan American Games. He was stripped of the 100m gold medal, and the US 400m relay team's gold also was taken away because of Grimes' test. He had faced a lifetime ban for two doping infractions.
■ Sailing
Ailing crewman rescued
A rescue helicopter was scheduled to rendezvous with the Global Challenge race yacht Imagine It. Done off the Chatham Islands on Saturday to airlift a sick crewman to hospital. John Masters, a New Zealander living in England, was reported in a serious but stable condition with an abdominal infection. Imagine It. Done was racing between Buenos Aires and Wellington on the second leg of the round-the-world race when Masters, 59, became ill after a fall. Skipper Dee Caffari diverted to the Chatham Islands, 400km off New Zealand's east coast, on the advice of race medical officials when Masters' condition worsened. He is being treated daily by David Roche, a British doctor who is among the yacht's crew. Imagine It. Done was expected to reach the Chatham Islands on Friday but was slowed by heavy seas.
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