■ Soccer
Cahill wins Oceania award
Australian midfielder Tim Cahill was named yesterday as the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) player of the year for 2004. Cahill, who plays for English Premier League club Everton, beat national team mates Mark Schwarzer and Marco Bresciano for the award. Cahill made his international debut for Australia last year. He also competed at the Athens Olympics and scored the winning goal in the FA Cup semifinal for his previous club Millwall. "Tim has had a wonderful season and is a deserved winner of the OFC player of the year award," OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas said in a statement.
■ Soccer
Beckenbauer out of running
German football legend and 2006 World Cup organizing committee head Franz Beckenbauer on Wednesday ruled himself out running for the presidency of FIFA, saying he would "definitely not" be going for the job. "We already have a president. It couldn't be any better," Beckenbauer said when asked about the FIFA post. Current FIFA president, Joseph Blatter, is now likely to be re-elected in 2007 without having to run against an opponent. However, Beckenbauer refused to rule out going for the UEFA presidency, where he would be up against former France hero Michel Platini, who announced on Tuesday that he wanted to succeed Lennart Johansson as president of European football's governing body.
■ Horse racing
Moscow Flyer beats the field
Irish raider Moscow Flyer, the 6-4 favorite ridden by Barry Geraghty, battled to a rousing victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday. Moscow Flyer won the race two years ago and the contest had been billed as a clash of the giants with Azertyuiop, the 2004 winner, also in the eight-strong field. But Azertyuiop, ridden by Ruby Walsh for trainer Paul Nicholls, had an off-day. After a mistake at the water jump half way round he dropped out of contention and it was Well Chief, the mount of Timmy Murphy, who came home second, beaten two lengths at odds of 7-2. Moscow Flyer, who unseated Geraghty in last year's Champion Chase, has never lost a race in which he has completed the course and has now won 18 times in a brilliant career. "He's different class," said Geraghty of Moscow Flyer, the first horse to regain the Champion Chase title since 1974.
■ Basketball
Three sentenced for brawl
Three men were sentenced to probation and community service on Wednesday for their part in an NBA brawl between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons last November. Alvin Shackelford and Charlie Haddad had pleaded no contest to violating a local ordinance against entering a performance space. Jeremy Handley pleaded guilty to violating a local ordinance by throwing objects at a sporting event. District Judge Lisa Asadoorian sentenced Shackelford to a year of probation and 150 hours of community service. Shackelford was hit by Pacers forward Ron Artest after approaching the player on the court during the melee at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Haddad, who authorities say was punched by two Indiana players, received a sentence of two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, plus an additional 10 weekends of community service. Handley was sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service for throwing an empty cup during the brawl.
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