Sports Briefs

■ Boxing
Klitschko loses Kiev race

Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko conceded defeat in his bid to become the Ukrainian capital's next mayor after early results on Monday showed him trailing the front-runner. "I tried to be the leader ... that was my aim," Klitschko said in remarks broadcast on Ukraine's TV5. "But it is important to know how to win and how to lose." The 34-year-old retired boxer, who was making his first ever bid for public office, turned up at a news conference to publicly offer his congratulations to Leonid Chernovetskiy. Klitschko retired from boxing in November after hurting his knee in training and pulling out of a defense of his heavyweight title.

■ Soccer

Madrid eyes Eriksson

England's Sven-Goran Eriksson and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho are among seven names put forward as candidates to become Real Madrid's new coach. Real Madrid president Fernando Martin told Spanish news agency Efe that the shortlist also includes Juventus' Fabio Capello, Liverpool's Rafael Benitez, Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, AC Milan's Carlo Ancelotti and Italy's Marcello Lippi. "We are clear about the type of coach we want," Martin said. "We want one of the coaches that you all know we want. It will be one of these. I am not going to say them in order of preference, but they are Mourinho, Capello, Benitez, Wenger, Ancelotti, Lippi. The seventh is Eriksson, just so there's no doubt." Eriksson is the only one of the seven who is certain to be free this summer. The Swede, who had been England's coach for more than five years, is leaving the post after the World Cup.

■ Basketball

Brawl instigator convicted

The man accused of sparking the brawl between National Basketball Association players and fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 was convicted of assault on Monday for punching Ron Artest. John Green was acquitted, however, of throwing a cup at Artest -- who was playing for the Pacers at the time -- before the forward charged into the stands and began fighting with Detroit Pistons fans. Green was the last person with a case pending after the brawl, one of the worst in US sports history. He faces up to 93 days in jail and a US$500 fine. Sentencing was scheduled for May 1. The fighting began after Detroit's Ben Wallace shoved Artest following a hard foul. They were separated, and Artest lay back on the scorer's table where he was hit with a beverage. He rushed into the stands and began beating a man he apparently thought had thrown the drink. Some of his teammates joined him in the stands and clashed with fans on the court.