■ Basketball
Wallace signs for Bulls
Ben Wallace signed a four-year, US$60 million contract on Thursday with the Chicago Bulls after leaving the Detroit Pistons, the team he led to four straight conference finals and an NBA championship. The 2.06m Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, will give the Bulls and their young nucleus an inside presence they lacked while being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs two straight seasons. Wallace made his decision to bolt the Pistons after a face-to-face meeting with general manager John Paxson and coach Scott Skiles. The Bulls, with room under the salary cap, also offered more money. "I wasn't going to leave Detroit to go to a team that wasn't going to be a contender," Wallace said after he was introduced at a news conference. "I'm glad to be part of a young, scrappy team."
■ Soccer
Cristiano going nowhere
Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo won't be leaving Manchester United, assistant manager Carlos Queiroz said on Thursday. "Is Cristiano staying? No doubt," Queiroz told Sky TV. "Everybody knows during this period of the season there is some speculation. But we keep cool. Those players [Ronaldo and defender Gabriel Heinze] are part of our family." The 21-year-old's future at Old Trafford had been in doubt after he said he wanted to leave to play in Spain. The club issued a statement on Wednesday saying "there was no possibility" of the winger being sold and that the club would not entertain any offers. Ronaldo has been vilified in England since his part in the sending off of Wayne Rooney -- his Manchester United teammate -- in Portugal's win over England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
■ Soccer
China wants Wilkinson
China has set its sights on former England manager Howard Wilkinson to lead the national team at the 2008 Olympics and through the 2010 World Cup, a Hong Kong newspaper reported yesterday. Wilkinson, who previously coached Shanghai Shenhua, had been approached by senior Chinese Football Association (CFA) officials, the South China Morning Post said. "We approached Mr Wilkinson about the head coach position two weeks or so ago," the paper quoted Wong Yingquan, general manager of CFA's marketing arm Infront China, as saying. "We have narrowed down the selection to three foreign coaches and we will announce our decision within the next two or three weeks, maybe sooner." Media speculation suggests Frenchman Philippe Troussier and Dutchman Wim van Hanegem are the other two names on the list.
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