■ Basketball
Brezec out for two weeks
Charlotte center Primoz Brezec is expected to miss the first two weeks of the NBA season as he recovers from exhaustion and dehydration, the Bobcats said on Wednesday. Brezec, 27, spent most of his offseason helping the Slovenian national team prepare for the world championships. Due to the lack of rest, he missed a portion of training camp and sat out of three of the Bobcats' eight preseason games. Brezec appeared in 79 games with Charlotte last season, averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. The Bobcats can slide Emeka Okafor from power forward to center or start Melvin Ely or Jake Voskuhl in the middle.
■ Baseball
Mota gets 50-game ban
Free agent reliever Guillermo Mota, who ended the season with the New York Mets, was suspended for 50 games on Wednesday for violating MLB drug policy. In keeping with the league's policy, the nature of Mota's violation was not revealed when his punishment was announced by the MLB commissioner's office. "I have no one to blame but myself," Mota said in a statement. "I take full responsibility for my actions and accept MLB's suspension." Mota, who came to New York in August in a trade with Cleveland, was an effective set-up man for the Mets, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings pitched over 18 games.
■ Beach Soccer
Brazil want crown back
Brazil is eager to reclaim the title of champion when the second FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup gets under way today. Brazil was a nine-time champion under Beach Soccer Worldwide's reign, but France won the inaugural title when FIFA took over last year. Brazil was upset by Portugal in the semifinals and failed to win the crown for only the second time since it was first contested in 1995. France and Brazil remain the teams to beat this year on Copacabana Beach, even though they won't come with some of their top players. This year's tournament will have 16 teams.
■ Baseball
Simmons dies aged 111
Silas Simmons, a pitcher-outfielder who played in the US Negro leagues and was said to be the oldest living professional baseball player, died two weeks after his 111th birthday. He died on Sunday in a nursing home, Zion Hill Mortuary said on Wednesday. Simmons, a left-hander, played for several teams from 1912-29, including the New York Lincoln Giants of the Eastern Colored League, the Cuban Stars and the Blue Ribbons of Germantown, who later became the Homestead Grays. Simmons was born in Middleton, Delaware, in 1895, the same year as Babe Ruth, and honored by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research on his birthday on Oct. 14. A Tampa Bay Devil Rays fan, Simmons was presented with a No. 111 jersey. Researchers this year identified him as the oldest living man to have played professionally.
■ Spain
Huge bid for TV rights
Madrid's regional government and a local bank have bid 600 million euros (US$765.7 million) to broadcast Real Madrid's games, the ABC newspaper reported on Wednesday. The team has been offered 120 million euros for each of the five seasons from 2009 to 2013 by free-to-air network Telemadrid -- which is controlled by the regional government -- and bank Caja Madrid. Sogecable, which forms part of media giant Prisa, currently pays 55 million euros a season for Real Madrid's matches, which are shown via digital platform Digital Plus. This deal runs until 2008, although Sogecable has the option to extend it for a further year by paying 60 million euros.
■ Brazil
Veteran star out of hospital
Brazilian World Cup veteran Nilton Santos was released from hospital on Wednesday, 20 days after being admitted with heart disease. The 81-year-old former defender left a Rio de Janeiro hospital after a heart catheterization conducted on Monday showed he would not need surgery, doctors said. Doctors said Nilton Santos suffered from a dilated cardiomyopathy, or an enlargement and weakening of the heart, but it could be treated with medication. Doctors had said earlier he also suffered from an ischemia, or lack of blood flow to the heart. Nilton Santos had been hospitalized since Oct. 11 after feeling ill at his home near Rio de Janeiro. Nilton Santos, a defender for Rio de Janeiro's Botafogo, helped Brazil win the 1958 and 1962 World Cups. He played 85 matches for Brazil, scoring four goals. With Nilton Santos and others including striker Garrincha and midfielder Didi, Botafogo was the only club to rival Pele's Santos in the early 1960s.
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely
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