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■ Soccer
Carmona receives ban
Cruz Azul will have to do without Salvador Carmona for the remainder of the Mexican InterLiga after the defender received a three-match ban on Friday elbowing Brazilian Leandro Barbosa in the face during Wednesday's loss to Necaxa in Houston. Alfonso Sabater, the head of the Mexican Football Federation's disciplinary commission, said the panel had reviewed video of the match and received reports from both teams. It ruled that the elbow constituted aggressive play. Barbosa was hospitalized after the 3-2 victory.

■ Tennis
Guccione reaches first final
After a week of painful setbacks for Australian tennis, Chris Guccione gave the home fans something to cheer about when he reached his first ATP final at the Adelaide International yesterday. With Mark Philippoussis ruled out of the Australian Open with a knee injury and a question mark hanging over Lleyton Hewitt's participation in the season's opening grand slam after he picked up a calf strain, Guccione's surprise progress in Adelaide would have lifted spirits. The local wildcard overcame Argentine teenage prospect Juan Martin Del Potro 5-7 6-3 7-5 to set up a final showdown against top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic.

■ Soccer
Match-fixing trio charged
Israeli prosecutors on Friday charged three men for attempting to fix the result of a second division match last month, police said. The three men are suspected of paying bribes to Hapoel Beer Sheva players in order to persuade them to fix the result of their match against Hapoel Ra'anana last month. They are suspected of trying to increase their chances of scooping a record pools jackpot of some US$9.6 million which was on offer during the weekend of the match. Six Beer Sheva players and 17 others were questioned by police last month. None of the players has been accused of wrongdoing, although police say the investigation is ongoing.

■ Cycling
Landis raising legal fees
US cyclist Floyd Landis is seeking to raise US$2 million to fund a fight to clear his name of doping charges. Landis, who is expected to be stripped of the Tour de France yellow jersey for testing positive after last year's race, said the money was needed to cover legal fees and expenses in connection with his defense. "Despite their lack of adherence to individual rights and due process ... the sports bureaucracies pursuing Floyd are funded in large part by multi-million dollar grants of US taxpayer dollars and have financial and human resources that far outstrip those of even a professional athlete of Floyd's accomplishments," Landis's spokesman Michael Henson said.

■ Tennis
Hewitt woes continue
Lleyton Hewitt will go into this month's Australian Open lacking solid match preparation and looking for a coach. The former Wimbledon and US Open champion has pulled out of next week's Sydney International with a calf muscle problem, organizers said. It is the last tournament leading into the Jan. 15 Australian Open in Melbourne. Hewitt's withdrawal came within hours of the announcement that he had split with coach Roger Rasheed, who resigned saying the pair could not achieve the results they were looking for in the current environment.

■ Basketball
Riley has knee surgery
Miami Heat coach Pat Riley underwent successful surgery on his right knee on Friday, the team said. Three large pieces of cartilage, which were causing Riley severe pain and his knee to lock, were removed during a 60-minute procedure at a Miami hospital, the Heat said in a statement. Riley coached the Heat to their first NBA championship last season. He said on Wednesday he was taking an indefinite leave of absence to address health issues pertaining to his hip and knee. No timetable has been set for Riley's return to coaching.

■ Hockey
Kessel to play after cancer
Less than one month after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, US rising star Phil Kessel is preparing to rejoin the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins. The Bruins on Friday assigned the rookie center to Providence of the American Hockey League on a three-game conditioning assignment. The fifth overall pick in last year's draft, Kessel had been sidelined since Dec. 11 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. The 19-year-old underwent successful surgery later that day at Massachusetts General Hospital. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli announced Friday that Kessel will be recalled from Providence tonight.

■ Basketball
Iverson fined for remarks
Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson was fined US$25,000 by the NBA on Friday for remarks he made about a game official, the league announced. Iverson criticized referee Steve Javie after being ejected following a second technical foul in Tuesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, his former team. "This was the perfect game for him to try to make me look bad," Iverson, who was traded to Denver on Dec. 19, told reporters after the game. "His [Javie's] fuse is real short," Iverson said. "I should have known that I couldn't say anything to him. I've felt that it's been personal between me and him ever since I got in the league."

■ Baseball
Yankees sign Mientkiewicz
The New York Yankees signed first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on Friday to a one-year contract, the Major League Baseball club announced. Mientkiewicz, 32, won a Gold Glove with the Minnesota Twins in 2001 and should provide the Yankees with a more capable defensive alternative to Jason Giambi, who has regressed defensively over the past several years and figures to see significant time at designated hitter this season. A veteran of eight-plus seasons, Mientkiewicz batted .283 with four home runs and 43 RBI in 91 games with Kansas City last season. He is a career .270 hitter with 59 homers and 348 RBI in 870 games with Kansas City, Minnesota, Boston and the New York Mets.

■ Tennis
Williams shooting for No. 1
Serena Williams says she can be No. 1 in women's tennis again. Williams, who begins her Australian Open preparations at the Hobart International starting tomorrow, said yesterday that she was more than capable of returning to the type of form which saw her claim seven Grand Slam titles and the world No. 1 ranking. "Absolutely. There's no doubt about it," the 25-year-old Williams said. "It's just a matter of time. I'm definitely on my way." Williams arrived in Hobart on Friday and was taken from the airport tarmac to her hotel by limousine.

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