■ Football
Coach's sons cause trouble
Two of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's sons are under investigation -- one for suspicion of pointing a gun at a motorist, the other for a car accident just hours later, after which police said he admitted using heroin. Britt Reid was questioned by police after a man matching his description in an SUV registered to Andy Reid and his wife brandished a weapon at another driver in an argument on Tuesday, authorities said. Police said they seized a shotgun and a handgun, along with containers of white powder or residue from the vehicle. On the same day, Britt's older brother, Garrett, was found with drug paraphernalia after his SUV collided with another vehicle in nearby Plymouth Township, police said. Officers detained Garrett Reid and recovered two used hypodermic needles and a knife.
■ Ice hockey
Malkin claim dismissed
The Pittsburgh Penguins declared victory in its battle for Evgeni Malkin when a federal court dismissed two complaints by Metallurg Magnitogorsk against the player, the Penguins and the National Hockey League (NHL). The dismissal by the US District Court in New York had been expected since Nov. 15, when Judge Loretta Preska denied Metallurg's request for a temporary injunction blocking Malkin from continuing to play in the NHL. The Russian team declined to appeal that ruling.
■ Baseball
Hands off team, Chavez says
Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's baseball-loving president, ordered a local governor allied to his leftist government to back off of plans to nationalize an admired local team on Thursday. Chavez berated Carabobo State Governor Luis Felipe Acosta Carlez at a news conference, saying that his government's plans to take over companies in the telecommunications, electricity and other strategic sectors did not include the Magallanes baseball team, which is based in the state capital, Valencia. "Acosta Carlez, don't interfere with the Magallanes. Leave those people alone," said Chavez, who is a fervent Magallanes fan.
■ Football
Dolphins, Giants to visit UK
The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants in a regular-season National Football League game in London later this year. A person familiar with the pro gridiron league's decision told reporters on Thursday that the Dolphins will move a home game overseas. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement would not be made until after commissioner Roger Goodell's Super Bowl news conference yesterday. The Dolphins and Giants will play in September or October, and the game will be scheduled around a bye week for both teams. The schedule won't be released until early spring. The game will be held at either the new Wembley Stadium or Twickenham, home of English rugby.
■ Basketball
Anthony denied All-Star spot
Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, whose season has been marred by a ban for fighting, was snubbed in the selection of the NBA All-Star reserves. Anthony wasn't among the reserves -- selected by NBA coaches -- announced on Thursday for the Feb. 18 showcase in Las Vegas. He leads the league in scoring, but recently returned from a 15-game suspension meted out for his role in an ugly brawl in December. He could still be appointed as an injury replacement by NBA commissioner David Stern, who handed down the suspension.
■ Soccer
Betis hold Sevilla in cup
Sevilla drew 0-0 with Real Betis in an uneventful Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg on Thursday. The result at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium handed Betis a slight advantage when it hosts the second leg on Feb. 28. Although Sevilla are 14 places above Betis in the Spanish league, there was little to choose between the teams in a dull first half. Sevilla made greater progress after the interval but failed to threaten the Betis goal until the 78th minute when striker Frederic Kanoute deflected a free kick just over the bar. Marti caught Betis goalkeeper Pedro Contreras out of his goal with a long-range volley which bounced narrowly wide two minutes later in the game's final chance.
■ Rugby Union
Fan fracas costs Thomas
Gareth Thomas will miss Wales' Six Nations opener against Ireland tomorrow after receiving a four-week ban for misconduct. A European Rugby Cup disciplinary panel suspended Thomas on Thursday and also fined him 7,500 euros (US$9,800) for his confrontation with Ulster supporters while playing for Toulouse in a European Cup game on Jan. 21. The winger, who was found guilty of misconduct but cleared of aggressive behavior, also misses games against Scotland and France unless he lodges and wins an appeal.
■ Soccer
Banned for being too good
Cambodia has banned foreign players from taking part in its cup competition for being "too good," the country's soccer chief said yesterday. "They're taller, stronger and more experienced, so it's unfair if we let them play," said Sao Sokha, chairman of the Cambodian Football Federation. "They're too good compared with Cambodian players. We are not discriminating against foreigners, but the prime minister wants to give our Khmer players a chance to win and to gain some national pride," Sao Sokha said.
■ Soccer
Rangers owner eyes Reds
Tom Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club and the Dallas Stars ice hockey team, is close to adding Liverpool FC to his list of sports holdings. Hicks has agreed to join George Gillett Jr, owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, in a bid to purchase the five-time European champion, a person familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The decision by Hicks to join Gillette's bid was first reported by the Dallas Morning News on its Web site on Thursday. Hicks would have a 50 percent stake in the group.
■ Boxing
Champ stripped of belt
The World Boxing Council (WBC) declared the light flyweight champion vacant on Thursday, stripping Mexico's Omar Nino of the title for testing positive for methamphetamine following a bout on Nov. 18. Brian Viloria of the US, currently ranked first in the weight class, will fight second-ranked Edgar Sosa of Mexico for the title, the WBC said. The WBC said the winner will have to defend his title against Nino. "In light of the fact that the WBC believes that Nino did not voluntarily commit this infraction, and considering that his clean record has won him the trust of this organization ... we are declaring that Nino will be the challenger for whoever is the new champion," a WBC statement said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier