■ Basketball
NBA to open London office
The NBA plans to open an office in London this summer in an effort to expand its fan base in Europe. Officials will work with the British Olympic Association and focus on basketball development leading up to the 2012 Olympics, NBA commissioner David Stern announced on Wednesday. Stern met with London Mayor Ken Livingstone at NBA headquarters in New York City. London will host a preseason exhibition game between the Boston Celtics and Minnesota on Oct. 10.
■ Hockey
Pronger banned for attack
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger has been suspended for one game for striking Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom in the head, the NHL said on Wednesday. The incident occurred at 11:40 of the second period in game three of the Western Conference finals, won 5-0 by Detroit on Tuesday. Holmstrom was hit along the boards by Pronger and teammate Rob Niedermayer. Niedermayer received a five-minute penalty and game misconduct for the hit while Pronger did not receive a penalty. The league, however, reviewed the play Wednesday and decided to suspend Pronger.
■ Football
NFL tickets sell fast
The first regular season NFL game outside North America is shaping up as a hot ticket. The first 40,000 tickets for the Oct. 28 game between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants at the new Wembley Stadium sold in 90 minutes on Wednesday. "The speed in which such a large number of tickets were snapped up ... demonstrates the great excitement and appetite for the game in this country," said Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of NFL UK. The first batch of tickets went to fans in Britain and the rest of Europe selected randomly from registered ticket requests. Sales in the US to Giants and Dolphins fans are expected to begin within a week.
■ Horse racing
Street Sense the favorite
Street Sense was made the 7-5 favorite for tomorrow's Preakness Stakes, and a victory by the Kentucky Derby winner would set up an opportunity for a chance at the US thoroughbred Triple Crown three weeks later in the Belmont Stakes. A field of nine three-year-olds was entered on Wednesday, with Street Sense drawing the No. 8 post position for the 1.8km race at Pimlico Race Course. Street Sense is coming off a 2 1/4-length win in the Derby two weeks ago. There won't be as much traffic to navigate this time. Should Street Sense win, a Triple Crown bid might be the perfect remedy for racing a year after Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's ill-fated breakdown in the Preakness.
■ Soccer
Goalkeeper makes pit stop
An Argentine second division match in Buenos Aires was held up for several minutes so a goalkeeper could take a comfort break. The referee agreed to a request from Defensores de Belgrano goalie Maximiliano Kadijevic to leave the field so he could relieve himself during a game against Sarmiento de Junin on Tuesday night. "Something was troubling me, maybe a fruit juice," Kadijevic said after the game. The light relief did not help his side, however, as they lost 2-0.
■ Cricket
Moody wants top job
Tom Moody says he still harbors ambitions to become Australia's national cricket coach even though he pulled out of the running to replace outgoing John Buchanan earlier this year. Moody, who capped a two-year tenure as Sri Lanka's coach by taking the team to last month's World Cup final, is returning to his home town of Perth on July 1 to become coach of Western Australia. "I'd definitely be interested, in time," Moody told Australian Associated Press yesterday from Abu Dhabi, where he is on his final coaching assignment with Sri Lanka in a one-day series against Pakistan. "Having the opportunity to coach Australia would be a huge honor."
RSS