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Sports Briefs

■ ATHLETICS

No relay role for Christie

Former Olympic gold medalist Linford Christie won't be running in the Beijing torch relay. London Mayor Ken Livingstone's office denied reports that he had invited Christie to run in the London leg of the relay on April 6. The office also said that Christie has made clear he won't take part. Christie, who won the 100m gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, is serving a lifetime Olympic ban after testing positive for steroids in 1999. Yesterday's statement comes after media reports that Livingstone had invited Christie to run in the relay.



■ Athletics

Kenyans deny accusation

Senior members of Kenya's athletics fraternity reacted indignantly on Thursday to an accusation they funded some of the worst post-election violence in the Rift Valley area. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report on Kenya's crisis that athletes -- who have become wealthy local celebrities thanks to their winnings on the international circuit -- may have sponsored the killers. Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah Kiplagat said that far from promoting violence, Rift Valley athletes were known for their involvement in local competitions promoting peace. "I am sure no single athlete was involved in promoting violence as reported," Kiplagat said. "They are busy training for coming competitions and they would not have that time for those things. In fact, as we speak, many are abroad training because of the problems here."



■ BOXING

Pinoys call in Cubans

The Philippines has hired two Cuban coaches in a last-ditch bid to qualify more boxers for the Beijing Olympics in August. The head of the Philippine Sports Commission William Ramirez said yesterday they were hoping to win two of 19 slots up for grabs in the last Asian qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan next month with the help of the new coaches. Juan Enrique Steyners Tissert and Dagoberto Rojas Scott were whisked to the country's main boxing training camp in Baguio on Thursday. "We brought them immediately to the battlefield, to the firing line to work," Ramirez said. The Philippines, considered a regional boxing powerhouse is mortified that only Harry Tanamor has so far qualified for Beijing despite Manila sending a team of promising hopefuls to a qualifier in Thailand last month.



■ Basketball

McGrady leads Rockets win

The Houston Rockets surged to their 10th consecutive win on Thursday, beating the Miami Heat 112-100 behind Tracy McGrady's 23 points and 10 assists. Yao Ming added 21 points as all five Houston starters finished in double figures. A 41-point first quarter gave the Rockets a 15-point lead which Miami could not catch. McGrady had 14 points in the quarter with Rafer Alston adding 11 as Houston shot a torrid 81 percent from the floor. Alston finished with 16 points and 11 assists, Luis Scola had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Battier grabbed 12 points for Houston. Rookie reserve Carl Landry also played a big role, scoring 19 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter. Also on Thursday, Manu Ginobili's jumper with six seconds left closed out a 44-point performance and helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-99. Brandon Roy had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 92-88 home win over the Seattle SuperSonics.
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