Sports Briefs

■ CRICKET

Proteas clinch clean sweep

South Africa crushed Bangladesh by seven wickets to clinch the three-match one-day international series 3-0 in Dhaka yesterday. After bundling out Bangladesh for 143 in 42.5 overs, South Africa reached the target in 34.2 overs. South African skipper Graeme Smith was the top scorer with an unbeaten 68 as his side became the top-ranked one-day side in the world ahead of Australia. A.B. de Villiers made 40. Fast bowler Albie Morkel claimed 4-29 for the Proteas to leave the Bangladesh innings in tatters. Spinner Johan Botha took 3-34. Opener Shahriar Nafees top-scored for the home side with 25.



■ Baseball

Ex-Cubs star has cancer

Former Chicago Cubs star pitcher Rick Sutcliffe has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo chemotherapy. Sutcliffe was diagnosed with colon cancer following a routine physical. The 51-year-old Sutcliffe will undergo chemotherapy and surgery over the next four months for the treatable cancer, the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported on Thursday. In a 15-year career in which he played for five teams, Sutcliffe compiled a record of 171-139 and a 4.08 ERA. He won the Cy Young award as the top pitcher in baseball for the Cubs in 1984. He won the National League Rookie of the Year in 1979 and was a three-time all-star.



■ Swimming

Champion airs suspicions

Reigning Olympic champion Gary Hall Jnr says he is suspicious of Australian Eamon Sullivan's recent world record in the 50m freestyle. The American raised doubts about Sullivan's rapid improvement to shave 0.08 seconds off Russian Olympic champion Alexander Popov's 2000 mark in a new record of 21.56 seconds in Sydney last month. Hall compared Sullivan's performance to that of drug cheats and says the public has every right to be suspicious of his swim. "I have been in this sport for a very long time and I have never seen such a drop in time from an elite level swimmer," Hall said. "Similar drops have been made by athletes that later were proven cheaters." Hall's claims were dismissed by Sullivan's coach Grant Stoelwinder, who said the 22-year-old Australian had improved his times through maturity, uninterrupted training and extensive worldwide racing. "I don't to feel like we have to justify [Eamon's] time," Stoelwinder said. "He was blood and urine tested after the world record swim and also this week."



■ GOLF

Couples takes share of lead

Fred Couples made four birdies in his opening six holes and shot 5-under 65 to surprisingly top the leaderboard with J.J. Henry in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday. They were a stroke ahead of defending champion Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood, Tom Lehman and Lucas Glover. For Couples, it was his best score at Bay Hill since a 63 in 1992, the year he won this tournament and was No. 1 in the world. Tiger Woods had to settle for a 70 that left him five shots behind, but not in awful shape. Couples has not seen his name on the leaderboard since his back-nine duel with Mickelson at the Masters two years ago, when Mickelson won his second green jacket. After that, Couples hardly played because of a back injury so severe that he contemplated life without golf.