■ BASKETBALL
Bryant heads All-NBA team
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, still basking in his first National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award, headlined the All-NBA team announced on Thursday. Joining Bryant on the prestigious squad were guard Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, forwards LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics and center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. The award is voted on by a panel of 127 writers and broadcasters throughout North America who cover the NBA.
■ BASEBALL
Beijing not getting Clapp
Stubby Clapp, the face of Canada's Olympic baseball team, was on Thursday denied permission to play at the Beijing Games when the Houston Astros said they would not free him for international duty. A hitting coach for Houston’s minor league affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky, Clapp was told by the Astros that he would have to remain with the organization and could not compete in Beijing. “The Houston Astros have turned down our request for Stubby to play for us,” Greg Hamilton coach and director of the Canadian baseball team told CBCSports.ca. “It’s a blow. Stubby Clapp brings leadership to the team and in many ways is the face of the program.”
■ BADMINTON
Confusion at Jakarta meet
A scheduling row marred preparations for the elite Thomas and Uber Cup championships in Jakarta yesterday after Indonesia threatened a boycott and the Netherlands blasted poor organization. The incident was sparked by Indonesia, who were unhappy that they would have to play the Netherlands and Japan, both considered tough rivals, on the same day in the women’s Uber Cup team championship. According to the Jakarta Post newspaper, they threatened to walk out of the event that they are hosting. The Badminton World Federation caved in and altered the schedule so Indonesia plays Japan tomorrow and the Netherlands the following day. But this has infuriated the Dutch team, which said it would lodge a protest as they are now forced to play twice on Monday.
■ CYCLING
De Haes wins Dunkirk stage
Belgian Kenny De Haes of the Topsport team claimed victory in the third stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk race on Thursday after upsetting Norwegian sprint ace Thor Hushovd at the line. Frenchman Stephane Auge of Cofidis retained the race leader’s jersey after the 193km stage between Le Cateau-Cambresis and Saint-Quentin, France. Former under-23 world champion Gerald Ciolek of High Road finished third.
■ JUDO
Cuba puts 8 in medal round
Cuba's Driulis Gonzalez, Idalis Ortiz and Yurisel Laborde won gold medals on Thursday in the women’s competition in the Pan American Judo Championships. Gonzalez topped the field in the 63kg category, Laborde won at 78kg and Ortiz took the gold medal at 78kg-plus in the 22-country regional event that determines team spots in the Beijing Olympics. Individual berths will be set later. Brazil also placed eight athletes in the medal rounds in all weight classes, with seven winning medals — including Mayra Aguiar in the women’s 70kg division. Travis Stevens earned the lone medal for the US, losing to Brazil’s Guilherme Luna in the 81kg final.
■ SOCCER
Roma to face Inter in final
AS Roma and Inter will battle each other for silverware on two fronts after the capital-based club reached the Coppa Italia final on Thursday. Roma held on for a 1-1 draw against Sicilians Catania to go through 2-1 on aggregate following their 1-0 victory in the home leg of their semi-final last month. The visitors took the lead on 27 minutes, after Macedonia forward Mirko Vucinic was tripped in the area by a stupid lunge from Argentine midfielder Mariano Izco. Vucinic was heading away from goal at the time and the challenge was totally unnecessary, but Alberto Acquilani gleefully buried the spot-kick. The lead lasted only two minutes, though, as Cristian Silvestri rose unchallenged to head home Giuseppe Mascara’s free-kick for the hosts.
■ CRICKET
Bracewell to quit Black Caps
New Zealand coach John Bracewell will step down when his contract expires in April next year, New Zealand Cricket said yesterday. “John has informed me that he will not be looking to extend his contract for another term and will instead pursue other coaching opportunities in cricket,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said. Bracewell, a former off-spinner who took 102 wickets in 41 Tests for New Zealand, has previously said he is interested in returning to coaching English county cricket. The 50-year-old coached Gloucestershire for five years before taking up the top New Zealand post in 2003.
■ SOCCER
Eriksson offered Benfica job
Sven-Goran Eriksson, expected to be ousted as Manchester City manager after just one season in charge, has been offered a three-year contract to manage his former club Benfica, local media reported on Thursday. Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira traveled to Manchester on Wednesday to hold talks with Eriksson and “formalize” an agreement, the A Bola newspaper said. But sports daily Record insisted that the deal “had still to be concluded.” On his return to Lisbon on Wednesday night Vieira declined to comment on Erikkson’s possible arrival at the club next season, Maisfutebol.com. Reported. A Bola suggested Benfica had targeted Eriksson after being turned down by Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.
■ CRICKET
Clarke's departure delayed
Australian vice captain Michael Clarke has delayed his departure for the West Indies because of family reasons and his participation in the tour remains in doubt, officials said yesterday. Cricket Australia (CA) said Clarke had been given compassionate leave to remain in Sydney for “private family reasons” and would not leave for the Caribbean with his teammates today. “Clarke’s arrival date in the West Indies is currently unclear,” CA said in a statement. Michael Hussey would assume the role of vice captain until Clarke arrived, CA said.
■ SOCCER
Sterchele dies in car crash
FC Bruges' Belgian international Francois Sterchele was killed in a car accident on Wednesday night, Belgian media reported on Thursday. The 26-year-old was traveling between Antwerp and Knokke in the north of the country when his Porsche left the road and smashed into a tree. The car was traveling at “an unsuitable speed” at the time of the crash, a judicial expert told Belga news agency. Sterchele was the Belgian league’s top scorer last season, when he played for Antwerp club Germinal Beerschot.
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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