■ BASKETBAL
Aussie women beat Taiwan
Natalie Porter scored 20 points and Emma Randall added 19 yesterday as Australia beat Taiwan 100-57 in the first game of a three-game women’s basketball series. Randall added seven rebounds for the winners while Hollie Grima had 18 points. Chiang Feng-chun led Taiwan with 15 points. Beijing-bound Australia won silver medals at the last two Olympics, losing to the US in the final each time. The team was without most of its top players yesterday, including Seattle Storm center Lauren Jackson, last year’s WNBA most valuable player. “It was a very pleasing result,” said Australia head coach Jan Stirling. The second game will be played today in Terrigal.
■ATHLETICS
Man testifies in doping trial
The man who says he sold performance-enhancing drugs to the track coach whose anonymous tip sparked the largest doping scandal in sports history testified on Wednesday in San Francisco that their relationship ended because of a money dispute. Angel Guillermo Heredia, known as “Memo,” testified that he stopped selling performance enhancing drugs to Jamaican-born track coach Trevor Graham right before the 2000 Sydney Olympics because Graham and Marion Jones’ ex-husband, shot putter C.J. Hunter, did not pay him the US$25,000 to US$30,000 they owed him. “I don’t have any ledgers,” Heredia said.
■TENNIS
Bolelli wins two matches
Simon Bolelli won two matches on Wednesday, helping Italy beat Germany 2-1 at the World Team Cup. Bolelli first beat Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 (4), 7-6 (0) in the second singles match, and them teamed with Potito Starace to beat Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzshner 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 in doubles. Also in the Blue Group, Spain defeated Russia 2-1. In the Red Group, the US beat Argentina 2-1 and Sweden defeated the Czech Republic 3-0. At the World Team Cup, eight teams are split into two groups. The winner of each group will meet in tomorrow’s final.
■TENNIS
Argentina knocked out of Cup
Argentina’s dreams of successfully defending the World Team Cup ended on Wednesday when they lost a tight rubber against a resilient US team. After splitting the singles rubbers on Tuesday, the Americans wrapped up the tie 24 hours later when Wayne Odesnik and Bobby Reynolds edged past Lucas Arnold Ker and Sebastian Prieto 6-3, 6-7, 10-7. In the other group tie, Sweden swept aside the challenge of the Czech Republic 3-0. Robin Soderling and Thomas Johansson teamed up to dispatch Michal Tabara and veteran Pavel Vizner 6-4, 7-5 in the doubles. Sweden and the US will next face each other to decide which nation will advance to tomorrow’s final.
■FOOTBALL
Benson works out with team
Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson, who is battling charges of drunk boating, worked out with his NFL teammates in Lake Forest, Illinois, on Wednesday. Benson was arrested on May 3 in Austin, Texas, and charged not only with boating while intoxicated but also with resisting arrest. The fourth-year running back has disputed those charges, saying he wasn’t drunk and didn’t resist. Benson repeated his denials on Wednesday. “It’ll be nice to get it cleared up and over with, but I don’t really spend too much time thinking about it at all,” Benson said. “I’m sticking to my story, and the truth will come out some time, whether it’ll be now or a year from now or whenever.”
■ BASEBALL
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