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■BASKETBALL

Player charged with fixing

A former University of Toledo basketball player was charged with fixing games, a little over a year after a former Toledo football player was charged with point-shaving, a federal bill of information filed in US District Court in Detroit showed. Sammy Villegas, who played for four years at Toledo, is accused of shaving points in games during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. Villegas, a guard who finished his career in 2006, also paid money to another player who took part in the point-shaving scheme, prosecutors said. The other player was not charged or named in the bill of information, which was filed on June 30. Villegas was charged with conspiracy to influence sports contests by bribery and received money and other gifts in exchange for fixing games, prosecutors said.



■CYCLING

Armstrong to tackle Rockies

Lance Armstrong is set to race in the Leadville Trail 100 tomorrow, a grueling 161km race in the Rockies that draws 1,000 mountain bike riders and left Floyd Landis battered and bleeding last year. Armstrong’s appearance in the 15th annual Race Across the Sky is the “hugest thing that’s happened to Leadville since we discovered gold,” said Ken Chlouber, the race’s co-founder. “The whole town is buzzing and we are way beyond excited.” But Armstrong, who has turned his competitive juices to running marathons since his retirement from competitive cycling three years ago, cautioned that nobody should expect him to cross the finish line first. The favorite, he said, has to be Dave Wiens, who beat Landis by two minutes last year to win his fifth straight title in a record time of 6 hours, 58 minutes, 47 seconds.



■BASKETBALL

New season unveiled

American Greg Oden’s debut and the Boston Celtics banner raising ceremony will highlight the opening day of the 2008-2009 National Basketball Association season, the league announced on Wednesday. There are also five games scheduled for Christmas Day and an all-star game on Feb. 15 in Phoenix. The Celtics will unveil their 17th championship banner in an Oct. 28 game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in a seven-game quarter-final series last year. Also on Oct. 28, the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost to the Celtics in the Finals, host the Portland Trail Blazers in what is expected to be Oden’s NBA debut. The first overall pick last year missed his rookie season after undergoing knee surgery. Christmas will feature five games, highlighted by the Celtics visiting the Lakers. The Christmas festivities begin when the Orlando Magic host the New Orleans Hornets. The first full slate of games take place on Oct. 29, headlined by the league’s return to Oklahoma City, when the former Seattle franchise welcomes the Milwaukee Bucks to the Ford Center.



■soccer

Ribery wins German award

Franck Ribery was named Germany’s player of the year on Wednesday. The Bayern Munich winger won with 224 votes from German journalists in a contest organized by Kicker magazine. Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack was second with 115 of 766 votes cast. Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on the team’s Web site that Ribery’s victory was “absolutely earned.” “We are happy and proud that Franck Ribery, with an overwhelming majority, was selected as the player of the year for 2008,” Rummenigge said.


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