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■SOCCER

Mourinho extends Inter deal

Jose Mourinho put an end to rumors linking him with taking over as coach of Real Madrid on Monday when it was announced he had extended his contract with Serie A champions Inter. The Portuguese — who had suggested that he wasn’t 100 percent certain of staying in Italy last Thursday before denying he was going anywhere on Saturday — was originally contracted to Inter till June 2011 but his extension will see him stay there till June 2012.



■BASKETBALL

Ex-NBA star arrested

Former NBA star Jayson Williams was arrested on Monday after authorities say he punched someone outside a Raleigh nightclub after a dispute. Williams was charged with one count of simple assault and released on US$1,000 bond. Williams, who played nine seasons for the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers before retiring in 2000, is facing a retrial on a charge of reckless manslaughter in the 2002 shooting death of his driver, Costas Christofi, at his mansion. According to testimony, Williams was showing visitors a shotgun when it went off, killing Christofi. Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter, but the jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count. A retrial is pending, and he has been free on bail since the shooting. He has apologized to Christofi’s relatives and given them US$2.5 million to settle a civil suit. He was convicted in 2004 of trying to cover up the shooting, but a judge has ruled he won’t be sentenced until after the retrial on the manslaughter charge.



■SOCCER

Players to honor Braille

France players will have their name written in Braille on the back of their team jerseys against Nigeria next week to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, the inventor of a system used by blind people worldwide for reading and writing. Coach Raymond Domenech said on Monday that the players will wear the jerseys as a tribute to Braille when they face the Super Eagles on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne. The initiative is in partnership with the French federation for the blind, and some of the jerseys will be sold at auction.



■BASKETBALL

Yao-LeBron pairing possible

Chinese fans are predicting Yao Ming will join LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers after reports a Hong Kong-based company is set to take a minority share in the NBA franchise. US media reported over the weekend that New World Development Company was to take a 15 percent holding in the Cavaliers, the second-largest stake after owner Dan Gilbert. The potential pairing of Yao with James has captured the imagination of Chinese fans. “If Yao Ming becomes the team mate of LeBron James, the pair will be invincible in the league,” a web user commented on portal Sohu.com. The investment, which must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors, would be a first major investment by a Chinese company in a US sporting franchise.



■SOCCER

Strachan quits Celtic

Gordon Strachan quit as manager of Celtic on Monday, the day after the club lost their Scottish Premier League (SPL) title battle with arch-rivals Rangers. Strachan won three consecutive SPL titles before the team finished as runners-up to Rangers this season. Celtic were well-placed to land the title again but a 1-0 defeat by Rangers and two 0-0 draws in their last two matches cost them top spot and an automatic place in next season’s Champions League group stage.


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