■BOXING
Diaconu dealt first defeat
Jean Pascal dealt Adrian Diaconu his first defeat on Friday, seizing the World Boxing Council light heavyweight title with a unanimous 12-round decision. Pascal knocked down Diaconu in the fifth round of an action-packed bout as he triumphed in a battle over Romanian-born Diaconu in a battle of Quebec-based fighters in front of 13,659 fans at the Bell Center. Judge Maximo de Luca scored the bout 115-112, John Keane scored it 116-112 and Jack Woodburn saw it 116-111 for Pascal, who improved to 23-1 with 15 knockouts.
■ATHLETICS
Gay to run first 100m
Treble world champion Tyson Gay will run his first 100m this year at the US athletics championships as he prepares for the World Championships in Berlin in August. The US championships, which start next Thursday in Eugene, Oregon, are the selection meeting for the world meet. As defending world champion Gay has a bye from the IAAF in both the 100m and 200m, but plans to race at least a single, high-intensity, first-round heat in Eugene to gauge his 100m fitness, a statement from USA Track and Field said on Friday. According to USATF, Gay hasn’t ruled out the possibility of running all three rounds of the 100m in Eugene. In his only race this year, Gay won the 200m at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 30 in 19.58 seconds, the third-fastest time ever.
■MARTIAL ARTS
Iraqi karate coach killed
The coach of the Iraqi national karate team was killed on Friday by gunmen in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a police source said. The source said that the gunmen escaped right after they shot Ezzat Abdullah to death when he was near his house in al-Zohour district, eastern Mosul. Mosul and its environs, roughly 400km north of Baghdad, is among the most ethnically and religiously diverse areas of Iraq. Despite successive security pushes that police say have netted hundreds of suspected insurgents, the city and the surrounding countryside continue to see deadly, near-daily attacks against civilians and Iraqi security forces.
■BASEBALL
Glavine plans to ‘hang out’
Star pitcher Tom Glavine plans to “hang out” for the rest of the summer but is not announcing his retirement. The Atlanta Braves released the 43-year-old Glavine on June 3 after he finished rehabilitation from offseason surgery on his left elbow and shoulder. Glavine sent a text message on Friday saying he wouldn’t pitch this year. He said he would “evaluate things at the end of the season.” The two-time pitcher of the year’s career record of 305-203 includes five 20-win seasons.
■ATHLETICS
Trinidad cancels games
Trinidadian authorities canceled next month’s inaugural Caribbean Games, saying there was too great a risk of spreading swine flu by hosting the region’s athletes and supporters. Minister of Health Jerry Narace said on Friday he recommended rescheduling the week-long event until the flu threat subsides, but officials determined it would be too difficult to find another date this year so “postponement will mean cancellation.” At least a dozen participants in a volleyball tournament, including players from the Trinidad and Suriname teams, tested positive for (A)H1N1 influenza after a tournament in Trinidad last week. Narace said the fact that athletes and their delegations had to share rooms was a factor in the spread of the virus.
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