■BASKETBALL
Tycoon close to Nets deal
Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov is edging closer to a deal with NBA’s New Jersey Nets that would see him invest in a new playing arena. Prokhorov, the head of the Onexim investment vehicle, who made his fortune in metals and mining, wrote in his blog that the deal was close to conclusion. Media reports said the purchase of the Nets would cost Prokhorov a symbolic sum of US$1 with the Russian taking a large stake in the team as part of a US$700 million construction deal.
■FOOTBALL
Hanson stops Twittering
After apologizing for calling fans “dim wits,” Washington Redskins rookie Robert Henson is apparently done with Twitter. Anyone clicking on Henson’s Twitter account on Tuesday got a message saying “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!” On Sunday, Henson fired off many tweets at fans who booed the Redskins during their 9-7 win over the St Louis Rams. Henson called the fans “dim wits” and asked how people who “work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds” could know what’s best for the NFL team. Henson, yet to play this season, apologized on Monday during a brief session with reporters. A Redskins spokesman said Henson took down the Twitter account on his own and was not ordered to do so by the team.
■BASEBALL
MLB opening China center
Major League Baseball (MLB) is opening a development center in China. The center for boys from ages 12 to 18 opened yesterday at Dongbeitang High School in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The center will provide baseball training and English lessons. “With any sport, the best place to start is with the kids,’’ MLB president Robert Dupuy said as he inaugurated the center. The center can accommodate more than 100 players.
■OLYMPICS
Brazilians planting trees
Brazilians have planted more than 3,000 trees in Rio de Janeiro to offset carbon dioxide emissions as the city goes green in its bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics. Rio joins Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo as the cities that will learn their fate next Friday, when voting members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gather in Copenhagen to decide who will host the Games. The city, known for its famed beaches, has launched a “Carbon Zero 2016” campaign, in which the saplings planted in Rio’s Pedra Branca park aim to fully erase the carbon footprint of the city’s Olympic bid team. The newly planted trees are supposed to neutralize the 716 tonnes of carbon it is estimated that the team will emit between September 2007 and next month, taking into account their travel, energy consumption, paper usage and meals. As part of its Olympic bid, Brazil has committed to planting a total of 3 million trees between now and the start of the Games, mostly in Rio’s Tijuca Forest national park, the largest urban forest in the world.
■NASCAR
Busch docked, chief fined
NASCAR docked Kyle Busch 25 points and fined his crew chief US$25,000 on Tuesday for failing post-race inspection in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire. NASCAR fined Steve Addington because the left front of the No. 18 Toyota was too low after Sunday’s race. Team owner Joe Gibbs was also docked 25 points. Busch finished fifth at New Hampshire, and his car was automatically inspected by NASCAR. Even with the penalty, he retained the 13th spot in the standings.
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