■BASKETBALL
Mavs coach files protest
Two days after losing 116-108 in overtime to the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has filed a protest over the officiating. Cuban said the officials mistakenly ejected Dallas center Erick Dampier in overtime. Dampier was penalized for an elbow that led to his ejection, and Cuban wants the final 1:01 of the overtime replayed with Houston in the lead 110-104.
■FORMULA ONE
Rome to host street race
Formula One is coming to Rome after F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone signed a deal to stage a street race in the Italian capital, race organizers said on Sunday. Course planner Maurizio Flammini told Sky Italia that an agreement with Formula One commercial rights holder Ecclestone to include Rome on the F1 calendar has already been “done and signed.” No date has been set for the first Rome Grand Prix and next year’s calendar is already full.
■TENNIS
Henin receives wild card
Former world No. 1 Justine Henin will extend her comeback in Australia after officials announced yesterday she has been granted a wild-card entry to the Sydney International. Henin is due to make her official return to the WTA circuit, after an 18-month absence, at the Brisbane International tournament that starts on Jan. 3. She will now play in the Jan. 10 to Jan. 16 Sydney event that serves as a lead-up to the Australian Open starting in Melbourne on Jan. 18. Nine of the women’s top 10 will compete at the Sydney International. The only one missing will be world No. 6 Venus Williams, who will warm up for the first Grand Slam of the year with an exhibition match in Thailand.
■GOLF
Ramsay wins in South Africa
Richie Ramsay of Scotland birdied the first hole of a playoff to defeat Shiv Kapur of India and win the South African Open Championship on Sunday. Ramsay shot a seven-under 65 to move past overnight leader Pablo Martin of Spain (73), Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner Anders Hansen of Denmark (69) — who finished a stroke back in third — and finally Kapur (67). Ramsay had a putt for the championship on the last at the Pearl Valley Golf Estates but it went fractionally left, forcing he and Kapur to go back up the par-5 18th for the playoff. Kapur had to lay up in the playoff with his fourth shot — a chip from the fringe — landing within two feet. Ramsay reached the green in two and his 15-foot eagle putt came up just short, enabling him to tap in and raise his arms in triumph.
■RUGBY UNION
Amaechi warns Thomas
Former NBA player John Amaechi warned Gareth Thomas to expect a tough time after the ex-Wales rugby captain revealed he was gay. Thomas spoke of his sexuality in Saturday’s Daily Mail newspaper. “When people learn you are gay, often that can squash your definition so all the good stuff goes and you just become ‘some gay rugby player,’ which is quite difficult for many athletes to deal with,” Amaechi told the BBC. Amaechi, who revealed he was gay after retiring from basketball in 2007, also said: “Sport still needs to grow up in certain areas,” said the Briton. “As much as society has moved on, sport is still dragging behind.” Clive Woodward, who coached England to their 2003 World Cup triumph, said rugby would react positively to Thomas’ news. “I am sure rugby will take it in its stride,” Woodward told the BBC. “If anyone doesn’t take that attitude then they’ve got the problem, rather than Gareth having a problem.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but