■BASKETBALL
Davis fined for swearing
Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis has been fined US$25,000 for “directing inappropriate language” toward a fan, the NBA said on Thursday. Davis responded to a heckler during Boston’s 92-86 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit. The 2.06 m, 131.1 kg Davis is averaging 6.2 points per game this season. A jeering fan called Davis a “fat boy” and told him to lose some weight. Davis responded with an expletive. “We know what happened, and that’s unacceptable,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “It’s tough when the fans are yelling that stuff at you, but you have to be stronger than that.”
■GOLF
La Quinta play washed out
The second round of the Bob Hope Classic was postponed until yesterday because of unplayable conditions at La Quinta, California, on Thursday. Organizers had initially pushed back the scheduled tee times by two hours due to heavy overnight rain before eventually abandoning play for the day. Little-known American Shane Bertsch held the first-round lead after firing a 10-under-par 62 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the 90-hole event.
■SOCCER
Beckham tackle in spotlight
An Italian television channel has apologized for a prank in which a female presenter attempted to grab David Beckham between the legs. The AC Milan midfielder was visibly angered when Elena Di Cioccio, who fronts the popular show Le Iene (The Hyenas) on Italia Uno, made her move while he was being interviewed by another person on Wednesday. Beckham is on loan at Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham’s spokesman Simon Oliveira says he has “no issue with it. It did surprise him at the time, but David saw it for what it was — harmless fun.”
■ATHLETICS
Marathon cheats disqualified
At least 30 runners in a marathon in China cheated their way into the top 100, hopping on to public transport during the race or hiring faster runners, sporting authorities said yesterday.
Some of the people taking part in this month’s Xiamen International Marathon cheated in a bid to boost their chances of getting into university, the provincial sports bureau said on its Web site. If they run a marathon in good time, students can earn extra points for the entrance examination for China’s highly competitive universities. The Fujian sports bureau said some of the cheats, who were all later disqualified, used public transport to cover part of the race route, while others convinced better runners to replace them.
■SOCCER
Clubs spend too much: UEFA
European clubs’ spending on players is still rising just months before UEFA introduces reforms that will limit their ability to spend beyond their means. A UEFA survey of 629 clubs across Europe’s 53 soccer nations showed the clubs’ revenues rose by 10 percent last season but spending on transfers and salaries went up 18 percent. UEFA general said in an interview on Thursday that more than half the clubs ran up a deficit in the 2008-2009 season while one in five made a “huge’’ loss — spending 20 percent above their total income. The research will be used to draw up “financial fair play” reforms demanded by UEFA president Michel Platini, who said the spending cannot go on.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
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