■BASKETBALL
Storm rout Silver Stars
Australian Lauren Jackson scored 19 of her 27 points in the first half as the Western conference leading Seattle Storm routed the San Antonio Silver Stars 84-56 in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday. Leading by 22 points at halftime, the Storm scored the first 13 points in the third period, leading San Antonio to clear its bench six minutes into the second half. Swin Cash scored 14 points for the Storm, who have five wins in six games. At Los Angeles, Angel McCoughtry scored 32 points and Iziane Castro Marques had a season-high 24 points as the Dream continued its unbeaten run to six games. Sancho Lyttle added 19 points and Erika DeSouza had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Dream, which remains the WNBA’s only unbeaten team. At Washington, Crystal Langhorne scored 17 points and equaled a career high with 16 rebounds as the Mystics withstood a late run in a win over the Sun.
■SOCCER
Honduras run low on shirts
Honduras faced some problems exchanging shirts at the end of it’s last friendly match because the Central American country is traveling without enough extra equipment. Team general manager Osman Madrid said on Sunday the problem arose after Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Belarus in Villach, Austria, when a Belarus federation official asked to exchange shirts. Madrid said the request was initially denied, and then granted so as not to seem arrogant. Madrid said more shirts would be on hand on tomorrow when Honduras faces Azerbaijan. Honduras plays in Group H of the World Cup with Spain, Chile and Switzerland.
■SOCCER
Modric stays with Tottenham
Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has signed a new six-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur, saying he had no interest in a move to the “big clubs” that had made inquiries about him. The 24-year-old, who joined the Premier League club in July 2008, has signed a contract to stay at White Hart Lane until 2016. “Tottenham Hotspur gave me my chance in the Premier League and I want to go on to achieve great success here with them,” Modric said on the club’s Web site on Sunday. “Yes, there have been inquiries from other big clubs, but I have no interest in going anywhere. Last season’s top four finish was an indication of where we are as a club and I feel I can continue to improve and go on to achieve everything I want to at Spurs.” Modric had been linked in the media with a possible move to fellow Premier League sides Manchester United and Chelsea.
■SOCCER
Westermann ruled out
Germany defender Heiko Westermann will miss the World Cup because of a foot injury, adding to coach Joachim Loew’s mounting injury worries. Westermann broke a bone in his left foot late in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Hungary in Budapest. The German football federation said the Schalke defender was ruled out after a scan on Sunday in northern Italy, where Germany is preparing for the World Cup. Westermann is the fifth German player — including captain Michael Ballack — to be ruled out due to an injury. The 27-year-old Westermann has 19 games for Germany and was an option at either central defense or on one of the flanks. He played as a left back on Saturday. Westermann felt increasing pain in his foot overnight and was taken to a hospital in Bolzano, in northern Italy, upon the team’s return on Sunday from Budapest, the German federation said.
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