BASKETBALL
Kobe soon to be single
The wife of Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant has filed for divorce after more than a decade of marriage. Vanessa Bryant filed papers in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, California, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the divorce from the NBA superstar. The couple have two daughters, ages 5 and 8, and have been married for more than 10 years. “The Bryants have resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of counsel and a judgment dissolving their marital status will be entered in 2012,” a representative for the couple said in a statement. Vanessa stuck with her husband after he was charged with sexually assaulting a Colorado woman eight years ago.
BASKETBALL
NBA pre-season begins
The Chicago Bulls opened the pre-season on Friday with a 95-86 win over the Indiana Pacers behind 16 points each from MVP Derrick Rose and Luol Deng. The game was a rematch of last season’s NBA first-round playoff series and one of four games on Friday that kicked off the post-lockout exhibition schedule. C.J. Wilson scored 15 points for Chicago, who won the playoff series over the Pacers four games to one. Tyler Hansbrough finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul George had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. Danny Granger scored 12 points and Indianapolis native George Hill had three points in his first game as a Pacer after being acquired from the San Antonio Spurs.
FOOTBALL
NFL upholds Harrison’s ban
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s appeal of a one-game suspension for a dangerous helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy has been denied, the league said on Friday. Harrison will miss tomorrow’s key game between the Steelers and the NFC West Division-leading San Francisco 49ers because of the suspension. On-field appeals official Ted Cottrell upheld NFL executive vice president Ray Anderson’s suspension of Harrison for the hit in the Steelers’ 14-3 victory over the Browns last week, the league said in a statement. McCoy suffered a concussion on the play and will likely be out of the starting lineup today when the Browns visit the Arizona Cardinals. Harrison was penalized for roughing the passer, but the NFL added a one-game ban because of his previous indiscretions. The four-time Pro Bowler was fined four times between 2009 and last year for illegal hits on quarterbacks.
FOOTBALL
Bears to waive Sam Hurd
The Chicago Bears said on Friday they will cut wide receiver Sam Hurd from the team following his arrest on federal drugs charges. Team spokesperon Scott Hagel said in an e-mail that Hurd, 26, “will be waived today,” meaning he will be dropped from the team. Hurd, who signed a three-year contract with the Bears in July after five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, was arrested and charged earlier this week with conspiracy to distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana. He allegedly wanted to set up a drug distribution operation in Chicago and told an undercover law enforcement agent that he wanted to buy 5kg to 10kg of cocaine at a price of US$25,000 per kilo weekly, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
SOCCER
FA makes Olympic call
England players called up for next year’s European Championship tournament will not be selected to represent Britain at the London Olympics, the Football Association (FA) said on Friday. Britain’s head coach Stuart Pearce allayed the fears of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and his Premier League counterparts, who were worried that players could burn out if they took part in the Olympics and Euro 2012. Euro 2012 is scheduled for June 8 to July 1, while the Olympic soccer tournament runs from July 25 to Aug. 11. Britain is fielding a team at the Games for the first time since 1960 and Pearce said he would soon notify the players who could be called up, most of whom will be under the age of 23.
DOPING
Woods’ doctor avoids jail
A doctor who treated Tiger Woods and other sports stars avoided jail on Friday when he was sentenced to time served for bringing misbranded medicines from his native Canada into the US. “He received one year supervised release,” said Barbara Burns, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors in Buffalo, New York. Doctor Anthony Galea pleaded guilty in July to bringing the drugs across the border without approval. He is a top sports doctor and in addition to Woods and the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, he has reportedly treated NFL stars, Olympic swimmer Dara Torres and Olympic runner Donovan Bailey.
SOCCER
Player admits bribe attempt
A young Hong Kong soccer player has admitted to trying to bribe teammates to throw an international friendly match against Russia, a report said yesterday. Iu Wai, a 20-year-old defender for Hong Kong’s under-21 side, pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery at a local court on Friday, the South China Morning Post reported. The report said Iu promised two teammates — a defender and a goalkeeper — “several tens of thousands of dollars” if they helped to deliberately lose a friendly against the Russian youth team. The duo refused and reported it to the anti-corruption authorities, which staged an unprecedented raid during a Nov. 5 game while 5,000 spectators looked on. Iu was arrested later. The court heard Iu was approached by a person from the city of Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, who asked him to fix the match in return for cash. The friendly, which Russia won 2-1, was held during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April.
FOOTBALL
Underdog Ruettiger charged
Daniel Ruettiger, the legendary Notre Dame underdog who inspired the 1993 movie Rudy, couldn’t do an end run around the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC on Friday charged Ruettiger and 12 others with running a stock scam associated with Rudy Nutrition — a company Ruettiger founded to try to compete against Gatorade in the sports drink market. The company sold modest amounts of the sports drink “Rudy” with the tagline “Dream Big! Never Quit!” but the company was primarily a pump-and-dump stock scheme that created more than US$11 million in illicit profits, the SEC said. The SEC said Rudy Nutrition, which is no longer in business, provided false and misleading statements to investors. Ruettiger was an undersized walk-on player for Notre Dame who in 1975 was called off the bench during his last chance to play for Notre Dame at home. In a dramatic turn for the underdog, he recorded a sack and was carried off the field by his teammates.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and