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.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care