BASKETBALL
Kings suspend Cousins
The Sacramento Kings have suspended DeMarcus Cousins after the temperamental power forward demanded a trade, the team said on Sunday. Cousins did not appear for the Kings in their 96-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets and coach Paul Westphal revealed prior to the game that the player had been sent home. “DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded. In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game tonight [Sunday],” Westphal said in a statement. “When a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling [or] unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely.” Sacramento’s next game is in Memphis today and the team have made no mention on the likelihood of Cousins’ availability for that contest.
BASKETBALL
LeBron engaged to Brinson
NBA superstar LeBron James is engaged to marry long-time girlfriend Savannah Brinson, who accepted his proposal at a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner party in Miami. Brinson was the high-school sweetheart of the Miami Heat playmaker and is the mother of James’ two sons, seven-year-old LeBron Jr and four-year-old Bryce. No wedding date was immediately set. The party was hosted by Dwyane Wade, James’ Heat teammate. The bash was also a birthday party for James, who turned 27 on Friday. As the clock struck midnight, Wade made a key off-court pass to James, handing over the engagement ring he had been holding until that moment. “He was just trying to catch her off-guard,” Wade said. “I thought he did a good job of catching her when she least expected it.” James then kneeled before Brinson and proposed. She accepted. “It was real cool,” James said. “It was an opportunity for me with my personal life, so it was good.”
BASKETBALL
Yi Jianlian signs with Mavs
Chinese star forward Yi Jianlian has agreed to a one-year NBA deal with the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks, according to reports on Sunday on ESPN and in Dallas area newspapers. Yi, who suffered a knee injury while playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers, will report to the Texas Legends developmental-league squad to improve his conditioning before joining the Mavericks. The Legends are coached by Del Harris, who guided China’s 2004 Olympic squad to an eighth-place showing in Athens. In four NBA seasons with Milwaukee, New Jersey and Washington, Yi has averaged 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 24 minutes of playing time a game. Last season, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds for Washington. Yi, 24, was a free agent after helping China qualify last year for a berth in the London Olympics. He averaged 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in three Chinese league games, but was hurt after a teammate fell on him during a game.
ICE HOCKEY
Cole suspended after check
St Louis Blues defenseman Ian Cole has been suspended for three games for delivering an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader, the NHL said on Sunday. The infraction occurred midway through the first period of Detroit’s 3-0 triumph Saturday at Joe Louis Arena. Cole was assessed a minor penalty on the play. Cole, who will miss games against Phoenix, Edmonton and Colorado, will be eligible to return on Tuesday in Montreal. He will lose more than US$21,000 in salary because of the suspension, the league 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