BASKETBALL
Miller, Nelson honored
Former Indiana Pacers superstar Reggie Miller and coaching great Don Nelson were among those inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. Miller, one of the greatest clutch scorers in NBA history, played his entire 17-season career with the Indiana Pacers and finished it with 25,279 points and 1,505 steals. He ranks second on the NBA all-time list for three-pointers made, with 2,560, and his 320 playoff three-pointers are the most for any player in the post-season. Nelson, who was a finalist for the Hall of Fame for the fifth time, has more than 1,300 NBA victories and is one of only two coaches to be named NBA Coach of the Year three times. He spent more than 40 years as a player, coach and general manager, winning five titles as a player with the Boston Celtics. The teams he coached made 18 playoff appearances and amassed 75 playoff wins, but Nelson said he had left the game with no regrets. “Hopefully this will be the last tuxedo that I’ll be wearing,” Nelson said. “I am going to Maui. There is life after basketball.” The class of 2012 also included Ralph Sampson, a three-time collegiate national player of the year, who later became known as one of the Houston Rockets’ Twin Towers — along with Hakeem Olajuwon — during the club’s success in the mid 1980s. Friday’s inductees also included Jamaal Wilkes, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain, longtime referee Hank Nichols and former Soviet women’s coach Lidia Alexeeva. Wilkes was a member of four NBA championship teams, first in 1975 with Golden State and then with the Lakers in 1980, 1982 and 1985.
CYCLING
Marathon bans Armstrong
Lance Armstrong has been banned from running in next month’s Chicago Marathon, a spokesman for the suspended American cyclist said on Friday. “Lance was going to be running as a fundraising team member of Team Livestrong at Chicago,” Mark Higgins said in an e-mail. “One of the Lance Armstrong Foundation staffers had communicated that to the race organizers and she was told he could not run.” Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France wins last month and handed a lifetime ban by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after indicating that would not challenge charges that he had doped throughout his career. “When he chose not to contest in a public hearing the overwhelming evidence of his cheating Mr Armstrong was well aware that he was accepting ineligibility from world-class athletic events like the Chicago Marathon,” a USADA spokeswoman said in a statement. “This is what the world rules require for all sanctioned athletes, high profile or not.”
ATHLETICS
Parents sue US track star
The parents of Olympic gold medalist Tianna Madison have sued the US track star, saying she spread stories they were out for their own interest and tormented and cheated her out of money. Robert and Jo Ann Madison filed the libel, slander and defamation lawsuit on Thursday in an Ohio court. Tianna Madison was on the winning 4x100m relay track team at the London Olympics. She won the gold with Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter in world record time. The lawsuit also names her husband John Bartoletta. Madison’s parents are seeking more than US$25,000 each in damages. They said in the suit they have been loving and supportive parents.
CRICKET
No contract for Pietersen
England batsman Kevin Pietersen was not among 10 players awarded central contracts for next year’s season named by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday. Pietersen was dropped from the team for the last Test against South Africa this month after allegedly sending controversial text messages to opposing players and falling out with teammates. Pietersen has scored more than 7,000 runs in 88 Tests, averaging just under 50. New Test captain Alastair Cook, batsmen Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan, and bowlers James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Steve Finn and Graeme Swann, along with wicketkeeper Matt Prior, were the players to get central contracts. Fast bowler Graham Onions was among four players awarded incremental contracts. “Congratulations to Graham Onions, who is the one addition to the list of players who have been awarded increment contracts and is in recognition of the effort he has put in since his return from injury in 2011 and an indication that we feel he has plenty to offer England in the coming months,” national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.
GOLF
Golfer shot over stray ball
A Nevada golfer was shot and wounded after his stray ball struck a home, smashing a window and angering the resident inside. Police arrested a man in connection with the shooting, which allegedly took place on the 16th hole of the Reno area golf club. Jeff Fleming, 53, is charged with battery and assault with a deadly weapon in the incident at the Lakeridge Golf course. Police said a man exited his home on Thursday after one of his windows was broken and approached two golfers with a shotgun before the alleged shooting took place. The other was not injured. The injured golfer was treated and released from hospital. Law enforcement officials also evacuated the golf course after the shooting. Fleming, who turned himself in, was released on bail.
SOCCER
Villa scores on Spain return
David Villa scored on his return to the Spain national team as the World Cup champions prepared for World Cup qualifying with a 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia in a friendly on Friday. Villa, making his first appearance for Spain since November because of injury, added to his all-time leading goal tally for Spain by hitting his 52nd international from a 64th-minute penalty. Pedro Rodriguez scored a goal in each half, while Santi Cazorla and substitute Xavi Hernandez also found the net. Fernando Torres made his 100th appearance for Spain, before being replaced by Villa in the second half. Spain opens qualifying on Tuesday in Georgia in a Group I match.
SOCCER
Brazil disappoints
A disappointing Brazil beat South Africa 1-0 in a friendly on Friday, but the lackluster performance cast further doubts on coach Mano Menezes’s future in the job. Menezes sent out an attacking team, but they struggled to break down the dogged South Africans and the match was decided only in the 74th minute, with a goal from second-half substitute Hulk. The striker signed by Zenit St Petersburg last week for 55 million euros (US$70.4 million) had been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes when he pounced on a rebound to turn and smash the ball home from 12m. Menezes is under pressure to produce an exciting and winning side ahead of next year’s Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup, both of which will be held in Brazil.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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