BASKETBALL
Thunder fire coach
The Oklahoma City Thunder fired head coach Scott Brooks on Wednesday after the injury-hit team failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in six years. Brooks, 49, had guided Oklahoma City to three appearances in the Western Conference Finals and a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals, but they missed out on this post-season after finishing ninth in the highly competitive West with a 45-37 record. “This is an extremely difficult decision on many levels,” Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. “Scott helped establish the identity of the Thunder and has earned his rightful place in the history of our organization through his seven years as a valued leader and team member.” The Thunder missed reigning NBA most valuable player Kevin Durant for most of the season, due to ongoing problems with his surgically repaired right foot. Despite playing the bulk of the season without Durant, the Thunder relied heavily on NBA scoring champion Russell Westbrook and had a chance to secure a playoff berth on the final day of the regular season, but came up short.
BASKETBALL
Hawks sale imminent
The Atlanta Hawks are set to be sold to a group led by businessman Tony Ressler, the team announced on Wednesday, in a deal precipitated by the release last year of a racially charged e-mail by the team’s current owner. The deal, which must be approved by the NBA board of governors, comes after the team’s majority owner, Bruce Levenson, put it on the market after an e-mail he sent to team officials complaining of black fans driving down white attendance at games became public. Terms of the deal, which includes operation of Philips Arena, where the team plays, were not made public. However, the sale price was reported by news outlets as between US$730 million and US$850 million. “We are honored and thrilled to have been chosen to become the new stewards of the Hawks,” Ressler said in a statement.
TENNIS
Lisicki suffers double bagel
Zarina Diyas routed Germany’s Fed Cup player and former Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix on Wednesday. Kazakhstan’s top player had lost in the first round of her previous two tournaments, but brushed aside Lisicki in 64 minutes on the indoor clay in Stuttgart. Diyas is ranked No. 32, while Lisicki is No. 19. Seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland also went out, losing 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 to Sara Errani of Italy. Radwanska had won seven of her previous nine matches against Errani. Germany’s Angelique Kerber beat Alexa Glatch of the US 6-2, 7-5 and advanced to a second-round match with defending champion and top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia. Sharapova had a first-round bye.
BOXING
Ioka wins WBA flyweight title
Japanese boxer Kazuto Ioka beat Juan Carlos Reveco of Argentina for the WBA flyweight title on Wednesday by a majority decision. Reveco, making his eighth defense, got off to a good start, but Ioka dominated the later rounds at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on his way to becoming the second Japanese fighter to win world titles in three different weight classes. Ioka (17-1, 10 KO) previously won world championships at minimum weight and light flyweight. He received scores of 115-113 and 116-113, while the third judge scored a draw. Reveco’s record fell to 35-2 (19 KO).
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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