■ Auto Racing
Gronholm takes the lead
Three-time former winner Marcus Gronholm of Finland made a strong start to the Rally Australia on Thursday, steering his Peugeot to a slim early lead after the first stage. Gronholm finished the 2.3km super special opening stage of the 16th and final leg of this year's World Rally Championship in 1 minute, 32:9 seconds, 0.3 seconds ahead of Frenchman Sebastien Loeb. Loeb, who has already clinched his first world championship, is seeking a record-equalling sixth win in a season in the 25-stage rally, which concludes on Sunday.
■ Triathlon
Kraft fails drugs test
Nina Kraft, winner of last month's Hawaii Ironman competition, acknowledged Thursday that she had used the banned endurance-boosting drug EPO. Kraft, who tested positive after the Oct. 16 Hawaii event, said she accepted her guilt and would not request analysis of her backup sample. "The mistake cannot be rectified -- I am going to bear all the consequences," she told the Hesse state radio. Kraft, the first German woman to win the Hawaii Ironman, faces a two-year ban. She said she took EPO during a three-week period and stopped five days before the Hawaii competition. "I never really rejoiced over the victory in Hawaii," Kraft said. "I was ashamed the entire time, especially in front of my family. I cheated." EPO, or erythropoietin, stimulates the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells and is a drug of choice in endurance sports. The German Triathlon Union said Kraft admitted "making a big mistake." Kraft's brother, Florian, said his sister's action "cannot be justified but perhaps it can be understood." "It's a matter of money, a lot of money, and ethics suffer in that case," he said on his Web site.
■ Skating
Hamilton has brain tumor
World and Olympic figure skating champion Scott Hamilton has a benign brain tumor. The 46-year-old Hamilton underwent a biopsy at The Cleveland Clinic, and doctors expected to release him from the hospital by Friday, publicist Michael Sterling said Thursday. "We will be working with him on a treatment plan moving forward," said Dr. Gene Barnett, chairman of the clinic's brain tumor institute. Barnett said Hamilton has a slow-growing, non-cancerous tumor in the region of the pituitary gland. Sterling said Hamilton has been had problems in recent weeks with his eyesight. Hamilton, who lives in Los Angeles, is a four-time US national champion, a four-time world champion and the 1984 Olympic gold medalist. He is now a skating show producer. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and treated with surgery and chemotherapy.
■ Golf
LPGA Tour eyes Oahu
The LPGA Tour is returning to Hawaii in 2005. A US$1 million tournament will be played in late February at the Turtle Bay Resort's Arnold Palmer Course on Oahu's North Shore, officials said Thursday. The event will be sponsored by South Korean television network Seoul Broadcasting System, which will provide coverage throughout Asia. The last LPGA Tour event in Hawaii was the 2002 Takefuji Classic.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
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