■ Hockey
Karpat leads series 2-0
Josef Boumedienne and Jari Viuhkola scored a goal each Thursday to give Karpat of Oulu a 2-1 victory over Jokerit of Helsinki in the Finnish hockey finals in Helsinki, Finland. Karpat leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and can clinch its second-straight title at home on Friday. Boumedienne, a Swede who played for the Washington Capitals last season, skated into the slot at 13:42 in the second period and scored through the legs of American goaltender Tim Thomas. Canadian center Glen Metropolit, Jokerit's leading forward, got a clean breakaway with his team playing short-handed and finished with a high wrist shot minutes at 18:12. Viuhkola wristed the winner past Thomas 6:31 into the last period. Karpat goalie Niklas Backstrom made 21 saves, while Thomas was credited with 33 stops.
■ Snowboarding
Putman pinched for pot
US snowboarder Kiana Putman accepted a 10-month suspension for testing positive for marijuana. Putman, 24, tested positive for metabolites of cannabis at the US Snowboard Grand Prix on Jan. 9, the US Anti-Doping Agency said on Thursday. Putman received credit for a provisional suspension she accepted and began serving on Feb. 16. She could return to competition on May 16 if she completes an anti-doping educational program, USADA officials said. She was disqualified from the Jan. 9 event, forfeiting her 13th-place finish.
■ Athletics
Marion Jones to return
Former Olympic champion Marion Jones is ready to run her first race since failing to win a medal in Athens last August. Jones, who won three gold medals and two bronzes at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, is slated to run the 400m at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Sunday. She traditionally has used the meet at the community college near Los Angeles as her season opener. While Jones is a sprinter and long jumper, she occasionally runs the 400m for training purposes. The International Olympic Committee has been looking into allegations that Jones used performance-enhancing drugs. She has never tested positive and consistently has denied using any such drugs. She has filed a US$25 million defamation suit against Victor Conte, alleging the head of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative tarnished her reputation when he claimed she used drugs before and after the 2000 Olympics. Conte is one of four men charged with participation in an alleged steroid-distribution ring.
■ Football
State OKs new stadium
The New York Giants have reached an agreement with the state of New Jersey to build a new US$750 million stadium that will keep the team up to date with high-revenue NFL franchises. The deal, reached by the team and the state after contentious negotiations, provides for a new 80,000-seat stadium close to the current one in the Meadowlands. It is slated to open for the 2008 season. The deal seemed dead a few weeks ago, with both sides far apart on finances and the scope of the project. But several days of talks this week between acting Governor Richard J. Codey and John Mara, the Giants' chief operating officer, paved the way for "an agreement that will keep the Giants here in New Jersey, where they belong," the governor said on Thursday.
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
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
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
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS