■ Basketball
Suns beat Roma in Rome
Shawn Marion scored 19 points and Steve Nash had nine assists as the Phoenix Suns beat Virtus Lottomatica Roma 100-93 in an exhibition game on Friday. The game was part of the NBA Europe Live Tour, during which three other NBA teams will play on the continent. The Suns will play two more games in Cologne, Germany next week against the Philadelphia 76ers and a European team. Phoenix led from the start and struggled only when coach Mike D'Antoni pulled his starters midway through each quarter. Raja Bell and Brazilian guard Leandro Barbarosa each had 18 points for Phoenix. David Hawkins led Roma with 22 points. NBA commissioner David Stern sat courtside next to Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu and Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, an acknowledged basketball fanatic.
■ Basketball
Clippers triumph in Moscow
Shaun Livingston scored 19 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over BC Khimki 98-91 in an exhibition match on Friday. The Clippers, one of four NBA teams taking part in a European preseason tour, have been in Moscow since Oct. 1 for a training camp, and were due to play Euro League champion CSKA Moscow yesterday. Center Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette also scored 17 each for Los Angeles, and Cuttino Mobley added 15. Melvin Booker led Khimki with 19 points, hitting 4 of 9 3-point attempts. Boris Gorenc scored 17. The Clippers are the first NBA team to play in Russia since the Atlanta Hawks in 1988.
■ Football
Bengals receiver suspended
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry was suspended for two games by the National Football League for violating its conduct and substance abuse policies, the league announced on Friday. Henry, who also received a US$20,000 fine, will miss the Bengals next two games against Tampa Bay and Carolina. Cincinnati has a bye this week, so Henry's suspension will begin Oct. 15. The Bengals have been plagued by personnel problems this season, with six players arrested on a variety of charges. Henry, who played college football at West Virginia, has been arrested four times since last December. Linebacker Odell Thurman was also suspended for four games earlier this season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, but that suspension was extended after Thurman was arrested on a drink-driving charge.
■ Soccer
Jordan, Iran play out draw
Jordan and Iran drew 0-0 in a lackluster final game of the three-team LG Cup on Friday. The best chances went to Jordan's Khalid Saad in the 52nd minute, while Iran's Mehdi Rajab Zadea squandered an opportunity in the 72nd before about 4,000 spectators at King Abdullah Stadium. Iran beat Iraq 2-0 on Wednesday in the first match of the two-game cup, dubbed the ``peace'' tournament.
■ Soccer
Masked men beat up ref
Bulgarian referee Hristo Ristoskov is recovering in hospital after being beaten up by three masked men outside his home in the southwest town of Sandanski on Thursday night, police said. "I'm shocked," said Ristoskov. "I have no explanation where this came from." Ristoskov was in charge of the latest derby between Levski Sofia and their bitter city rivals CSKA last month when Levski won 1-0 thanks to a disputed penalty. More than half a dozen referees have been beaten up in Bulgaria in the last few years.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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