■ 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.
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
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