■ Boxing
Coke lands champ in hospital
Five-time world boxing champion Johnny Tapia was hospitalized in critical condition on Monday after an apparent cocaine overdose, the latest episode outside the ring in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, fighter's turbulent life. Police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said the 40-year-old Tapia was taken to Presbyterian Hospital after paramedics responded to an early morning call about a person who wasn't breathing at a hotel room. "It appears to be an overdose. He will be charged with possession of a controlled substance," Hoffman said. Police found a plastic bag containing a white substance, which Hoffman said was confirmed by tests as cocaine.
■ Soccer
PSV's Alex out for six weeks
PSV Eindhoven defender Alex, whose goal against Arsenal last week put the Dutch side into the European Champions League quarter-finals, has a torn hamstring and will miss at least six weeks, the club announced on Monday. "An MRI scan ... this afternoon confirmed that defender Alex's left hamstring is partially torn," the club said on its Web site. "This injury will keep the Brazilian out of action for six weeks and he misses among other matches, the ... [two-leg] meeting with Liverpool." PSV faces Liverpool in first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at home on April 3. The Brazilian, who has been linked to a possible move to Chelsea at the end of the season, was carried off the pitch on Sunday during PSV's 0-0 draw with Excelsior Rotterdam.
■ Sled Dog Racing
Mackey keeps Iditarod lead
Lance Mackey maintained his lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Monday -- but just by minutes. Mackey was the first musher to arrive in Koyuk, Alaska, taking about a three-hour rest. He and his 13 dogs left Koyuk at 12:13 pm, 14 minutes before Paul Gebhardt arrived. Gebhardt didn't rest long; the 50-year-old musher had his 10 dogs back on the trail for the 77km segment to Elim after resting just 9 minutes. Meanwhile, Martin Buser and Zack Steer arrived later Monday in Koyuk, 275km from the race's end in Nome. Also, Canadian musher Karen Ramstead scratched from the race at the Grayling checkpoint after one of her dogs died. Race officials said she wanted to be with her family to grieve the loss of Snickers, a six-year-old female.
■ Olympics
Beijing mulls smoking areas
The 2008 Beijing Olympics are under pressure to be smoke-free, falling into line with other Olympics. Beijing Organizing Committee officials have talked with Health Ministry officials "about setting aside special smoking areas in Games venues so as to ensure most parts of these venues are free of tobacco smog," Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. Enforcing such a ban will be difficult in China, where about 350 million people -- about one-quarter of the population -- are smokers.
■ Swimming
Dutch champion retires
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands retired on Monday. "My career is over," De Bruijn told Dutch news agency ANP. "It can't get any better. I'm at the ceiling and see no more challenges. I'm 33 years old -- in swimming that's a grandmother." She hadn't competed in any major events since the 2004 Athens Olympics, and completed her career with eight Olympic medals overall, and five world championships.
■ Basketball
Isiah Thomas extends deal
New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has been signed to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced on Monday. The Knicks are 29-34 in Thomas's first year as coach and are in the playoff hunt with the eighth best record in the Eastern Conference. "The Knicks have grown tremendously, both in terms of team performance and player development, and much of the credit goes to Isiah and his staff," James Dolan, chairman of team owner Madison Square Garden, said in a statement. Thomas was the team's president last year but became coach in June following a disastrous 23-59 season that cost Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown his job.
■ Baseball
Japanese imports meet up
The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees took on an Asian flavor on Monday when three Japanese players met before their exhibition game. Cameras clicked wildly as Boston's US$103.1 million investment Daisuke Matsuzaka and lefty reliever Hideki Okajima bowed and shook hands with Yankees' veteran slugger Hideki Matsui. With Matsui already established in the Majors and six years Matsuzaka's senior, the Red Sox right-hander paid his respects to the Yankees outfielder, MLB.com reported. Okajima said he was excited to see Matsui and that he looked forward to meeting him again and having dinner with him. The game, the only pre-season meeting between the two, was won by the Red Sox 7-5.
■ Golf
Rookie Francella seals win
Meaghan Francella sunk a 4-foot putt for birdie and beat Annika Sorenstam on the fourth hole of a playoff on Monday to win the rain-plagued MasterCard Classic for her first victory on the US LPGA Tour. The 24-year-old American was making only her sixth start on the US women's tour after earning her tour card last year with a fifth-place finish on the Futures Tour money list. Francella, the second-round leader, closed with a 3-under 69 to match Sorenstam (66) at 11-under 205 on the Bosque Real Country Club course.
■ NFL
Receiver Sharon charged
Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Charles Sharon was charged with stealing a handgun that police found under the seat of his sport utility vehicle during a drug-related search. Sharon and a companion were arrested on Saturday night after a Tampa, Florida police officer noticed the odor of marijuana coming from his Chevrolet Tahoe in the Ybor City entertainment district, a police report said. A search turned up a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol under the driver's seat. Jebidiah Crawford was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after an officer found less than an ounce of it in a Jaguars duffel bag in Sharon's vehicle. Sharon was released on Sunday morning after paying a US$4,000 bond, jail records showed. Jaguars spokesman Dan Edwards said the team had no comment on the arrest.
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum on Sunday combined for 27 points as Shaquille O’Neal’s “Team Shaq” cruised to victory in the new-look NBA All-Star game in San Francisco. Curry, playing on his home court at Golden State’s Chase Center, reeled off a string of trademark three-pointers to help his star-studded lineup coast to a 41-25 victory over Charles Barkley’s “Team Chuck.” Boston Celtics star Tatum finished with 15 points after delivering a dominant performance in a starting lineup that also included Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and James Harden. Team Shaq’s preparations for the game had been dealt a blow shortly before tip-off when