■ ATHLETICS
No relay role for Christie
Former Olympic gold medalist Linford Christie won't be running in the Beijing torch relay. London Mayor Ken Livingstone's office denied reports that he had invited Christie to run in the London leg of the relay on April 6. The office also said that Christie has made clear he won't take part. Christie, who won the 100m gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games, is serving a lifetime Olympic ban after testing positive for steroids in 1999. Yesterday's statement comes after media reports that Livingstone had invited Christie to run in the relay.
■ Athletics
Kenyans deny accusation
Senior members of Kenya's athletics fraternity reacted indignantly on Thursday to an accusation they funded some of the worst post-election violence in the Rift Valley area. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report on Kenya's crisis that athletes -- who have become wealthy local celebrities thanks to their winnings on the international circuit -- may have sponsored the killers. Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah Kiplagat said that far from promoting violence, Rift Valley athletes were known for their involvement in local competitions promoting peace. "I am sure no single athlete was involved in promoting violence as reported," Kiplagat said. "They are busy training for coming competitions and they would not have that time for those things. In fact, as we speak, many are abroad training because of the problems here."
■ BOXING
Pinoys call in Cubans
The Philippines has hired two Cuban coaches in a last-ditch bid to qualify more boxers for the Beijing Olympics in August. The head of the Philippine Sports Commission William Ramirez said yesterday they were hoping to win two of 19 slots up for grabs in the last Asian qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan next month with the help of the new coaches. Juan Enrique Steyners Tissert and Dagoberto Rojas Scott were whisked to the country's main boxing training camp in Baguio on Thursday. "We brought them immediately to the battlefield, to the firing line to work," Ramirez said. The Philippines, considered a regional boxing powerhouse is mortified that only Harry Tanamor has so far qualified for Beijing despite Manila sending a team of promising hopefuls to a qualifier in Thailand last month.
■ Basketball
McGrady leads Rockets win
The Houston Rockets surged to their 10th consecutive win on Thursday, beating the Miami Heat 112-100 behind Tracy McGrady's 23 points and 10 assists. Yao Ming added 21 points as all five Houston starters finished in double figures. A 41-point first quarter gave the Rockets a 15-point lead which Miami could not catch. McGrady had 14 points in the quarter with Rafer Alston adding 11 as Houston shot a torrid 81 percent from the floor. Alston finished with 16 points and 11 assists, Luis Scola had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Battier grabbed 12 points for Houston. Rookie reserve Carl Landry also played a big role, scoring 19 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter. Also on Thursday, Manu Ginobili's jumper with six seconds left closed out a 44-point performance and helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-99. Brandon Roy had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 92-88 home win over the Seattle SuperSonics.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
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