■ BASKETBALL
Williams inks new deal
Deron Williams will head to the Beijing Olympics with a new deal with his National Basketball Association team, the Utah Jazz, in his pocket. On Friday, the Jazz said the star point guard had inked a multi-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to the Salt Lake Tribune, Williams agreed to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth season. While the precise value of the contract will not be known until the NBA sets its salary cap next July, the Tribune reported that Williams will make nearly US$50 million in the first three years of the contract and as much as US$70 million if he exercises the option year. The 24-year-old would not be eligible for free agency until 2012 at the earliest.
■ BASEBALL
Matsui’s return uncertain
New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui, nursing a knee injury, admitted after meeting with doctors on Friday that he wasn’t sure if he would be able to return this season. Matsui has been on the disabled list with a left knee injury since June 23. “As of right now, I’ve been putting aside whether I can or cannot come back this season,” Matsui said through an interpreter during Friday’s game against the Oakland Athletics. “My desire is I want to come back this year.” However, Matsui said, if he needs surgery on the knee, a return may not be possible. “I think the topic [surgery] is out there,” Matsui said. “The swelling kept coming back. So, right now, I was told by doctors, ‘Avoid activities and stay quiet.’”
■ ICE HOCKEY
Therrien’s contract renewed
The Pittsburgh Penguins inked coach Michel Therrien to a new contract on Friday that will keep him with the National Hockey League club through the 2010-2011 season. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Penguins did say that Therrien would receive a pay rise next season. “I’m excited to have a new three-year contract with the Penguins and am looking forward to continued success here in Pittsburgh,” said Therrien, who had one year left on his previous contract. “It is a great hockey city with an outstanding fan base.”
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
LIKE FINE WINE: Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic won his 101st title of his career in Athens, becoming the oldest tournament winner since Ken Roswell, 44, in 1977 Elena Rybakina on Saturday clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The world No. 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy. Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record US$5.235 million and would finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. “It’s been an incredible week, I honestly didn’t expect any result, and to go so far,
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