■ BASEBALL
Red Sox may sign Tazawa
Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa moved a step closer to signing with the Boston Red Sox after rejecting offers from three other major league teams. The 22-year-old right-hander contacted the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves on Friday to reject their offers, Kyodo News agency reported. Tazawa is expected to hold a news conference early next week to announce his decision. He reportedly received offers from the Rangers, Braves, Mariners and Red Sox. The hard-throwing Tazawa is a standout in Japan’s corporate leagues. He asked Japan’s professional teams not to select him in this month’s amateur draft so that he could pursue a career in the US major leagues.
■ FORMULA ONE
Hartley to test for Red Bull
New Zealander Brendon Hartley will test for the Red Bull Formula One team next month after regular Australian driver Mark Webber was ruled out with a broken leg. The team said on their Web site that the Formula Three driver would join Germany’s Sebastian Vettel and Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi for the test at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain on Dec. 15. Hartley, a Red Bull junior driver who has had brief “shakedown” runs in Red Bull cars this year, recently finished third in the Macau F3 Grand Prix after starting in 20th place. The 19-year-old also set a lap record in the process.
■ FOOTBALL
NFL fines Porter US$7,500
The National Football League fined Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter on Friday for unsportsmanlike conduct during his team’s 48-28 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Porter was fined US$7,500 for verbally abusing the opponent after play was over. The 31-year-old Porter has 39 tackles and 14.5 sacks this season for the Dolphins, who bring a 6-5 record when they visit the 2-9 St. Louis Rams on today. The game had turned testy in the waning minutes, with Patriots left tackle Matt Light and Miami’s Channing Crowder both ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct after a scuffle.
■ BASKETBALL
Knicks suspend Marbury
The New York Knicks fined and suspended point guard Stephon Marbury on Friday for refusing to play Wednesday in a National Basketball Association game against Detroit. “A player’s central obligation is to provide his professional services when called upon,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said. “Because he refused the coach’s request to play in the team’s last game, we had no choice but to impose disciplinary action.” Marbury, who reportedly has been told to stay away from the team through the weekend, is expected to file a grievance through the players’ union. The team’s move is the latest in a steadily deteriorating relationship with Marbury, who claimed in the New York Post published on Friday that Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni had manipulated the situation. “If you say I gotta play, I’m going to play,” Marbury told the newspaper on Thursday, before the team’s action was announced.”
■ SWIMMING
Smit breaks 400m record
Julia Smit of the US broke the short course world record in the women’s 400m individual medley on Friday with a time of 4min 25.87sec at the Canada Cup swimming meeting. Smit, winner of two relay medals — silver and bronze — at the Beijing Games, eclipsed the previous record of 4:26.52 set by Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe on April 9 of this year.
‘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
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
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
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