■TENNIS
Klein to learn sensitivity
Australian tennis player Brydan Klein will undergo a racial sensitivity course after accepting a six-month ban from the ATP Tour for racially abusing a South African opponent. The 19-year-old Klein, the 2007 junior Australian Open champion, was handed the suspension and fined US$10,000 for the slur against Raven Klaasen during a qualifying match at a grass-court tournament at Birmingham, England, on June 13. The ATP said Klein was also given a 10,000 euro (US$14,000) penalty on site during the tournament. Klein has been suspended from the ATP World Tour and Challenger events for six months, although two months of that will be served in probation should he successfully complete the racial sensitivity course.
■BASKETBALL
Raptors claim Turkoglu
The Toronto Raptors claimed their top offseason target by finalizing the acquisition of Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu on Thursday. The 209cm Turkoglu hit the market when the Orlando Magic acquired Vince Carter from New Jersey. Turkoglu opted out of his contract and was close to a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers last Friday before Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo swooped in. Technically, Turkoglu re-signed with Orlando and was traded to Toronto as part of an eight-player, four-team deal.
■BASKETBALL
Pistons hire another coach
The Detroit Pistons confirmed Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester as their sixth coach in 10 years on Thursday. Joe Dumars, the team’s president of basketball operations, hasn’t been known for showing patience with head coaches, but he insisted that would change with the hiring of Kuester. Kuester “might have the most job security of anyone in the NBA,” Dumars said. “Bless you, Joe,” Kuester said with a laugh. Kuester replaces Michael Curry, who was fired on June 30 after going 39-43 in his first season and being swept by Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs.
■FOOTBALL
Bruce Smith convicted
NFL great Bruce Smith was convicted of drunken driving on Thursday by a judge who rejected his claim that old injuries, not alcohol, were responsible for his poor performance on field sobriety tests. Smith declined to answer reporters’ questions after his trial in Virginia Beach General District Court. He promptly appealed the verdict to Virginia Beach Circuit Court, which set a hearing in the case for Aug. 27. Smith was also convicted of speeding and refusing to take an alcohol breath test. Judge Teresa McCrimmon gave Smith a 90-day suspended jail term and fined him US$350 for drunken driving. She also suspended his driver’s license for a year for refusing the breath test and fined him US$90 for speeding. The appeal is scheduled less than three weeks after Smith’s Aug. 7 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
■BASEBALL
Fans elect Victorino, Inge
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge were elected by fans to the Major League Baseball All-Star game in record-shattering Internet voting on Thursday. Victorino received 15.6 million votes on MLB.com and the individual club sites, and was followed by San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval, Arizona’s Mark Reynolds, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Matt Kemp and Washington’s Cristian Guzman. The game is on Tuesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
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
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
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,
Bjorn Werner on Saturday signed everything thrust in front of him by NFL fans who packed a Berlin plaza. His old Indianapolis Colts jersey — it is a best-seller in Germany — footballs, scarves, miniature helmets. Even a cleat. Werner’s NFL career ended after three seasons because of injuries, but he has become a star in his home country as a TV commentator and media personality. He cohosts a popular podcast, has a big social media presence and is credited with helping popularize the sport in Germany. As the former first-round draft pick waded through throngs of fans, he looked around and took
RSS