■BASKETBALL
Israeli team robbed
Police are hunting for a man in his 40s thought to be behind the alleged theft of thousands of dollars in valuables and cash from members of an Israeli basketball team at Staples Center arena. Lieutenant Paul Vernon said the Hispanic suspect, who may have tried to disguise himself as an employee, was spotted by one of the ball boys in Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv’s dressing room on Tuesday night. Police also described the man as wearing a suit and carrying a clipboard and having a credential badge hanging out of his pocket. Police said the suspect was earlier kicked out of the Staples Center facility after being questioned by staff. The 10 players lost a total of US$22,000 in belongings in the theft that was discovered at halftime of Maccabi’s 108-96 loss to the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Clippers.
■BASKETBALL
Referees union strikes deal
The NBA and its referees union reached agreement on a two-year contract, ending a lockout of more than a month and saving the league from using replacements when the season starts on Tuesday. The officials ratified the deal that was reached earlier this week in a vote on Friday. No details of the vote were provided, nor were terms of the agreement. The referees were to begin a three-day training camp yesterday to be ready when the regular season starts. The league had been using replacement officials during exhibition play. The contract between the league and the National Basketball Referees Association expired on Sept. 1, and the league announced it was locking out the officials on Sept. 18, saying they had rejected its final contract offer.
■BASKETBALL
Jamison may miss weeks
Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison could miss up to six weeks because of the lingering effects of a shoulder injury, the NBA team said on Friday. The Wizards’ top scorer, Jamison suffered the injury during an Oct. 14 preseason win against Cleveland. The two-time all-star was originally expected to be back in the lineup for the season opener on Tuesday in Dallas, but the club now says he will miss four to six weeks with a subluxation of the right shoulder. Jamison averaged a team-high 22.2 points in 81 games last season for the Wizards.
■ATHLETICS
Man behind Vancouver dies
The man who headed the campaign to bring next year’s Winter Olympics to Vancouver died on Friday, hours after learning that the Olympic flame he dreamed of bringing to Canada had begun its journey. Jack Poole, 76, died in a Vancouver hospital after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, the Vancouver Organizing Committee said. Poole was chairman of the 2010 Winter Olympics organizing committee and had also chaired Vancouver’s successful bid in 2003 to host next year’s Games.
■FOOTBALL
Wrong chin strap equals fine
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco was fined US$10,000 by the NFL on Friday for a uniform violation. He was wearing the wrong color chin strap (black) last weekend. Also fined US$10,000 was Tennessee Titans safety Chris Hope for a roughing-the-passer penalty against New England in a 59-0 loss during which Tom Brady threw for six touchdowns. San Diego Chargers rookie linebacker Larry English was fined US$7,500 for a neck-high tackle in the loss to Denver on Monday.
■GOLF
Cabrera to miss Dubai
US Masters champion Angel Cabrera’s chances of winning Europe’s Race to Dubai money-list appear to have ended after his unsuccessful dash to play in this week’s Castello Masters. The Argentine, ninth on the money-list, will now end his season at next week’s World Match Play Championship in Spain. Cabrera needed to compete in Castellon to fulfill 12 mandatory European Tour events, the last of which would have been the end-of-season Dubai World Championship from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22. After missing out in Spain though, he will call it a day without trying to make the field for Dubai by playing in the World Golf Championship event in Shanghai or the Hong Kong Open. Cabrera has played 10 European Tour events, but the Match Play cannot count as one of his mandatory 12. Luck was not on his side on Thursday when flight delays after his appearance in the Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda prevented him making his tee-off in Castellon.
■SOCCER
Barclays renew sponsorship
Barclays have renewed their sponsorship of the English Premier League for a further three years until 2012-2013 in a deal worth £82.25 million (US$136.9 million), the Premier League said on Friday. The deal, which is a 25 percent increase on the previous three-year contract, will run from the 2010-2011 season to the end of the 2012-2013 season. “We are extremely pleased that our long established partnership with Barclays will continue for a further three seasons,” Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in a statement. The Premier League is currently broadcast across 211 territories to more than 500 million homes.
■SOCCER
Bilic to stay on as coach
Slaven Bilic will stay on as Croatia coach for their Euro 2012 campaign despite failing to take them to next year’s World Cup, the country’s soccer association said on Friday. Bilic had initially planned to step down after the World Cup campaign when his contract expired, but reconsidered his decision because of the support he received from players, the soccer federation and pundits. He will sign a new contract next week. “We’re happy with this development,” FA president Vlatko Markovic said after the executive committee approved his proposal that Bilic continue in the post. Plagued by injuries and poor form of key players, Croatia finished third behind England and Ukraine in their World Cup qualifying group.
■ATHLETICS
US team to use Birmingham
The US track and field team for the 2012 London Olympics will use Birmingham as their training base before the Games. Birmingham’s local government said USA Track & Field has agreed to base the team in Britain’s so-called “second city” for six weeks ahead of the Olympics. Birmingham City Council said it signed a memorandum of understanding with USA Track & Field in February last year before resuming talks when the US team reviewed its requirements after last year’s Beijing Olympics. The deal was eventually completed after three years of negotiations.
■RUGBY UNION
Phillips out for four months
Wales suffered a Six Nations setback on Friday when scrumhalf Mike Phillips was virtually ruled out of the start of the tournament after undergoing surgery to repair his damaged ankle ligaments. The 27-year-old Ospreys and Lions player was already expected to miss the autumn internationals, but is now likely to be out for four months.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
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