■BOXING
Mayweather scared: Pacman
Manny Pacquiao believes the biggest potential fight in boxing will never happen because Floyd Mayweather Jr wants no part of him. Pacquiao is training in Hollywood for his bout with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14, but the pound-for-pound champion spared a moment on Thursday to consider his chances of fighting pay-per-view king Mayweather in what would be an extremely lucrative bout for both fighters. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Pacquiao said. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight.” Pacquiao said Mayweather treats boxing too much like a business and doesn’t care about entertainment value for his fans. Pacquiao, from the Philippines, is known for his crowd-pleasing style, while Mayweather is boxing’s most accomplished tactician.
■NASCAR
Driver charged with DUI
NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger was arrested on a charge of drunken driving on Thursday. Police in Mooresville, North Carolina, said Allmendinger failed a field sobriety test after he was pulled over. Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 stock car for Richard Petty Motorsports, said in a statement he had drinks with dinner and made a mistake in driving afterward. “I honestly felt fine, but I obviously should have erred more on the side of caution, particularly given what I do for a living,” Allmendinger said. “It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that.” Team co-owner Richard Petty said in a statement: “I am deeply disappointed this has happened. A.J. has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will work to make this right.” Allmendinger is a major factor in RPM’s long-range plans, and team officials said Allmendinger was going to be moved into Petty’s famed No. 43 next season. Best Buy is expected to sponsor the car. It’s not clear how his arrest may affect that relationship. Petty routinely shunned alcohol sponsorship, and refused to allow his teams to participate in NASCAR’s second-tier series when it was sponsored by Busch.
■FORMULA ONE
Senna to drive for Campos
A racing official says Bruno Senna will drive next year for new Formula One team Campos. A Brazilian official involved in the negotiations said the 26-year-old nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna finalized a deal to race for the Spanish team last weekend. No other details were disclosed and the official asked on Thursday not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss the deal. Calls to Campos’ Madrid office were unanswered. Senna said during the Brazilian Grand Prix this month he was in talks with three teams, including Campos. It will be the first time in 15 years that the iconic Senna name will be back in F1. Before his death on the track in 1994, Ayrton Senna predicted his nephew would one day be an F1 star.
■CYCLING
ICU lashes out at France
The International Cycling Union has compiled a strongly worded response rebuffing claims by France’s anti-doping agency of lapses and favoritism in drug testing at this year’s Tour de France. The UCI’s report singles out agency president Pierre Bordry for particular criticism, calling him “mischievous and misinformed.” It also says that the team of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong was tested more than others, countering the French agency’s allegations that the American received preferential treatment. The UCI says Astana riders were subjected to 81 doping tests, or more than 10 percent of the total conducted for the three-week race.
‘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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