■BASKETBALL
Wizards try to forget Arenas
Even as the Washington Wizards went to great lengths to erase all traces of Gilbert Arenas from the Verizon Center, one teammate gave a nod to his suspended NBA teammate on Sunday. DeShawn Stevenson took the court for pre-game warmups with the words “AGENT” and “ZERO” written in red on tape wrapped just above his shoes as the Wizards prepared to play the New Orleans Hornets. “Agent Zero” is a nickname for Washington’s gregarious playmaker, who was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday in the wake of an incident involving unloaded guns that he brought to the Wizards arena and stored in his locker. Arenas remains under investigation by authorities over the firearms and NBA commissioner David Stern was clearly angered that Arenas appeared to be taking the situation lightly. In suspending Arenas, Stern said he was “not currently fit to take the court.” NBA rules forbid players from bringing guns to league facilities or when traveling on league business. Four other Wizards players have been fined for making light of the situation prior to a game last week.
■TENNIS
McEnroe pans suspension
John McEnroe has criticized the handling of tennis match-fixing claims, saying the suspension of Russia’s Ekaterina Bychkova does not make sense. Last week, the Tennis Integrity Unit fined Bychkova US$5,000 and barred the Russian from playing for 30 days, saying she failed to report that she was asked to provide inside information and throw matches. McEnroe called match-fixing a “huge concern” for tennis and said Bychkova had been suspended after turning down an illegal approach, which he said would dissuade other players from being honest.
■SOCCER
Who should stop the game?
Italy’s soccer federation president Giancarlo Abete has clashed with Interior Minister Roberto Maroni about who should halt matches in the case of racist chants. Italian soccer has a severe problem with fans singing racist chants, particularly aimed at Inter Milan’s Italian-born black striker Mario Balotelli. Both the government and federation agree matches should be suspended immediately if racist chanting is heard, but Abete said the referee could not act alone. “As long as the rules are as they are, the federation, and therefore the referee, can do nothing against racist chants because right now the power to stop a game lies with the police,” Abete told reporters. Teams are frequently fined for fans’ racist chants and Juventus had to play a game behind closed doors last season, but threats to suspend a match have not been followed through.
■BOXING
Pacquiao to fight in Dallas
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will defend his title against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on March 13, the Filipino’s promoter and the Cowboys owner said on Sunday. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum finalized the deal after talks of a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr fizzled out over Mayweather’s demand for a rigorous dope testing procedure. “I have wanted to bring a major boxing event to North Texas for many years, so why not bring in the biggest and the best?” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “Manny Pacquiao is boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound attraction and the world champion,” Jones added.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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