■BASKETBALL
Davis fined for swearing
Boston Celtics forward Glen Davis has been fined US$25,000 for “directing inappropriate language” toward a fan, the NBA said on Thursday. Davis responded to a heckler during Boston’s 92-86 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit. The 2.06 m, 131.1 kg Davis is averaging 6.2 points per game this season. A jeering fan called Davis a “fat boy” and told him to lose some weight. Davis responded with an expletive. “We know what happened, and that’s unacceptable,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “It’s tough when the fans are yelling that stuff at you, but you have to be stronger than that.”
■GOLF
La Quinta play washed out
The second round of the Bob Hope Classic was postponed until yesterday because of unplayable conditions at La Quinta, California, on Thursday. Organizers had initially pushed back the scheduled tee times by two hours due to heavy overnight rain before eventually abandoning play for the day. Little-known American Shane Bertsch held the first-round lead after firing a 10-under-par 62 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the 90-hole event.
■SOCCER
Beckham tackle in spotlight
An Italian television channel has apologized for a prank in which a female presenter attempted to grab David Beckham between the legs. The AC Milan midfielder was visibly angered when Elena Di Cioccio, who fronts the popular show Le Iene (The Hyenas) on Italia Uno, made her move while he was being interviewed by another person on Wednesday. Beckham is on loan at Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham’s spokesman Simon Oliveira says he has “no issue with it. It did surprise him at the time, but David saw it for what it was — harmless fun.”
■ATHLETICS
Marathon cheats disqualified
At least 30 runners in a marathon in China cheated their way into the top 100, hopping on to public transport during the race or hiring faster runners, sporting authorities said yesterday.
Some of the people taking part in this month’s Xiamen International Marathon cheated in a bid to boost their chances of getting into university, the provincial sports bureau said on its Web site. If they run a marathon in good time, students can earn extra points for the entrance examination for China’s highly competitive universities. The Fujian sports bureau said some of the cheats, who were all later disqualified, used public transport to cover part of the race route, while others convinced better runners to replace them.
■SOCCER
Clubs spend too much: UEFA
European clubs’ spending on players is still rising just months before UEFA introduces reforms that will limit their ability to spend beyond their means. A UEFA survey of 629 clubs across Europe’s 53 soccer nations showed the clubs’ revenues rose by 10 percent last season but spending on transfers and salaries went up 18 percent. UEFA general said in an interview on Thursday that more than half the clubs ran up a deficit in the 2008-2009 season while one in five made a “huge’’ loss — spending 20 percent above their total income. The research will be used to draw up “financial fair play” reforms demanded by UEFA president Michel Platini, who said the spending cannot go on.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
Taiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Together, they combined for eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. The lone run surrendered came in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pitcher from Japan’s independent league took the mound. The pitching strategy was designed to preserve the arms of the Taiwanese ahead of their game against Australia at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning. Taiwanese-American Stuart Fairchild
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