■MOTOGP
Rossi cleared to race
MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi has been cleared to race in this weekend’s German Grand Prix, six weeks after breaking his leg, his Yamaha team said on Thursday. The 31-year-old Italian, who told reporters later that he hoped to announce his plans for next year at the Aug. 15 Czech Grand Prix, was examined by circuit chief medical officer Huber Fischer at the Sachsenring and deemed fit enough to compete. Rossi suffered the injury in practice for last month’s Italian Grand Prix and was initially told by doctors that he would be out for at least three months. He has missed four races and dropped to seventh in the standings led by Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo.
■BASKETBALL
West given home detention
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West pleaded guilty to weapons charges and was given a home detention sentence that will not interfere with his NBA season, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The sentence, which was part of a plea bargain, begins on July 26 and allows West to attend practices, home games and road games, according to a report on the Washington Post’s Web site. West’s attorney said at a court hearing in Maryland that the Cavaliers guard was taking the weapons from his mother’s home to his house when he was stopped by police. The player was charged with six weapons offenses and two traffic violations, but pleaded guilty to carrying a dangerous weapon — an eight-inch knife — and illegally transporting a handgun, the paper said.
■BASKETBALL
Nuggets re-sign Carter
The Denver Nuggets have re-signed veteran guard Anthony Carter and signed free-agent forward-center Shelden Williams, the NBA team said on Thursday. Carter, 35, will be beginning his 12th NBA season. He has spent the past four seasons with Denver, averaging 5.6 points and 4.5 assists in 204 regular-season games, the Nuggets said on their Web site. He has also played for Miami, San Antonio and Minnesota. Williams averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 points in 54 games with the Boston Celtics last season. The Nuggets were 53-29 last season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz.
■BASEBALL
Kids enter World Series
A team from Kaohsiung became the third squad to advance to the Little League World Series after a pitcher tossed a no-hitter in the Asia-Pacific Region championship game. Chen Wei-chih also had two hits and an RBI in the 10-0 shutout of the Philippines on Thursday. The Taiwanese team comes from the Fu-Hsing Little League, which won the World Series title in 1996. Squads from Tokyo, Japan, and Manati, Puerto Rico, have already qualified for the 16-team field. Five more international berths are still at stake. The eight US berths will be decided next month. The World Series starts on Aug. 20 in South Williamsport.
■BASKETBALL
Spurs, Clippers head south
The San Antonio Spurs will face the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 12 in a pre-season game Mexico City, the 19th game the NBA will have played in Mexico, the league said on Thursday. The NBA first traveled to Mexico City in 1992 when the Spurs lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA will host a series of pre-season games outside the US and Canada in October when the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves play in Barcelona, London, Milan and Paris.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
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