■BOXING
Margarito to fight in Texas
Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito of Mexico has been approved to fight in Texas, clearing the way for his proposed bout against Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium this fall. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation received an application from Margarito on Monday and decided on Thursday to grant his request. The decision came after Margarito was denied an application to fight in California and had another application tabled in Nevada. Margarito is expected to face Pacquiao for a vacant junior middleweight title on Nov. 13. “I want to thank the state of Texas for granting me a boxing license, which enables me to continue my passion for the sport of boxing in the United States,” Margarito said in a statement. “I have dedicated my life to giving the fans of the sport entertainment and excitement. On Nov. 13, this great opportunity will ultimately be fulfilled.”
■BASKETBALL
Huang hangs up Cavs deal
Chinese businessman Kenny Huang has pulled out of a deal to buy a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team. A Cavaliers spokesman confirmed on Thursday that the a partnership between the group headed by Huang and the Cavs never materialized. Earlier this month, Huang had also pulled out of a proposed takeover of English Premier League club Liverpool. The Cavaliers minority sale had been expected to be completed last year, pending approval by the NBA’s board of governors, but in May, commissioner David Stern said there were no plans for a league vote and the deal quickly dissolved. The Cavaliers said they will maintain a relationship with Huang’s company for business development in China.
■BASKETBALL
China write off chances
With Houston Rockets All-Star center Yao Ming recovering from a serious foot injury, China have written off their chances at the world basketball championships. China face a baptism of fire against Greece today in their opening game in Turkey, with American coach Bob Donewald insisting his goal was the 2012 London Olympics. “We don’t have Yao. We have many young players in this team. We still need to work and improve,” Donewald told the China Daily after naming his 12-man squad. “The world championship is an important test, but I have my eyes on the 2012 London Olympic Games,” added Donewald, whose team has suffered six heavy warm-up defeats in the build-up to Turkey. Donewald sprang a surprise by axing power forward Li Xiaoyu and including 17-year-old guard Guo Ailun and 20-year-old Yu Shulong in his squad.
■BASKETBALL
Krstic suspended for brawl
Serbian center Nenad Krstic of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder has been suspended for three games and fined 45,000 Swiss francs (US$43,950) over last week’s mass brawl at a basketball tournament in Greece. Fellow countryman Milos Teodosic and Greek players Antonis Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis were banned for two games, the sport’s governing body said on its Web site on Thursday. The suspensions will keep the four players out of the opening games of the world championships in Turkey, which starts today. The Serbian and Greek federations were also fined SF20,000 apiece. Krstic was arrested before later being released without bail after allegedly hitting Yiannis Bourousis with a chair as the Greek player tried to break up a fight during the Acropolis Tournament final in Athens last Thursday.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
Shin Oebori coaches the Fukagawa Hawks youth baseball team in Tokyo, and he is very aware how Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani touches his players. “With Ohtani, the kids think everything is possible,” Oebori said, wrapping up practice yesterday on an all-dirt field set alongside a local Buddhist temple, below an elevated highway, and in the shadow of tall apartment blocks in central Tokyo. “Nothing is impossible with him. A dream is not a dream,” Oebori said, stepping out of the fenced practice field that keeps balls from landing on the temple grounds. None of the players hitting sponge-soft baseball has reached
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
CRICKET Azhar’s 59 leads Stallions Aashir Azhar’s blazing half-century guided the Taipei Stallions to victory over Taipei Super 11 in the Taiwan Premier League’s Group A at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei yesterday. The Stallions were 102-3 and into the 12th over of 20 when Azhar came to the crease. He hit seven sixes and two fours in the 25 deliveries he faced to push his side to 171-5. Gokul Kumar was the star with the ball for Super 11, taking 3-17. In the reply, Deepak Vishnu outscored Azhar with 77 from 50 balls, but nobody else got past 20 as
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