BASKETBALL
Kings stay in Sacramento
NBA commissioner David Stern was heartened by the decision of the Kings’ owners to keep their club in Sacramento, California, for another season, but said on Monday the city has to act if it wants to keep them. Kings co-owner George Maloof told the Sacramento Bee that it was a difficult decision to drop plans to move the team south to Anaheim, California, where the Maloof family believes the club could find a more stable financial situation. The move was announced just hours before an NBA-imposed deadline for the Kings to file a formal request to relocate the team. However, the Kings’ continued tenure in Sacramento will be contingent on the ability of former NBA All-Star player Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s ability to deliver a workable plan for the building of a new arena.
ICE HOCKEY
Gretzky card sets record
A rookie trading card for Wayne Gretzky sold to an anonymous bidder for US$94,163, a record for an ice hockey card, SCP Auctions Inc said on its Web site. Hall of Famer Gretzky, 49, holds NHL records for goals, assists and points. He led the Edmonton Oilers to Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988 and retired in 1999. Gretzky, an 18-time All-Star, who spent the first nine seasons of his NHL career in Edmonton, before moving on to the Los Angeles Kings, St Louis Blues and New York Rangers, was a rookie for Edmonton in 1979-1980.
SOCCER
Norwich City promoted
Norwich City will return to the Premier League next season for the first time since 2005 after clinching promotion on Monday. The Canaries made sure of finishing as runners-up to Championship (second division) winners Queens Park Rangers by beating Portsmouth 1-0. Norwich have 83 points from 45 games, four ahead of third-placed Cardiff City with one match left. Cardiff, who lost 3-0 at home to Middlesbrough on Monday, still have a chance of going up through the four-team promotion playoffs. Norwich’s promotion was their second in successive years under manager Paul Lambert after they won the League One title last season.
RUGBY UNION
Ioane faces fine for tweet
Queensland Reds back Digby Ioane faces a stiff fine for describing New Zealand official Keith Brown as the “worst ever ref” on his Twitter page last weekend. Brown awarded a controversial late penalty on Saturday, which allowed the Wellington Hurricanes to beat the Reds 28-26 and end the Australian team’s run of seven successive wins. The Wallabies winger later deleted the comment from his page, but that had not saved him from a disciplinary hearing. “Queensland Reds wing Digby Ioane has been charged with contravening the SANZAR code of conduct and will face a judicial hearing on Wednesday,” a statement released by Super Rugby organizers said yesterday.
BASEBALL
Sheen to donate to fan
Charlie Sheen says he will donate US$20,000 in profits and donations from a San Francisco show to the Giants fan who was severely beaten outside Dodgers Stadium. Sheen’s publicist Barry Klarberg said on Monday the donation to Bryan Stow consists of US$9,000 in merchandise profits from Saturday night’s show and US$4,000 in audience donations. Sheen matched the audience donations and added US$3,000 more for the sum. The paramedic and San Francisco Giants fan was placed into a medically induced coma after the March 31 beating.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
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
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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