BASKETBALL
NBA postpones camps
The NBA on Friday said it had postponed training camps and canceled the first week of preseason games as it struggles to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with players. The NBA, in the midst of its first work stoppage in 13 years, said training camps scheduled to open Oct. 3 have been postponed indefinitely and 43 preseason games from Oct. 9 to Oct. 15 have been canceled. “We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”
FOOTBALL
Ravens’ Brown dies at 40
Orlando Brown, a former Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle best known for shoving an NFL official in a 1999 game, was found dead at his Baltimore home on Friday. Brown was 40. Police said no cause of death has been determined for Brown, who was dead when firefighters arrived at his home after attempts to contact him proved in vain. Police said there were no signs of trauma or suspicious circumstances. Brown began his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns in 1993 and also played for the Ravens before retiring in 2005. The most notable moment of Brown’s career as an NFL blocker came in 1999 when he was playing for the Browns against Jacksonville and was accidentally struck in the right eye by a penalty flag thrown by official Jeff Triplette. Brown, whose father was blind due to glaucoma, said concern over possible eyesight damage prompted him to push Triplette. Brown was suspended for two weeks, but also spent six days in a hospital with bleeding behind his eye. The injury would cause Brown, who was nicknamed “Zeus,” to miss the next three seasons before he made a comeback with the Ravens in 2003.
BADMINTON
Injured Lin Dan withdraws
World champion Lin Dan withdrew from the Japan Open yesterday with an injured left foot, giving his teammate Chen Long a free ticket to the men’s singles final where he will face defending champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The Chinese second seed, the sport’s biggest name and the winner in Tokyo in 2004 and 2005, said the skin on his left foot came off after a tough match against another teammate, Chen Jin, in the quarter-finals on Friday. In the women’s singles, Juliane Schenk defeated Indian star Saina Nehwal to set up a final against world champion Wang Yihan of China. The German eighth seed, who eliminated All England champion Wang Shixian of China in the quarter-finals, gained another major scalp with a 21-19, 21-10 victory over the fourth seed. Wang Yihan was given a walkover into the final as fellow Chinese Liu Xin withdrew with a left leg injury.
SOCCER
Colin Klass banned
Guyana Football Association president Colin Klass became the second high-ranking official, and the fourth in all, to be banned for their part in a bribery scandal when world soccer’s ruling body FIFA suspended him on Friday for 26 months. Klass, who was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs (US$5,537), was provisionally suspended on Aug. 11 after the Ethics Committee ruled he had breached their Code of Ethics for his part in the scandal that also led to the lifetime ban for Qatari Mohammed Bin Hammam following a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union in May.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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