Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Miami Marlins suspend manager over Castro comments
MIAMI (Reuters) – The Miami Marlins baseball team suspended
manager Ozzie Guillen for five games after he praised Cuba’s
Fidel Castro in a magazine interview, the team said on Tuesday.
The outspoken Guillen held a bilingual news conference on
Tuesday in Miami – home to a large Cuban exile community – to
apologize for a second time and said there were translation
problems with the interview.
Cuban national soccer team player defects, seeks asylum in
U.S.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – A Cuban national soccer
player who disappeared from his team while in Nashville,
Tennessee, for an Olympic qualifying tournament has defected
and is seeking asylum in the United States, his attorney said
on Tuesday. Yosmel de Armas was in Nashville for the soccer
tournament in late March when he disappeared. He played in a
March 24 game, but was absent from the team’s next game on
March 26.
Surging Celtics upset Heat again
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Arkansas fires football coach over relationship with
assistant
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) – The University of
Arkansas on Tuesday fired head football coach Bobby Petrino
after a motorcycle accident with a young female passenger led
to what university officials said was a pattern of deception
about her hiring and their relationship. At a press conference
Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Athletic Director Jeff
Long said that Petrino, 51, was dismissed because of a ”pattern
of misleading and manipulative behavior to deceive me.”
All eyes on Crosby and Ovechkin as playoffs begin
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Reds sign All-Star Phillips to six-year extension
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Panthers’ Smith agrees to three-year extension
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Reebok, Nike settle suit over Tebow apparel sales
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Beijing grapples with Games legacy four years on
BEIJING (Reuters) – Four years after Beijing hosted a
spectacular summer Olympics, China’s bustling capital sees
vastly improved public transport and infrastructure, but many
of the venues built for the event languish unloved, underused
and draining public finances. The jewels in the crown were two
architecturally-stunning buildings — the main ”Bird’s Nest”
stadium and the ”Water Cube” aquatics centre, described by
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge as
”beautiful” and ”unprecedented” venues.
Canucks’ Daniel Sedin misses practice on eve of playoffs
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