Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Huge crowd expected at Seau’s memorial in San Diego
OCEANSIDE, California (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of fans
are expected to attend Junior Seau’s public memorial in a San
Diego stadium on Friday, more than a week after the former
National Football League star killed himself in his beachfront
home. Seau died on May 2 in a bedroom of his home in Oceanside,
just north of San Diego, from a self-inflicted gunshot to the
chest, according to police. The 43-year-old former linebacker
left no suicide note.
McIlroy set to miss cut as Johnson grabs Players lead
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – World number one
Rory McIlroy is almost certain to miss the cut at the Players
Championship after a four-over 76 on Friday while American Zach
Johnson stormed into the early clubhouse lead. McIlroy has had
a miserable record at the TPC Sawgrass course, where he missed
the cut in his previous two appearances at the venue before
skipping the event last year.
Serena sweeps past Sharapova into Madrid semis
MADRID (Reuters) – Serena Williams blew away fellow former
number one Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-3 to join top seed Victoria
Azarenka in the semi-finals at the Madrid Open on Friday. The
American ninth seed extended her winning streak over the
Russian world number two to seven in a row and to eight from 10
meetings, since they first clashed in Miami back in 2004.
U.S. beats Belarus, Finland flattens France at ice hockey
world championships
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The United States survived an early
scare to beat Belarus 5-3 while Finland turned on the style to
destroy France 7-1 in Group H action at the ice hockey world
championships in Helsinki on Thursday. The U.S. were 2-0 up and
coasting after seven minutes but a dogged Belarus side pegged
them back to 2-2, keeping pace for almost two full periods
before falling away and eventually losing.
Gatlin runs down tired Powell for victory in Doha
DOHA (Reuters) – Justin Gatlin overcame the steamy desert
heat and a poor start to run down a tiring Asafa Powell in the
closing stages of the men’s 100 meters for victory in 9.87
seconds in the season-opening Diamond League meeting on Friday.
Powell was ahead for most of the race but finished 0.01 seconds
behind the American and put his defeat down to the effects of
travelling from his native Jamaica.
NBA’s ”Birdman” Andersen’s home raided by Denver-area
police
DENVER (Reuters) – Sheriff’s deputies raided the Colorado
home of Denver Nuggets center Chris ”Birdman” Andersen on
Thursday as part of an Internet child crimes investigation but
the NBA player has not been charged or arrested, police said.
Investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office seized
some unspecified property during the search of Andersen’s home
in Larkspur, 40 miles south of Denver, police spokesman Ron
Hanavan said in a statement.
Venezuela’s Paralympians aided by Chavez’s socialism
CARACAS (Reuters) – Willy Martinez was a highly-ranked
Venezuelan boxer at the age of 18 when an enraged man chopped
off his hand with a machete. Martinez’s boxing days were over
— but not his athletic ambitions. Now aged 27 and a
father-of-three, he is training to qualify as a sprinter for
the London Paralympics with the help of President Hugo Chavez’s
socialist government.
Argentine hunger feeds Brazil basketball ambition
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Overcome adversity, play as a
team, never think of defeat, hunger for medals. Coach Ruben
Magnano’s tenets for success have guided Brazil’s basketball
team to their first Olympics in 16 years and given them genuine
hope of a podium place in London. While they may sound like
sporting clich ?s, Argentine Magnano used those same
ingredients to steer his own country to the gold medal at the
2004 Athens Games.
Japanese table tennis prodigy told to enjoy salad days
TOKYO (Reuters) – Teenage Japanese table tennis player Koki
Niwa has been ordered to see a dietician and consume more
vegetables in the run up to this year’s London Olympics to fix
his sloppy eating habits. Japan’s coaches have lost patience
with the pint-sized Niwa over his aversion to healthy food,
local media reported on Friday.
Toni Nadal sees red over Madrid’s blue clay
MADRID (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni has
added his voice to growing criticism of the Madrid Open’s blue
clay courts, and hit out at tournament owner Ion Tiriac and the
men’s tour organizers the ATP over the switch from the
traditional red dirt. World number two Nadal, who was knocked
out in the third round by Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco
on Thursday, and number one Novak Djokovic have complained the
blue clay is too slippery and have threatened to boycott the
Masters event next year unless the red surface is reinstated.
