BASKETBALL
Ex-Hog has surgery Denver Nuggets rookie Sonny Weems (West Memphis, Arkansas Razorbacks ) had surgery Thursday to repair a sports hernia. Weems, a second-round pick who was acquired by the Nuggets on draft night, is expected to fully recover in time for the start of training camp Sept. 30. The Chicago Bulls picked Weems 39 th overall out of Arkansas, then traded him to the Nuggets for a 2009 secondround pick. Weems played five games for the Nuggets’ Summer League team, averaging 9. 2 points, 3. 0 rebounds and 22 minutes. Auburn forward Josh Dollard has been dismissed from the team for violating university policy after sitting out last season for medical reasons. Dollard led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore, averaging 12. 5 points and 7. 0 rebounds. He has the option to remain in school at Auburn and is only 12 hours shy of finishing his degree. Dollard also averaged 9. 1 points as a freshman, starting 12 games.
LeBron James had 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in 23 minutes in his exhibition debut, helping the U. S. Olympic team beat Turkey 114-82 in its first game in China in Macau. Carmelo Anthony added 17 points, Dwight Howard had 14, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 13 points and Chris Paul added 12 points and 6 assists. The Americans allowed 10 field goals in the first quarter, then only 10 combined over the next two quarters. They improved to 2-0 in Olympic tuneup play. James, the NBA’s leading scorer, sprained his right ankle when he stepped on another player’s foot during a scrimmage early last week. The injury was considered mild and James likely could have played Friday against Canada, but the U. S. staff opted to rest him to avoid further swelling before the long flight to Asia.
Memphis’ men’s basketball program reported a possible violation to the NCAA. School officials said they learned that Dave Bronczek, president of Memphis-based FedEx and a school booster, telephoned a woman who is a FedEx employee and the mother of a high school player being recruited by the school. Boosters are prohibited by NCAA rules from having any contact with recruits or their parents. Bronczek made an early July phone call to Oseye Gaddy, mother of point guard Abdul Gaddy of Tacoma, Wash., and a FedEx employee in the Seattle area for more than a decade.
TENNIS Federer eliminated Roger Federer lost a match and, perhaps, his longtime grip on No. 1. He lost to Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (8 ), 4-6, 7-6 (7 ) on Thursday at the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio, that opened the way for Rafael Nadal to take over the No. 1 spot by winning the tournament. Nadal stayed on course for the shift by beating Tommy Haas 6-4, 7-6 (0 ), reaching the quarterfinals with his 31 st consecutive victory. Three more victories and the top spot in the world rankings belongs to him. Federer has been ranked No. 1 since Feb. 2, 2004, a record of 235 consecutive weeks. He and Nadal have held the top two spots since July 25, 2005. They will swap if Nadal extends his run of five consecutive tournament titles. Since his epic five-set loss to Nadal at Wimbledon, Federer has lost in the second round in Toronto and failed to make the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, where he won the title last year. The 26-yearold Swiss star has been struggling to regain his aura of domination since he started the year with mononucleosis. Federer had won the six previous times he faced the 6-10 Karlovic, but their matches were close. Federer had won 13 of those 15 sets, although nine ended in tiebreakers. A 19-yearold Latvian upset the last remaining American in the draw. Ernests Gulbis took advantage of James Blake’s erratic serve for a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory, leaving the United States shut out of the quarterfinals for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Maria Sharapova will miss the Beijing Olympics because of a right shoulder injury. The three-time Grand Slam singles champion said on her Web site that a magnetic resonance imaging and other medical tests showed she has two small tears in tendons in her shoulder. The right-handed Sharapova pulled out of the WTA tournament in Montreal because of the shoulder Wednesday night — after winning a nearly three-hour match in which she double-faulted 17 times. Sharapova has been bothered off and on by her right shoulder for some time, and she pulled out of a tournament in March because of it. Sharapova was briefly ranked No. 1 this season and is currently No. 3.
HOCKEY Bowman joins Blackhawks Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman is joining the Chicago Blackhawks as a senior adviser for hockey operations. A special consultant with the Detroit Red Wings since retiring from coaching after the 2002 season, the 74-year-old Bowman signed a three-year deal with Chicago. Bowman’s son, Stan, is in his eighth season with the Blackhawks and beginning his second as the team’s assistant general manager. Scotty Bowman will report to General Manager Dale Tallon, and along with attending the team’s training camp, will advise Blackhawks Coach Denis Savard and the team’s Rockford AHL team. Bowman led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup title in 1997, 1998 and 2002. In 30 seasons, Bowman led teams to the playoffs 29 times and accumulated an NHL-record 1, 244 regular-season victories, 223 postseason victories and 9 Stanley Cup championships. Before his nine seasons in Detroit, Bowman guided the Montreal Canadiens to five championships in the 1970 s and one with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992. HORSE RACING
Big Brown favored Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown drew the No. 4 post and was made the 1-2 favorite in the field of seven 3-year-olds for Sunday’s $ 1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N. J. Big Brown is set for his first start since finishing last in the Belmont Stakes in his bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. Cool Coal Man, who drew the No. 2 post, is the 4-1 second choice, with Atoned at 6-1 and Coal Play at 8-1. Also entered in 1 the 1 / 8 mile race are Alaazo, Magical Forest and Nistle’s Crunch. BASEBALL
WBC sites set The semifinals and championship game of the 2009 World Baseball Classic will be played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where such international stars as Fernando Valenzuela of Mexico and Hideo Nomo of Japan made their marks. The semifinals will be played March 21-22, with the championship game set for March 23. “Los Angeles is one of the most international cities in the world and the Dodgers have always been at the forefront of the international movement,” said Bob DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball. “The diverse makeup of the community was also a consideration in making this award.” The second round will be at Dolphin Stadium in Miami from March 14-18 and Petco Park in San Diego from March 15-19. The opening round will be at Tokyo Dome, Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City, Rogers Centre in Toronto, and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
ODDS & ENDS Switzer to appear on TV Former Oklahoma football Coach Barry Switzer, a native of Crossett, is going Hollywood. Switzer, who has appeared in a handful of television series and movies, will play himself in an episode of the TNT drama Saving Grace that will air Aug. 11. Saving Grace is set in Oklahoma City and routinely has characters with names of Oklahoma towns. The show’s creator, Nancy Miller, grew up in Oklahoma City and is a fan of the Oklahoma Sooners. The show stars Holly Hunter, who plays a police detective, Grace Hanadarko, who is counseled by an angel. “It’s over the top,” said Switzer, who went 157-29-4 as the Sooners’ coach from 1973-1988 and won three national titles. “Holly Hunter’s pretty sexy. A rogue. It’s about saving a girl that’s lost.” During the episode, a Porsche driven by Hunter’s character is hit by a drunk driver, jarring loose money hidden by one of the car’s previous owners. Switzer’s character is questioned by police because he was one of those former owners. Switzer said he traveled to California to shoot his scene and that he had fun working with the show’s actors. “I spent five hours doing a one- or two-minute scene,” Switzer said. “They probably could do it cheaper. But I enjoyed it.” Other television shows in which Switzer has appeared include Arli $$ and Coach, and he has been in movies including Any Given Sunday, Varsity Blues and Possums.
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