Panel to probe possible boxing fix for 2012 Games (AP)
LONDON (AP)—Denying corruption claims in the “strongest possible terms,” amateur boxing’s governing body set up a special committee Friday to investigate allegations of attempts to fix results at the 2012 London Olympics. The International Amateur Boxing Association said a five-man panel will look into claims made in a BBC television program that $9 million has been paid by Azerbaijan to ensure the former Soviet republic wins two gold medals at the games. Bribes were allegedly paid to the World Series of Boxing, a subsidiary of AIBA. “AIBA and WSB deny in the strongest possible terms that they accepted an investment from Azerbaijan in exchange for two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics—or indeed for any improper purpose,” the boxing bodies said in a statement. “At this stage AIBA is not aware of any credible evidence” to support allegations that WSB chief operating officer Ivan Khodabakhsh promised gold medals to Azerbaijan in return for the payment, it said. “Ivan Khodabakhsh is a man of integrity and AIBA trusts him and respects his work,” the statement said, adding that he has promised to cooperate “fully and freely” with the probe. AIBA President C.K. Wu of Taiwan, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, appointed a “special investigation committee” to look into the claims. The panel will be led by Tom Virgets, chairman of AIBA’s disciplinary commission. AIBA said the group would convene immediately in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the amateur world championships are currently taking place. IOC President Jacques Rogge welcomed AIBA’s probe and asked the BBC to turn over its evidence for possible action. “We take every allegation very seriously,” Rogge said a news conference after a sports seminar in Beijing. Speaking by telephone from AIBA’s home city of Lausanne, Switzerland, Khodabakhsh told The Associated Press on Friday that the allegations were “completely ridiculous” and “absolute lies.” “I have never been asked to nor have I ever undertaken anything illegal or unethical in the course of my duties working for WSB,” Khodabakhsh said in the AIBA statement. “I am ready to personally take any possible measures to clear my name and prove that the accusations are false and without any ground.” Citing unnamed “whistleblowers” and “insiders,” BBC’s Newsnight program on Thursday alleged that the $9 million was paid by an Azerbaijan national to WSB, an international franchise competition supported by AIBA. The program said the money was needed by the WSB because it had run into financial difficulties in the United States. In its statement Friday, AIBA said it accepted a loan from a “private Azerbaijani investor” for the operation of WSB’s American franchises. “The loan was not ‘secret’ and nor was there anything improper about it,” the statement said. “It was an arms length transaction between two entities made on a commercial basis and with a view to a commercial return for the investor.” “Any suggestion that the loan was made in return for promises of gold medals at the 2012 Olympics is, we repeat, preposterous and utterly untrue,” AIBA said. Gerhard Heiberg, the IOC official who oversaw reforms of AIBA, said the allegations came as a “shock.” “This seems unreal because the process has been good,” he told the AP by telephone from Beijing. “The people have been changed. The people running AIBA today are good people in my opinion. “It would be very, very sad if the allegations are true,” Heiberg said. “I hope they are not.” Heiberg said he doesn’t see how it would be possible to fix the medal results but the allegations should be investigated anyway and AIBA should face “consequences” if bribes were paid. “I feel we have found systems now to prevent things like that,” he said. “I cannot see how it could be possible to fix and give two gold medals. I cannot see how it can function in practice. Fifteen years ago yes, but not today.” Heiberg was appointed chairman of AIBA’s reform commission after the 2004 Athens Olympics. The IOC withheld $1.1 million in Olympic television revenues from AIBA after Athens. The money was paid in full in 2007 after the IOC was satisfied that AIBA had cleaned up its act and improved the sport’s scoring and judging systems. The reforms moved forward after Wu ousted longtime chief Anwar Chowdhry of Pakistan as AIBA president in 2006. Wu was re-elected to a second four-year term last year. In 2007, AIBA secretary general Caner Doganeli of Turkey was expelled for financial misconduct and Chowdhry was barred for life from any involvement with the federation. “We have to follow up,” Heiberg said. “C.K. Wu and his people will have to explain what is happening. We cannot leave this alone.” AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva and Associated Press writer Chi-Chi Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report.
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McCoughtry, Dream beat Sun to reach East finals (AP)
ATLANTA (AP)—If Dream coach Marynell Meadors had a choice, she’d opt against her team’s knack for sluggish starts. However, she’s quite happy with Atlanta’s ability to rally for wins. Angel McCoughtry was one of four Atlanta players to score 12 points, getting all of her points in the second half, as the Dream used another fourth-quarter surge Sunday to rally past the Sun for a 69-64 win and their second straight trip to the WNBA Eastern Conference finals. Tina Charles’ jumper at the start of the fourth period gave the Sun a 53-44 lead. Then, the Dream started driving and out-scored Connecticut 25-11 the rest of the way to sweep the series. Call it a trend. On Friday night, the Dream outscored the Sun 28-18 in the final period to win Game 1 89-84 in Connecticut. “We were down … and it doesn’t seem to bother us,” Meadors said. “I’ll tell you what; get us to the fourth quarter and we’re pretty good. It was all about our defense, and it wasn’t anything the coaches were saying.” The Dream will open the conference finals Thursday against Indiana or New York. The deciding Game 3 of that series is Monday night at Indianapolis. Asjha Jones scored 15 points to lead Connecticut (21-15), and Charles added 13 points and a Sun franchise playoff-record 17 rebounds. Atlanta, which finished the regular season 17-5 after a 3-9 start, has now won nine of its last 10 overall since a 96-87 loss at Connecticut on Aug. 21. The Dream won this game by attacking the glass late and hitting free throws. They won the opener of this series with an overwhelming 47-29 rebounding edge. Sunday, the Sun forged a 32-29 edge on the boards through three quarters after coach Mike Thibault made rebounding a point of emphasis before the game. Charles had 15 rebounds through three periods. She had just two in the fourth quarter as Atlanta outrebounded Connecticut 13-5. Atlanta’s Sancho Lyttle, Lindsey Harding and Erika de Souza also had 12 points each. De Souza had four of her team-high 10 rebounds in the final quarter, when the Dream out-scored the Sun 16-4 in the paint. “They’re tough inside,” Jones said. “They have post players who are good at blocking out, and they also have post players who can shoot jumpers so that makes matching up a little difficult.” After Charles’ jumper to begin the fourth gave the Sun a nine-point lead, Atlanta’s next seven baskets were drives or point-blank shots. Connecticut made just 5-of-16 shots in the final quarter, and Harding’s drive down a crowded lane with 3:28 left gave Atlanta a 58-57 lead—the Dream’s first since 28-27 in the second quarter. Seven Atlanta players scored in the fourth period, when Harding, McCoughtry and reserve Iziane Castro Marques scored six each. That balance is nothing new. In the Dream’s series-opening win, all five starters scored at least 13 points. “Izi can start on any team … and having her be a spark off the bench is huge for us,” Harding said. “It makes it extremely hard to stop a team when it’s like, ‘Who’s going to score?’ I love being part of it, and sharing the ball.” After taking the lead for good, Atlanta stretched it as far as seven points at 66-59 on Harding’s two free throws with 32 seconds left. The Sun could not pull closer in large measure because the Dream grabbed seven of the game’s final eight rebounds after taking the lead. Although the Dream were the league’s least efficient free-throw shooting team during the regular season, Atlanta made 7 of 8 from the line in the final quarter, and 27 of 33 overall Friday night. Connecticut turned the ball over 17 times Sunday, leading to 20 Atlanta points, and the Sun managed just eight points off the Dream’s 10 turnovers. “We did everything we could defensively,” Thibault said. “Our offense gave it back to them.”
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Ron Artest is now ‘Metta World Peace’
It’s official. What started as what seemed like a joke back in June, before turning into an excuse for a litany of terrible puns (your humbled narrator working as a notable beneficiary of such), then turning into an excuse for Orange County to collect on a series of parking tickets while he influenced his family has ended up where the former Ron Artest(notes) has long hoped it would. Starting today, Ron Artest will officially be known as “Metta World Peace.” Meet Metta World Peace, everybody. (Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah.) As a result, Lakers jerseys with “World Peace” printed on the back will likely fly off the shelves, which in turn could shift the balance of the NBA’s Basketball Related Income, which could influence both the owners and their locked-out players to come to a suitable compromise as they negotiate ways to split their substantial revenue-filled pie. This in turn could lead to the 2011-12 NBA season to start on time, handing back the livelihood to thousands of workers across two countries that bank on at least 82 games in an NBA season to put food on their respective tables. And, as the World Peace butterfly keeps flapping its wings, this could lead to a potential future tyrannical despot, a malicious potential bellicose leader of armies, to watch a Celtics/Lakers game on basic cable on a Thursday night instead of ignoring his homework to research the lives of various dictators and mass murderers on Wikipedia. Distracted, he or she will then turn to an orthodox life of quiet desperation and basketball fandom, rather than fulfilling what was otherwise an unavoidable fate that would lead to the start of World War III. As you can see, the influence of Metta World Peace will never be overstated. We are a better planet for his presence. Related: Ron Artest
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Mississippi State eyes upset over LSU (AP)
Despite missing its starting quarterback and one of its top receivers, LSU is off to a quick start. Even on a short week, coach Les Miles expects more good things from his team. The third-ranked Tigers open SEC play Thursday night when they visit No. 25 Mississippi State. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson is suspended indefinitely following an arrest stemming from a bar fight Aug. 19 and receiver Russell Shepard is suspended the first three games for an NCAA rules violation, but the Tigers haven’t slowed down with senior Jarrett Lee under center. After leading LSU to a 40-27 victory over then-No. 3 Oregon on Sept. 3 in Arlington, Texas, Lee completed 9 of 10 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown in the first half of Saturday’s 49-3 home-opening win over Northwestern State. Backup Zach Mettenberger replaced Lee for the entire second half, and other Tigers starters also took advantage of the rout to get some rest on a short week. “Everyone knows what this team is capable of, and yes it is going to be difficult with that quick of a turnaround, but I’m confident we will be fine,” said sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who leads the team with 14 tackles. Miles shares that feeling. “I look forward to it, to be honest with you,” he said. “I think the change in schedule will be good for us.” Miles had to be pleased with the Tigers holding the Demons’ to minus-4 yards rushing, but LSU faces a Bulldogs team ranked sixth in the FBS with 321.0 rushing yards per game. Senior Vick Ballard, who ran for a career-best 166 yards in a 59-14 season-opening victory at Memphis on Sept. 1, leads Mississippi State (1-1, 0-1) with 301 yards and four TDs. Senior quarterback Chris Relf has carried a team-high 40 times for 157 yards. “We have good balance,” coach Dan Mullen said. “Our offensive line does a good job creating seams and gaps, and then we have good balance.” Mullen said the offensive line is one of the most experienced units on the team, but that group could be without senior center Quentin Saulsberry (sprained knee) and senior left tackle James Carmon (leg), who were both injured in Saturday’s 41-34 loss at Auburn. Carmon was on crutches for the second half and watched as Relf was stuffed at the goal line on the game’s final play. “We didn’t come up with the big inch,” Relf said. “I should have made the play.” The Bulldogs couldn’t make a final play the last time LSU was in town, a 30-26 Tigers victory Sept. 26, 2009. LSU stopped Mississippi State three times inside the 3-yard line in the final minutes to win its fifth straight in Starkville. The Tigers won their 11th in a row in this matchup last Sept. 18, 29-7 in Baton Rouge. Mullen had to gameplan for Jefferson the last two times these teams met, but now his focus is on pressuring Lee, who has completed 19 of 32 passes for 231 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. “He’s a great manager of the game,” Mullen said. “He makes all the throws he needs to throw in the key situations for them, and he puts them in a great position to win football games.” Covering wide receiver Rueben Randle (131 yards, TD) could be a challenge for the Bulldogs, who will also have to slow down the backfield combination of Michael Ford (168 yards, four TDs) and Spencer Ware (119 yards, three scores). LSU is 68-33-3 versus Mississippi State.
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