IN BRIEF (Page 24)
Tennis
Nadal extends claycourt record in Monte Carlo
MONTE CARLO: Rafael Nadal extended his record claycourt winning streak to 63 matches with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the Monte Carlo Masters Series second round yesterday.
The double French Open champion, who also won in the principality in 2005 and 2006, wrapped up a straightforward win on his third match point.
Following an early exchange of breaks, the left-handed Spaniard twice stole his opponent's serve to get a grip on the contest.
Second seed Nadal broke again in the third game of the second set before going on to secure a meeting with Belgian Kristof Vliegen.
Meanwhile, Swede Robin Soederling caused a major upset when he beat Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-7 6-3.
Basketball
Owner sees little hope of staying in Seattle
SEATTLE: Seattle SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett said the National Basketball Association club might try to move before its arena lease expires in 2010 after state lawmakers nixed a new arena plan.
The Sonics, who are finishing their 40th season in the US Pacific Northwest, might be in line to move to Oklahoma City, which earned praise from league officials as a temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets the past two seasons.
"Clearly at this time the Sonics... have little hope of remaining in the Puget Sound region," said Bennett, who is based in Oklahoma City and has made no secret about his desire to see his home city have an NBA team all its own.
The Hornets, forced to relocate for most of the past two seasons after the damage of Hurricane Katrina in their home city, will return to New Orleans next season on a full-time basis.
NBA bans referee Crawford for remainder of season
NEW YORK: Joey Crawford, a referee for 31 seasons, was suspended for the remainder of the National Basketball Association season and playoffs on Tuesday by league commissioner David Stern.
The punishment stemmed from an incident Sunday between Crawford and San Antonio's Tim Duncan with 1:04 to play in the third quarter of the Spurs' 91-86 loss to Dallas.
Crawford ejected Duncan from the game, imposing two technical fouls in 76 seconds, and after announcing Crawford's suspension, Stern said he was imposing a $25,000 fine on Duncan.
Crawford has officiated 266 NBA playoff games and 38 NBA Finals games, in each case the most among active officials. He also is one five referees to have worked in at least 2,000 NBA regular-season games.
Motor racing
Hamilton can be greatest, says McLaren boss
LONDON: British rookie Lewis Hamilton could become the greatest driver Formula One has ever seen, according to McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh.
"Why not?," he told yesterday's Guardian newspaper, after the Briton's third podium finish in three races at the weekend. "It's obviously too early to analyse but if the trend continues there is no reason why he could not be the greatest driver ever."
Whitmarsh, who has worked at McLaren with the likes of Brazilian Ayrton Senna and France's quadruple champion Alain Prost, said he had "a pretty clear picture of what gives the top guys that crucial edge over the simply good or average drivers.
"And I think it is pretty clear that Lewis ticks all the necessary boxes."
Hamilton, 22, came second and beat his double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
(China Daily 04/19/2007 page24)
