IN BRIEF (Page 24)
Baseball
Pitcher Rod Beck found dead at home
PHOENIX: Rod Beck, an All-Star relief pitcher who notched 286 saves during a 13-year Major League Baseball career, has been found dead at his Phoenix home, police said on Sunday.
An investigation by the county medical examiner to determine the cause of Beck's death could take "a number of days," according to police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill, who added that foul play is not suspected.
Beck, 38, a three time All-Star, recorded 51 saves for the Chicago Cubs in 1998 but only notched 36 saves over the next six seasons.
He also pitched for the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox, before finishing his career with the San Diego Padres in 2004.
Beck, who sported a long mustache, was excitable on the mound and earned the nickname "Shooter."
Off the field, Beck was known to have wrestled with drug problems and went into rehabilitation during his last year in professional baseball.
Tennis
Injured Murray pulls out of Wimbledon
LONDON: Andy Murray pulled out of Wimbledon on Sunday, saying he had not fully recovered from a wrist injury.
The 20-year-old eighth seed was Britain's best chance of success at the grasscourt grand slam which starts on Monday.
"I have done everything possible to get ready for Wimbledon ... but I'm not 100 percent ready," the Scot said in a statement.
"The doctor has advised me not to play and that I probably need about 10 days to be ready. Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to rain for the next 10 days."
Murray missed the French Open and Wimbledon warm-up events because of a wrist tendon injury sustained in Hamburg in May.
He is replaced in the draw by Kevin Kim of the United States.
Soccer
Deportivo target Lotina as next head coach
MADRID: Deportivo Coruna are hoping to recruit former Real Sociedad boss Miguel Angel Lotina to replace Joaquin Caparros as coach, the Primera Liga club's president Augusto Cesar Lendoiro said on Sunday.
"Lotina is the right person for the job because of his team work, for his experience in a club in a similar situation to Deportivo and because he knows how to bring on young players," Lendoiro told reporters.
Lotina, who steered Deportivo's local rivals Celta Vigo into the Champions League in 2003, stepped down as Sociedad coach last week after the Basque side were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 40 years.
Caparros quit as Depor coach after two seasons at the helm, saying he had been worn down by the job. The former Sevilla boss has been linked with the vacant post at Athletic Bilbao.
Argentina's Ayala fit for Copa after training scare
MARACAIBO, Venezuela: Argentina defender Roberto Ayala said a knee problem which forced him to pull out of a training session on Saturday was just a scare and that he was fit for the Copa America.
"Fortunately, I'm fine. I woke up this morning with no pain and was able to train in the gym with my team mates," he told reporters on Sunday.
Ayala, who has made a record 109 appearances, said he withdrew from the previous day's practice as a precaution.
Argentina, who lost to Brazil in the 2004 final, face the United States, Paraguay and Colombia in Group C. They open against the US on Thursday.
Argentina last won the Copa America in 1993.
(China Daily 06/26/2007 page24)
