IN BRIEF (Page 24)

NBA

Nets extend contract of head coach Frank

NEW YORK: New Jersey Nets head coach Lawrence Frank has signed a multi-year contract extension, Nets President Rod Thorn announced on Monday.

Terms of the contract were not revealed.

Frank has steered the team into the playoffs in each of his four seasons with the club, posting a 157-129 record but has not taken the Nets beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Last season the Nets finished 41-41 and lost in the second round of the playoffs to eventual Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. He has an 18-20 record in the postseason.

Cycling

Swiss court rejects Ullrich privacy bid

BERNE, Switzerland: Former German cyclist Jan Ullrich has failed in a bid to stop private banking details being handed over to German prosecutors investigating him for fraud.

In a statement issued on Monday, Switzerland's federal court said it would not consider an appeal brought by Ullrich in an attempt to prevent his account details being forwarded to the German authorities.

The court said there were no grounds to challenge the original ruling by Switzerland's federal criminal court, according to news agency SDA.

The 1997 Tour de France winner lives in Switzerland and rode with a licence issued by the Swiss cycling federation until shortly before his retirement in February.

Soccer

Penev is right man to be Bulgaria coach - Berbatov

SOFIA: Dimitar Penev is the right man to take over as Bulgaria coach, according to captain Dimitar Berbatov.

Bulgaria remain without a coach after Hristo Stoichkov quit in April to take charge of Celta Vigo. Levski Sofia's Stanimir Stoilov was appointed as caretaker for the Euro qualifiers against Belarus last month.

"It would be a privilege for me to play under Dimitar Penev," Tottenham Hotspur striker Berbatov said on Monday. "I made no secret that my sympathies are with him."

The 62-year-old Penev guided Bulgaria to the semifinals of the 1994 World Cup.

Bulgaria lie second in Euro 2008 qualifying Group G with 15 points from seven matches, two points behind their Balkan rivals Romania.

Cameroon retain Africa Games soccer title

BLIDA, Algeria: Cameroon retained the All Africa Games soccer title following a laboured 1-0 victory over Guinea at the Blida stadium, 50 km (30 miles) east of the capital.

Striker Ene Otobong received a pass near the centre of the pitch and outsprinted Oumar Deen to stab the ball past advancing Guinea goalkeeper Keita Abdoul.

The victory gave Cameroon their fourth gold medal at these games which came to a close on Monday at the July 5 Stadium in the capital Algiers. Cameroon finished 10th overall in the medal standings.

Fiszman has no plans to sell Arsenal shares

LONDON: Arsenal director Danny Fiszman, the Premier League club's largest individual shareholder with almost a quarter of the shares, has batted away media speculation he might sell his stake as part of a takeover.

"I have no intention of selling my shares in Arsenal for the foreseeable future," he told their Web site (www.arsenal.com). "There are exciting times ahead with the team showing so much promise, we are energised by what the future holds."

There has been speculation for months that Arsenal could become the next major English club to change hands and be sold to either US billionaire Stan Kroenke or British billionaire Bernie Ecclestone.

(China Daily 07/25/2007 page24)