IN BRIEF (Page 23)
Athletics
Gay and Defar take top IAAF awards
MONACO: World champion sprinter Tyson Gay of the United States and Ethiopian middle-distance starlet Meseret Defar were on Sunday named by athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, as the top athletes of 2007.
Gay claimed a sprint double at the world championships in Osaka in August, and also helped the US 4x100m relay team to victory to become only the fourth man to win three titles at a single world meet.
Gay, 25, won the 100m in 9.85 seconds, then captured the 200m in 19.76sec and ran the third leg on a triumphant relay in 37.78 seconds.
"To follow in Carl Lewis's footsteps (the first winner of the IAAF Athlete of the Year) is just a great honor," he said.
"I think for this year (winning the World Championships) makes me the fastest man in the world, but I honestly think that I need to have the world record like some of the other great sprinters like Carl Lewis, Maurice Greene. I think that sets you apart, having medals and having the world record."
NHL
Morrow leads Stars to fifth straight win
NEW YORK: Brenden Morrow's third-period power-play goal led the Dallas Stars to their fifth straight victory, a 3-2 triumph over the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Loui Eriksson had tied the score at 2-2 on another Dallas power play, this one at 11:54 of the second period.
"Today's game was about timely goals," Dallas coach Dave Tippett told reporters. "We had only two scoring chances in the first two periods, and we were two-for-two."
Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan scored for the Rangers, who lost their second straight game.
Jussi Jokinen collected the Stars' other goal with 52 seconds left in the opening period.
Dallas netminder Mike Smith played a key role in the win, stopping 39 shots.
TENNIS
Henin will use Sydney to prepare for Australian Open
SYDENY: World No 1 Justine Henin will use the Sydney International as her final lead-up event to next January's Australian Open, tournament organizers said yesterday.
The Belgian finished this year with ten titles, including the Grand Slam double of the US Open and French Open.
"I am very excited to be returning to Sydney. As everyone knows the start of 2007 was a very difficult time for me personally and I really missed playing the Australian circuit, but this will make me even more eager to do well in January," Henin said in a statement yesterday.
"I was sad I wasn't in Australia this year and I hope to take my revenge in a few weeks."
boxing
Record-breaker Pongsaklek gets to face Naito again
BANGKOK: Record-breaking Thai Pongsaklek Wongjongkam will get a chance to win back his WBC flyweight title from Japan's Daisuke Naito early next year, his promoters said on Monday.
Pongsaklek, who made 17 title defenses in six years, will face Naito (32-2-2) in Thailand in the final week of January, promoter Piyarat Wachirattanawong told Reuters.
He said both parties had agreed to the rematch, which will take place in either Bangkok or Saraburi.
The eagerly awaited bout will be Pongsaklek's first sanctioned fight since July, when a much-improved Naito left the 11-year undefeated Thai stunned when he took his belt in Tokyo.
NBA
Toronto forward Garbajosa to see ankle specialist
TORONTO: Jorge Garbajosa, the Toronto Raptors' Spanish forward, will see a specialist about his ailing left ankle and leg, the National Basketball Association team said Sunday.
The Raptors issued a statement in response to reports out of Spain that said Garbajosa would miss the rest of the season because of ankle surgery.
"We have arranged for Jorge to consult with a specialist in Baltimore on Monday," the team's statement read. "Future treatment and therapy options remain undetermined at this point."
Garbajosa has missed three of Toronto's last four games and is averaging just 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds in seven games this season.
(China Daily 11/27/2007 page23)
