IN BRIEF (Page 22)

NBA

Ginobili wins Sixth Man Award

NEW YORK: San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped Argentina win the 2004 Olympic title, was named on Monday as the winner of the 2007-2008 NBA's Sixth Man Award.

The annual honor for the NBA's top reserve player went to Ginobili with 615 of a possible 620 points. The South American star received 123 of 124 possible first-place votes in a poll of North American media representatives.

Leandro Barbosa, a Brazilian guard for the Phoenix Suns who took the honor last year, was second with 283 points with Jason Terry of Dallas third on 44 points.

Ginobili, who came off the bench in 51 of his 74 appearances for the reigning NBA champions, led the Spurs in scoring with a career-best 19.5 points a game and added 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals a game.

Skiles appointed Bucks coach

NEW YORK: The success-starved Milwaukee Bucks named Scott Skiles as head coach on Monday.

Skiles has an NBA record of 281-251 (.528) as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns.

"I'll set the tone," the 44-year-old told a news conference. "There will be no mysteries about what I expect.

"In my experience if you expect excellence in people often enough that's exactly what you'll get."

The Bucks (26-56) finished last in the Central Division this season under Larry Krystkowiak, who was fired last week.

Milwaukee has not finished more than two games over .500 since reaching the Eastern Conference finals in 2000-01. The club said Skiles agreed a multi-year contract but the exact length of the deal and financial terms were undisclosed.

Soccer

Koeman sacked, 'Voro' in charge

MADRID: Former Dutch international Ronald Koeman has been dismissed as coach of relegation-threatened Valencia and replaced by Salvador Gonzalez Marco, nicknamed "Voro", the Primera Liga club said on Monday.

Valencia's 5-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday left the team two points above the drop zone.

Koeman signed a two-and-a-half year contract at the beginning of November following the sacking of Quique Sanchez Flores. Valencia was then fourth in the table, four points behind leader Real Madrid.

Valencia said on its website (www.valenciafc.es) that a meeting at the club on Monday had sealed the departure of Koeman and his assistants Jose Mari Bakero, Toni Bruins Slot and sporting director Miguel Angel Ruiz.

Voro, a former player at Valencia and Deportivo Coruna, will take charge of the team to the end of the season.

Santana replaces Parreira

JOHANNESBURG: Brazil's Carlos Alberto Parreira resigned as coach of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa for personal reasons on Monday and was set to be replaced by compatriot Joel Santana.

Brazilian club Flamengo, where Santana currently coaches, said the 59-year-old had accepted an offer to step in for Parreira and coach a national side for the first time in his career.

"Joel is transferring to the South African national team after the final of the Carioca championship," Flamengo's football vice-president Kleber Leite said on the club's website (http://www.flamengo.com.br).

"He told that me that he will earn in 30 months more than he has earned in the last 30 year ... His dream is to coach a national team at a World Cup."

Santana is recognized as a journeyman professional with a good track record in Brazil but little international experience, apart from brief stints with clubs in Saudi Arabia and Japan.

NFL

Thurman reinstated after ban

NEW YORK: Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman was reinstated by the NFL on Monday after sitting out two seasons for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

"Odell has met the NFL's conditions for reinstatement and has been added to our off-season roster," said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis in a press release.

"It is now up to Odell to continue to meet all NFL guidelines, and to maintain a standard of personal responsibility that will allow him the chance to compete for a spot on our team."

The Bengals second round pick in the 2005 draft, Thurman had a team-high 148 tackles, four forced fumbles and five interceptions in his NFL rookie season.

He was first suspended by NFL commission Roger Goodell for four games in July 2006 for violations of the substance abuse policy.

(China Daily 04/23/2008 page22)