IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Soccer

Grant blasts EPL refs

LONDON: Chelsea manager Avram Grant has made a stinging attack on Premier League referees, saying they helped Manchester United win the title, British newspapers reported on Thursday.

Grant, who may risk the wrath of the Football Association over his remarks, added that he was glad the referee for the Champions League final against United in Moscow next Wednesday was not English.

"In England there are very good referees, but there are some, a few that you can influence, like you saw," Grant told reporters.

He was referring to United's last Premier League game of the season on Sunday, a 2-0 win at Wigan Athletic that clinched the title.

"I looked at the game. (The referee) was, as expected, good for one team," Grant said.

"I told you I believed in the tradition of the fair English game. I will not say anything against it, but what happened is what I expected."

Chelsea went into the final round of matches level on points with United, although behind on goal difference. It needed United to drop points if it was to pip it for the title but conceded a stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers.

Tennis

Ivanovic falls to qualifier

ROME: Serbian top seed Ana Ivanovic exited the Italian Open in her first game on Wednesday, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.

Russian world No 2 Maria Sharapova survived a scare to beat unseeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in her second-round match but the other top seeds had less trouble.

Former world No 1 Venus Williams beat Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1 while her fifth-seeded sister Serena also joined Sharapova and Pironkova in the third round with a resounding 6-2, 6-0 win over Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.

Serbian title holder Jelena Jankovic, the fourth seed, progressed in straight sets too with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who lost to Jankovic in last year's final, had an easy 6-2, 6-0 win over Belarusian Olga Govortsova.

Basketball

Carlisle new Mavs coach

DALLAS: Rick Carlisle was introduced as the Mavericks' coach on Wednesday, four days after inking a four-year contract with the National Basketball Association club.

Carlisle, who succeeds sacked Avery Johnson, vowed to open up a Dallas offense that includes future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd.

"When you play with Jason Kidd, you have to open it up," Carlisle said. "Our wings guys are going to have to get conditioned to really run. The thing Jason Kidd does better than probably any point guard in the league is push the ball."

Carlisle was the only candidate interviewed by the Mavs, and he brings an impressive track record to the job.

He led the Detroit Pistons (2003) and Indiana Pacers (2004) to the Eastern Conference finals.

"I think he embodies all the good things the Mavs are looking to accomplish - hard work, ingenuity, creativity," said outspoken Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. "We're really proud and excited to have him here."

Carlisle's first order of business will be to transform the style of his roster, which had been criticized for being too slow for the fast-paced Kidd.

Ice hockey

Canada, Russia romp into semis

HALIFAX, Canada: Canada survived an early scare before romping to an 8-2 win over Norway, and Russia crushed Switzerland 6-0 to send the two rivals into the world championship semifinals on Wednesday.

In contrast to those lopsided routs, Nordic rivals Sweden and Finland needed 3-2 overtime victories to book their spots in the final four.

In Quebec City, Mattias Weinhandl spared Swedish blushes when he backhanded a loose puck past Milan Hnlicka to lift the Olympic champions past the Czech Republic.

Sami Lepisto was the hero for Finland as they held on to edge the US and setup a rematch of last year's semifinal against unbeaten Russia.

The other semifinal pits defending champion Canada against Sweden on Friday.

Although Canada has captured a record 24 titles and Norway was making its first quarterfinal appearance, the favorite approached the contest cautiously following a tight 2-1 round-robin win over the same opponents.

(China Daily 05/16/2008 page23)