IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Baseball

Ryan group to buy Rangers

DALLAS: Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan is part of an investment group that has reached a definitive agreement to purchase the Texas Rangers, the team said on Saturday.

Hicks Sports Group LLC will sell the team to Rangers Baseball Express LLC, an investment group headed by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Rangers president Ryan, the club said on its website (http://texas.rangers.mlb.com).

"It's a complex business deal that positions the franchise positively for the future," Tom Hicks, whose family controls Hicks Sports Group (HSG), said.

Alpine Skiing

Walchhofer says lucky

KITZBUEHEL, Austria: Austria's Michael Walchhofer said he was fortunate to escape serious injury after crashing within sight of the finish on the Hahnenkamm on Saturday.

"I was lucky, it could have been much worse," said Walchhofer, who had been Austria's best hope of winning their first men's World Cup downhill race of the season.

"I'm not sure what happened, I lost my balance. I could have been badly injured," said the 34-year-old, who has won 15 World Cup races including 11 downhills.

"You don't have much time to think. You just try to avoid the worst."

Cross-country Skiing

McKeever to make history

BANFF, Canada: Canadian cross-country skier Brian McKeever was chosen for the Vancouver Olympics, making him the first winter sports athlete to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics.

McKeever has won seven Paralympic medals, including four gold.

McKeever suffers from Stargardt's disease which has left him with impaired sight. His brother, Robin, acts as his guide.

Boxing

Lopez, Gamboa triumph

NEW YORK: Rising Cuban star Yuriorkis Gamboa retained his World Boxing Association featherweight title on Saturday with a sizzling second-round knockout of Tanzania's Rogers Mtagwa.

On the same card, Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez knocked out Steven Luevano in the seventh round, claiming the World Boxing Organization belt. Lopez improved to 28-0 with 25 KOs.

Gamboa, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist for Cuba, also remained unbeaten, improving to 17-0 with 15 wins inside the distance, as he overwhelmed Mtagwa.

His first blow stunned Mtagwa and he knocked the challenger down with 15 seconds remaining in the round.

Asian Games

Hong Kong gears up

HONGKONG: A thousand primary and secondary students, volunteers from the Pearl River Delta and 250 taxi drivers gathered at Penfold Park near the Shatin Racecourse on Saturday to get the countdown rolling for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games, scheduled from Nov 12 to 27.

Hong Kong is gearing up to promote the games, with a huge billboard at the entrance to the busy West Harbour Tunnel and stage dramas promoting the games by the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre.

Nine key spots around the city will also remind everyone that another big sporting event even larger than December's East Asian Games is coming to the neighborhood, organizers said.

Similarly, 400 taxis bearing the 2010 Guangzhou Games are helping to spread the word of the games on the streets.

(China Daily 01/25/2010 page24)