IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Soccer

Adriano cleared of drug charges

A Rio de Janeiro judge has dismissed charges laid against former Brazilian international Adriano that accused him of involvement with drug-traffickers, a court spokesman said on Friday. The former Inter Milan, Fiorentina, Parma and Roma striker, 32, who is trying to revive his career in France, was charged last Tuesday with buying two motorbikes between 2008 and 2009 that were later used by drug dealers in Rio's Vila Cruzeiro favela, where he grew up. Judge Maria Tereza Donatti threw out the charge, partly because of evidence irregularities.

Toure recalled to plug holes

Liverpool's Kolo Toure and fellow 33-year-old defender Didier Zokora were recalled to the Cote d'Ivoire squad on Friday for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Toure, with 104 caps, and Zokora, who plays in Turkey with Akhisar Belediyespor and has 117 international appearances, haven't played for their national team since the World Cup in Brazil. They were summoned by coach Herve Renard to help plug defensive holes which have seen Cote d'Ivoire surrender 10 goals in four qualifiers so far. Renard also summoned Adama Traore, Serge Wilfried Kanon and Cheick Doukoure for the first time.

Basketball

Lee shelved for two more weeks

Golden State Warriors forward David Lee will miss at least two more weeks after an MRI revealed a reaggravated strained left hamstring. Lee originally suffered the injury on Oct 24. In his first game back from that hamstring problem he lasted just seven minutes on Wednesday before returning to the locker room. Lee, 31, averaged 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season.

Ice Hockey

NHL presence still uncertain

The participation of National Hockey League players at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics remains on ice but officials hope to reach an agreement in time to avoid a repeat of the standoff before Sochi. NHL players have competed at the last five Winter Olympics but were in doubt for this year's Sochi Games until a deal was struck seven months before the opening faceoff. Many NHL team owners are opposed to the idea because the league is forced to shut down for two weeks in the middle of its season as the game's biggest names risk injury while representing their countries.

NFL

Cardinals open vault for Palmer

Quarterback Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals have reached agreement on a three-year contract extension worth $50 million, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported on Friday. Palmer would have become a free agent after the 2014 season if he had not signed an extension. He has led Arizona to a 7-1 record, and the Cardinals are 5-0 in the games Palmer has started.

Chess

Juniors take to board meetings

Match of Friendship, a chess competition between Russian and Chinese schoolchildren, was held over the weekend at the China Chess Academy in Beijing. Each nation fields its eight best chess players under 14 for the event, organized by the Russian Chess Federation and Chinese Chess Association and sponsored by the Timchenko Foundation of Russia. Grand master and reigning world women's champion Hou Yifan of China and grand master and European champion Alexander Motylev of Russia also participated and later gave simultaneous demonstrations for the boys and girls.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 11/09/2014 page9)