Digest

Basketball

Shumpert delivers fiancee's baby

Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert showed he has more than basketball skills by calmly delivering a baby girl when his fiancee unexpectedly went into labor.

Now that's quite an assist.

According to Shumpert's fiancee, Teyana Taylor, the couple welcomed their daughter on Wednesday in their bathroom at home. Taylor posted on her Instagram account that she didn't initially realize she was in labor and Shumpert, "playing doctor," helped deliver the baby with "his bare hands."

Taylor said Shumpert tied a pair of headphones around the umbilical cord while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. Taylor's message to her daughter - Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. - is: "Mommy carried you. Daddy delivered you. #MeetTheParents we love you baby girl."

Boxing

Camacho tops list of HoF inductees

Legendary former world champion Hector (Macho) Camacho heads the list of nine new inductees announced by the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Camacho, who was shot to death in his native Puerto Rico in 2012, won world titles at super featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight.

Retired fighters Lupe Pintor of Mexico and Hilario Zapata of Panama, judge Harold Lederman, commissioner Marc Ratner, journalist Jerry Izenberg and broadcaster Bob Sheridan join Camacho in the Hall's class of 2016. They will be enshrined on June 12 at the Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

Soccer

Ronaldo to invest in 'CR7' hotels

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has announced he will invest over $40 million in hotels bearing his 'CR7' moniker in New York, Madrid and his native Portugal.

Ronaldo unveiled his plans to link up with the Pestana Hotel Group, with 'CR7' hotels planned in three cities linked to his career - Funchal, Lisbon and Madrid - and another in the pipeline for New York where he has been linked with Major League Soccer in the future.

"My world is that of football but life changes and I always wanted to own a hotel," the 30-year-old said in Lisbon.

Blatter denies corruption charges

Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter pleaded his innocence before world soccer ethics judges Thursday as Switzerland said it has frozen tens of millions of dollars in suspect accounts linked to corruption in the sport.

Blatter, who with vice-president Michel Platini faces a long suspension, arrived and exited FIFA's Zurich headquarters in a black Mercedes, accompanied by his lawyer, and made no comment to dozens of reporters assembled outside.

But, after the hearing, which lasted more than eight hours, Blatter's Virginia-based lawyer, Richard Cullen, issued a statement calling for an acquittal.

Outdoor

Qilianshan hosts professional skiers

The China Zhangye winter outdoor quest and the third Zhangye ice and snow festival were held at the Qilianshan ski resort last weekend.

Organized by the China Mountaineering Association, Gansu Sports Bureau and Zhangye People's Government, the event attracted 16 professional skiers from China's four best-known teams in ski-climbing competitions.

Teams from Shenyang, Harbin and Beijing finished 1-2-3.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 12/19/2015 page11)