Basketball

Lockout begins to exact a toll

The lockout has started doing real damage to the NBA's calendar.

Players won't report at the usual time. The preseason won't start as scheduled.

Out of time to keep everything intact, the NBA postponed training camps and canceled 43 preseason games because it has not reached an agreement with players.

Bryant receives offer from Italy

Kobe Bryant has been offered a $6.7 million, one-season contract to play for the Italian team Virtus Bologna, appealing to his childhood memories of growing up in the country.

3-point tourney comes to a close

The Beijing 3-point championship closed at Beijing Olympic Park on Saturday with hundreds of citizens taking part in the final.

The shooting games, which opened on Sept 3, attracted more than 700 participants, including students, workers and retired athletes, with participants aged 9 to 63.

Part of Beijing Chaoyang International Sports and Culture Festival, the purpose of the competition is to provide normal citizens a platform to showcase their skills.

The event will be held regularly in the Olympic Park.

Golf

Scott rallies late to lead over Choi

Australia's Adam Scott birdied his last two holes in Atlanta for a 5-under 65 to emerge from a packed leaderboard and take a one-shot lead over K.J. Choi going into the weekend at the Tour Championship.

Tennis

Weary Federer to skip Shanghai

Roger Federer pulled out of next month's Shanghai Masters to rest, event organizers confirmed on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Swiss star wrote in a letter to the organizing committee in Shanghai that he needs "necessary time to rest and recuperate after a long summer."

Aussie rules

Geelong will face Collingwood

The Geelong Cats dominated from the outset to beat the West Coast Eagles 17.15 (117) to 10.9 (69) Friday and advance to the Australian Football League grand final.

Geelong will play the Collingwood Magpies in next Saturday's Australian Rules championship match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Soccer

Manchester City edges Everton

Italy striker Mario Balotelli and England midfielder James Milner came off the bench to grab late goals for Manchester City in its 2-0 victory over stubborn Everton.

Hamburger tops Stuttgart, 2-1

Hamburger SV rallied to end a four-game losing streak and earn its first win of the Bundesliga season under interim coach Rodolfo Cardoso by beating Stuttgart 2-1.

Campus League gets underway

The first Beijing Campus Soccer League, named "BBVA Small La Liga," hit the road at Beijing Jingshan Yuanyang Branch School on Saturday.

Players from 20 primary school teams in Beijing will play 70-minute, seven-a-side matches in the 38-round league, co-hosted by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education and Liga BBVA, over nine months.

"We must work hard to promote soccer in schools, because youth development is the foundation of the pyramid," said Sun Zhedong, chief of youth development department at Chinese Football Association.

"More than 2,700 primary schools and middle schools in 48 cities around the country have started to set up soccer lessons since 2006," he said.

Xinhua-AP-China Daily

(China Daily 09/25/2011 page7)