Winter sports

Chinese women dominate freestyle

China's women swept the podium and Jia Zongyang added the men's gold on a strong day for the rising Asian power at the Freestyle World Cup on Friday in Park City, Utah.

Jia Zongyang saved a high-difficulty jump and took gold with a score of 128.96, putting him ahead of American Dylan Ferguson (118.86) while Canada's Olivier Rochon (111.78) claimed bronze.

Ferguson had the word Speedy on his helmet to honor the late Jeret "Speedy" Peterson on a day he was being honored at the Deer Valley Resort, where he first landed his trademark "hurricane:" three flips and five twists.

"This is awesome," said Ferguson. "This one's for Speedy. This is how he would have wanted it."

On Wednesday, Deer Valley officials renamed their freestyle aerials tow lift "Hurricane" in memory of Peterson, a 2010 Olympic silver medalist who took his own life on July 25 at age 29.

China's Xu Mengtao won her fourth gold in four events. Cheng Shuang took silver and Kong Fanyu bronze.

Cycling

Investigation of Armstrong closes

The case against Lance Armstrong is closed. His legacy as a seven-time Tour de France champion endures.

Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Armstrong on Friday, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the world's most famous cyclist and his teammates joined in a doping program during his greatest years.

Armstrong steadfastly has denied he doped during his unparalleled career, but the possibility of criminal charges threatened to stain not only his accomplishments, but his cancer charity work as well. Instead, another attempt to prove a star athlete used performance-enhancing drugs has fallen short, despite years of evidence gathering across two continents.

"I am gratified to learn that the U.S. Attorney's Office is closing its investigation," Armstrong said in a statement. "It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it."

Soccer

Seven protesters dead in Egypt

An Egyptian security official says the number of protesters killed in clashes with security forces in the wake of a deadly soccer riot has risen to seven.

The official said on Saturday that five people were killed the day before in the port city of Suez after security officers opened fire on several thousand protesters outside police headquarters.

Two were also killed on Friday in the capital Cairo, where security forces used tear gas and birdshot to disperse thousands rallying outside the Interior Ministry.

Basketball

Cuban, Carlisle slapped with fines

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle were fined by the NBA on Friday for their actions after becoming upset with the officiating during a game earlier in the week.

Cuban was handed a $75,000 penalty for his critical remarks about the officiating following a 95-86 home loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

Carlisle was fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the stands with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter against the Thunder. He was ejected and apologized to Cuban and the fans right after the game.

More surgery for Portland's Oden

Trail Blazers center Greg Oden underwent an arthroscopic procedure to "remove debris" from his right knee, his fourth surgery since Portland selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, the team said.

Rugby

New Zealand takes World Sevens title

Frank Halai scored two first-half tries as New Zealand overwhelmed Fii 24-7 on Saturday to win the New Zealand leg of the World Sevens Series for the second straight year.

Halai touched down twice within two minutes as New Zealand scored four tries to race to a 24-0 halftime lead. It's defense and kicking game then held out Fiji in wet and slippery conditions in the second half to clinch its sixth win in 13 years in its home tournament and to give it the outright lead after six of eight tournaments on this year's world circuit.

Associated Press

(China Daily 02/05/2012 page7)