Basketball

Smith finishes China stay

J.R. Smith is following a stint playing in China by joining "Linsanity", the veteran shooting guard being signed on Friday by the New York Knicks.

The Knicks won seven games in a row since Jeremy Lin came from obscurity at the end of the bench to a starting role and the best start by an NBA newcomer in 35 years.

Lin made the most of an opportunity because top players were out for the Knicks, but has adapted his game to a support role with Amare Stoudemire back and Carmelo Anthony expected to return on Sunday when reigning NBA champion Dallas will visit New York.

Baseball

Wakefield retires

Tim Wakefield, who carved out a 19-year Major League Baseball pitching career thanks to his utterly unpredictable knuckleball, announced his retirement from the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

Wakefield, at 45 the oldest player in MLB last season, had a 200-180 career record with a 4.41 earned run average and won two World Series championships (2004, 2007) with the Red Sox.

"This has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do," an emotional Wakefield said during a news conference at Boston's spring training facility in Florida.

Soccer

Rangers to be investigated

Glasgow Rangers chairman Craig Whyte said on Friday he had "absolutely nothing to fear" shortly before the Scottish Football Association (SFA) announced it would hold an independent inquiry into the club's activities after it went into administration.

The Scottish championscalled in the administrators on Tuesday after running into financial problems following a dispute with British tax authorities that could leave it facing a bill of more than 50 million pounds ($79 million).

Milan rout will haunt Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted on Friday that the 4-0 Champions League rout at the hands of AC Milan, his club's heaviest European defeat, was a trauma from which he will never recover.

"It never gets out of your system because you take it with you until the last day of your life," said Wenger whose side hopes to bounce back on Saturday when it travels to Sunderland in the FA Cup.

"You can find 100 explanations why we had a poor performance and an off day.

"We lost against a good Milan team, not an exceptional one. Unfortunately we were punished severely."

Olympics

Games security chief resigns

Luiz Fernando Correa, security director for the 2016 Olympic Games Organizing Committee (COL), has resigned amid accusations of corruption during his time as national secretary for public security in 2007.

Fernando Correa, was appointed as the Rio Games security chief in May last year, but is facing legal action amid accusations of overcharging of up to 18 millon real ($10.46 million) for contracts for the purchase of computer equipment during the 2007 Pan-American Games which were signed without going to tender.

Cycling

British women set world record

Great Britain's Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish beat Kaarle McCulloch and Anna Meares of Australia to set a world record in the women's team sprint final at the World Cup meeting in London.

The pair won in 32.754 sec, beating the previous best of 32.828 sec set by Meares and McCulloch in qualifying earlier on Friday.

The women's team sprint, held with two riders and over two laps as opposed to three and three for the men, will make its Olympic debut in London.

Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 02/19/2012 page7)