Basketball

Miller, Nelson into Hall of Fame

Former Indiana Pacers superstar Reggie Miller and coaching great Don Nelson were among those inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.

Miller, one of the greatest clutch scorers in NBA history, played his entire 17-season career with the Indiana Pacers and finished it with 25,279 points and 1,505 steals.

He ranks second on the NBA all-time list for three-pointers made, with 2,560, and his 320 playoff three-pointers are the most for any player in the postseason.

The five-time NBA All-Star thanked his teammates, Pacers executive Donnie Walsh and his basketball star sister, Cheryl Miller, for helping him hone his skills.

Baseball

Athletics pitcher still serious

Oakland pitcher Brandon McCarthy is improving after brain surgery but Athletics team officials said on Friday he remained in danger days after he was struck in the head by a line drive.

McCarthy, who was hit during a game on Wednesday and had surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from an epidural hamorrhage on Thursday, got out of bed three times on Friday.

He can eat solid food and is able to speak, but team head trainer Nick Paparesta said McCarthy's health remains precarious.

"He had brain surgery, it's life-threatening," Paparesta said. "At any possible moment something could go wrong. He could have a complication."

Cycling

Armstrong can't run Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon director Carey Pinkowski confirmed on Friday that the ban meted out to Lance Armstrong by the US Anti-Doping Agency means he can't run in the race.

Pinkowski issued a statement after Armstrong spokesman Mark Fabiani told Runnersworld.com the cyclist and cancer activist, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life for multiple doping infractions by USADA, had been told he couldn't enter the Oct 7 event.

"USADA's lifetime ban prohibits Lance Armstrong from entering races sanctioned by USA Track and Field, which applies to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, as well as all competitions governed by USA Track and Field," Pinkowski said in a statement, although he said Armstrong had not actually submitted an entry.

Athletics

Parents sue US Olympic champion

The parents of Olympic gold medalist Tianna Madison have sued the US track star, saying she spread stories they were out for their own interest and tormented and cheated her out of money.

Robert and Jo Ann Madison filed the libel, slander and defamation lawsuit on Thursday in an Ohio court.

Tianna Madison was on the winning 4x100-meter relay track team at the London Olympics. She won the gold with Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter in world record time. The lawsuit also names her husband, John Bartoletta.

Madison's parents' are seeking more than $25,000 each in damages.

Merritt sets world 110m hurdles record

American Aries Merritt set a world record of 12.80 sec in the 110m hurdles at the Diamond League meet in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday.

Merritt smashed the previous record of 12.87 sec set by Cuban Dayron Robles in June 2008 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

"I was just trying to get under 13 sec to cap off a good season," said Merritt. "I can't believe I ran that fast!

"What is this time I'm seeing?! I'm in shock," he said.

Merritt added: "I'm finally living up to my potential after a lot of injuries ... with people telling me to go and get a proper job."

Miscellaneous

Wang and Gan scale new heights

Wang Zhicheng from Chongqing won the first stop of the Famous Mountain China climbing contest on Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi province on Thursday. Wang won the men's title in 1 hr, 2 min. Gan Xue from Beijing won the women's crown in 1:12.

The event was the first climbing contest initiated by the Chinese Mountaineering Association and the China Association of National Parks and Scenic Sites.

The second stop will be held on Hengshan Mountain in Shanxi province on Sept 16.

AFP - China Daily

(China Daily 09/09/2012 page7)