Digest

BASKETBALL

Mom must pay $9K over daughter's punch

A California mother must pay more than $9,000 in restitution and apologize to a teenage basketball player she told her daughter to hit during a youth basketball game in 2021, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The woman's daughter punched the opponent in the neck and she collapsed on the court, suffering a concussion. The punch was recorded on cellphone video.

The mother, Latira Shonty Hunt, was criminally charged last year with one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and one misdemeanor count of battery. She faced up to a year in jail.

An Orange County judge allowed Hunt, 44, to participate in a diversion program that includes a written apology letter, restitution and anger management classes before she can attend basketball games. She must also stay away from the victim.

SOCCER

Pogba's brother held amid extortion claims

French officials said Wednesday that soccer star Paul Pogba's brother was in police custody along with four other people as part of an investigation into alleged efforts to extort millions of euros from the World Cup winner.

Mathias Pogba came to see Paris police about the probe Wednesday afternoon and was held for questioning, according to an official close to the investigation.

He is among four people put under police custody Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the investigation, the official said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named discussing the ongoing investigation.

Mathias Pogba has denied taking part in extortion attempts against his brother. Mathias Pogba's lawyer, Richard Arbib, said in a statement last week that his client wants "more than anything else" to ease the situation with his brother.

Kahn happy to see Lewandowski misfire

Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn admitted he was happy that Robert Lewandowski did not score against the Bavarian side on Tuesday night, as the German champion beat Barcelona 2-0 in the Champions League.

It was an emotional evening for Lewandowski on his return to Munich, where he played for eight years before joining Barcelona this summer. Before the break, the Pole missed three chances to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

"He had big chances. He often scores, so we are glad that he didn't find the net against us. Luck wasn't on his side in the decisive moments and that helped us," the former goalkeeper told Sport 1 on Wednesday.

"I believe it was not an easy situation for Lewandowski. He came to the stadium where he achieved the greatest successes in his career. In the first half, we had luck, but then the team played with more power and that allowed us to score twice. We are happy that we took the points," added Kahn.

GOLF

Norman 'no interest' in talking to PGA Tour

LIV Golf kingpin Greg Norman on Thursday said he was no longer prepared to negotiate with PGA Tour chiefs while denying the Saudi-funded circuit was a "breakaway" league.

In an interview, Norman said he had offered to meet with PGA Tour officials but they had repeatedly declined, instead focusing on reforming their tour to hang onto leading players.

"That's why we are where we are today," Norman claimed. "We tried awfully hard, I know I did personally for the past year... when we knew we were never going to hear from them, we just decided to go.

"We have no interest in sitting down with them, to be honest with you, because our product is working."

Agencies