Sports

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant delivered yet another game-winning shot to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a three-game losing streak with a 109-107 victory over the  Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Disgraced Olympic sprinter  Marion Jones signed a contract yesterday to play with the  WNBA’s Tulsa Shock in a bid to revive her athletic career.

KARACHI, (Reuters) – Former captains Younus Khan and Muhammad Yousuf had their international futures cast aside and then restored just as quickly after the Pakistan Cricket Board backtracked on its decision to ban the two players.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates,  CMC – International Cricket Council Emirates Elite Panel umpire Billy Doctrove is the only West Indian slated to stand in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 tournament starting at the end of April in the Caribbean.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – Batsman Raqibul  Hasan threw the Bangladesh team into disarray yesterday after  announcing his international retirement just two days before the start of the first test against England.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies fast-bowling legend Andy Roberts says West Indies cricket has taken the mediocrity road and he believes change is needed in the sport’s administration.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Jamaica’s track megastar Usain Bolt has been named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the second straight time, after continuing his amazing blitz on sprinting last year.

– Guyana team morale high for IPF/NAPF Caribbean Islands Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships By Marlon Munroe Defending champions John ‘Big John’ Edwards and Randolph Morgan, along with Regional Open champion Mervyn ‘Spongy’ Moses, are confident ahead of the fourth annual IPF/NAPF Caribbean Islands Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships scheduled for March 18-20 at the Princess Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Demerara comfortably took care of Essequibo by 61 runs in the first round of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Castrol Under-15 limited-overs tournament at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground yesterday.

Lower Corentyne and West Berbice through to finals Lower Corentyne and West Berbice have reached the finals of the first ever Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Under-15 Inter-Zone Tournament which is sponsored by National Communication’s Network (NCN).

The curtains came down on the Ming’s Products and Services Veterans’ Lawn Tennis Tournament under floodlights this past week at the Harry and Ann Panday Tennis Court in Bel Air Park.

The Flying Ace Cycle Club of Berbice will run off a 40-mile cycle road race on Sunday for cyclists in Regions Five and Six only.

(BBC) Brad Haddin raced to his second one-day century as Australia beat New Zealand by six wickets in Hamilton to take a 2-1 lead in their five-match series yesterday.

LONDON, England, CMC – West Indies batting legend Brian Lara has reiterated his call for a Caribbean cricket academy.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – A resurgent West Indies will chase a crucial series lead in the third One-Day International today, as they seek to assert their authority over a troublesome Zimbabwe.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica will remain part of the West Indies cricket fold for the foreseeable future.

CLEVELAND, (Reuters) – The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame the absence of LeBron James to earn a 97-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A hat-trick from Nicklas  Bendtner helped Arsenal to a 5-0 thumping of Porto yesterday as  they overturned a first-leg deficit with nonchalant ease to  reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Filipino ring king Manny  Pacquiao said his lightning fast speed will be enough to nullify  Joshua Clottey’s size advantage when the two meet in Dallas on  Saturday.

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, (Reuters) – Bangladesh have  omitted veteran batsman and former captain Mohammad Ashraful from the 14-man squad named for the two-test series against  England starting in Chittagong on Friday.