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guyanatimesGY.com
thursday, november 20, 2014
NBA Roundup…
Nadal to return Lakers end 4-game skid K in New Year R
afael Nadal says it is his goal to be fully fit for the Australian Open and competitive enough to challenge for a 15th Grand Slam title. Nadal missed the ATP World Tour Finals in London after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix. The 28-year-old has also battled knee, wrist and back problems, with doctors confirming his rehabilitation included stem cell treatment. “I have a month before Australia to get to my best level,” said Nadal. “I hope to be healthy enough to work as much as I need and want, and if that happens I really feel confident I can come back strong.” Nadal, who won the the
Rafael Nadal
French Open title in June for the ninth time in 10 years, will begin his comeback in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi on 1 January.
He then plans to play in Doha - defending the title he won last year - before the start of the Australian Open on 19 January. (BBC Sport)
FIFA whistleblower fearful for life
Phaedra Al-Majid
F
ifa whistleblower Phaedra Al-Majid says she will “look over my shoulder for the rest of my life” after making allegations of corruption against Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid. In a two-year inquiry which cleared Qatar, AlMajid repeated allegations she made and later retracted in 2011. She told the BBC her accusations introduced her to “a whole new culture of paranoia, fear and threats”. In response, Qatar said they “stand by the integrity of their bid”. The country’s World Cup organising body has always “vehemently” denied all allegations of wrongdoing. They said a series of allegations about their con-
duct had been “over a period of years, investigated, tested, considered and dismissed”. Al-Majid’s allegations that Qatari bid officials offered to pay for the votes of three Fifa members first came to light in 2011. Later the same year she signed an affidavit saying they were false. She now says she was coerced into changing her statement. “I had no more legal representation,” she said. “When the Qataris approached me, I was alone. I’m also the single mother of two children, one of whom is severely autistic and severely disabled.” She said officers from the FBI visited her in September 2011 after they became aware of threats against her.
“They questioned me about the Qatari bidding process and they questioned me about all the threats I had received from the Qataris,” added Al-Majid. “It was decided at that point that I would help them with their investigation and it was planned that I would talk to a senior official at the Qatar bid. “So when I talked to the official, and the FBI are recording this, he did admit that there was a deal for the affidavit that I would basically say that they had done no wrongdoing.” Al-Majid, who says she is “tired of Fifa’s culture of secrecy”, provided all her information to Garcia while he was compiling his 430-page report on allegations of wrongdoing in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process. But judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, who wrote the 42page summary of findings released on 13 November, said her evidence contained “inconsistencies” which prejudiced its credibility. In contrast, Qatar say they supplied “full and valuable” assistance to the Garcia enquiry. Garcia subsequently criticised Eckert’s summary of his findings and the pair are due to meet on Thursday. (BBC Sport)
Morning finals to be staged at 2016 Olympics in Rio
T
he ruling body of world athletics says it will stage finals during the morning sessions of its program at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The International Association of Athletics
Federations said that morning finals, which have not been held since the 1988 Games in Seoul, will be staged for 13 events. Eight will be track and field, and five will be on the road, with three walk-
ing races and the two marathons. On Day 2 of a three-day meeting, the IAAF Council also decided to give provisional membership of the organization to South Sudan.
(ESPN)
obe Bryant scored 28 points and the Los Angeles Lakers won for only the second time this season, beating the Hawks, 114-109, Tuesday night in Atlanta. Bryant’s biggest shot came with 1:11 remaining, when he backed in against Thabo Sefolosha and made a fadeaway jumper despite being fouled. Bryant slapped hands with a fan on the front row and completed the 3-point play, giving the Lakers a 108-102 lead. The Hawks had a chance to force overtime after the Lakers (2-9) failed to put the game away at the line. But Los Angeles smothered long-range threat Kyle Korver, leaving Pero Antic to take an open 3-pointer. It clanked off the rim and the Lakers gobbled up the loose ball to seal the victory. Paul Millsap led Atlanta with 29 points. Carlos Boozer added 20 points for the Lakers, and Nick Young, coming back from a thumb injury, had 17 in his first game of the season. Jeff Teague scored 23 for the Hawks, who lost for the first time at home. In the first half, the Lakers hardly looked like a team that had lost nine of its first 10 games, putting up a season high for points in a half while racing to a 67-52 lead. Bryant scored 19 points and Boozer chipped in with 18, including a tipin just ahead of the halftime buzzer. Los Angeles shot 61 per-
Kobe Bryant
cent (27 of 44) from the field and outrebounded the Hawks, 22-15, leading to a 10-3 edge in second-chance points. The Hawks started the second half with a 13-0 run but never could come all the way back from the big deficit. Down the stretch, the Lakers made enough plays to snap a four-game losing streak. Even after Bryant missed a wild one from the corner, Jordan Hill snatched away the offensive rebound and laid it back in to put Los Angeles ahead, 111-106, with 17.7 seconds remaining. Bucks 117, Knicks 113 — Ersan Ilyasova had 20 points, and host Milwaukee climbed above .500 for the first time in more than a year by fending off New York. Zaza Pachulia added season highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who improved to 6-5 on the
year. It was the first time the team had a winning record since March 20, 2013, when it was 34-33. Carmelo Anthony had 26 points for the Knicks. Anthony, who is playing with a sore left knee, aggravated the injury after hitting the floor while scrambling for a loose ball. Coach Derek Fisher said he didn’t know if it was ‘‘anything major,’’ and that he thought Anthony would be OK. Jazz 98, Thunder 81 — Alec Burks had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and Utah beat visiting Oklahoma City. Enes Kanter added 16 points and a season-high 15 boards for the Jazz. Oklahoma City has lost three straight and seven of nine. Pelicans 106, Kings 100 — Anthony Davis scored 28 points and added nine rebounds to lift visiting New Orleans. (Boston Globe)
Nigeria fail to reach Africa Cup of Nations
Disappointment for Nigeria
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eigning Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria will not defend their title in Equatorial Guinea after failing to qualify from Group A. In Wednesday’s final round of matches, Nigeria were held 2-2 by South Africa in Uyo, meaning they finished outside of their group’s top two automatic qualification spots with eight points a total that also put them out of the running to be the best third-placed team. South Africa had already assured their place at the tournament, which will be played from 17 January to 8 February, and only one spot is still outstanding. Congo Brazzaville, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Mali
and DR Congo all claimed their tickets to the continent’s showpiece event with their results on Wednesday. Nigeria went into the game against South Africa with their fate in their own hands - win and they would claim second spot in the table and a place in the finals alongside group winners Bafana Bafana. But the Super Eagles blew their chance to prevent a troubled campaign from turning disastrous, even though they fought back from two goals down to finish with a draw. The writing was on the wall for Stephen Keshi’s side, who have been plagued by both on and off the pitch problems, when Tokelo
Rantie scored a goal either side of half-time to put the visitors firmly in control. Sone Aluko pulled a goal back on 68 minutes and Nigerian hopes were raised further when South Africa’s Renielwe Letsholonyane was sent off. In added time Aluko levelled the scores but it was too late for the home side and they once more miss out on playing in Equatorial Guinea, as they did when the country co-hosted the tournament in 2012. Instead, the runners-up spot in the table - and a place in the finals - was secured by Congo, who beat Sudan 1-0. Igor Nganga struck the only goal of the game after 63 minutes. (BBC Sport)