UH-BYU football series canceled
UH-BYU football series canceled
HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii and Brigham Young University announced the cancellation of their football series. The teams were scheduled to meet Dec. 7 at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium and in 2014 in Provo, Utah.
The announcement comes after the Mountain West Conference announced that a football championship will be played on the same date as the UH-BYU scheduled game. The announcement forced Hawaii, a member of the Mountain West beginning this football season, to cancel this year’s game. The schools decided to then cancel the 2014 game and work on a future series.
Obama honors NBA Champion Miami Heat
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama honored the Miami Heat for winning the 2012 NBA Championship title after falling short just a year before.
“Everybody doing their part, is what finally put the Heat over the top,” Obama said, as he welcomed the team to the White House Monday to celebrate their victory.
The Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the NBA Finals last June.
The president also recognized the franchise’s work off the court. He thanked them for supporting military service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Obama said one of the things he’s proudest of is that many of the team members — including LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade — “take their roles as fathers seriously.”
Pavano in
hospital following
spleen removal
Carl Pavano’s spleen was removed last week after the pitcher was injured when he fell in the snow.
The 37-year-old right-hander was hurt in mid-January at his home in Vermont and has been in a Connecticut hospital for nearly two weeks.
“He lost a lot of blood. It was very, very serious,” agent David Pepe said Monday.
Pepe said Pavano didn’t think he was seriously injured after the fall, then didn’t feel well following a workout a few days later in Connecticut.
American McHale ousts Parmentier
PARIS — Christina McHale of the United States broke Pauline Parmentier’s serve four times in a 6-4, 6-1 win in the first round of the Open GDF Suez on Monday.
McHale has a second-round match against No. 3 Marion Bartoli of France.
In other matches, eighth-seeded Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 2-6, 7-5, 6-0. Zakopalova needed 2 hours, 17 minutes to get the better of the Spaniard, who had won seven of their previous 10 matches.
Garrigues did not face a break point in the first set and broke Zakopalova twice. But Zakopalova broke her twice in the second and then cruised in the third. She next faces either Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain or a qualifier in the second round.
Mona Barthel of Germany also advanced with a 7-6 (1), 6-0 win against Urszula Radwanska of Poland and next faces either fifth-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy or Simona Halep of Romania.
Erakovic beats 3rd-seeded Hsieh
at Pattaya Open
PATTAYA, Thailand —Unseeded Marina Erakovic of New Zealand beat third-seeded Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan 6-2, 6-2 Monday in the first round of the Pattaya Open.
Hsieh lost to defending champion Daniela Hantuchova in last year’s semifinals and was upstaged on Monday by Erakovic, who is ranked 74th in the world.
Also, wild-card entrant Varatchaya Wongteanchai of Thailand beat Annika Beck of Germany 6-3, 6-3 and Alexandra Panova of Russia defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6, 3-2 when the Romanian retired in the second set.
Mathilde Johansson of France defeated Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan 6-4, 6-3.
Jeter on field for 1st time since injury
TAMPA, Fla. — Derek Jeter worked out on a baseball field Monday for the first time since breaking his left ankle last October.
The 38-year-old New York Yankees captain fielded 55 grounders on the grass in front of the infield dirt at shortstop at the team’s minor league complex.
He also hit in a batting cage.
“Everything went well,” Jeter said as he drove out of the complex.
AP Source: Phillies sign Chad Durbin
PHILADELPHIA — A person familiar with the deals said the Phillies have signed veteran reliever Chad Durbin to a one-year contract.
Durbin returns to Philadelphia where he played a key role in the bullpen on the 2008 World Series championship team. The deal is pending a physical, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team didn’t make an official announcement.
Ex-Armstrong team leader to skip hearing
BRUSSELS — Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong’s former team leader, will not appear at a hearing Tuesday to discuss his role in the doping scandal.
Belgian cycling federation prosecutor Jaak Fransen said Monday he will consider pursuing the case without Bruyneel.
By wire and local sources