LOS ANGELES — USC basketball players James Blasczyk and Dewayne Dedmon have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities for violating team rules and will sit out the Trojans’ Pac-12 Conference tournament opener against Utah, interim coach Bob Cantu said Monday.
USC suspends two
amid fight reports
LOS ANGELES — USC basketball players James Blasczyk and Dewayne Dedmon have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities for violating team rules and will sit out the Trojans’ Pac-12 Conference tournament opener against Utah, interim coach Bob Cantu said Monday.
Police in Spokane, Wash., are investigating a fight that occurred early Sunday. Witnesses have told police they believed USC players were involved, a police spokesman said Sunday.
Neither Spokane police nor USC has identified any Trojans players.
USC announced the suspensions Monday afternoon, a few hours before practice.
“We’re cooperating with the people up in Spokane to get more information and find out about these alleged activities that occurred,” Cantu said after practice at the Galen Center. “Right now, our focus is on Utah.”
Federer easily
advances at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Defending champion Roger Federer beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-3, 6-1 in a third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday, with the Swiss star tweaking his back near the end of the match.
Federer earned his 890th career ATP Tour victory, joining Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Guillermo Vilas as the only men to have won at least that many matches in the Open era. The second-ranked Federer is seeking his first tournament title of the year at an event where he has won four championships and has a 41-8 career record.
Federer was the highest-seeded men’s player in action Monday. He has today off to give his back a rest.
In women’s play, top-ranked Victoria Azarenka rallied to beat 28th-seeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 under the lights and improve to 15-0 this year. Azarenka’s pal, musician Redfoo of LMFAO, cheered her on.
On the men’s side, No. 6 Tomas Berdych defeated 27th-seeded Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1; Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis outlasted 20th-seeded Andreas Seppi, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to win his 13th consecutive match this season; and No. 10 Richard Gasquet beat 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz, 6-1, 6-4. No. 13 Gilles Simon was a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 winner over Benoit Paire.
Gulbis takes on Nadal in the fourth round, a player that Gulbis has yet to beat in four matches.
Among the women’s third-round winners Monday were No. 4 Angelique Kerber, No. 7 Sam Stosur, No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki, and No. 10 Nadia Petrova.
No. 11 Ana Ivanovic was beaten 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 by No. 24 Mona Barthel of Germany, who improved to 8-16 in her career against Top 20 opponents.
Retired boxer Tony Martin
shot, killed in Philly
PHILADELPHIA — Retired boxer Tony Martin was fatally shot in an altercation with a visitor at one of his rental properties and police are searching for a suspect, authorities said Monday.
The 52-year-old Martin, a former welterweight, was shot during an argument at the home in the city’s Hunting Park section on Friday, police said. Martin’s niece, Robyn Peete, said her uncle had gone to the home to collect rent and found a person who wasn’t supposed to be there.
Peete said she didn’t know exactly what happened, but that her uncle was a strict landlord who owned several properties in the city. He may not have approved of an unauthorized person being at the property, she said, adding that he was also known to be very compassionate with his tenants.
Stoudemire has surgery,
Anthony returns for Knicks
OAKLAND, Calif. — New York Knicks big man Amare Stoudemire underwent surgery on his right knee Monday.
The Knicks said after Monday’s surgery that Stoudemire is expected to miss at least six weeks.
Carmelo Anthony returned to New York’s starting lineup at Golden State on Monday night after missing the past three games with a stiff and sore right knee. Former Knicks forward David Lee was in the starting lineup for the Warriors after missing Saturday’s loss to Milwaukee because of a bruised right knee.
Anthony scored 14 points in the Knicks’ 92-63 loss.
Stoudemire missed the first 30 games after having the same surgery, called a debridement, on his left knee during the preseason. He returned on New Year’s Day and has averaged 14.2 points in 29 games as a reserve.
Cal QB Allan Bridgford
announces plans to transfer
BERKELEY, Calif. — Quarterback Allan Bridgford is leaving Cal in hopes of transferring to another school for his final year of eligibility.
In a statement released through the team Monday, Bridgford says he expected to take the majority of snaps during spring practice. He said new coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin “decided to go in a different direction” so he asked for his release.
Redshirt freshman Zach Kline, early enrollee Jared Goff and sophomore Austin Hinder are the leading candidates to become Cal’s new starting quarterback.
Bridgford played 10 games and made three starts — all last year — in four seasons at Cal. He threw for 461 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He also ran for another TD.
Bridgford plans to graduate in the summer so it’s possible for him to play at another Football Bowl Subdivision school without sitting out a year.
Croatia rejects UEFA
hooliganism warning
ZAGREB, Croatia — Croatia has rejected a warning from UEFA that fan violence and racism could lead to its teams being banned from international competitions.
Croatia said the same problems are rife throughout Europe. Its sports ministers and police said Monday that the governing body should concentrate more on its own corruption and betting scandals than criticizing the Balkan country.
UEFA President Michel Platini sent warning letters to the Croatian and Serbian prime minister stating that both Balkan countries are on “yellow cards” because of their fans.
Platini has twice in two years warned Serbian and Croatian political leaders that their national and club teams face suspension if they don’t act to curb the problem. Neighboring Serbia has said it will do all it can to curb hooliganism at stadiums.
By wire sources