Sports

CLEVELAND — Tyronn Lue didn’t make much of a difference in his coaching debut for Cleveland as Pau Gasol scored 25 points, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 96-83 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Lue was promoted on Friday, when the Cavaliers fired David Blatt despite him taking the team to the NBA finals last season and currently leading the Eastern Conference. The coaching swap didn’t have any immediate impact on the Bulls, who outhustled the Cavs to loose balls and won for just the third time in nine games.

Jimmy Butler scored 20 points, Nikola Mirotic added 17 and Taj Gibson 15 for Chicago, which opened a 17-point lead in the third quarter and never let the Cavs get closer than eight in the fourth.

LeBron James just missed his first triple-double this season, finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. J.R. Smith added 18 points.

Suns 98, Hawks 95

Archie Goodwin hit a three-pointer from atop the arc with 0.1 seconds left and Phoenix beat Atlanta to end a six-game losing streak.

Goodwin led the Suns with 24 points and Phoenix won for the second time in 17 games.

Tyson Chandler tied a Suns record with 27 rebounds, including 17 in the first half, and also had 13 points and a season-high five assists.

Kent Bazemore led the Hawks with 21 points. Bazemore hit a tying three-pointer with 47.4 seconds left, but Chandler’s tip-in with 24.6 seconds remaining gave the Suns a 95-93 lead. Bazemore tied it again 5 seconds later, setting up Goodwin’s three.

Alex Len had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix, while P.J. Tucker scored 16 points and Devin Booker had 15.

Timberwolves 106, Grizzlies 101

Shabazz Muhammad scored 25 points and Minnesota snapped Memphis’ four-game winning streak.

Ricky Rubio had 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds and Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points for the Timberwolves, who beat a team with a winning record for the first time since November 25. Minnesota improved to just 7-17 at home this season.

Mario Chalmers scored 19 points for the banged-up Grizzlies. Marc Gasol played through pain and finished with 17 points in 32 minutes. The Grizzlies had the ball down one with 35 seconds to play but were whistled for a five-second call on the inbound.

Nuggets 104, Pistons 101

Danilo Gallinari scored 30 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 23.8 seconds remaining, and Denver rallied to beat Detroit.

Emmanuel Mudiay added 18 points and Nikola Jokic 17 for the Nuggets, who won their sixth in a row against the Pistons in Denver.

Marcus Morris had 20 points to lead the Pistons, who have lost five of their last seven games. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 points and Aron Baynes had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Kings 108, Pacers 97

DeMarcus Cousins had a career-high 48 points along with 13 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Indiana for their season-high fifth straight win.

Rajon Rondo had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second straight triple-double and sixth of the season for Sacramento. Darren Collison had 11 points and rookie Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 rebounds.

The Kings, winners of eight of 11 in January, used a strong third quarter to build an 11-point lead and never relinquished it in the fourth. Sacramento have beaten Indiana four straight times, sweeping the season series the last two years.

Paul George had 24 of his 34 points in the second half for the Pacers, who have lost two straight and five of six. Jordan Hill had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Monta Ellis scored 16 and rookie Myles Turner added 11 points and five blocks.

Trail Blazers 121, Lakers 103

Damian Lillard had 36 points and the Trail Blazers beat Los Angeles for Kobe Bryant’s last game in Portland.

CJ McCollum added 28 points and the Blazers led by as many as 27 points in the first half on the way to their eighth straight victory over the Lakers.

D’Angelo Russell came off the bench with 21 points for the Lakers, who dropped their sixth straight game. But all eyes were on Bryant, a Portland nemesis dating back to the 2000 Western Conference finals, who finished with 10 points.

It was the second of a back-to-back for the Lakers, who fell 108-95 to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. The game fell on the 10th anniversary of Bryant’s 81-point game against Toronto, which remains the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

Hornets 97, Knicks 84

Jeremy Lin and Kemba Walker scored 26 points each and Charlotte beat New York for their third win in the last four games.

Lin and Walker were a combined 19 of 19 from the free-throw line. Charlotte only shot 34 per cent from the field, but made 32 of 37 free throws as a team.

P.J. Hairston chipped in with a season-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who beat the Knicks for the fifth straight time at home despite being without five players, including three starters.

Derrick Williams led the Knicks with 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis had 13 points.

Pelicans 116, Bucks 99

Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and tied a season-high with six three-pointers, leading hot-shooting New Orleans to a win over Milwaukee.

New Orleans trailed 71-69 after Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton scored 14 points in the first 9 minutes of the third quarter, but the Pelicans responded with a 31-14 run. Jrue Holiday, Toney Douglas, Tyreke Evans and Anderson all hit three-pointers during that stretch, and Anderson’s sixth three giving the Pelicans a 100-83 lead with 6:30 left.

Anthony Davis had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists for New Orleans, who hit a season-best 17 of 31 threes. Holiday added 13 points and nine assists off the bench.

Milwaukee had all five starters in double figures but got only 16 points from their reserves.

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-23 national football team is returning home on Monday after being eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship currently under way in Doha.

Jordan went down 1-0 to South Korea and failed to join the top four and a possible Olympic slot with the continents top three advancing to the Olympic Games football tournament in Rio de Janeiro.

Despite its elimination, team officials and observers have lauded the squad’s impressive participation. Jordan dominated the second half of the match and scored a goal which was ruled offside by the referee. 

 “I’m proud and satisfied with my team’s performance. These players proved that we have a bright future for Jordanian football,” coach Jamal Abu Abed told the media as the team set off on its return journey. “We were the better side and deserved a win and had a clear upper hand throughout the second half. The offside decision needs to be reviewed, it was a correct goal,” Abu Abed underlined.

South Korea’s head coach Shin Tae-yong acknowledged Jordan was dominant in the second half and said the narrow victory should serve as a good learning experience for his team.

“We had a good first half but I think our players lost their focus when the opponents came out attacking. I think we should be able to play better against Qatar,” he added.

In other quarter-final matches, Iraq beat the UAE 3-1, Japan beat Iran 3-0 and Qatar ousted North Korea 2-1. In the semis it is Japan vs Iraq while host Qatar plays South Korea.

Despite the busy agendas of the national squad in World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, as well as the local competition agendas which hampered the U-23 squad’s better preparation, Jordan had an impressive run and finished second in Group D after holding Australia and the UAE 0-0 after a 3-1 opening win over Vietnam.

In the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship in 2014 (now renamed AFC U-23 Championship), Iraq won the title after defeating Saudi Arabia and Jordan took third place when it beat South Korea. 

In 2015, Jordan’s U-23 squad was eliminated from the 1st West Asian Championship and in 2014 the line-up represented Jordan at the Asian Games where it made it to the quarter-finals. 

AMMAN — The final week of the Premier Basketball League preliminary round is set to conclude over the weekend as the weather forecast forced the postponement of matches.

The top four teams have been decided but the final week will determine the standings, as teams get into the mood of the serious fight for the title.  

In the current round Hurrieh lead the standings with an unbeaten record so far and the most anticipated match will be Riyadi vs Orthodoxi in their quest for second place. With teams like Applied Science University, Ittihad and Wihdat pulling out of the competition, Jalil have joined the top four.

Last week, Riyadi scored a big win 102-66 over Ghazzet Hashem. Riyadi’s only defeat was to Hurrieh, as was Orthodoxi’s, who last beat Jalil 56-39. Hurrieh beat Nashama 60-45 and next play Jalil while Awdeh who beat Kufr Youba 78-71 play Nashama. 

Orthodoxi won their record 23rd league title last year and started off the season by winning the Jordan Cup, beating closest rivals Riyadi in the final minutes of the match.

Apart from Orthodoxi and Riyadi, the basketball league has undergone many changes with the leading clubs abandoning the game. Former champs Applied Science University and Ittihad have pulled out of competitions over differences with the Jordan Basketball Federation and players have been dispersed over the rest of clubs. New clubs with no fan base are competing, in what is seen as a sharp decline in the game locally as well as Jordan’s regional competitive chances.

Standings

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — HRH Prince Ali is confident he can win the FIFA presidential election and turn around what he says is a critical situation facing football’s governing body.

Prince Ali, who is one of five candidates for the presidency vacated by Sepp Blatter, told reporters in New Zealand on Friday he believes he will win on February 26 in Zurich and that he is the one person who can turn the organisation around.

The 40-year old lost to Blatter by 133 votes to 73 in a presidential election in May, before Blatter was banned for eight years.

Prince Ali said: “I am fully confident I will win this if things are conducted properly. Across the world the weight has been lifted off of people’s shoulders. People want to be proud of being part of this organisation again and, without going into specifics on numbers, I’m building on what [votes] had last time around.”

Football New Zealand supported his candidacy in May and his visit on Friday was part of a worldwide tour to solicit support.

“FIFA is in a critical situation right now and we need to fix that,” Prince Ali said. “We have one chance coming in February. I believe we have wasted a year and we need to get it right. FIFA’s reputation has suffered dramatically and that has affected everything. There is a real desire to get things back on track.

“We have a lot of good people in football around the world, but you have to have a leadership that understands what needs to be done. I believe [I’m] the only one who can really come in and do this.”

His priorities would be to restore FIFA to its role as a “service organisation” for players and fans and to implement a two-term limit for presidents and executive committee members.

“We have to come back to good practices to make it a modern organisation which is relevant for the time we live, and to restore faith for all our stakeholders,” he said. “At the end of the day FIFA is the umbrella for football across the globe and it would be a shame to let things go on the way they are. That is why I’m running as a candidate, to fix this up.

“A president of FIFA needs to be somebody who rolls up his sleeves, goes on the ground and works directly with national associations. I know I will. That’s the point, I’m my own man and I’m doing things exactly as they should be and hopefully when I win and I get that mandate that will be the impetus to really drive things the way they should be.”

Prince Ali was determined to establish a culture of full transparency within FIFA.

“In terms of all aspects of the organisation, whether it is our financial situation, salaries, the World Cup bids, we need to be really open because that is what the world deserves for the most popular sport,” he said.

He dangled the carrot to New Zealand of direct World Cup entry for the winner of an Oceania qualifying competition, saying he would lobby to eliminate the current system which requires a playoff against a team from another confederation.

“I’m totally against the idea of a half slot,” he said. “It’s a real challenge not just for Oceania but also for Asia, Conmebol and Concacaf as well.”

Prince Ali also supports an enlarged World Cup but would not make it an election issue.

“We have to look at how things are conducted within FIFA in terms of how decisions are made,” he said. “[There is] room for enlarging the World Cup but that subject should not be brought up by a reform committee or during a FIFA presidential campaign.”

KUWAIT CITY — The head of Kuwait's national Olympic committee condemned what he called on Wednesday the "serious escalation" of government interference that could prevent the Gulf nation's athletes from representing their country at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Sheikh Talal Al Fahad Al Sabah said in a statement that the government has taken "vindictive measures" to justify the actions that led to the Kuwait Olympic Committee's suspension.

Kuwait was suspended by the International Olympic Commmittee in October on grounds of government meddling in sports affairs and the introduction of sports legislation that violates the Olympic Charter.

The Kuwaiti government filed a $1.3 billion suit last week against 14 board members of the national Olympic committee. Among those named was Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, the influential head of the Association of National Olympic Committees.

"This is a serious escalation of a regrettable sequence of events," Sheikh Talal said.

On Tuesday, the Kuwaiti government filed suit against the national federations of swimming, volleyball, basketball and soccer. The government also took action against leaders of the national boxing and weightlifting bodies.

Sheikh Talal said he regretted that "our dedicated athletes became the real victims”.

"After years of hard work our athletes are facing the prospect of not being able to compete at Rio 2016 under the national flag," he said.

The sheikh called on the government to respect the Olympic Charter, adding that his national committee "will remain ready to find a solution to these matters at the earlier opportunity, for the benefit of all our athletes”.

The dispute has been an embarrassment for Sheikh Ahmad, who is a member of Kuwait's royal family and also serves on FIFA's executive committee.

Last month, Sheikh Ahmad received a suspended six-month sentence for disobeying a prosecutor's gag order by discussing a video involving a purported plot to overthrow the government. He said he would appeal, calling it a "personal attack" that was "symptomatic of the current relationship between Kuwait and the sports movement."

The Olympic dispute also centres on the personal rivalry between Sheikh Ahmad and Kuwait's sports minister, Sheikh Salman Al-Sabah. The feud revolves around Sheikh Salman's unsuccessful run in 2014 for the presidency of the international shooting federation.

LONDON – The Iraq Football Association (IFA) has pledged their support for HRH Prince Ali in next month's FIFA presidential election.

Prince Ali will stand against Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne of France, South African businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale and UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino in the February 26 vote.

"The FA has endorsed Prince Ali in a letter to FIFA," IFA President Abdul Khaliq Masood said in a statement published by Prince Ali's bid team.

"We have decided that Iraq's vote will go to Prince Ali because Prince Ali has always supported the development of football in Iraq, Jordan and our region," Masood said. 

On Monday, Prince Ali hosted a delegation from Iraq including Masood and Iraq Minister of Youth and Sports Abdul-Hussein Abtan.

Prince Ali returned to Jordan at the start of the week to meet the Iraqi delegation after campaigning in Africa and the Caribbean, where his team said he "picked up private commitments of support from several other nations".

"We are very pleased to support Prince Ali. He is the best man for the job. We greatly appreciate everything Jordan has done to support Iraqi sports and youth over the years," Abtan told Iraq state television.

AMMAN – Jordan on Wednesday qualified to the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship after a 0-0 draw with Australia. Jordan finished in the second place in Group D behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who topped the table after a 3-2 win over Vietnam in the other game in the group.

Jordan kicked off the AFC U-23 Championship campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over Vietnam before a 0-0 draw with the UAE. In the quarter-finals, Kingdom will play South Korea. 

AMMAN –  The U-23 national football team will aim to advance to Round 2 when it plays Australia on Wednesday in its third match at the 2nd AFC U-23 Championship currently underway in Doha, Qatar. Jordan was held 0-0 with the UAE in its last match but still lead Group D after a 3-1 win over Vietnam, as Australia beat Vietnam 2-0 after losing to the UAE in the 16-team championship serving as Asia’s qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

On Wednesday, a draw will be sufficient to move Jordan to the next round as the UAE play winless Vietnam. A win will put Jordan atop of the group and eventually decide which team it faces in the second round.

LONDON — A bet that could see former England great Gary Lineker on TV in his underwear is not a normal wager.

But how brave, or foolish, was the former Leicester striker to say he would host the first “Match of the Day” next season in his underpants if his old club won the Premier League?

The naked truth is that Lineker could be heading for an embarrassing Saturday night.

After narrowly avoiding relegation at the end of last season, Leicester hired a new manager in 64-year-old Claudio Ranieri, a popular coach with a wealth of experience but a dearth of silverware. Add the modest budget for transfers, and it’s not surprising the team was firmly marked down as a prime candidate for the drop.

Instead, Leicester have spent weeks at the top of the world’s richest league, and only a goal difference of three is currently keeping the club in second place below Arsenal. If not for a missed penalty in Saturday’s draw at Aston Villa, the Foxes could well be two points clear of the chasing pack.

Can they keep this going and create one of the biggest shocks in English football?

The arguments against them are predictable and well-rehearsed. Leicester have no real Premier League pedigree, no star players and no prospect of any big-name signings. It’s hard to imagine a top international player joining over the next two weeks and telling reporters “ever since I was a kid, it was my dream to play for Leicester.”

And in 30 years as a coach, Ranieri’s trophy cabinet is certainly not cluttered. An Italian Cup in 1996 from his time with Fiorentina and the 1999 Copa del Rey with Valencia pretty much fills it.

However, none of this fazes a well-drilled Leicester side that are thoroughly enjoying their football and are free of expectations.

And that’s just the point. Leicester have none of the pressure that’s now ratcheting up on Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United as players in the glamour clubs head towards the business end of the season.

And a team that plays without fear is a dangerous opponent.

Leicester showed no fear when they hosted Premier League champion Chelsea, beating the Blues 2-1 in an impressive performance. The millionaire players of both Manchester clubs have been held to draws, and fourth-place Tottenham was beaten at White Hart Lane last week. Among the title contenders, only Arsenal have so far inflicted a defeat on Leicester.

On a purely footballing level, Leicester are good enough to win the league.

Arsenal, City and United fans found it amusing when “little Leicester” — Ranieri’s words — went to the top of the Premier League on November 21 after 13 games.

Nine matches and two months later, they’re not laughing any more.

Leicester are still up with the pacesetters and showing no signs of the sudden implosion and descent to mid-table mediocrity that was so widely predicted. What’s more, the argument that “this has never been done before” carries even less weight.

“If ‘little Leicester’ are looked down [on], it’s normal,” Ranieri said last week. “It’s not normal what Leicester are doing. It’s unbelievable. It’s fantastic and our fans are dreaming. The fans must continue to dream — we must continue to work hard.”

If they succeed, it will be very embarrassing for English football’s biggest clubs, their pampered players and their global sponsors.

But their embarrassment will be nothing compared to Lineker’s, as he is watched by a TV audience of several million in his underpants.