Briefs | Phelps breaks wrist in mishap on land
Swimming
Phelps trips, falls while getting into car: Michael Phelps is sleek and swift churning laps in a pool. Moving on dry land can be tougher for the eight-time Olympic medalist.
He tripped and fell while getting into a car two weeks ago in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he is training for the 2008 Beijing Games. Phelps tried to brace himself with his right hand and ended up breaking a small bone in his wrist.
“I’m a fish out of water,” he said, smiling. “I’m a clumsy person.”
Phelps, 22, said he will test his repaired wrist during a meet in Atlanta late this month.
Gusmao suspended: Brazilian swimmer Rebeca Gusmao was suspended by FINA for testing positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition test in July.
Tennis
Henin, who has asthma, worries about air quality in Beijing: Justine Henin, the top-ranked women’s player in the world, said she might not defend her gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, fearing the city’s air pollution could trigger her asthma.
Match-fixing allegations: German player Tommy Haas said it is time to name names after an unidentified German player accused another of match-fixing during a television interview.
Haas said he wants specifics.
“I’m telling them, be concrete - then we can undertake something concrete,” he said.
Golf
Elway, Gulbis combine to win skills event: Retired quarterback John Elway, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and LPGA Tour player Natalie Gulbis - the lone woman in a field of eight - combined to win the Golf Skills Challenge in Aventura, Fla., and split the $310,000 grand prize.
Auto racing
Haas gets two-year sentence: A NASCAR team owner was sentenced to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of more than $34 million in taxes.
Gene Haas, 54, owner of Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation and NASCAR’s Haas CNC Racing, was ordered to begin serving his term Jan. 14.
Champ Car sets 14-race schedule: The Champ Car World Series added Spain to its schedule for 2008, putting eight of its 14 races outside the United States.
The season opens April 20 in Long Beach, Calif., and includes a July 27 stop in Portland.
Horse racing
Broodmare sells for world-record $10.5 million: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai paid $10.5 million for Irish-bred Playful Act at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington, Ky., a world-record auction price for a broodmare. Playful Act is a 5-year-old.
Efficient victory: Efficient, a 21-1 shot, beat Purple Moon by three-quarters of a length in the $4.6 million Melbourne Cup, Australia’s richest race. Michael Rodd rode Efficient, a 4-year-old gelding trained by Graeme Rogerson.
Bull riding
Two riders die: Two Missouri-based bull riders died in separate incidents last weekend.
Joshua J. “Cody” Brunner, 21, of Warrensburg, Mo., died Saturday night after he was stepped on by a bull in a United Rodeo Association event in Topeka, Kan. Brunner had completed his eight-second ride and was injured as he dismounted the bull.
Autopsy results released by the Shawnee County coroner’s office said the cause of death was “blunt-force injuries.”
Zackary Clinton, 17, of Willow Springs, Mo., died Saturday after being injured at a rodeo in Arkansas. Police said the bull threw the teen to the ground before stepping on his chest.
Hockey
Forsberg has foot problems: Peter Forsberg, 34, has pulled out of the Karjala Cup international tournament in Finland because of unspecified problems with his right foot.
The free-agent center had said he hoped to be playing regularly in the NHL by the trade deadline in February. Asked by a Swedish reporter whether he would play anywhere this season, Forsberg replied, “I don’t think so.”
Media
Miller returns to sports TV with talk show on Versus: Comedian Dennis Miller, who was in the broadcast booth for “Monday Night Football” for two seasons on ABC beginning in 2000, is venturing back into sports television.
“Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller,” a weekly talk show on Versus, debuts tonight.
Seattle Times news services