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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Phelps wins butterfly; Crocker disqualified

The Spokesman-Review

Ian Crocker’s chance to beat Michael Phelps was gone in a flash.

The anticipated renewal of their rivalry in the 100 butterfly Thursday at Indianapolis was upstaged by an inadvertent strobe light that went off just before the start, causing Crocker to flinch and eventually be disqualified.

Fans still got to see the duel play out in the pool, and Phelps pulled away from Crocker in the final 25 meters to win in 51.39 seconds and break his long-course record at the national championships. Crocker, whose time was removed from the scoreboard and replaced by the disqualification symbol, said he swam a 51.6.

Basketball

NBA schedule released

Greg Oden will make his debut on opening night in San Antonio on Oct. 30, when the Spurs will celebrate their NBA championship before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers.

The NBA has three games scheduled on Christmas, but did away with the Miami-Los Angeles Lakers matchup that has taken place every Christmas since Shaquille O’Neal was dealt from Los Angeles to Miami in 2004. Both teams will still play, with the Heat visiting Cleveland before L.A. hosts Phoenix .

•Two weeks after calling for a resumption of talks about a new arena, SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett accused Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels of focusing on “unworkable concepts.”

Bennett said KeyArena – the Sonics’ home and the smallest venue in the NBA – is not an option for the team.

He said the Sonics’ ownership group had hoped the mayor would rally support to find a solution.

•Ohio State, which was ranked No. 1 entering the NCAA tournament and went on to lose to Florida in the title game, will be one of the four early round hosts for the NIT Season Tip-Off on Nov. 12.

Syracuse, Washington and Texas A&M will be the other first- and second-round sites.

Football

Punter testifies

A college punter who was attacked by a knife-wielding man testified in Greeley, Colo., he once considered sharing his apartment with the teammate accused of the assault.

Rafael Mendoza, a starting punter for Northern Colorado, was left with a deep wound in his kicking leg in the attack last Sept. 11. Police and prosecutors allege Mitch Cozad, the backup punter at the time, stabbed Mendoza in a bid to become starter.

Miscellany

Beckham likely out

David Beckham’s left ankle likely will cause him to miss his scheduled Major League Soccer debut when the Los Angeles Galaxy play at Toronto FC on Sunday night.

•Mike Beers, the father half of the father-son team roping duo that includes Brandon Beers, had surgery in Bend, Ore., to repair fractures to his left shoulder and pelvis suffered during a practice session. The leaders in the world standings were victors at the Cheney Rodeo last month.

•Evander Holyfield will replace Ruslan Chagaev in a bout against Sultan Ibragimov in Russia in October, six days before the former heavyweight champ’s 45th birthday.