MVP Leslie withdraws from world tourney
Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks has withdrawn from next week’s world basketball championships because of family medical problems.
Leslie, recently chosen the WNBA’s most valuable player, won’t play in the championships in Brazil, which begin Tuesday, because her mother-in-law is facing surgery and her uncle has been hospitalized since a car accident Aug. 27, USA Basketball spokesperson Caroline Williams said Wednesday.
“I really wish I could be there to help my teammates win gold at the World Championship,” Leslie said in a statement. “With everything going on … with two close members of my family, I have to put my family first.”
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, the 6-foot-5 center played on USA teams since 1989. Leslie averaged 20 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Sparks this season.
“I wish my team the best of luck,” Leslie said. “I’ll be rooting them on.”
The U.S. team completes training camp today in Durham, N.C., with an exhibition game against Australia. The U.S. team is 42-0 in Olympic and world championship tournaments in the past decade.
USA Basketball coach Anne Donovan said the team has trained six weeks without Leslie, whose Sparks made the WNBA playoffs last month.
“Everybody’s had in the back of their minds that Lisa would eventually be with us,” Donovan said. “So there’s an adjustment period that we’ll go through.”
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“The New Orleans Hornets, homeless since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city, will begin training camp at New Orleans Arena on Oct. 3.
“Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol will have surgery Friday to repair a broken bone in his left foot.
“Former NBA and Virginia star Ralph Sampson has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud and serve two months in jail, his attorney said from Richmond, Va.
“Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock, the 58th pick in the NBA draft, has signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
College Football
Florida State-Miami game draws record
Florida State’s 13-10 victory over Miami on Monday night was ESPN’s most-viewed college football game. The Labor Day game was on ESPN and ESPN2 and drew an average of 6,330,000 households. The 6.9 rating made it the network’s second highest-rated college football game behind a 7.7 rating for Florida State at Miami on Oct. 8, 1994.
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“At Columbus, Ohio, judge denied Maurice Clarett’s request for a survey to determine whether the former Ohio State star running back can get a fair trial in the city that once cheered him.
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