Tennis faces gambling scandal
As the NBA grapples with a betting scandal, tennis must now confront a potential gambling scam of its own.
Officials on Friday were investigating suspicious betting patterns on a match involving top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, who retired with an injury against a low-ranked opponent at an ATP tournament in Poland.
In an unprecedented move, British online gambling company Betfair voided all bets placed on Thursday’s second-round match at the Prokom Open in Sopot between the defending champion and No. 4-ranked Davydenko and No. 87-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.
Betfair said it received about $7 million in bets on the match – 10 times the usual amount – and most of the money was on Arguello to win, even after Davydenko won the first set 6-2.
Arguello won the second set 6-3 and was leading 2-1 in the third when the Russian retired. Davydenko said he aggravated a left foot injury in the second set. He received medical attention from a tournament trainer before deciding to quit.
•Jerry Schneider, 87, credited with building the first indoor tennis facility, died in Longboat Key, Fla., of complications related to lung cancer.
Basketball
Brand ruptures tendon
Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand ruptured his left Achilles tendon during his daily workout in El Segundo, Calif.
Brand, 28, will undergo surgery but plans for the operation have not been finalized, the Clippers said. Last month, Brand withdrew from the U.S. national team because of an injury.
•Free agent Jannero Pargo, brother of Gonzaga Bulldog Jeremy Pargo, agreed to a two-year contract with New Orleans as a backup guard.
Hydroplane
Villwock top qualifier
Dave Villwock, who has won every race on this year’s circuit, drove the Ellstrom Elam Plus to the top qualifying speed for the Chevrolet Cup at the Seafair unlimited hydroplane race.
Villwock averaged 156.501 mph around the 2-mile oval course on Seattle’s Lake Washington.
The first round of elimination heats begins this afternoon. Two more rounds of elimination heats, plus the winner-take-all final, will be Sunday.
Miscellany
Phelps wins twice
Two-time Olympian Michael Phelps came within a whisker of setting a world record in the 100 backstroke, winning twice in about an hour at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis.
His time of 53.01 seconds was .03 off Aaron Peirsol’s mark set in March at the world championships.
•At Greeley, Colo., a witness in the trial of former Northern Colorado backup punter Mitch Cozad denied allegations by Cozad’s defense attorney that it was he, and not Cozad, who stabbed starting punter Rafael Mendoza.
•Former state trooper James Harney, who admitted running a sports betting ring with retired hockey star Rick Tocchet, was sentenced in a Mount Holy, N.J., court to five years in prison.