James, Bryant, Anthony lead U.S. past Brazil
With big games from its three biggest stars, first place came impressively for the United States.
LeBron James scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and harassed Leandro Barbosa all over the court, and the United States clinched the top spot in its group by beating Brazil 113-76 Sunday night in the FIBA Americas tournament at Las Vegas.
Carmelo Anthony also had 21 for the Americans (4-0), who for the second straight game pulled away by holding their opponent without a field goal for more than 6 minutes in the second quarter.
The Americans improved to 30-0 in Olympic qualifying games and will open second-round play tonight against Mexico, the fourth-place finisher in Group A, in a matchup of former coaching rivals: Nolan Richardson beat Mike Krzyzewski for the 1994 NCAA title when Arkansas edged Duke.
Soccer
Hamm, Foudy inducted
Mia Hamm spoke before a record crowd of 4,800, many of them youngsters, at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y., where she entered the shrine with Julie Foudy. The two were the bedrock of the U.S. team that won two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals from 1991 to 2004.
“There’s not a more humbling experience to walk into a stadium and to see so many girls wearing your jersey,” Hamm said.
The other inductees are Alan Rothenberg, who helped launch Major League Soccer and organize the 1994 World Cup as president of the U.S. Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, and defender Bobby Smith, who played alongside Pele for the Cosmos in the North American Soccer League.
•The United States got second-half goals from Kirk Urso and Mykell Bates to beat Belgium 2-0 and advance to the second round of the Under-17 World Cup in Ulsan, South Korea.
Boxing
Olympic qualifiers set
Gary Russell Jr. dominated Roberto Marroquin, and Raynell Williams outlasted Hylon Williams in the final two matches of the U.S. Olympic boxing trials at Houston.
Russell beat Marroquin 18-14 to win the 119-pound (bantamweight) spot on the Olympic team, while Raynell Williams won 24-22 to take the 125-pound (featherweight) berth.
Miscellany
Canada downs U.S.
Samantha Hunt scored in overtime to lead Canada to a 4-3 victory over the United States, giving the Canadians a three-game sweep in the under-22 women’s hockey series at Lake Placid, N.Y.
•Russell Baze, the winningest jockey in thoroughbred racing history, was suspended for 15 days and fined on for using his whip on an injured horse who later died.
•Green Day won the Yonkers Trot at Yonkers, N.Y, the second leg of trotting’s Triple Crown, finishing the mile race in 1:56.