Fast Break
NBA
Allen makes All-Star roster
Seattle’s Ray Allen and Utah’s Mehmet Okur were chosen Tuesday by commissioner David Stern as injury replacements for the All-Star game.
With Steve Nash (shoulder) and Allen Iverson (ankle) both pulling out of Sunday’s game in Las Vegas, the Western Conference was in need of a guard. Allen is seventh in the league with 26.9 points per game.
Okur’s clutch late-game play has helped Utah keep rolling despite the absence of Carlos Boozer, who was chosen for the All-Star game but also was forced to pull out because of a hairline fracture in his leg. That had left the Jazz, whose 34-17 record is third best in the league, without a player in Sunday’s game.
Allen is headed to his fourth straight All-Star game and seventh overall. Okur is a first-time selection.
Exercise
Shaq adds weight to obesity issue
Shaquille O’Neal wants to fight childhood obesity by encouraging more exercise and better eating habits.
The Miami Heat standout is the spokesman for CytoSport’s Mighty Milk, a nutritional drink that comes in various flavors.
The 7-foot-1 center said when he was growing up, there weren’t so many computer and video games.
“We were more active,” O’Neal said. “We didn’t have jumbo meals, the super-sized sandwiches or the amount of candy and chips that are available today. We need to educate parents and teachers so they make the correct purchasing decisions.”
Wrestling
Women grapplers gain momentum
Oklahoma City University announced plans to add a women’s wrestling program next year, joining a handful of other U.S. schools that compete in the sport.
Oklahoma City joins four other varsity women’s college wrestling programs in the country, said Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling.
Officials estimate about 5,000 girls wrestle at high schools across the country, and the sport has been growing rapidly in recent years. Women’s wrestling was added to the Olympics in 2004.
For the first time, the state of Washington is conducting an official girls state wrestling tournament this year.