Fazekas taking his time to finalize draft status
Reno, Nev. – Nevada star forward Nick Fazekas is still gathering information and may not decide until just before the deadline for the NBA draft whether to return to the Wolf Pack next season, coach Mark Fox said.
Fox said the two-time Western Athletic Conference player of the year from Ralston Valley High School has performed well in workouts for NBA teams, but he refused to identify which ones are showing interest.
“It’s a hard decision. He’s got to get concrete feedback from the clubs. We’re still going through the feedback,” Fox told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “Nick is going to gather information for a couple of more days and meet with his family. I told him he could take till June 18 (the final date to withdraw from the June 28 draft). He’s going to jump in with both feet whichever way he’s going.”
Most predraft speculation has the 6-foot-11 Fazekas as a late first-round or early second-round draft selection.
WNBA
Hammon scores 24 in Liberty’s win
Former Colorado State star Becky Hammon scored 24 points and rookie Sherill Baker added 15 as the New York Liberty beat the Los Angeles Sparks 89-79 in overtime to win its home opener and end a season-opening, four-game losing streak.
Lisa Leslie had 26 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out 1 1/2 minutes into the extra period for Los Angeles. Temeka Johnson had 17 points and Christi Thomas added 10.
The game marked a rematch of the first WNBA game on June 21, 1997. The Liberty won that game 67-57 at Inglewood, Calif.
DeLisha Milton-Jones scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures, and the Washington Mystics remained unbeaten at home with a 92-68 victory over the Detroit Shock.
Alana Beard scored 18 points, Chasity Melvin 13, and Nikki Teasley and Crystal Robinson 11 apiece for the Mystics, who have won three in a row at home. Swin Cash had 15 points and Deanna Nolan added 14 for Detroit.
Margo Dydek scored 17 points to lead six players in double figures as the Connecticut Sun pulled away from the visiting Charlotte Sting in the second half for an 89-71 win.
BOXING
Russian retains WBA heavyweight title
Russia’s Nikolai Valuev retained his WBA heavyweight title in Hanover, Germany, stopping Jamaican challenger Owen Beck with a right uppercut in the third round.
The biggest heavyweight in history at 7 feet and 321 pounds, Valuev (44-0, 32 knockouts) sent Beck (25-3, 18 KOs)backward stiff-legged to the canvas with 1:16 left following a second-round knockdown in the one-sided fight.
Unbeaten IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (26-0, 22 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Luis Maldonado (33-1-1) in the eighth round of their bout in Las Vegas.
FOOTNOTES
Rush advances to ArenaBowl
Matt D’Orazio threw six touchdown passes – five to Bobby Sippio – to help the Chicago Rush advance to the ArenaBowl with a 59-56 victory over the host San Jose SaberCats in the American Conference title game.
In the ArenaBowl next Sunday in Las Vegas, the Rush will face the winner of today’s National Conference championship game between Orlando and Dallas.
Meseret Defar of Ethiopia set the world record in women’s 5,000 meters in 14:24.53 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York, breaking the mark of 14:24.68 set by Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse in 2004.
Earlier, sprinter Marion Jones easily won the 100 meters, crossing the line in 11.06 seconds.
Two weeks after Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness, another top horse was euthanized after breaking his front left leg in the English Derby in Epsom.
With Queen Elizabeth II looking on in the crowd of 100,000 fans, Horatio Nelson was pulled up 600 yards from the finish by jockey Kieren Fallon in the race that Sir Percy won in one of the closest finishes in the 227-year history of the race.
X-rays later revealed Horatio Nelson had suffered fractures of the cannon and sesamoid bones and a dislocation of the fetlock joint, and he was euthanized.
Cincinnati Bengals linebacker A.J. Nicholson was charged with burglarizing the apartment of a former Florida State teammate in Tallahassee, Fla.
The 21-year-old Nicholson also was charged with grand theft and vandalism. He was being held at the Leon County jail on $16,000 bond, with a first appearance before a judge scheduled Monday.
Former BYU football captain Brad Martin, who struggled with drug addiction after his playing career, was found dead of unknown causes at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 30.
Martin played at BYU from 1995-98. His body was found by his landlord Tuesday, likely five to six days after he died, police told his family. An autopsy was inconclusive and toxicology results will take about three weeks.
Joseph Nguran of Kenya won the Salt Lake City Marathon, taking the lead halfway through the race and winning by 1 minute, 17 seconds in 2:16:41.
Ukraine’s Ilona Baranova took over the women’s race with about 4 miles remaining and won in 2:38:04.
