HAINING, China — Lisa Leslie scored 14 points and the United States held off Australia 71-67 to win the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament Tuesday night.
This was the first meeting between these two rivals with both teams at full strength since the 2004 Olympics gold medal game, won by the Americans 74-63.
“Being here is great but this wasn’t the real show,” said Candace Parker, who scored 12 points. “It was like an audition for the Olympics. We passed the pre-Olympic test but now we’re going to go and take care of business.”
Penny Taylor, who led Australia with 19 points, sported a blackened left eye after the game.
“I’ve got a souvenir to take with us,” Taylor said.
• Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt said he’s “80 percent sure I’ll be doubling” on the 100- and 200-meter events.
• Cyclist Vladimir Gusev was dropped from the Russian squad just days after his team said it terminated his contract because of irregular data that showed up in testing.
• Italian cyclist Emanuele Sella was suspended by his team after testing positive for the blood booster EPO.
• India’s only weightlifting entry for the Olympics, Monica Devi, was stopped from boarding a flight to Beijing after testing positive for a banned substance.
Kentucky QB Pulley dismissed from team
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Talented but troubled Kentucky quarterback Curtis Pulley was dismissed from the team by coach Rich Brooks for a violation of team rules, a move that hands the starting quarterback job to sophomore Mike Hartline.
Pulley was arrested on traffic charges July 22 and pleaded guilty to speeding in district court last week. He received a citation for marijuana possession in Louisville, Ky., in June.
• For the second time in a year, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen might have to explain his alleged participation in a situation involving alcohol.
Notre Dame will investigate possible school code violations after the website The Big Lead posted photos that appear to depict Clausen, 20, and teammates Brian Smith, 20, and James Aldridge, 21, attending what the site labeled “Beer Olympics.”
• Brigham Young center Tom Sorensen will miss four to six weeks because of a shoulder injury.
Footnotes.
Former Nuggets guard Earl Boykins signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal to play with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league.
• The Royal & Ancient and U.S. Golf Association announced a rules change that will reduce the size and shape of grooves in most clubs in 2010, the first time equipment has been scaled back in nearly 80 years.
• New England goalkeeper Matt Reis tipped a shot by Corey Ashe off the crossbar in the eighth round of penalty kicks to give the Revolution a 3-2 victory over the visiting Houston Dynamo for the SuperLiga championship.
• Croatia’s Mario Ancic withdrew from the U.S. Open with a recurrence of mononucleosis, the second year in a row the 25th-ranked player was forced to miss the tennis tournament.
Denver Post wire services
