BOXING Bradley wins title from Witter Timothy Bradley knocked down Junior Witter in the sixth round on the way to winning the WBC light-welterweight title Saturday night in Nottingham, England, on a a split decision. The unbeaten American, who had never fought as a pro outside of California, will take home the belt after his big punches overcame a 10-year age gap against the experienced British fighter whose only previous loss in 39 fights was eight years ago. Bradley’s big right hand was always a danger to the 34-year-old champion who constantly switched to his left but was unable to unload enough powerful shots to worry the American, who is 22-0. Witter, making his third defense, is 36-2-2. Two of the judges scored the fight 114-113 and 115-113 in Bradley’s favor and the third gave it 115-112 to Witter, whose chances of a showdown with former world champion Ricky Hatton now appear to be gone. BASKETBALL D’Antoni to coach Knicks Mike D’Antoni has agreed to coach the New York Knicks, bringing his entertaining offensive style from the Phoenix Suns to a team coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history. The Knicks released a statement Saturday night saying they had agreed in principle with D’Antoni and that a news conference would be held once the contract had been completed. D’Antoni had two years and $ 8. 5 million left on his Phoenix contract. Suns owner Robert Sarver wouldn’t confirm that D’Antoni had taken the New York job earlier Saturday, but said, “Mike called me this morning to thank me, so I figured this was up.” The offer is reportedly for $ 24 million over four years, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches. The Chicago Bulls also interviewed D’Antoni for their coaching job. Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie said Saturday that guard Derrick Jasper will probably transfer, with an announcement expected within the next couple of days. Gillispie said the details haven’t been finalized, though Jasper said recently that he was homesick for his native California. Jasper averaged 4. 2 points and 5. 5 rebounds in 20 games as a sophomore last year for the Wildcats after recovering from knee surgery. The Wildcats will also lose center Morakinyo Williams, who played in just five games as a freshman. Williams asked Gillispie to release him from his scholarship. Gillispie said Williams is hoping to transfer to a program that will provide him with more playing time.
HORSE RACING Ravalo wins Monmouth feature Ravalo took the early lead and fought off two challengers in the deep stretch to win the $ 70, 000 Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday. The 4-year-old gelding covered the 6 furlongs over a muddy track in 1 minute, 8. 2 seconds and paid $ 5. 60, $ 2. 80 and $ 2. 60. Joey P., who was close behind Ravalo for most of the race, and Maddy’s Lion both tried to overcome the pacesetter with late rushes, but fell just short as Ravalo won by a neck. Joey P. held on for second, returning $ 3. 60 and $ 2. 80, while Maddy’s Lion was a head back in third and paid $ 3. 60. Seaside Retreat beat favorite Crested by 2 lengths in the $ 60, 000 feature race at Churchill Downs. Seaside Retreat, a 5-year-old gelded son of King Cugat, covered the 1 1 / 8 miles on firm turf in 1: 49. 72. He paid $ 19. 40, $ 6. 40 and $ 3. 60. Crested returned $ 2. 60 and $ 2. 10. Embossed paid $ 2. 40 to show. Good Night Shirt took the lead a few yards from the start and held it for 3 miles over 18 hurdles to win the $ 150, 000 Grade I Iroquois Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn. The victory for last year’s steeplechaser of the year was his second victory in Grade I races this season and vaulted him into the lead to repeat as champion.
TENNIS Withdrawals mar Rome semis The biggest losers at the Rome Masters on Saturday were the fans. One after the other, Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek quit shortly after their semifinal matches began. Roddick pulled out with a back problem after falling behind 3-0 in the first set against Stanislas Wawrinka. Stepanek stopped while trailing Novak Djokovic 6-0, 1-0 after appearing affected by the heat. Total elapsed time for the two matches: a wimpy 49 minutes. Stepanek called for a trainer after the first set and had ice applied to his neck. He retired after one game in the second. Roddick pulled up awkwardly after Wawrinka hit a forehand winner in the third game, then asked for a trainer on the changeover. He came back out and double-faulted, then quit.
Elena Dementieva beat second-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the upset-filled German Open in Berlin. In today’s final, the ninth-ranked Dementieva will face fellow Russian and 17 th-ranked Dinara Safina, who beat 18-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-1.
FOOTBALL Ravens brawl at minicamp The Baltimore Ravens are doing more than merely fighting for jobs at their first mandatory minicamp under new coach John Harbaugh. They’re fighting each other, too. Nearly all 85 players in camp were involved in a squabble Saturday that began when offensive tackle Oniel Cousins and defensive tackle Amon Gordon threw punches after running back Allen Patrick was taken down hard on a burst up the middle. All the players surged toward the middle of the field, and it was nearly two minutes before peace was restored. Later during practice, which was held indoors because of rain, defensive backs Corey Ivy and Frank Walker came to blows during a blocking drill. After the players were separated, veteran cornerbacks Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle spoke with Walker, who signed as a free agent during the off-season after playing with Green Bay in 2007.
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