Byline: Seattle Times news services
Soccer
Dempsey proves his point
Texan Clint Dempsey has 10 goals for Fulham in the English Premier League this season and is shattering the image of the United States as a nation still searching for a top scorer.
'Being an American, I think you have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder because there's a point to prove,' the 28-year-old Dempsey said as the U.S. team prepared for Wednesday's exhibition match against Italy in Genoa.
'I guess you'll kind of feel that way until maybe you're doing better as a country as far as going further in World Cups or you have Americans who are playing on the biggest teams in the world.'
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, one of the top forwards in World Cup history as a player for Germany, said, 'It's a huge weapon that we have with him because of his vision on the field, because of his sharpness, his one-against-one skills. I'm going to push him.'
NHL
Canucks lose in shootout
The league-leading Vancouver Canucks lost to the Pacific Division-leading Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 in a shootout.
Alexander Edler scored for the Canucks.
Vancouver's Cory Schneider made 34 saves but allowed host Phoenix to score two times in three shootout attempts.
Golf
Woods' agent rips book
The agent for Tiger Woods lashed out against Hank Haney's book, saying Haney's 'armchair psychology' was 'ridiculous' and that Woods' former swing coach only cares about self-promotion.
Haney's book about his six years as Woods' coach is titled, 'The Big Miss.'
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at Excel Sports Management, said in a statement book excerpts show Haney's claim of the book being about golf is 'clearly false.'
The book was written with help from Jaime Diaz and is to go on sale March 27, the week before the Masters.
'The disruptive timing of this book shows that Haney's self-promotion is more important to him than any other person or tournament,' Steinberg said. 'What's been written violates the trust between a coach and player and someone also once considered a friend.'
Trump to purchase Doral
Famed real-estate developer Donald Trump is buying Doral Hotel & Country Club, home of the Blue Monster course and host to numerous pro tournaments over the years, for $150 million.
Doral, a property in Miami, has been in bankruptcy for about a year.
College football
Big 12 to get buyout money
Texas A&M and Missouri will give up a combined $25.3 million as part of an agreement to leave the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference on July 1.
Texas Tech coach is sued
Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, 57, has been sued in federal court, accused of defrauding investors out of more than $1.7 million in Alabama after his tenure at Auburn.
Tuberville, John David Stroud and eight investment entities are listed as defendants in a suit filed by seven plaintiffs.
NCAA suspends linebacker
Linebacker D.J. Green of North Carolina State said the NCAA suspended him for the 2012 season after he tested positive for a banned substance he did not identify.
The sophomore said he was trying to gain weight during the offseason and took a supplement given to him by someone from his hometown of Macon, Ga.
Elsewhere
* Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0) and Miguel Cotto (37-2) were in New York for a news conference to promote their May 5 fight for the WBA super-welterweight title in Las Vegas. But there seemed to be more interest in a hypothetical bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather made it clear whether they meet in the ring depends on the money.
'Just by speaking to Pacquiao on the phone, I mean, he's not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer,' Mayweather said. 'He faces Floyd Mayweather, he's not getting 50-50. Not at all. No one is getting 50-50.'
Mayweather is to begin a 90-day jail sentence June 1. The punishment stems from a domestic-violence case.
* The WBC suspended British heavyweight Dereck Chisora indefinitely for his brawl with former WBA champion David Haye at a news conference after Chisora's title-fight loss to Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine on Feb. 18 in Germany.
* Gambling website Bodog was shut down and four Canadians indicted, including founder Calvin Ayre, for illegal gambling that generated more than $100 million in winnings, federal prosecutors announced.
The website's domain name was seized Monday and the indictments, which were returned last week, were unveiled Tuesday in Baltimore, prosecutors said. The indictments follow federal prosecutions last year of three of the biggest websites involved in online poker.
* Algorithms, who was among the early favorites for the May 5 Kentucky Derby in Louisville, is off the Triple Crown trail because of an injury to his right-front leg that will require surgery, trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Seattle Times news services
CAPTION(S):
Clint Dempsey (0413067082)
Copyright (c) 2012 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
