Sports News in Brief
West victory
HOUSTON - Kevin Durant scored 30 points, while game MVP Chris Paul had 20 points and 15 assists as the Western Conference beat the East 143-138 in the NBA All-Star game on Monday. Blake Griffin finished with 19 points and Kobe Bryant blocked LeBron James twice in the final minutes to turn the West's victory into something of an LA story. James scored 19 points but shot only seven of 18 in a turnaround for his recent hot shooting for the Miami Heat. Carmelo Anthony led the East with 26 points and 12 rebounds. The first dunk of the game came 16 seconds in, Paul throwing a pass to LA Clippers' teammate Griffin.
Drogba battle
BEIJING - Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua will take its battle against star striker Didier Drogba's move to Turkish side Galatasaray to football's governing body FIFA this week, domestic reports said Monday.
The Ivory Coast striker left the club in acrimonious circumstances last month, with Shanghai saying he had breached his contract. "We now have evidence which we believe will give Shenhua a 99 per cent chance of winning a lawsuit at FIFA," a lawyer acting for the club told the Sina web portal. The anonymous source from "Shenhua's legal team" said papers would be submitted to the sport's governing body today.
Dangerous
WELLINGTON - Hurricanes openside flanker Ardie Savea has been suspended for four weeks after being cited for a dangerous tackle in last Saturday's Super Rugby warm-up match against the Chiefs. He will miss the Hurricanes' early season matches against the Blues, Queensland Reds, Crusaders and Highlanders.Savea faced a hearing with judicial officer Nigel Hampton via video-conference on Tuesday over a lifting tackle on Chiefs replacement halfback Augustine Pulu. Hampton said the tackle, in the 78th minute of the match won 25-21 by the Chiefs, was clumsy with elements of recklessness.
Wenger future
LONDON - Angered by criticism of Arsenal and claims about his future, Arsene Wenger's irritation boiled over publicly ahead of today's Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich. Arsenal's last chance to end a trophy drought stretching back to 2005 is in Europe after being knocked out of the FA Cup by second-tier Blackburn on Saturday. Wenger was frustrated on Monday by continued questions about that loss, and grew angrier when asked about a report claiming he is in talks about a new contract. "That is the wrong information and I work for 16 years in England," Wenger said.
Hawks win
CHICAGO - Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Patrick Sharp scored to spark the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 win over defending National Hockey League champion Los Angeles yesterday and on the brink of NHL history. The Blackhawks improved to 12-0 with three over-time losses, each worth one point as a regulation-time draw, to open an NHL season that began only last month as a result of a money dispute between club owners and players. If Chicago can avoid a regulation-time loss against Vancouver today, the Blackhawks will match the 2006-2007 Anaheim Ducks for the NHL's all-time record of going 16 games into a season without a regulation defeat.