News
Email
Print
Sports Briefs: Williams fined record amount for Open tirade
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: December 1, 2009
Updated: 12/01/2009 12:15 am
Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her tirade at a U.S. Open line judge and could be suspended from that tournament if she has another "major offense" at any Grand Slam tournament in the next two years.
Bill Babcock, a Grand Slam administrator, released his ruling yesterday and said that Williams faces a "probationary period" at tennis' four major championships in 2010 and 2011.
If she has another "major offense" at a Grand Slam tournament in that time, the fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from the next U.S. Open.
"But if she does not have another offense in the next two years, the suspension is lifted," Babcock said.
He said that Williams has given $82,500 to the Grand Slam committee, already far more than the previous highest fine for a Grand Slam offense.
In 1995, Jeff Tarango stormed off the court at Wimbledon and accused the chair umpire of showing favoritism to certain players in exchange for their friendship. Tarango was fined $43,756, which was reduced to $28,256 on appeal, and barred from Wimbledon the next year.
Williams lashed out at a lineswoman after a foot-fault call at the end of her semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters in September in a profanity-laced, finger-pointing display.
In a statement released yesterday by her publicist, Williams said: "I am thankful that we now have closure on the incident and we can all move forward. I am back in training in preparation for next season, and I continue to be grateful for all of the support from my fans and the tennis community."
Soccer
■ Tickets for the NCAA Men's College Cup in Cary are sold out, said Pat Liebert, an assistant director of ticket operations at host school N.C. State.
Four ACC teams remain in contention to reach the final four -- Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest -- and will play quarterfinals this weekend, with winners advancing to the College Cup semifinals Dec. 11. The national-championship match will be Dec. 13.
Liebert said that about 250 tickets will be given to each of the four qualifying schools. Steve Shutt, the assistant athletics director for media relations at Wake Forest, said that if the Deacons advance, those tickets will not be sold to the general public.
Liebert said that there would be tickets available for the championship "because two of the schools will have lost on Friday and some of those fans don't stay."
WakeMed Soccer Park holds about 8,500, according to Liebert.
-- John Dell
■ Ireland has asked FIFA to be allowed into the World Cup as an extra team because Thierry Henry's handball helped France eliminate the Irish in a playoff. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that the Irish made the request in writing.
Henry handled the ball before setting up William Gallas for the tying goal Nov. 18 that put France into the World Cup and eliminated Ireland. FIFA has already rejected a call by the Irish for a replay and will discuss the latest request Wednesday.
Baseball
■ The Los Angeles Angels voted to give a full postseason share to the estate of Nick Adenhart, the rookie pitcher who was killed in April in a car accident caused by what police say was a drunken driver. Shares for the Angels, who reached the ALCS, are worth $138,039.
The Yankees won the World Series, and their full postseason shares were worth a record $365,053, Major League Baseball said yesterday. A full share on the Phillies, who lost to the Yankees in six games in the World Series, was $265,358.
With a hike in some ticket prices this year, the players' pool for the postseason was $59.1 million.
■ Broadcaster Chip Caray and TBS have decided to part ways, network spokesman Jeff Pomeroy said yesterday.
A son of Skip Caray, the late Braves broadcaster, and grandson of famed broadcaster Harry Caray, Chip Caray called first-round playoff games for TBS the past three seasons and also was part of the network's Sunday regular-season package. Pomeroy said that no replacement has been picked.
■ Derek Jeter has been selected Sports Illustrated's sportsman of the year, becoming the first member of the New York Yankees to win the award.
Jeter led the Yankees to their first World Series title since 2000 with one of the best seasons of his career. He batted .334 and made a career-low eight errors in winning his fourth Gold Glove. He also won the Roberto Clemente Award for excellence on and off the field and passed Lou Gehrig's club record for hits.
The award has been given out since 1954. Michael Phelps won it in 2008.
■ Infielder Alex Cora is staying with the New York Mets, agreeing to a $2 million, one-year contract. Details of the deal were revealed yesterday by two people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Cora, 34, played 82 games this year, batting .251.
■ Catcher Jason LaRue has agreed to a $950,000, one-year contract to remain with the St. Louis Cardinals.
LaRue, Yadier Molina's backup for two seasons, hit .240 with two homers and six RBIs in 104 at-bats last season. He started 26 games and played in 51. His deal, the same as his 2009 contract, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if he has 60 starts.
■ Major League Baseball officials have asked Internet sites to remove racy photographs of center fielder Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians.
Sizemore said that the photos -- one of them showing him nearly nude -- were stolen from his girlfriend's e-mail account and posted online. He contacted baseball officials to stop the spread of the photos. It is not known how many sites are complying with MLB's request. At least one site, deadspin.com, is refusing to take the photos down.
"There's no reason to," editor A.J. Daulerio said. "They were up other places already."
Auto racing
■ Danica Patrick signed a three-year extension with Andretti Autosport yesterday, a deal reported to have been in the works for weeks, but her NASCAR future remains unclear. The contract runs through 2012.
Patrick and Michael Andretti, Andretti Autosport's owner, announced the deal and unveiled her green-and-orange No. 7 GoDaddy.com car during a segment of Good Morning America.
It has been reported that Patrick is working on a deal that would partner her on a limited Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, the team owned by Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
■ Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson awarded nearly $1 million in education grants yesterday to school districts in California, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Johnson received more than 80 applications from schools in districts he and his wife, Chandra, attended, as well as from the greater Charlotte area, where they live.
The grants from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation totaled $922,000. Nine schools in the greater Charlotte area received grants, including Smithfield and Ashley Park elementary.
Miscellaneous
■ Coastal Carolina yesterday hired Hunter Yurachek to replace Warren "Moose" Koegel as its athletics director. Yurachek, now at Akron, will take over in January when Koegel moves into a fundraising role with the school's athletic foundation.
Yurachek, 41, spent the past two years as Akron's executive senior associate athletics director. He also has worked at Virginia, Western Carolina, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
■ Disgraced track star Marion Jones is training for a comeback in the WNBA.
Coach Dan Hughes of the San Antonio Silver Stars confirmed last night that Jones, 34, has been training with his assistants to possibly play in the WNBA. Jones, who starred in basketball at North Carolina, was released more than a year ago from federal prison, where she was held for lying about her doping use.
■ Organizers of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships are planning to sell sanctioning rights for the ATP tournament, meaning that the city might be without a pro tournament for the first time in more than 80 years. Tournament director Kevin Martin said that the event's nonprofit group faced economic challenges that prompted the decision.
Email
Print
