SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015 SPORTS

Putnam sets Humana pace Cellino resigns at Leeds Ferrero hints at Eto’o arrival CALIFORNIA: The “light switch” clicked for journeyman Michael Putnam as he LONDON: Massimo Cellino announced yesterday that he has stepped MILAN: Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero has hinted that Samuel Eto’o piled up nine birdies in his last 12 holes to seize a one-shot lead in Thursday’s down as chairman of fallen English giants Leeds United, but said that he could finally complete his move to the Serie A side after two weeks of negotia- opening round of the $5.7 million Humana Challenge at La Quinta in California. would return to the club in April. tions with Premier League club Everton. Still seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old American fired a The Italian businessman, 58, was disqualified as an owner and director Eto’o has been tipped to join the Genoa-based side since Everton manager sparkling nine-under-par 63 in ideal scoring conditions on the Jack Nicklaus of the club by the English Football League in December due to a tax con- Roberto Martinez indicated the Cameroonian striker would be allowed to Private course at PGA West, one of three venues hosting the pro-am event. viction in Sardinia last year. leave Goodison Park. Putnam covered his back nine in a sizzling seven-under 29 to finish a picture- But that conviction will be spent under British law in April, which will Ferrero unveiled four new signings on Friday including Colombian striker perfect day a stroke in front of compatriots Blake Adams, John Peterson, Scott enable Cellino to return to Elland Road. “It is with great sadness and frus- Luis Muriel from Udinese, but the flamboyant film producer hinted he could Pinckney and 2012 champion Mark Wilson, and Italian Francesco tration that I have to take this step, however I abide by the Football add Eto’o to his winter transfer haul within the next 24 hours. “Today I have brought you four pearls and maybe tomorrow Molinari. Holder Patrick Reed, who won the Hyundai Tournament of League’s decision to temporarily disqualify me from this great football club there will be another,” said Ferrero referring to Eto’o. Eto’o is Champions in Hawaii 10 days ago, launched his title defence with a and will return in April in good health and good spirits,” Cellino said in a said to be keen for a return to Italy where he enjoyed huge 65 while twice former winner Phil Mickelson, playing his first com- statement. “I have done my best for a club and fans that I hold close to my petitive round since late September, carded a 71. success with Inter Milan during his spell with the club in heart and it is now financially much stronger than it has been for a long 2009-2011, including winning the treble of league, Cup and “It was like a light switch,” Putnam told Golf Channel about time. “It will continue to thrive and I am sincerely looking forward to the transformation in his game from the seventh hole onwards. “I Champions League in 2010 under former coach Jose returning very soon.” Leeds said that board member Andrew Umbers Mourinho. Sampdoria are 10 points behind leaders Juventus said I needed to make some birdies, so I did. “I played decently would take over as chairman during Cellino’s absence. solid before that, just made a few mistakes to make bogeys, ahead of the defending champions’ home game against Three-time English champions Leeds are currently two places above but I just lit it up coming in.” Putnam, a three-times Verona on Sunday and level with Napoli in the third the relegation zone in the second-tier Championship. champion on the lower-tier Web.com Tour who has and last Champions League qualifying place. never finished better than fourth in a PGA Tour They are also under a transfer embargo for breaching the Football Reports in Italy yesterday said the 33-year-old is event, was not planning to dwell on his opening League’s financial fair play rules and so cannot pay transfer fees for players expected to undergo a medical at the northern round for long. —Reuters in the ongoing January window. — AFP Italian city today. —AFP Bulls charge past Spurs

CHICAGO: Derrick Rose scored 22 points and the struggling Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-81 on Thursday night. The Bulls came away with a much-needed win after dropping six of eight and handed the defending champions their most lopsided loss of the sea- son. The Central division leaders broke this one open in the third quarter, outscoring the Spurs 31-20, and snapped San Antonio’s four-game win streak. Rose, who called out his team after Monday’s loss at Cleveland, backed it up by going hard to the rim and hitting 9 of 16 shots. He led six Bulls in double figures. Pau Gasol added 12 points and 17 rebounds after being voted to his fifth All-Star game and first as a starter. The Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard scored all of his team-leading 16 points in the first half.

JAZZ 101, BUCKS 99 Gordon Hayward scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz held on for the win as the Bucks missed their last five shots in the closing minute. The Jazz appeared to be in control after a 15- 3 run, taking a 101-92 lead on two free throws by Hayward with 2:35 remaining. But the Bucks pulled within the final score on Jared Dudley’s 3- pointer from the top right with 1:29 left. The Bucks had a final opportunity when an officials review awarded them the ball out of bounds under the basket with 7.1 seconds left. Brandon Knight missed a jumper with two sec- onds left and Zaza Pachulia missed the tip-in at the buzzer.

CELTICS 90, TRAIL BLAZERS 89 Evan Turner hit a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left and the Boston Celtics overcame the short- handed Portland Trail Blazers. Avery Bradley had 18 points to lead the Celtics, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Jared Sullinger added 17 points and nine rebounds. Damian Lillard had 21 points and seven assists to lead the Blazers, who have lost five of their last six as they struggle with injuries to their front line. The Blazers were hit before the game with the news that three-time All Star LaMarcus Aldridge had torn a ligament in his left thumb and would need surgery. The 6-foot-11 power forward is expected to miss from six to eight weeks.

AUSTRIA: Dominik Paris, of Italy, winner of an alpine ski, menís World Cup super-G, CLIPPERS 123, NETS 84 celebrates on the podium. — AP LOS ANGELES: Blake Griffin scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half, when the Clippers led Italy’s Paris wins super-G by 33 points, and Los Angeles went on to its largest victory ever over the Brooklyn Nets. KITZBUEHEL: Dominik Paris revealed his veteran Didier Defago, came in 10th at JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford added 17 depth of understanding of the infamous 0.85sec. One of the big pre-race favorites, points each, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and Hahnenkamm mountain in winning yester- , finished seventh in 1:10.77, 12 rebounds, and Chris Paul had a season-high day’s super-G race in Kitzbuehel, his fourth the Norwegian having topped both down- 17 assists for the Clippers, who have won nine of victory on the World Cup circuit. hill training runs in the week. their last 12 and three in a row. With Kevin The 25-year-old Italian won the presti- Paris is one a number of racers who will Garnett resting, the Nets were led by Mason gious downhill here in 2013 and displayed compete in a later slalom, the joint results Plumlee with 16 points. Darius Morris and a faultless line down the tricky bottom going to the super combined title. A num- Jerome Jordan had 11 points each, and Jordan third of the course to clock 1min 09.99sec. ber of slalom specialists will fancy their had 11 rebounds. They have lost nine of 11. Austrian duo Matthias Mayer, the cur- chances of hauling themselves up the The Clippers put the game away in the first CHIACAGO: San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) shoots between Chicago Bulls for- rent Olympic downhill champion, and leaderboard when the racers take to the half, when they shot 66 percent and Jordan had ward Pau Gasol (16) and Taj Gibson as Derrick Rose (1) watches during the second half of an Georg Streitberger completed the podium, piste from 1545 GMT. Best placed is already secured his double-double. — AP NBA basketball game. — AP at 0.06 and 0.34sec respectively. Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, 25th in the “I really didn’t think of winning today in super-G but only 1.47sec off Paris. as much as I wasn’t perfect in the upper Importantly, Pinturault has a slender NBA results/standings part,” Paris said. advance on main rivals Natko Zrncic-Dim of “Going into the traverse, where you Croatia and a 1.31sec lead on Austria’s have to be tactical, and then the dip to the Marcel Hirscher. The super-G was held up Chicago 104, San Antonio 81; Utah 101, Milwaukee 99; Boston 90, Portland 89; La Clippers 123, Brooklyn 84. finish line both went well.” Paris added: “To after the main racers had come down for a Eastern Conference Indiana 15 29 .341 13 Minnesota 7 34 .171 22.5 win twice in Kitzbuehel is fantastic. The first helicopter evacuation of Switzerland’s Marc Atlantic Division Southeast Division Pacific Division victory remains the stand-out moment of Gisin, who suffered a heavy fall on the test- W L PCT GB Atlanta 35 8 .814 - Golden State 34 6 .850 - my career. ing, icy course. Toronto 27 15 .643 - Washington 29 14 .674 6 LA Clippers 29 14 .674 6.5 “Yesterday in the second downhill train- Racers touched 123km/h in one of the Brooklyn 18 25 .419 9.5 Miami 18 24 .429 16.5 Phoenix 26 18 .591 10 ing session, I felt good arriving down the most prestigious speed events in one of Boston 14 26 .350 12 Charlotte 18 25 .419 17 Sacramento 16 26 .381 19 bottom. And then I had confidence on a the circuit’s most iconic locations and Philadelphia 8 34 .190 19 Orlando 15 30 .333 21 LA Lakers 12 31 .279 23.5 snow that seemed similar to that when I there have been some extremely grue- NY Knicks 7 36 .163 20.5 Western Conference Southwest Division had my first win here.” some crashes in the past, notably Swiss Central Division Northwest Division Memphis 30 12 .714 - Reigning world champion racer Daniel Albrecht in 2009 and Austrian Chicago 28 16 .636 - Portland 31 13 .705 - Dallas 30 13 .698 0.5 was first out of the hut down the 2.1-kilo- Hans Grugger in 2011. Today sees the 75th Cleveland 23 20 .535 4.5 Oklahoma City22 20 .524 8 Houston 29 14 .674 1.5 metre-long Streifalm piste, but missed a running of the downhill, which made its Milwaukee 21 21 .500 6 Denver 18 24 .429 12 San Antonio 27 17 .614 4 gate after going wide on the last bend. debut in 1931, with the two-legged slalom Detroit 17 26 .395 10.5 Utah 15 28 .349 15.5 New Orleans 21 21 .500 9 Last year’s winner of the super-G, Swiss tomorrow. — AFP How Pats ball boy became America’s most wanted

CHICAGO: The most wanted rule-breaker in America young staffer waiting to be sacrificed. He’s the ball boy were approved by the referees without asking Belichick the case, the mystery will be solved any day now. Those today is a New England Patriots ball boy. So whether you the Patriots are sure to single out as the mastermind or Brady for permission? guys, after all, never get anything wrong. think “Deflategate” is a big deal or not, consider this: If the behind it all. You can imagine him, texting his parents. Well, Brady apparently likes his footballs on the soft Remember how quickly they found the Ray Rice video- allegations are true, the fall guy won’t be the quarterback “Won’t see you for dinner tonight - or maybe ever. We side, particularly in rainy conditions like those from tape? Or how they took care of bounty accusations in married to a supermodel or the multimillionaire coach. got caught. Somebody’s got to take the fall. Can you tell Sunday’s AFC title game 45-7 victory over the Colts. So if New Orleans without a hiccup? Just like the last time the Patriots were caught cheat- Dad and write a note to school and explain I won’t be the reports are correct, and if the NFL found 11 of the 12 OK, so the game was over Sunday, and they still ing, a more expendable member of the family will take back?” He probably thought catching passes from Tom Patriots’ footballs were under-inflated, the only thing haven’t finished examining 12 footballs. But now the blame. Last time, that was Matt Walsh, the only guy Brady would be all fun and games. But when there’s trou- Belichick would be mad about - at least at first - is how Commissioner Roger Goodell is on the case, and he’s fired after “Spygate,” when the Patriots videotaped other ble, the Patriots circle the wagons. Ball boys don’t get the kid got that 12th ball wrong. known for getting rid of a crisis quickly and efficiently, teams’ coaches to steal hand signals. Coach Bill Belichick invited inside. The best he can hope for at this point is a Belichick and Brady likely were careful enough never just as he has handled every crisis this season. Or not. said he interpreted the rules wrongly, claimed he couldn’t new identity. to ask anyone directly to take air out of balls. Maybe they Now imagine the ball boy’s mother promising to go pick video staffer Walsh out of a lineup, paid his fine and Think about it: Where else have you seen a bunch of learned about buffers from the Corleones, too. Maybe all the way up the food chain if necessary to get her son - continued coaching as if nothing had happened. guys with lots of rings kissing the boss and each other as that wish was relayed through nothing more damning whom we’ll call Dave - out of trouble. “But first, David, tell Now, the Patriots are accused of deflating footballs to much as the Patriots do? Like the Corleones, it’s just busi- than winks and nods. me where your baby pictures are. One of the guys from make them easier to throw and catch. Once again, the ness, from owner Robert Kraft on down. Ball boys are But plausible deniability won’t fly in in this case. They the news trucks parked on the lawn is asking.” organization has gone hush-hush from top to bottom, expendable, and when the Patriots blame one - as knew the rules, and if opponents thought the footballs “That’s the last thing, mom. Don’t call me David any- including how the footballs are handled. But somewhere, Southern Cal did when the Trojans were caught doing the they were intercepting seemed flat, what are the chances more. My new name is Drew.” “Drew.” “Drew Bledsoe. locked inside a janitor’s closet somewhere deep in the same thing in 2012 - take it with an industrial-sized dose the Patriots didn’t? Coach Belichick told me nobody would remember that bowels of Gillette Stadium, there’s probably another of salt. Would a ball boy deflate balls illegally after they Never fear. Now that the NFL’s crack security team is on name.” — AP