Feburary 20th 2010
Sports Bites

A French judge has issued a national arrest warrant for U.S. cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a case of data hacking at a doping laboratory, a prosecutor's office said.
French judge Thomas Cassuto, based in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, is seeking to question Landis about computer hacking dating back to September 2006 at the Chatenay-Malabry lab, said Astrid Granoux, spokeswoman for Nanterre's prosecutor's office. The laboratory near Paris had uncovered abnormally elevated testosterone levels in Landis' samples collected in the run-up to his 2006 Tour de France victory, leading to the eventual loss of his medal. Cassuto also issued a national warrant for Arnie Baker, a retired doctor and longtime Landis coach and adviser, the prosecutor's office said.

Afghanistan needed a dramatic last-ball run out to edge a thriller against Canada after Ashish Bagai almost carried the underdogs to victory. The packed crowd of Afghanistan supporters, still in full voice following the team's triumph in the World Twenty20 qualifiers, were treated to a fluctuating spectacle of 50-over cricket at its clammy-palmed best as a spirited Canada side came within a whisker of causing an upset. Chasing an unlikely 289 to win, Canada had timed the chase superbly, needing 38 from the final six overs with captain Ashish Bagai well set on 70, four wickets intact and a Powerplay still in hand. They took full advantage of the first over of fielding restrictions, with Bagai clubbing Shapoor Zadran for two fours and a two to take the equation to 25 from 30 balls. But the 46th over proved a dramatic turning point as Samiullah Shenwari targeted the tail-ender Umar Bhati and pulled off a crucial maiden, conceding just two leg byes. Karim Sadiq and Mohammad Nabi restricted the next three overs to just 15 to leave a tantalising eight required from the final six balls.

Workers in South Africa have threatened to "kick FIFA's door down" if their demands for World Cup merchandise to be produced locally are not met by yesterday. Members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) protested outside FIFA's offices last week insisting that no more memorabilia for the tournament is imported. The complaints erupted after it was reported that 'Zakumi', the World Cup mascot, was being manufactured in China. Since then, it has emerged that many other products, such as scarves, shirts and blankets, are being brought in from outside South Africa.

Nate Robinson is the NBA's first three-time slam dunk champion, and that's enough for him. The 5-foot-9 New York Knicks guard says he's done with the marquee event of Saturday night's All-Star festivities. "No, no, no, no, no. I don't think I can bear that anymore. I'm just happy with this third one," he said. "This is the last one." Robinson barely won another title, garnering 51 percent of the fan vote to hold off Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozan in a largely forgettable dunk contest. DeRozan advanced to the final round after getting a perfect score of 50 on his second dunk of the first round.

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