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Kayhan Int’l Sport Desk
Iran Lose in Wrestling Final
Basketball Match With US Set
 TEHRAN - Iran lost to host Russia 5-2 and finished as
runner-up in the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup.
Two wins by Hassan Rahimi (55kg) and Reza Yazdani (96kg)
were not enough for Iran to beat its archrival Russia, which
was victorious in the five other categories. This was Iran's
first defeat after three consecutive victories over
Azerbaijan, the United States and Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, Iran’s basketball team's historic match against
the three-time world champion US team in the 2010 World
Championship in Turkey has been scheduled for September 1.
Iran, which is drawn in Group B, will play its first match
against Brazil on August 28 and face Croatia, Tunisia on
August 29 and 30. Following the September 1 match with the
USA, Iran will meet Slovenia on September 2 for its final
match in the preliminary round.
This will be Iran and the US' first match in a basketball
tournament. The men's tournament has drawn 24 teams into
four groups of six, with the top four from each advancing to
the knockout round. The ultimate winner will automatically
qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
This will be the first match between Iran and the US in a basketball
tournament.
Kayhan Int’l Sport Desk
Former Perspolis Coach Amirasefi Dies
at 77
TEHRAN - Former Perspolis football coach Mansour Amirasefi
died of cancer at the age of 77 on Saturday.
Amirasefi used to play in Tehran based teams including Kian,
Ararat and Perspolis and was captain of the Iran national
football team in 1964.
Amirasefi was named as Perspolis football coach in 1977;
however, he resigned from his position after a short time
due to disagreement with iconic midfielder Ali Parvin.
In one match he didn’t put Parvin in the line-up and the
Perspolis midfielder protested which resulted in Amirsafi’s
resignation. He was also manager of Ararat. Mansour
Amirasefi was laid to rest on Monday at the Behesht Zahra
cemetery in Tehran.
Chelsea Ease Into FA Cup Semis
 LONDON (Goal) – FA Cup holders Chelsea strolled into the
semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Stoke on Sunday, while
Aston Villa staged a stunning second half fightback to join
them in the last four with a 4-2 win against Reading.
At Stamford Bridge, deposed England captain John Terry was
back in the spotlight as the Chelsea skipper set up Frank
Lampard's opener before scoring the second himself and then
celebrating by pointing to the armband on his sleeve. Stoke
almost took the lead from one of Rory Delap's troublesome
long-throws when Dean Whitehead's shot was cleared off the
line by John Obi Mikel.
But Lampard put Chelsea head in the 35th minute when his
shot from Terry's pass deflected past Thomas Sorensen. Terry
gave Chelsea more breathing space in the 68th minute when
his header from Lampard's corner deflected in off Andy
Wilkinson.
Terry said he was pleased to be able to show his gratitude
to Chelsea fans for their support during a traumatic month
and also help get the team back on track following defeats
to Inter Milan and Manchester City.
Aston Villa, beaten in the League Cup final by Manchester
United last weekend, looked set for an embarrassing exit at
the hands of Championship Reading after Shane Long scored
twice in the first half at the Madejski Stadium.
But three goals in 10 minutes from Ashley Young and John
Carew, who ended up with a hat-trick, ensured Villa will
return to Wembley in the last four. Long - who had scored
the winner in the third round victory over Liverpool - put
Reading ahead in the 27th minute when he headed in Matthew
Mills' flick-on.
The Royals looked on course for a famous victory when Long
struck again with a fine finish from Jimmy Kebe's pass three
minutes before half-time.
But Young restored Villa's belief with a close-range strike
two minutes into the second half.
Villa's equalizer arrived just four minutes later when
Norway striker Carew headed in Stewart Downing's cross.
Carew put Villa ahead by cleverly flicking in Stephen
Warnock's cross with the outside of his boot in the 57th
minute, then scored his third from the penalty spot in
stoppage time.
Carew revealed a half-time blast from boss Martin O'Neill
inspired Villa's comeback. Cash-strapped Portsmouth booked
their place in the semi-finals with a 2-0 home win over
Birmingham on Saturday, while Tottenham were held to a 0-0
draw at Fulham.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard
Magic Edge Lakers in Rematch
 ORLANDO (AFP) – Vince Carter scored 25 points and the
Orlando Magic held off a late rally to edge the Los Angeles
Lakers 96-94 on Sunday in a rematch of last season's NBA
Finals opponents.
The Lakers lost for the third time in a row, something they
had not done since obtaining Spanish star Pau Gasol in
February of 2008, and dropped their fourth consecutive road
game to stand at 46-18, second-best in the NBA.
"I'm worried about what we can do to win ball games," Gasol
said. "I'm not worried about streaks."
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson each added 15 points for the
Magic, who won for the fifth time in a row. The Lakers beat
the Magic in January at Los Angeles in the first meeting
between the clubs since the Lakers denied Orlando the title
in last year's NBA Finals.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 34 points, 18 of
them in the fourth quarter, despite a stomach illness that
kept him on the bench much of the second quarter. He missed
a final shot at the buzzer to seal the defeat.
"There are some things that, as an experienced team, we
should not have happen to us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said. "Those are the things we try to remedy, but today we
were just a little bit off."
Gasol, who scored 20 points, tipped-in a Bryant miss to pull
the Lakers within 93-89 with 48 seconds to play. Howard
added a free throw for Orlando but Bryant responded with a
3-pointer as Los Angeles pulled within 94-92.
Lakers standout Ron Artest then fouled Nelson, who hit
1-of-2 free throws to stretch the lead to 95-92.
Bryant sank a long shot thinking it was a game-tying
3-pointer but a video replay review showed his right foot
was on the 3-point arc and therefore the basket was only a
2-pointer, leaving the Lakers one point down with 12.9
seconds remaining.
Carter was fouled with 9.7 seconds remaining and missed his
first free throw after starting 12-for-12 at the line, but
he hit the second free throw to produce the final margin.
Bryant missed at the buzzer and the Magic escaped with a
victory.
Vince Carter
Villegas Captures PGA Honda Classic
 PALM BEACH GARDENS (AP) – Colombian Camilo Villegas won his
first title since the end of the 2008 season, firing a
two-under par 68 on Sunday to capture the US PGA Honda
Classic by a record-tying five strokes.
Villegas birdied three holes in a row to seize a six-stroke
lead with eight holes remaining, then made bogeys on three
of the next five before hanging on, sinking a 15-foot birdie
at the 18th to finish on 13-under 267.
"It's never as easy as you think," Villegas said. "I played
great on the front nine, made a couple of hiccups then got
it going at the finish."
Villegas had not won a tour event since back-to-back 2008
triumphs at the BMW Championship and season-ending Tour
Championship.
American Anthony Kim charged late in a final-round 67 but
settled for second at 272, one stroke ahead of England's
Justin Rose at the 5.6 million-dollar event with England's
Paul Casey and Fiji's Vijay Singh sharing fourth on 274.
Villegas birdied the fourth hole and began his triple birdie
run at the eighth. After back-to-back bogeys at 11 and 12,
the South American star found a bunker off the tee at 13,
then blasted a key shot onto the green and made par.
Despite a bogey at the 15th on an eight-foot par miss that
trimmed his lead to three strokes, Villegas was able to hold
off Kim and match the event's record victory margin set by
18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus in 1977.
The victory came in the same week that Villegas flew to his
homeland to launch a US developmental tour event in his
homeland.
Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson and American Mike Connell shared
sixth on 276, one stroke ahead of South Korean Charlie Wi
and two better than England's Lee Westwood, Zimbabwe's
Brendon de Jonge and American Chris Tidland.
Camilo Villegas
Beijing Golf Courses Illegal
BEIJING (Reuters) – Only one of the some 20 golf courses in
Beijing has been developed legally, a member of the law
committee in China's parliament said.
Amid concerns about land grabs of prime farming land,
China's government put a moratorium on the development of
new golf courses in 2004 and reinforced the ban last year.
Development has continued, however, and the China Golf
Association (CGA) puts the number of courses on the mainland
at around 500, mainly clustered around the major cities of
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
"There are many golf courses in Beijing, but only the one
close to the Ming Tombs has been legally approved," Sun
Anmin, deputy director of the National People's Congress
(NPC) law committee, told Monday's Beijing Youth Daily.
The Beijing International Golf Club, which borders the Ming
Tombs reservoir, was the first course built in Beijing in
1986.
The 19 other courses in Beijing include the sumptuous Jack
Nicklaus-designed Pine Valley as well as championship
courses, the Beijing Honghua and the CBD International,
which have both hosted the European Tour sanctioned China
Open in recent years.
Sun suggested the developments be given legal status
retroactively, saying that golf courses helped China's
economy by providing employment and green spaces in urban
areas helped improve the environment.
CGA Vice President Wang Liwei told Reuters last week that he
backed the ban on developing good farmland but thought that
courses might be legally built on wasteland in the future.
Parker to Miss Season for Spurs
SAN ANTONIO (AFP) – San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker is
expected to miss the remainder of the NBA regular season
after breaking a bone in his right hand during a 102-92
victory at Memphis.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that the 27-year-old French
guard broke the fourth metacarpal, a bone between the wrist
and lower knuckle, while diving for a loose ball late in the
first half. "He will be out six weeks," Popovich said.
That timetable would have Parker back in the Spurs backcourt
in time for the playoffs, provided San Antonio qualifies.
The Spurs, 36-24, are seventh in the Western Conference but
only one game ahead of eighth-place Portland.
While they will be without Parker for the final crucial
weeks, the Spurs would need to fall behind at least one
other club to miss the championship chase and the nearest
foes, Houston and Memphis, are each 5 1/2 games back.
Parker, whose injury came on his shooting hand, did not
speak to reporters after the game but his teammates were
unhappy at the prospect of losing him as they try to improve
their playoff seeding.
Tony Parker
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