EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - A multiplayer trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics was amended Friday after Gary Payton refused to report to Boston for a physical by a deadline, the Lakers said.
A Celtics spokesman said Boston agreed in advance to waive the requirement that Payton undergo a physical exam on Friday. "The team waived his physical as part of the amended trade," Bill Bonsiewicz said. "It (the physical) obviously became moot as part of this deal."
The amended trade will give Los Angeles forward Jumaine Jones instead of guard Marcus Banks, and Boston no longer will be required to give up its second-round draft choice.
The Celtics expect Payton to report for training camp Oct. 4, Bonsiewicz said.
EX-PISTON YARDLEY DEAD: George Yardley, who played for Fort Wayne, Detroit and Syracuse in his seven-year professional career, died of Lou Gehrig's disease at his Newport Beach, Calif., home. He was 75. He was the first in NBA history to score 2,000 points in a season (1957-58), breaking George Mikan's 1,932-point record.
HORSES: Fans bid Smarty farewell
Thousands convened for an opportunity to say goodbye to Smarty Jones. That he fell one win shy of winning the Triple Crown mattered little to the nearly 8,000 fans at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pa., who sobbed and shouted, "We'll miss you!" Owners Pat and Roy Chapman did not attend. Neither did Stewart Elliott, the jockey for Smarty's nine career starts. Smarty was retired two weeks ago after he was diagnosed with bone bruises in all four hoofs. His brief, sensational run ended fittingly at the same track where he earned his first career victory. In nine career starts, Smarty won eight races and earned $7,563,535, including a $5-million bonus from Oaklawn Park for victories in the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby. The Chapmans recently syndicated him for about $48-million.
ARLINGTON MILLION: KickenKris was declared the winner when Powerscourt was disqualified for interference in the stretch in Arlington Heights, Ill. It's the second straight year the lucrative turf race has been decided by a disqualification. A year ago near the finish, jockey Gary Stevens toppled from Storming Home, who was disqualified, and Sulamani was declared the winner. SARATOGA: Ridden by RamonDominguez, Better Talk Now closed steadily to win the $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga Race Course in New York by 11/2 lengths for his first victory this year.
BOXING: Sanchez wins belt on side
Eddie Sanchez of San Diego had just come to the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., for lunch and to watch his buddy box. But the next night, Friday, he walked away with a unanimous 12-round decision over J.C. Candelo of Denver in a middleweight bout. "I came for lunch and to have fun and walked away with a championship belt," Sanchez said. When Candelo's scheduled opponent, Canadian super-middleweight champion Joachim Alcine, was unable to fight due to hepatitis, promoters on Thursday asked Sanchez. Underdog Sanchez had to lose 10 pounds in 16 hours to make the contract weight of 160 pounds. Sanchez weighed in at 1593/4, and Candelo at 1533/4. The judges scored it 117-110, 118-109 and 115-112 for Sanchez.
HOPKINS WINS LAWSUIT: A Denver federal judge awarded IBF middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins $1.79-million in damages in a breach-of-contract lawsuit against America Presents, Ltd., Hopkins' promoter in the late 1990s.
ET CETERA
TENNIS: Italy's Flavia Pennetta won the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland, for her first WTA Tour title in her first tour final, beating Klara Koukalova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 after French Open champion Anastasia Myskina withdrew before the semifinals because of a rib injury.
CYCLING: Lance Armstrong says he'll ride at least one more time in the Tour de France. He didn't say if he will race the Tour in either of the next two years. For now, he is thinking about focusing on other races in 2005. "I think I have another year or two in me. That's not just a random number. It's what I think that my body can stand," he said Friday before a parade and concert in his honor in Austin, Texas.
MLS: Landon Donovan scored both goals in San Jose's 2-0 victory over host Kansas City.
