Reuters: Sports News

• Lin may change face of Chinese basketball: Yao
  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming has been taken aback by Jeremy Lin's rise at the New York Knicks and thinks his style and size could make China's state sports system rethink how it selects and grooms its athletes.
  
  
  
  
• Red-hot Senators hand Caps third straight loss
  (Reuters) - The Ottawa Senators cruised to their fourth win in a row with a 5-2 victory over the slumping Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
  
  
  
  
• Michael Jordan sues Chinese sportswear firm over name use
  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Basketball legend Michael Jordan has filed a lawsuit in China against a Chinese sportswear company, accusing the firm of unauthorized use of his name.
  
  
  
  
• Pistons on brink of Motor City revival
  TORONTO (Reuters) - It is too early to call it a Motor City revival but like the auto industry the Detroit Pistons are showing signs of life as the National Basketball Association (NBA) heads into the All Star break.
  
  
  
  
• Top seed Donald exits, Tiger scrapes through
  MARANA, Arizona (Reuters) - Top seed Luke Donald crashed out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday, losing 5&4 to late entry Ernie Els, while Tiger Woods scraped through into the second round.
  
  
  
  
• Knicks coach hopes practice makes perfect
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni is looking forward to some rare downtime following this weekend's All-Star game that will give him a chance to fit all the moving pieces of his team together for the second half of the season.
  
  
  
  
• Steelers' Hines Ward in plea deal as DUI charge dropped
  ATLANTA (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday dropped a drunken driving charge against Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who instead pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to probation.
  
  
  
  
• NBA stars, celebs help fans learn English on website
  (Reuters) - Rising New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin has not only sparked NBA basketball interest in Taiwan, he may also inspire fans to learn English, according to people at the website "English, baby!"
  
  
  
  
• PGA Tour's playoffs extended for five more years
  MARANA, Arizona (Reuters) - The FedExCup playoffs, the PGA Tour's lucrative four-event season finale, have been extended for a further five years, commissioner Tim Finchem said Wednesday.
  
  
  
  
• Blazers crush undermanned Spurs by 40
  (Reuters) - The Portland Trail Blazers made San Antonio pay dearly for resting two of their leading players on Tuesday, mauling the Spurs by 40 points in their worst defeat for nearly 15 years.