ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 43 SPORTS Matar rout Kuwait Energy; Yousef Power outplay Star Power Cruz hands Kusina 64-63 win over Clinic Kusina Grill team HPI Hyperians team Body Building team Kuwait Steel team Baskin Robbins team Star Power team Lasting effects Donne battles Lyme disease CHICAGO, Sept 15, (RTRS): Chicago Sky head coach Pokey Chatman needs only a brief glance at Elena Delle Donne, one of the brightest stars in the WNBA, to know when the high-scoring for- ward is going to need a break. “Pokey can look at me in the morning and tell how I’m doing,” said Delle Donne, the league’s top scorer. “And she’ll know to give me more rest that day. We’re on an eye-con- tact level at this point.” Delle Donne’s fatigue and stiff- ness on certain days has nothing to do with the rigors of a Women’s National Basketball Association season but with the lasting effects of Lyme disease. A favorite to win the WNBA’s MVP award this year, Delle Donne believes she contracted the disease, a bacterial infection often transmit- ted through the bite of an infected deer tick, in 2008. She says she doesn’t know how she exactly how she got the disease and didn’t catch it in its early stages as flu-like symptoms such as fatigue and muscle stiffness were misdiagnosed. Delle Donne finally got the ill- ness, which has no known cure, under control but in 2010 she said she “had a really bad relapse” and has been troubled by it ever since, causing the Delaware native to miss a chunk of last season, including the All-Star game. She has not missed any time this season as she averages a league- best 23 points, while adding nearly 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, all career highs. “This season I’ve been playing well and staying pretty healthy so people just think the disease is gone,” she told Reuters. “But it’s something I battle every single day.” The 26-year-old, 6-foot-5 (1.96 meter) Delle Donne said she can spend four hours a day “just doing things trying to stay healthy.” After hard games or a long flight, she said she often will use a computerized massage machine that aids recovery in the legs, hips and arms. She has to eat well, staying away from foods that could cause inflam- mation, and take dietary supplements. Chatman, the Sky coach, said when she sees the “glassy look” in Delle Donne’s eyes, she knows it is time to sit her down. “Sometimes people forget that just because Lyme hasn’t reared its ugly head this year, she’s fine. But it’s still a day-to-day process with her,” Chatman said. “Fortunately, Elena treats it with the respect it deserves and tries to get out of front of any potential problems.” Delle Donne sees Pennsylvania- based nurse practitioner Rita Rhoads every week during the off- season to make sure her blood tests are satisfactory. Once the season starts, the two keep in touch via e- mails, texts and phone calls. “Elena is a very driven person,” said Rhoads, who has treated Delle Donne for the past five years. “She does everything she needs to do to stay on top of it. “She’s got that Type A personality. It’s not just playing basketball. She follows directions.” Kuwait Energy Company team NAS Matar team Yousef Power team The Pearl Clinic team Jennings ordered not to score Cowboys most Valuable sports team in the world LOS ANGELES, Sept 15, (Agencies): The Dallas Cowboys have dethroned Real Madrid as the most valuable sports team in the world according to a Forbes survey of the richest teams in the National Football League. The Cowboys, often described as “America’s Team” despite not having won the Super Bowl since 1995, topped the Forbes list with a value of $4 billion (3.5 billion euros), fueled in part by the NFL’s gargantuan domestic television deal. The valuation puts them ahead of Real Madrid, who were valued by Forbes at $3.26 billion according to a global list released earlier this year. Two other US sports franchises, the NFL’s New England Patriots and baseball’s New York Yankees, were next with an estimated value of $3.2 billion. Reigning European champions Barcelona came in at fifth with an estimated value of $3.16 billion. Premier League giants Manchester United were valued at $3.1 billion according to most recent Forbes esti- mates. Forbes said the Cowboys have surged to the top thanks to revenues of $620 million, some $100 million more than its nearest high-earners in the NFL. ❑ ❑ ❑ New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings said that he was ordered not to score a touchdown on two late running plays during the club’s 27-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The Giants held a three-point lead and had the ball inside the Dallas 5- yard line with under two minutes remaining when Jennings was instructed not to cross the goal-line. New York settled for a field goal and the Cowboys responded with a game- winning touchdown drive. Quarterback Manning later admit- ted that he told Jennings not to score if he got close to the goal line, to run more time off the clock. ❑ ❑ ❑ Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson is expected to miss three to four weeks with the strained hamstring he suffered Sunday. ❑ ❑ ❑ The NFL suspended Redskins cor- nerback Chris Culliver one game for violating the league’s personal con- duct policy. Culliver’s suspension without pay begins immediately. ❑ ❑ ❑ The Redskins released kicker Kai Forbath and signed kicker Dustin Hopkins to replace him, the team announced. The Redskins also waived line- backer Houston Bates and signed defensive end Frank Kearse. ❑ ❑ ❑ Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien refused to name his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers, and said he will not make any announce- ment about the starter this week. ❑ ❑ ❑ Johnny Manziel is being prepared to start for the Cleveland Browns this Sunday as the status of injured Josh McCown remains uncertain. McCown suffered a concussion in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets and was replaced by Manziel. ❑ ❑ ❑ The Arizona Cardinals are expected to be without starting run- ning back Andre Ellington for a couple of weeks after he damaged the PCL in his right knee in Sunday’s season opener. ❑ ❑ ❑ Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is day-to-day with a bruised knee. The Colts are planning to be with- out their No. 1 receiver for their Week 2 Monday night game against the New York Jets. ❑ ❑ ❑ Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is likely to sit out Sunday’s game with a bruised thumb. ❑ ❑ ❑ The NFL won’t discipline Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh after he appeared to kick off the helmet of Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris. There was contact between the players, but “Suh’s action was not deemed a kick,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora said. ❑ ❑ ❑ The Dolphins released running back LaMike James, who fumbled a kickoff return in the season opener against the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins also announced that running back Jonas Gray has been cut from the 53-man roster. ❑ ❑ ❑ Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones is expected to be fined but avoid a suspension after ripping the helmet off of Oakland Raiders rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper. NFL Roundup By Iddris Seidu Arab Times Staff KUWAIT CITY, Sept 15: Cruz scored in the final min- utes to hand Kusina the one point win, 64-63 against Pearl Clinic in the PBLK 4th season basketball confer- ences Friday afternoon at the Khaitan Sports Club. Allan Villenueva scored a team- high 21 points and 11 rebounds and Richard Ocampo added 10 points, including a 3-pointer in the final round, as Kusina rallied midway in the game and held off Pearl Clinic to clinch the inter- company divisional win. Villanueva finished one-for-four in 3- pointers but wound up with a spectacular 6-for-8 in 2s to lead Kusina close to its first inter-com- pany victory since entering the league a couple of months ago. The Pearl Clinic kicked off their campaign with a cold shooting dis- play and Pearl Clinic, with an entire team coordinating effectively, raced into an early 15-11 lead before end- ing the first quarter with a 20-17 advantage. A suffocating defence, methodical offence coupled with an electrifying and raucous crowd, was mostly the winning formula for the Kusina squad side as they rallied to take con- trol of the game after a lacklustre first half start that left them 3 points adrift, 37-40. “This team is one of the most together and toughest, being down never bothered us, we just kept going till we got a handle on the game”, said Kusina forward Ocampo”. Kusina was jolted out of their iner- tia as Tirso Cruz led a second quarter rampage to gnaw down his side’s deficit. But Pearl Clinic clamped down to keep him scoreless in the opening minutes of the second quar- ter. Pearl Clinic fought their way in the battle, snatched the lead and went ahead to the end of the second round. The Kusina side, seeking to win the trophy in their first year of join- ing the conference, outshot their opponents by 47 percent to 45 from the field with their star forward Villanueva being held to just fifteen points on four-of-10 shooting after running into foul trouble. Norman Lopez, MVP of the game at 24 points and Arnel Del Rosario both ran into foul trouble early on but managed to stay in the game. But sharp-shooting forward Mendoza came off the bench and sparked a Pearl Clinic revival as the Kusina side closed the gap. An Ocampo three-pointer, his sec- ond of the game, saw Kusina slice down the deficit to 4 points four min- utes into the fourth but Clinic stepped up their defence to regain control and, with Lopez finding his range from beyond the arc, Clinic entered the fourth with a 55-51 lead. Clinic appeared to tighten their grip on the game, but Kusina’s Cruz scored from behind the arc in a sur- prising move to bring the scores to a standoff at 63-63, then again grabbed a steal off a poor Rosario pass to slot the ball into the Clinic net for the winner 64-63 for Kusina. The deaf- ening noise in the gallery persisted to the very last second of the game as the Kusina fans celebrated their side’s win. In the other matches of the week- end, N.A.S Matar beat Kuwait Energy 95-79 while, Yousef Power had an easy day outplaying Star Power 91-61. Body Building on the other hand, outpaced Baskin Robbins 75-68 while H.P.I Hyperians narrowly defeated Kuwait Steel 87-86 in the final game of the weekend. (Left to right): Action shots from the matches. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9), celebrates a last minute touchdown pass to tight end Jason Witten (82), to win against the New York Giants during the second half of an NFL football game on Sept 13, in Arlington, Texas. 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