Sports Briefs

 

Eagles celebrate coach's birthday at Super Bowl practice

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) :

The Philadelphia Eagles kicked off their first practice of Super Bowl week with a typical Wednesday session and concluded it by singing "Happy Birthday" to their coach.

Everyone except defensive tackle Tim Jernigan participated in practice, according to a pool report. Jernigan has an illness that coach Doug Pederson said is a "24-hour deal".

Practice, held indoors at the University of Minnesota's Gibson-Nagurski Complex, stopped for 30 minutes to simulate Sunday's halftime events, giving players a chance to see what it's like to restart after a lay-off.

Pederson celebrated his 50th birthday by getting his team ready to face the New England Patriots.

 

World Cup organisers dismiss locust threat

 

MOSCOW (AP):

The head of the World Cup organising committee has dismissed claims that a plague of locusts could threaten the football tournament in Russia.

Alexei Sorokin was responding to a warning from the agriculture ministry that locusts could devour the grass at stadiums in southern Russian cities.

Sorokin says that "locusts present no danger to football fields" because "the grass on the fields is very short and it's sprayed with certain substances".

Locust swarms are a regular problem in southern Russian, where they often devour whole fields of crops in the warmer months. Sometimes they cause so much damage that local states of emergency are declared.

 

Suns guard breaks ankle in gruesome injury

 

PHOENIX (AP):

Suns guard Isaiah Canaan broke his left ankle on Wednesday night in a gruesome injury against the Dallas Mavericks.

The backup point guard was fouled as he drove to the basket in the final seconds of the first quarter. His ankle gave way on a hard, awkward landing, and his left foot was pointing in the wrong direction as his body tumbled to the floor.

As trainers rushed to Canaan, the crowd groaned, and some of his shocked teammates covered their eyes or looked away. Phoenix guard Devin Booker pulled his jersey over his face.

Team doctor Tom Carter twisted the foot and ankle back into their proper positions and said afterwards that Canaan never uttered a word of pain.