Casino Seeks WNBA Team

The Mohegan Tribe, which operates the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn., is among the groups bidding to own and operate a Women’s National Basketball Assn. team in Connecticut.

“The league is aware of our interest,” said Mitchell Etess, executive vice president of marketing for Mohegan Sun.

NBA owners recently voted to allow WNBA teams to play in non-NBA cities. Hartford, Conn., is the leading contender to land a team for next season, WNBA President Val Ackerman said. Owners also voted to allow non-NBA ownership of WNBA teams.

Gambling won’t be an obstacle to the tribe’s landing a team and having it play at the 9,700-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, because the casino doesn’t offer sports betting, said Traci Cook of the WNBA. The NBA has played exhibition games at Mohegan Sun.

Miscellany

Gerrik Latta, a former member of the U.S. junior national cycling team, filed a negligence lawsuit in federal court in Denver, claiming he was tricked into using banned, performance-enhancing substances by his coach and trainer.

Latta is suing USA Cycling, the U.S. Cycling Federation, his former coach, Rene Wenzel, and trainer Angus Fraser for unspecified damages.

Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic won a four-run, experimental World Cup slalom at Sestriere, Italy, beating Italy’s Giorgio Rocca by 0.01 of a second.

In the new format, the qualifying session, which cut the field to 30 skiers, was followed by a knockout phase pitting the fastest skier in qualifying against the 30th, the second against the 29th, etc. The fastest skier advanced to the next round.

Then the remaining 15 skiers plus the three fastest “losers” of the round faced off in the same manner in the next round. The nine skiers who made it to the final run started in reverse order of times, with the fastest skier winning the race.

Layne Beachley of Dee Why, Australia, clinched a record-breaking fifth consecutive Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ world championship late Sunday after Jacqueline Silva of Brazil won the $60,000 Billabong Pro Maui, the last event of Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The Idaho Steelheads scored three goals in each of the final two periods to defeat the Ice Dogs, 7-3, at Boise, Idaho, for a three-game sweep of their West Coast Hockey League series.