Leslie leads U.S. past USC Newswire

Lisa Leslie had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Kara Braxton scored 10 of her 21 points in the first four minutes of the second half, and the U.S. national team overcame a sluggish start to defeat USC, 88-64, in an exhibition game Tuesday night at the Galen Center.

The game was former USC standout Leslie’s first in Los Angeles since she delivered a daughter in June, and her first at the year-old Galen Center.

USC led by as many as 11 points before settling for a 36-33 halftime lead.

The U.S. came out with much greater intensity in the second half and dominated the Trojans. Braxton made five baskets from close range before Diana Taurasi made three three-point baskets in a row during a 23-5 run, giving the national team a 56-41 lead.

Taurasi had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Hailey Dunham led USC with 14 points and six assists.

TENNIS

Nadal, Djokovic lose at Masters

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic learned friendship doesn’t count for much at the Masters Cup.

Both lost to buddies in the round-robin phase of the season-ending tournament featuring the top eight players at Shanghai.

Nadal lost to David Ferrer, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in a match between Spaniards. A weary Djokovic lost to Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-2, and was eliminated from contention for the semifinals with one match left in the Gold Group.

In the Red Group, top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 4 Nikolay Daydenko lost their first matches Monday and will play each other today, followed by Andy Roddick against Fernando Gonzalez.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

Study reveals steroid use

An online survey of athletes from 12 Southern Section high schools has found 1% reported using anabolic steroids, with claims that 10% of athletes at their school were using the banned substance and a belief that even more students on competing teams are using steroids.

The survey, conducted this year and funded by the LA84 Foundation, involved 252 students representing 11 sports from Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

“While it’s not unusual for athletes to assume their opponents have an unfair advantage, it was somewhat surprising that the perception of use at their own school was so great,” said study author Dr. Gary A. Green, a clinical professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

Among the findings: 23% of male athletes surveyed have used muscle-building dietary supplements and 67% support high school drug testing for anabolic steroids.

-- Eric Sondheimer

MISCELLANY

Nike chin straps are recalled

Nike is recalling about 235,000 football helmet chin straps after the company received 18 reports of the chin straps breaking, including some that resulted in concussions and facial lacerations, a government safety group announced.

Users are at risk of injury when the chin strap’s plastic cup breaks as a result of contact, exposing the player to facial or head injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The chin straps were made in China.

Andy LaRoche drove in three runs with two hits and a sacrifice fly to lead the United States to a 4-2 victory over South Africa and a berth in the quarterfinals of the Baseball World Cup at Taipei, Taiwan

LaRoche, a third baseman and a prospect for the Dodgers, also scored a run for the U.S., which has a 5-1 record in the tournament.

On Sunday, LaRoche hit two home runs in a 12-2 victory over Spain.

Emanuel Steward is out as the trainer for Jermain Taylor, who lost his middleweight title to Kelly Pavlik in September.

Ozell Nelson, Taylor’s amateur coach and mentor, said Steward and Taylor worked well together during training, but that there were communication problems during fights. Nelson said he’ll take over as Taylor’s trainer.

An elite track coach charged with lying to investigators in the federal government’s probe of steroid use in sports lost his lawyers.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco granted a request from Trevor Graham’s defense lawyers to remove themselves from the case.

The lawyers -- Gail Shifman and Joseph Zeszotarski Jr. -- declined to comment about their reasons for leaving.

The Swiss yacht club that won the last two America’s Cup titles is asking an American rival to withdraw its lawsuit by Friday to ensure the 2009 competition will be raced on schedule.

The Societe Nautique de Geneve, the home of America’s Cup champion Alinghi, is being sued by BMW Oracle Racing’s Golden Gate Yacht Club because the U.S. syndicate claims that Spanish boat Desafio Espanol -- which helped establish the 33rd edition’s format -- is an “invalid challenger.”