New Zealand on brink of America’s Cup win

The America’s Cup is staying in America for at least one more day, thanks to the wind that blows in through the Golden Gate Bridge and the strong tide that flows out to sea.

That means, of course, that all those bottles of champagne that New Zealanders have at the ready in San Francisco won’t be popped open quite yet.

Not long after Emirates Team New Zealand won Race 11 Wednesday to reach match point in the America’s Cup against Oracle Team USA, Race 12 was postponed because the wind exceeded the safety limit.

Race 12 was scrubbed just 30 seconds before the high-performance, 72-foot catamarans crossed the starting line with Kiwi skipper Dean Barker holding a strong advantage over rival Jimmy Spithill.

Organizers will try again Thursday to get in two races, if necessary.

ETC.

ASU’s Graham to get extension

Arizona State has agreed to contract extensions for football Coach Todd Graham and Athletic Director Steve Patterson through 2018, a person familiar with the deals told the Associated Press.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contracts had not been made public.

The deals still must be approved by the state Board of Regents later this month.

Graham’s salary will be increased from $2.05 million to $2.3 million on July 1. There will be annual increases until it reaches $2.6 million in 2016.

Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst said in a joint statement that they believe football Coach Bo Pelini was sincere in his apology for what he said in an audio recording leaked to a sports website this week.

There was no mention of any disciplinary action taken against Pelini.

Former Washington football coach Don James will begin chemotherapy next week for a malignant tumor on his pancreas.

James’ family released a statement through the school. James had two surgical procedures this month in Seattle for what was called a gastrointestinal issue.

Singapore authorities arrested the suspected leader of an organized crime gang allegedly involved in global soccer match-fixing and 13 others, Interpol announced.

Interpol, the police body based in Lyon, France, said in a statement that Singapore authorities arrested 12 men and two women in raids across the island state on Tuesday. It did not name those taken into custody.

A high-level police official told the Associated Press those arrested include Tan Seet Eng, known as Dan Tan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the detention publicly. Prosecutors in Italy have accused Dan Tan of coordinating a global crime syndicate that made millions of dollars betting on rigged Italian matches and other games across the world.

Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen was the victim of a wide-ranging Internet hoax that resulted in a raid of his Denver-area home last year, his lawyer said, and prosecutors confirmed Andersen was cleared of wrongdoing in the case.

Nationwide will end its seven-year run as title sponsor of NASCAR’s second-largest series at the end of the 2014 season and refocus its motorsports spending on other areas of the industry.