London said impressive in 2012 Olympic bid
LONDON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Olympic inspectors, winding up a four-day visit to London, were reportedly "impressed" by the city's bid to host the 2012 Games.
The 13 commissioners from the International Olympic Committee's evaluation team will be guests Friday night at a gala dinner hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, the London Telegraph said.
They will also attend the unveiling of a 30-foot statue of an athlete in Trafalgar Square. On Thursday they visited prospective venues, including the proposed site for the Olympic stadium in Stratford, east London.
"What they have said to me is that they are impressed by the passion and enthusiasm and they are also very impressed by the sheer scale of the technical detail that has been examined as part of the bid," Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell told BBC.
Paris is considered the favorite to host the games.
Track fines set for drugs but prizes stand
CHICAGO, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The Illinois Racing Board will fine trainers whose horses test positive for traces of cocaine but let them keep their prize money.
The board sided with experts who say low levels of cocaine do not indicate cheating, but accidental contamination, the Chicago Tribune said Friday.
Racing Board officials also said they believed small concentrations of the drug do not affect the outcome of races.
There must be a "minimally significant amount of drugs" to warrant disqualifying a horse, said Marc Laino, the board's executive director. Otherwise, "owners and trainers risk being unreasonably punished."
The Racing Board's vote addressed how to treat winning horses that are found to have a key cocaine byproduct, benzoylecgonine, in their urine at a concentration of less than 150 nanograms per milliliter.
The board voted 4-3 to impose a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for every subsequent offense.
Savannah St. coach: 'They used me, man'
SAVANNAH, Ga., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Savannah State's men's basketball team, which finished the season without a win in 28 games, is in need of a new coach.
The school, which upgraded from Division II to Division I three years ago, fired Coach Ed Daniels Thursday.
"They used me, man," an angry Daniels told the Savannah News. "I went out and scheduled all those big-money games, and we took our beatings, and I never saw a dime. My budget was never increased."
Daniels, the team's fifth coach since 1997, had a record of 2-79 in three years.
Jaidee leads Malaysian Open by 2 shots
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, the defending champion, led the Malasian Open by two strokes Friday with a two-round score of 14-under-par 130
Jaidee birdied the last three holes for a 66 that put him ahead of Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, who shot an 8-under 64 earlier in the day and had been the clubhouse leader.
Henrik Stenson and Prom Meesawat were three shots off the lead.
The tournament, at the Saujana Golf and Country Club, is sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.
