Chargers-Texans game set for San Diego
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- San Diego Chargers officials said the team’s game Sunday against Houston would be played as scheduled in San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium.
The location of the game had been uncertain because of wildfires in the San Diego area. The stadium had been used as temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by the fires. Local officials ended that use for Qualcomm Stadium on Friday.
Also, wildfires in the region were closer to being under control.
"Qualcomm Stadium will be ready for NFL football by this weekend,” San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said in a statement. “The city will be able to provide sufficient public safety personnel to manage a professional football game without impeding ongoing wildfire recovery efforts.
“I informed the Chargers late Thursday that should they decide to play their game at Qualcomm this weekend, the stadium will be ready."
The Chargers on Friday said the game would begin at 4:05 EDT Sunday as scheduled. The team had considered moving the game to a Monday night start or playing in Houston before sticking to the original schedule.
Davydenko fined by men's tennis tour
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Men's tennis star Nikolay Davydenko of Russia has been fined $2,000 for slow play by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
The fine was assessed Friday by the ATP, the governing body of the men's tennis circuit, which said he was guilty of "not giving his best effort."
It follows Davydenko's stunning loss to little-known qualifier Marin Cilic of Croatia Thursday in the second round of the St. Petersburg Open at St. Petersburg, Russia.
In the match, Davydenko was warned by Belgian umpire Jean-Philippe Dercq for not playing hard enough.
"I double-faulted to lose a game in the third set and he gave me a warning saying I was trying to lose on purpose," Davydenko told reporters after his loss.
"This is just outrageous. How does he know what I was trying to do?"
Earlier this season, Davydenko was one of several players to admit to being asked to throw matches when heavy bets were placed, but he has repeatedly denied ever fixing one.
Testaverde to start for Carolina Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Vinny Testaverde, who first played in the NFL in 1987, was made the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Panthers Coach John Fox Friday announced that Testaverde, 43, would be this week’s starter after Friday’s practice. Testaverde replaces David Carr, who is recovering from a back injury.
"It is not an indictment on David Carr by any stretch," Fox said. "He's healthy enough to play but I don't think he's 100 percent."
Testaverde started the Panthers’ last game, leading Carolina to a 25-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 206 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He was the oldest player to start an NFL game at quarterback.
Horse virus affects Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A barn at Churchill Downs in Louisville is under quarantine because of a case of the equine herpes virus.
The Louisville Courier-Journal Friday quoted Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher as saying the quarantine affects 39 horses, and one pony in barn 47.
The order came from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture after nasal swabs and blood tests were taken.
"The hope is everything's negative on those," Asher told the newspaper.
He said initial tests Thursday night showed the neurological form of the virus in a horse trained by David Carroll.
That horse was transported from the track to a Lexington clinic, and Asher added no horse entered or left the barn after the Carroll horse left.
The order was made two days before the start of the fall meet at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Al Stall also has a horse in the barn.
Pettersen inconsistent but still leads
CHONBURIM, Thailand, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Suzann Pettersen battled through an up-and-down round Friday and came away with a two-stroke lead halfway through the Honda LPGA Thailand golf tournament.
Pettersen countered four bogeys with an eagle and six birdies and shot four-under-par 68 in the second round for a 36-hole total of 11-under 133. Alena Sharp is in second place at nine-under while Laura Davies who turned in a 66 Friday, was in third at seven-under 137.
Pettersen was one-under through her first three holes Friday but became inconsistent, carding bogeys on 4, 5 and 7 and birdies on 6 and 8 to make the turn even on the day. She birdied 10 and 11 but gave a stroke back at the 12th hole, a slip that allowed Sharp to grab a share of the lead.
But Sharp bogeyed No. 12 and Pettersen holed out a 115-yard wedge shot for an eagle on the same hole. That seemed to settle her game and she posted four straight pars before capping the day with a birdie at 18.
