BASKETBALL

Former 76ers forward Craig Brackins assigned to play for Red Claws

Forward Craig Brackins, a former Iowa State player in his second professional season, was assigned Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Maine Red Claws.

Last season, in 18 games with the Springfield Armor, a former D-League affiliate of the 76ers, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Brackins averaged 20.1 points per game.

Brackins has appeared in eight games with the Sixers this season.

TENNIS

OPEN GDF SUEZ: Li Na, the French Open champion, retired with a sore back against Tsvetana Pironkova in the second set of her opening match at Paris.

The third-seeded Li took a medical timeout while trailing 7-6 (5), 3-2 to have her lower back massaged and played a few more points before retiring.

SOCCER

KEOUGH DIES: Harry Keough, who played for the U.S. soccer team that famously upset England in the 1950 World Cup, died at his home in St. Louis. He was 84.

A defender who had one goal in 19 appearances for the U.S. from 1949-57, Keough coached Saint Louis University to five NCAA soccer titles. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976.

MARADONA WARNING: Diego Maradona warned the owners at Al Wasl that he may not return to coach the United Arab Emirates team next season if they don’t buy the kind of players who would allow him to compete for the league title.

CYCLING

APPEAL PONDERED: Alberto Contador is considering appealing his two-year doping ban handed down by sport’s highest court, maintaining his innocence a day after being stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title.

Contador said he has no plans to retire from cycling despite hinting previously that he might quit if banned for testing positive for clenbuterol on his way to winning a third Tour title, which was taken away from him with Monday’s ruling.

TOUR OF QATAR: British rider Mark Cavendish won the third stage while a former champion, Tom Boonen of Belgium, retained the yellow jersey.

OLYMPICS

ITALIAN BID: Sixty leading Italian athletes appealed to Premier Mario Monti to support Rome’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics as a deadline nears for the government to give its backing.

The International Olympic Committee requires bid cities to provide government financial guarantees, and detailed bid plans must be submitted by Feb. 15.

BRITISH HOPES: Britain is pushing its athletes to turn projected fourth-place results into podium finishes to achieve its medal target at the London Olympics.