Mayweather, boxing undisputed winners

LAS VEGAS - Boxing had its best face on over the weekend, because it delivered as promised, a true rarity in a sport dotted with rascals, thieves, and cheats, going back to the creation of knuckles and the invention of canvas.

Unfortunately for Ricky Hatton, it was a shot to his face that ended his evening Saturday and reconfirmed Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the undisputed best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

"What can I say?" mugged the wry-witted Hatton after losing his chance to win the World Boxing Council's welterweight crown. "I was doing all right until I [bleepin'] slipped."

Hatton didn't slip, except where it counted most - in figuring how to defend Mayweather when backed tight into his opponent's corner. Mayweather, showing far more feistiness and punching power than he displayed in his May 5 decision here over Oscar De La Hoya, slipped the previously undefeated Englishman a chop hook, a righthand shiver that came from underneath and flattened Hatton midway through the 10th round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Click here to read more.

PHILIPPINES B WIN THE WORLD CUP OF POOL

FINAL: LATEST SCORE: PHILIPPINES B 11-9 GERMANY (RACE TO 11 RACKS)

PHILIPPINES B have won the 2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool.

The pairing of Francisco Bustamante and Efren Reyes defeated the German duo of Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet 11-9 in an incredible final full of twists, turns of drama.

It was a fitting way to end a sensational tournament that has featured 32 teams from 31 different nations competing over six days of fantastic pool.

This was the first time the event had been staged in Asia and all of the matches were played in front of large crowds.

There were about 2,000 people watching the final from every vantage point possible at the SM City North Annex in Manila.

Each match of the competition was shown either on CS9 or Solar Sports and the viewing fans, along with the spectators in the capacity crowd were treating to a sensational three-hour epic final.

Philippines made a bright start and led 3-1 and 5-2 before Germany fought back and were in front 7-5, 8-6 and 9-8. However, Reyes and Bustamante, who also won the inaugural event in 2006, won the last three racks in a row to become the first team to win the competition twice. Click here to see the whole story.

NBA Hall of fame 2009

With John Stockton, David Robinson and Michael Jordan ready to hang their jerseys up in the Hall of Fame, could this be the greatest Hall of Fame class ever? John Schuhmann takes a closer look at the trio to uncover the answer. Click here to read more

Rubio to stay in Spain for two more seasons

After weeks of courting Spanish league officials for a favorable contract buyout, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ brash general manager, David Kahn, failed to deliver point guard Ricky Rubio ,sources told Yahoo! Sports on Monday night.

Rubio – the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA draft – has agreed to a six-year contract with Regal FC Barcelona that doesn’t allow for an escape to the NBA until 2011. Kahn made several trips to Spain to try to get Rubio’s previous team, DKV Joventut, to lower his $8 million buyout price, but couldn’t get it done.

The Timberwolves will retain Rubio’s rights, and will now hand the team’s point guard duties to rookie John Flynn . Kahn drafted Flynn one pick behind Rubio.

Rubio, 18, apparently won’t play for the T’wolves until the 2011-12 season, and that’s devastating for the franchise’s new regime, which hoped to tout Rubio as one of its fresh-faced stars. Minnesota was able to legally pay only $500,000 toward the buyout, and the relative constraints of the Twin Cities’ market made the accumulation of endorsement deals difficult to close the gap on the buyout figure. Rubio would’ve made nearly $3.3 million in the NBA this season as the fifth pick in the draft.

Rubio is one of the most celebrated young prospects to ever come out of Europe, a cult figure who has played pro ball since his 15th birthday. Kahn, the NBA Developmental League owner who was the surprise choice of Minnesota’s ownership to replace former GM Kevin McHale, has banked a lot of his early credibility on how he’s handled Rubio’s buyout negotiations.

Rubio and his family were never enamored with Minnesota, and along with agent Dan Fegan, longed for a big-city franchise to market Rubio’s wares. Now, there’s a chance that Minnesota eventually will have to trade Rubio’s rights – perhaps to the New York Knicks, a preferred destination – when it’s time for the point guard to leave Europe in 2011.

For now, Rubio will play for Spain in the upcoming European Championships in Poland. After that, he’ll be with Barcelona for a minimum of two years. His future in the NBA – with Minnesota, or elsewhere – remains in the future.