Sports round-up

Basketball: Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko said he has decided against returning to the NBA after the US basketball league lockout and will stay with his Russian club CSKA. The Utah Jazz veteran, popularly referred to as AK47 for his jersey number, said on his Russian team’s website that he owed his army club a full season after signing with them on an interim basis in October. Kirilenko played 10 seasons for the Jazz, who signed free-agent forward Josh Howard before the start of the shortened NBA campaign.

Formula One: Patrick Head, co-founder of Williams F1 in 1977 with Frank Williams and currently director of engineering, has stepped down from the stable’s board of directors. Head will continue, however, in his role as a board director of Williams Hybrid Power Limited, a subsidiary of the company that develops and produces hybrid technologies. In more than three decades of involvement with Williams F1, Head has helped the stable win 113 Grands Prix and secure nine Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ World Championships.

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Rugby Union: All Blacks coach Graham Henry (picture), who guided New Zealand to their Rugby World Cup win in October, was rewarded yesterday with a knighthood in the nation’s New Year’s honours list. Henry, now Sir Graham, has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for his service to the national sport. Richie McCaw, who captained the All Blacks to their World Cup victory, turned down the offer of an immediate knighthood saying it did not seem appropriate while he was still playing.

Horse Racing: National Hunt riding great Tony McCoy was taken to hospital on Friday after breaking ribs in a heavy fall at Taunton races. The 37-year-old Northern Irishman – 16-times champion jockey and voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year last year – suffered the injury when Laudatory fell in a hurdle. He later confirmed that he had broken ribs. “Broke a few ribs so not too bad hopefully back to work very soon just need the doctor to let me out of the hospital now and I’ll be happy,” he tweeted.

Basket, NBA: Dallas finally got their NBA title defence on track on Friday, with France’s Ian Mahinmi leading a strong showing by the Mavericks reserves in a 99-86 victory over Toronto Raptors. Mahinmi led the Mavericks with a career-high 19 points on six-for-six shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki, Most Valuable Player of the NBA finals victory over Miami, scored 18 points as Dallas won for the first time after dropping their first three games of the lockout-shortened season that started on Christmas Day.