semifinal series.Lindsay Whalen scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota, playing at the Xcel Energy Center -- home of the NHLs Minnesota Wild -- for the second straight game because of a schedulin

SEOUL, South Korea -- For all the new investment and advancements driving unprecedented growth in Asian football, its an old problem that is still causing concern at the grassroots.Billions have been invested in Super Leagues in China and India, the 2022 World Cup is coming to Qatar and the flow of players to Europe is on the rise, giving Asia some prominence in the global game, but regional soccer administrators are still grappling with match fixing.The good news is, theyre fighting it.On Monday, the Asian Football Confederation suspended four players from the Laos national team on suspicion of match manipulation. All four were involved in Laos opening game against Sri Lanka at the inaugural Solidarity Cup, for the lower-ranked teams in the continent.Steve Darby is a former head coach of Laos -- he was in charge during its failed qualifying run for the 2018 World Cup -- and said he was shocked and angered by the news. Two of the four accused were in his team.They trained well and always gave 100 percent in matches. I trusted them, Darby told The Associated Press. One of the others I dropped from the squad but that was for form and nothing else.Darby said that, at least while he himself was in Laos, the fourth player -- a goalkeeper -- was not playing regularly at the top club level.He has made a rapid rise from about eighth choice to becoming the national team keeper, Darby noted. You have to ask how this occurred.Darby has seen it from a rival teams perspective. In 2014, nine players of Vietnamese club Ninh Binh were found guilty of match-fixing in an AFC Cup match with Malaysian club Kelantan, which Darby was coaching at the time.It is hard to accept when it is you that is being cheated, Darby said. Like in all southeast Asian nations, there are rumors -- some you think are feasible, some outlandish. You dont know who is fixing.Southeast Asia has long been regarded as a hotbed of match-fixing. Singapore, home to high-profile alleged match-fixers such as Dan Tan, has made recent progress in tackling the problem, according to Chris Eaton, FIFAs former head of security and now an independent sports integrity adviser.Singapore has taken decisive action to contain locally-bred match fixers, Eaton said. Singapore ultimately realized that it has a duty of care to all nations for its home-grown criminality.The problem is by no means contained to one region. In 2011, South Korea had a major scandal of its own with more than 50 players and coaches, past and present, charged with rigging matches.The countrys leading club Jeonbuk Motors, which is preparing for the final of the 2016 Asian Champions League later this month, is under the shadow of its own scandal.In September, the team was stripped of nine competition points by the K-League authorities after a club scout was convicted of bribing referees in 2013. The punishment cost the club, which denies any knowledge of wrongdoing, a third successive domestic title. It is also possible that the AFC will bar Jeonbuk, champion of Asia in 2006 and finalist in 2011, from entering the 2017 tournament.Chinese soccer had periodic outbreaks of corruption until the authorities got tough in 2010, jailing officials and referees.It has done a great deal over the past five years to address the problem with significant criminal prosecutions of players and referees, Eaton said, although adding that some level of fixing still exists.Eaton said if the Asian Football Confederation had really adopted a harsher and more proactive approaching to fighting match fixing, that will not only be good for regional football, but global football also.In a statement released to the AP, the AFC reiterated a zero tolerance to match manipulation and said it was determined to stamp it out.But Darby said while catching the players is necessary, more needs to be done to bring the orchestrators of corruption to justice.They have caught the foot soldiers but need to catch the generals, he said. If the players are guilty there is somebody above them, they cannot do this on their own.He points to illegal gambling as a major problem. Eaton agrees.Match-Fixing is absolutely and clearly holding Asian football back, Eaton said. The only way to drive organized crime out of sport is to deny it the money.He said reforming sports betting by legalizing it would help ensure it was regulated properly at national, regional and global levels. Nike Air Max Pas Cher Destockage . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. Air Max 720 Soldes . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. 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Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Maya Moore scored 26 points and the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury 96-86 on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the semifinal series.Lindsay Whalen scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota, playing at the Xcel Energy Center -- home of the NHLs Minnesota Wild -- for the second straight game because of a scheduling conflict at the Target Center in Minneapolis.Rebekkah Brunson added 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Sylvia Fowles had 14 points and nine rebounds for the top-seeded Lynx. Earlier Friday, Fowles was honored as the leagues defensive player of the year and Cheryl Reeve as the coach of the year.Diana Taurasi had 31 points for the eighth-seeded Mercury. Penny Taylor added 16.SPARKS 99, SKY 84LLOS ANGELES -- Candace Parker had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to help the Los Angeles rout Chicago for a 2-0 series lead.ddddddddddddLeague sixth woman of the year Jantel Lavender added 20 points, league MVP Nneka Ogwumike had 18, and Kristi Toliver 17 in the Sparks return to their home court at Staples Center. They won Game 1 by 20 points in Long Beach on Wednesday night.Reserve Clarissa Dos Santos scored 15 points and Jamierra Faulkner added 14 for the Sky. Elena Delle Donne watched in street clothes again because of a right thumb injury. She shared the league scoring title with New Yorks Tina Charles, averaging 21.5 points. ' ' '