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PARIS - Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol has apologized for making disparaging comments about African players in football, although he still maintains they were misinterpreted against a backlash of widespread criticism.Sagnol, capped 58 times by France and a member of the team which lost the 2006 World Cup final, gave a question and answer session Tuesday to readers of Sud Ouest regional newspaper when the subject of African players was raised.The advantage of what I would call the typical African player is that he isnt expensive when you sign him, (he is) a player who is ready for combat, but football isnt just about that, Sagnol said.Explaining himself, he continued: Football is also (about) technique, intelligence. You need a bit of everything. You need Nordics too, Nordics are good.Speaking Thursday at a pre-match news conference ahead of Saturdays game with Lens, Sagnol tried to explain his comments.If by my lack of clarity, or my imperfect semantics, I may have shocked, humiliated or hurt people then I am sorry, Sagnol said. The interpretation that these people may have made does not reflect my way of thinking in any way or my humanist convictions.However, he said the comments made sense in a sporting context.When I spoke about the African (player) who is cheaper and ready for combat, I simply meant to talk about the young African player arriving in Europe with all of his will to win and often to escape from a precarious situation, Sagnol continued as he read from pre-prepared notes. Then, since we were in a debate about football, the intelligence I spoke of was obviously related to tactical intelligence. The forming of young players in Africa, probably because of a lack of financial means, or (lack) of infrastructure, isnt always as complete as whats available in Europe.Sagnol distanced himself from accusations that his viewpoint was offensive.In no way did I mean to talk about an individuals intelligence in the proper sense of the term. Regarding certain accusations of racism, Im 37 (and) Ive spent 32 of them in a football dressing room. Ive never had a problem with anyone, the former Bayern Munich player said.But Lens coach Antoine Kombouare, who was born in New Caledonia, is among those who felt offended by Sagnol.Lets make things clear: this is not a case of him being clumsy. Hes really messed up, Kombouare said. What he said is serious. Its unacceptable. Explaining that an African player is cheaper ... I felt humiliated and hurt.The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) strongly condemned Sagnol, as did former Marseille president Pape Diouf, who called for African players to boycott one round of French league games in protest.French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, who formerly employed Sagnol as coach of Frances Under-21 side, defended him, while former teammate Lilian Thuram — an active anti-racism campaigner — was more measured.I played alongside Willy, hes somebody I respect. I know him very well, Thuram told Sud Ouest. I dont think you should put Willy Sagnol on trial, but you should put prejudice on trial. Each one of us harbours some prejudice, which is why people working in football, who have a certain exposure to the media, should be educated on this subject.Sagnols captain at Bordeaux is Senegal international Lamine Sane, who called Sagnols comments clumsy before defending him, as did club president Jean-Louis Triaud.He doesnt have any twisted ideas. He believes in all the black players in the team, Sane told French radio. We believe in him and we hope to go very far with him.Bordeaux forward Henri Saivet, who is black, told RMC radio that Sagnol apologized.We all now pertinently well that the coach is not a racist, Saivet said. Its true that, at first, we asked ourselves a few questions. But he explained how it happened. He apologized to the players. That was very important. 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The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year.NEW ORLEANS - Tyreke Evans and his New Orleans teammates took notice when they saw Houston coach Kevin McHale sub out his entire starting lineup early in the third quarter.The Pelicans saw it as a chance to earn some extra rest of their own.We brought it in the huddle and just said, Keep putting the pressure on them, dont stop being aggressive, Evans recalled. We did that. We got a big lead where we could sit down and rest.Ryan Anderson scored 22 points, Evans added 21 and New Orleans routed the Rockets 111-83 on Friday night.Dante Cunningham added 13 points for New Orleans, which led by as much as 32 in the second half.Omer Asik grabbed 11 rebounds, and Anthony Davis accounted for three of the Pelicans eight blocked shots.We made the right plays defensively and it led to easy points, Anderson said. We just controlled the game for 48 minutes.Dwight Howard scored 12 points and James Harden had 11 for Houston, all in the first half. None of Houstons starters scored in the third quarter.We didnt have any effort tonight, any concentration, McHale said. We were terrible tonight. They came out and just kicked our tails up one side and down the other. We didnt come to play.Howard said he had no clue when asked if McHale wanted to send a message by benching his starters early in the third quarter, or whether the coach sought to rest top players for Saturday nights home date against Miami with the game in New Orleans showing signs of getting out of hand.When asked his opinion of the move, Howard said: Weve got to get ready for the next game.Corey Brewer scored 12 points for the Rockets, and Donatas Motiejunas had 10.Jimmer Fredette scored 10 points and sent a charge through the crowd with a fast-break lob to Austin Rivers for an alley-oop dunk that even brought Davis out of his seat on the bench.New Orleans shot 53 per cent (44 of 83). Houston missed its first five shots and wound up shooting 39.8 per cennt (35 of 88), including 20.dddddddddddd7 per cent (6 of 29) from 3-point range.It was Houstons first game this season in which it never led.Andersons first 3 — also his fifth field goal on six shots — put the Pelicans up 38-22 early in the second quarter.Anderson and Evans combined to hit 14 of 19 shots and score 32 points in the first half, helping the Pelicans to a 59-42 lead.When the second half began, Josh Smith missed a 3, Trevor Ariza turned the ball over and then Patrick Beverly was called for a foul on Luke Babbitt, whose free throws put the Pelicans up by 23 just 1:31 into the period. Thats when McHale yanked his starters.TIP-INSRockets: Officials had to call timeout in the first quarter when Motiejunas showed them a deep red scratch across the underside of his forearm. The Lithuanian 7-footer complained of the injury, which trainers covered with a bandage, shortly after being called for a foul while tangled up with Davis in the paint. ... During the eight minutes Howard played in the first quarter, he attempted only one shot, an alley-oop dunk of Motiejunas lob.Pelicans: The Pelicans 28-point margin of victory was the largest in franchise history against the Rockets. ... The Pelicans are 11-1 when blocking seven or more shots. ... One of Andersons three 3-pointers was ruled good when Howard was called for goaltending.HAPPPY COACHNew Orleans coach Monty Williams was pleased with the Pelicans dominant victory on the heels of a discouraging overtime loss at San Antonio two nights earlier, when his team lost a lead in the final second of regulation.To be able to play against a playoff team thats going to contend for a championship that way after what happened to us the other night says a ton about character and resiliency, Williams said. Our guys came focused and flushed what happened the other day.UP NEXTRockets: Host Miami on Saturday.Pelicans: Host Washington on Monday. 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