Sports briefly: Fantasy moves to regulate itself

The trade group representing both daily and season-long fantasy sports companies is hoping to head off outside regulation by regulating itself.

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association announced Tuesday it would form the Fantasy Sports Control Agency led by former acting U.S. Labor Secretary Seth D. Harris.

The attempt to self-regulate comes as legal scrutiny of the daily fantasy sports industry led by DraftKings and FanDuel grows and questions are raised about consumer protections, including what information employees have access to and when. Until recently, employees at one site were able to play on other sites.

Local Fantasy sports guru Paul Charchian, president of the association that was started in 1998 and now represents about 300 companies, wrote in a separate e-mail to the group's membership that for those sites offering paid fantasy contests, "the necessity for some form of regulation is upon us."

"We can establish and enforce these systems ourselves, or we can put our industry in the hands of outside entities who do not understand the industry as we do — outside entities who are not as able nor as committed to establishing rules and regulations that ensure integrity and transparency while allowing the industry to continue to thrive," he wrote. "Simply put, the leadership of the FSTA believes that we cannot and should not allow the future of our industry to rest in the hands of others."

For the second time in five years, Kuwait was suspended by the IOC for political interference, leaving the Gulf country's athletes in limbo for next year's Olympics.

The IOC executive board said Kuwait's national Olympic committee was suspended in order to "protect the Olympic Movement in Kuwait from undue government interference."

"As a Kuwaiti I am very sad,"' said Sheikh Ahmad, who heads the global association of national Olympic committees. "All of us are upset. It's a very sad story."

The move comes after Kuwait failed to amend its disputed sports legislation by the Oct. 27 deadline set by the International Olympic Committee. FIFA suspended Kuwait's soccer association over the same issue two weeks ago.

All IOC funding to the Kuwait body is cut off, while the IOC said it "reserves the right to take further measures" regarding the participation of Kuwaiti athletes in the Olympics and Olympic-related events.

Maria Sharapova won her second consecutive match since her return from injury, beating top-seeded Simona Halep 6-4, 6-4 at the WTA Tour finals. The Russian's two wins this week are her only victories since a leg injury sidelined her after losing to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals. Sharapova's victory kept Agnieszka Radwanska in the tournament despite her 7-6 (5) 6-4 loss to U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta earlier Tuesday.

Hall of Famer John Stockton is joining Montana State as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team for the upcoming season.

Stockton said coach Tricia Binford "took a flier" and asked if he'd be interested in the position.

Binford says Stockton has coached four current players on the team already and is someone the program respects and trusts.

Stockton previously coached his daughter at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Wash.