Fourcade wins sprint title

TYUMEN, RUSSIA » Martin Fourcade won the biathlon World Cup sprint title for the seventh straight year after a victory in Thursday’s race.

The Frenchman went into the race trailing Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway by 31 points, but he ended up winning the title by two points.

Fourcade was clean at both shooting stages and beat French teammate Simon Desthieux by 33.2 seconds in Thursday’s sprint race. Fredrik Lindstroem of Sweden was third.

Boe lost time with two penalties on the first shooting stage and finished 14th.

Fourcade’s win moves him closer to a seventh consecutive overall World Cup title. He leads Boe by 82 points with two races remaining. NEW YORK » Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard has been suspended for Thursday’s game against Memphis after picking up his 16th technical foul this season.

The NBA announced the penalty Thursday, noting that league rules require an automatic one-game suspension without pay for a player or coach who receives 16 technical fouls during a regular season. After hitting that threshold, a player or coach will be suspended without pay automatically for another game for every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season.

Howard picked up his most recent technical with 10:48 left in Wednesday’s 111-105 win against the Brooklyn Nets. That came as he finished with 32 points and a franchise-record 30 rebounds, becoming just the eighth player in league history with a 30-30 game.