■Auto racing
Officials hand out fines
NASCAR on Wednesday fined three teams US$25,000 each and docked driver and owner points for various infractions found last week at Daytona International Speedway. Michael Waltrip lost 25 driver points, car owner Teresa Earnhardt lost 25 owner points and crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe was fined US$25,000 for unapproved carburetor modifications. Labbe was fined an addition US$500 for an unapproved roof strip. Waltrip is currently fifth in the Winston Cup points standings. The penalty drops him 417 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth. The No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Pontiac was penalized for having an unapproved fuel cell container modification that was found by NASCAR officials during pre-race inspection. Crew chief Chris Carrier was fined US$25,000, Stacy Compton forfeited 25 championship driver points and Larry McClure forfeited 25 championship owner points for the infraction.
■ GolF
Live showing to be on Net
This weekend's Canadian Women's Open will be the first LPGA tournament to be shown live on the Internet. The LPGA reached agreement with Real Networks to show the tournament, which begins Thursday in Vancouver, British Columbia. The tournament, which will not be shown on US television, will be the first on a major pro golf tour to have full video coverage on the Internet. The tournament will be available for two hours today and three hours tomorrow and Sunday at www.lpga.com and www.realone.com/sports. "I believe the video broadcast of this week's tournament will continue to enhance our fans' Internet experience," LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw said.
Agencies
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was