■ Hockey
Robitaille moves to Kings
Free agent Luc Robitaille signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, as he returns for a third stint with the NHL team. Robitaille is the highest-scoring left winger in hockey history with 631 career goals. He played the last two seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. But the 37-year-old scored just 11 goals and 20 points with the Red Wings last season, after a 30-goal effort during Detroit's Stanley Cup season in 2001.
■ Basketball
Kidd re-signs with Nets
The New Jersey Nets made an official announcement on Thursday that free agent guard Jason Kidd had re-signed to a multi-year contract. Kidd had visited the San Antonio Spurs, but the Nets said on July 11 that he would stay with the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions. That statement was ratified by Thursday's announcement. The team did not release contract details, but reports have the deal being for six years worth between US$99 and US$103 million. "We are obviously delighted to re-sign Jason to a long-term contract," Nets president Rod Thorn said.
■ Soccer
Newcastle reign in Asia
Goals from captain Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi gave Newcastle United 2-1 win over 10-man Birmingham City in Thursday's opening game of the Football Association Premier League (FAPL) Asia Cup. Shearer converted a penalty in the 37th minute after City's Ireland defender Kenny Cunningham was dismissed -- and now faces a suspension -- for having felled Wales forward Craig Bellamy in the box. Birmingham's goal also came from a penalty, converted by substitute Paul Devlin in the 73rd minute, just two minutes before substitute Ameobi's header booked his side into Sunday's final against either Chelsea or Malaysia's national side.
■ Golf
Langer gets Ryder charge
Bernhard Langer was Thursday named as captain of the European Ryder Cup team that will defend the trophy against the US in Michigan next year. The highly respected German, 45, succeeds Sam Torrance. Last year, Torrance led Europe to victory by 15-1/2 points to 12-1/2 at The Belfry but did not want to be considered again. "It's a fabulous honor to be named European captain," Langer said. "I've never made a secret of how much I enjoy being part of the Ryder Cup, and to be captain makes me very proud, especially as the first German golfer to hold this prestigious honor." The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept.17 to Sept. 19 at Oakland Hills, Michigan. The US team will be captained by Hal Sutton.
■ Athletics
Mom wins Death Valley race
A 42-year-old mother from Arizona won a 217km, 28-hour-plus ultramarathon in temperatures that reached 51?C. Pam Reed defended her title on Wednesday in a race that begins at the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and ends halfway up 4,348m Mount Whitney -- the highest point in the contiguous US. Reed finished the ultramarathon in 28 hours, 26 minutes and 52 seconds -- ahead of the first male finisher. "God was very good to us today -- we had less sun," Reed said. Dean Karnazes, 40, finished first among men in 28:51.26. "It was as close to hell as I ever want to get," said Karnazes, of San Francisco.
■ Motor racing
Jaguar hunt driver
Jaguar are still looking for a Formula One test and reserve driver after Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia rejected the offer, team bosses said on Thursday. Rookie Pizzonia was replaced as a regular race driver by Briton Justin Wilson this week after a disappointing 11 starts without a point. He turned down a reserve role. Jaguar managing director David Pitchforth said the door was still open for the 22-year-old but Jaguar was looking for someone to fill the role.
■ Soccer
Mexico joins Brazil in finals
Rafael Marquez banged in a 45m strike on Thursday to give Mexico a 2-0 win over Costa Rica and secure a CONCACAF Gold Cup finals berth. Mexico will play Brazil in the final tomorrow. Brazil advanced on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory against the US in Miami. Because Brazil is an invited guest to this tournament, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, Thursday's win earned Mexico a berth in the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. Costa Rica earned a shocking 2-1 victory over Mexico in the qualifying rounds for last year's World Cup.
■ Basketball
China denies Yao injury
China's basketball association yesterday denied reports that Houston Rockets center Yao Ming broke a bone during practice with his homeland's national team, saying he suffered only a cut eyebrow. "It's just a cut," said Xu Minfeng, a spokesman for the association. "The bone was not broken." State newspapers on Wednesday quoted a doctor for the Chinese team as saying the 22-year-old Yao suffered "some fractures" in a bone above his left eye in a collision this week with another player. The doctor said Yao would need a week to recuperate.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but