■ Soccer
Cells come with condition
A Manchester United soccer fan donated cells so his brother could have a life-saving transplant -- on condition his sibling switched his support from arch rivals Manchester City. Retired management consultant Martin Warburton, 50, asked his brother Paul, 59, to sign a light-hearted contract pledging to join the United fan club. "We made a great joke of the contract, but he still agreed to sign," Martin Warburton told yesterday's <
■ Soccer
Leeds looks for savior
Crisis club Leeds United has been offered for sale at ?20 million (US$34 million) to Sheikh Abdul bin Mubarak al-Khalifa of Bahrain, it was reported yesterday. The Premiership club admitted on Wednesday it was in serious danger of being forced into administration after failing to reach agreement on restructuring of debts of nearly ?80 million (US$137 million). The Daily Mirror said Leeds chairman John McKenzie called al-Khalifa on Thursday to make the offer. The Sheikh, a long-time fan, would also take over the debts if he takes over on Dec. 18. Leeds made no mention of the billionaire sheikh in a statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday which the market interpreted as a sign he was unwilling to back the refinancing deal. Leeds are anchored to the bottom of the English Premiership and without a permanent manager following the sacking of Peter Reid last month.
■ Basketball
Pacers beat Knicks
Jermaine O'Neal had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest added 21 points in the NBA-leading Indiana Pacers' 93-70 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday night. The Pacers (13-2) used an 18-2 run in the third quarter to pull away for their seventh straight victory. Kurt Thomas had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for the first time in four games. New York was coming off a 97-92 victory in Minnesota on Wednesday night. The Pacers scored 27 points off 24 Knicks turnovers and held their opponent under 79 points for the eighth time in nine games.
■ Soccer
Eriksson renews contract
With speculation mounting that he could be on the way to Chelsea, Sven-Goran Eriksson has been offered a two-year contract extension as England soccer coach, the Football Association announced on Thursday. The FA wants the Swede, who succeeded Kevin Keegan in 2001, to carry on until the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland. His current contract runs until the 2006 World Cup. "Sven is England's most successful coach since the legendary Sir Alf Ramsey," FA chief executive Mark Palios said in reference to the manager who led England to its only World Cup triumph in 1966. "He has already contributed enormously to the reputation of England in Europe and around the world. This offer shows the faith we all have in him." Now it's up the Swede to decide whether to accept the offer. His agent Athole Still said Eriksson was unhappy the contract offer was made public. "His reaction was one of disappointment, not disappointment at the offer but disappointment at the fact it had been made public," Still said.
■ Soccer
Madrid set for more stars
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said he hoped to bring another soccer superstar to the club next summer, news reports said on Thursday. "This year we also want to bring the best player there is in the world," Perez said at a meeting of financial journalists Thursday. "This project is based on signing the best player in the world each year." Since Perez became president in 2000, Madrid has signed Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham in successive summers to assemble what has been widely described as the most star-studded team in soccer history. Arsenal's striker Thierry Henry, who is one of three candidates for FIFA's World Player of the Year award with Zidane and Ronaldo, is reported to be a possible Madrid target. Other players said to be on the Spanish club's shopping list are Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved and Liverpool striker Michael Owen.
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