■ Australia
Warne may make line-up
Banned legspinner Shane Warne could return to the Australian lineup less than a month after serving a one-year ban for taking a banned diuretic, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said yesterday. Warne, 34, completes the ban on Feb. 10, 10 days before Australia is due to tour Sri Lanka for five one-day internationals and three tests. Hohns told Channel Nine television that Warne will not be available for the one-day series starting on Feb. 10, but would be considered for test side that would be picked later for the first test on March 8 in Galle.
■ Golf
Watson voted top player
Tom Watson capped an emotional season Sunday when he was voted Champions Tour player of the year, giving him a sweep of the major awards for the 50-and-older circuit. Watson won two of the five major championships on the Champions Tour, but his year is remembered equally for the support he gave his caddie, Bruce Edwards, who has Lou Gehrig's disease. "As great as Tom's achievements were on the golf course, he outdid himself off it, displaying dedication and compassion for a very good friend who happens to be his caddie," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "He is a shining example of what is truly good about our sport."
■ Soccer
Cup draws Arsenal, Leeds
FA Cup defending champion Arsenal was Sunday drawn to play at Leeds in the third round, one of five all-Premier League ties in the world's oldest knockout competition. Manchester United will travel to Aston Villa. The Red Devils comfortably beat Villa 4-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday. Blackburn will relish returning to Birmingham after winning 4-0 at St. Andrews in the league on Saturday. The 20 Premier League clubs were only entered in the competition after the second round was completed Sunday. The matches will be played on Jan. 3-Jan. 4. The other all-Premier League matchups were Manchester City vs. Leicester and Southampton vs. Newcastle.
■ Cricket
India draws with Australia
India forced a draw yesterday in the rain-hit first cricket test after Australia set the tourists 199 runs to win in 23 overs at the Gabba. Australia, trailing by 86 runs in the first innings, declared on 284 for three with skipper Steve Waugh scoring an unbeaten 56 in his farewell appearance in a test here. Left-arm fast bowler Nathan Bracken dismissed openers Virender Sehwag and Akash Chopra with successive balls as India slid to six runs for two wickets in the second over. But Venkatsai Laxman, who survived the hat-trick delivery, was 24 not out, and Rahul Dravid, 43 not out -- his highest score in Australia in eight innings -- took India to 73 for two in 16 overs.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two