■ Soccer
Celtic dumped out by Hibs
Eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, Celtic lost its first domestic game of the season on Thursday when it tumbled 2-1 at Hibernian in the League Cup. Kevin Thomson's first goal for Hibs eight minutes from the end prevented Martin O'Neill's men from meeting big rival Rangers in the semifinal. Celtic went ahead through a 56th minute header by Slovak international Stanislav Varga but a penalty by Grant Brebner leveled the game eight minutes later.
■ Cycling
End is in sight for Armstrong
Five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says he'll compete in two more tours before retiring. Armstrong expects to race in the 2004 and 2005 tours but has not made plans for what to do after he retires. A win next year would give Armstrong a record sixth straight. Armstrong, a testicular cancer survivor who overcame the disease, spoke Wednesday at the National Press Club to unveil a new drive to increase funding for cancer research.
■ Taekwondo
Champ gets gold back
Olympic taekwondo champion Lauren Burns thanked a "ratbag with a conscience" after her stolen gold medal was found yesterday. The medal, which Burns won in the 49kg class at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was stolen from Burns' Melbourne home on Wednesday. After widespread media coverage of the theft, the medal was reportedly found under a dust bin in a Melbourne street on Friday. "I guess I'd given up hope on getting it back and that maybe one day, in 20 years, it would turn up," Burns told television station Channel Nine. "There's some ratbags out there but they're ratbags with a conscience."
■ Tennis
Roddick set for Athens
Andy Roddick will play in the Olympic tennis tournament this summer. "Athens 2004 -- we're definitely going," Roddick's coach, Brad Gilbert, said Thursday. The top-ranked Roddick is eligible for the Summer Games because he plays in Davis Cup competition. The Olympic Games are scheduled for Aug. 15-22, ending eight days before the start of the US Open, where Roddick will defend his first major title. Roddick hired Gilbert, who previously coached Andre Agassi, after he suffered a first-round loss in the French Open this year. With Gilbert, Roddick reached the Wimbledon semifinals, won the US Open and rose to No. 1 in the rankings.
■ Cricket
Warne blackmailer fined
A businessman was fined A$11,500 (US$8,500) yesterday for attempting to blackmail the Australian Cricket Board with an allegation that star player Shane Warne had kissed his 15-year-old niece. Christopher Kent, 46, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in the County Court in Melbourne to a charge of attempting to obtain property by deception and a second charge of using a telephone to menace. The court heard Kent rang the ACB early last year, telling them the media was offering his niece A$5,000 (US$3,675) for her story about an encounter with Warne. Kent told the board to match the offer or his niece would go public with allegations. Warne was alleged to have kissed the teenager and to have asked her to expose her breasts in January last year, an allegation he emphatically denied. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
■ Rugby Union
Australia licked again
Fans of England's World Cup winning rugby team can now lick the Australians again and again with every letter they send down under. Britain's Royal Mail yesterday issued a set of commemorative 68 pence stamps that feature scenes of England's nail-biting 20-17 victory over their historic rivals in Sydney on Nov. 22. "In case you hadn't realized, the 68p stamps are just the right value to send to any friend you might have in Australia," Royal Mail said in a statement, stoking the friendly rivalry between the sides. Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson's extra time kick clinched the win for England, considered the country's greatest sporting victory since its football team triumphed at the 1966 World Cup. The loss was also a rare humiliation for Australia, who have made it a tradition to pound England at a number of sports, including rugby and cricket. The stamps will also be issued in a 28p denomination, the price of a regular first class letter sent within the UK.
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