■ Soccer
Players escape charges
Two English Premiership footballers questioned over allegations of rape will not be charged, prosecutors said Thursday. In a statement the Crown Prosecution Service said there was "insufficient evidence" to bring charges against Newcastle's Titus Bramble and Chelsea's Carlton Cole following allegations that the pair had been involved in a "gang rape" of a 17-year-old girl at a central London hotel in September. Officers from London's Metropolitan Police Force launched an investigation into the alleged incident, which was said to have taken place at the exclusive Grosvenor House Hotel.
■ Soccer
Players to pay fans to travel
Players of the struggling Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin have rejected a 25-percent salary cut and have instead offered to pay for their fans' travel to away matches as a way of compensating for their poor play this season, Berlin newspapers reported Thursday. An average of 2,500 Berlin fans travel to away matches and underwriting the cost of the eight road trips in the remainder of the season would amount to about US$1.27 million for the players. Berlin went into the season with high hopes but the team earned only 13 points from the first 17 games and is next-to-last halfway into the schedule.
■ Cricket
Australia pip India
World champions Australia fielded brilliantly to score a tense 18-run victory in their triangular series one-day match yesterday despite a brave innings of 82 from India captain Saurav Ganguly. Michael Clarke took four catches and 1-22 after guiding the hosts to 288 all out in 48.3 overs with a quickfire 63. He shared a century partnership with man-of-the-match Andrew Symonds, who made 88 and took 2-47. Australia had been set for an even bigger score but were kept below 300 after a six-wicket haul from India's Ajit Agarkar. India scored 270 in 49.0 overs in reply after Sachin Tendulkar clipped 63 from 69 balls to give the tourists a flying start.
■ Rallying
Masuoka's chances fade
Double champion Hiroshi Masuoka on Thursday ruled out his dream of a third successive Dakar Rally crown when his Mitsubishi was struck down by gearbox trouble. The Japanese veteran, who had started the day in front, lost over an hour and a half on the 355km eighth stage between Atar and Tidjikja leaving his French teammate Stephane Peterhansel to take full advantage by reclaiming the lead. "It's finished," was Masuoka's devastating verdict as he slipped down to third place on a day which saw Japan's Kenjiro Shinozuka's dreams of winning go up in smoke when his Nissan exploded in flames.
■ Tennis
Navratilova to retire
Tennis great Martina Navratilova said Thursday she plans to stick with a decision to retire for good from the professional tour at the end of the year. Navratilova first quit in 1994, then returned six years later to play doubles. "This time I know it's my last year. I mean it. It's just a good time to do other things," the 47-year-old American told a news conference at a Hong Kong exhibition tournament. Navratilova clinched a record-tying 20th Wimbledon crown last year, winning the mixed doubles contest with Indian Leander Paes.
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later