■ Golf
Shorter PGA proposed
With Tiger Woods on one side of the course, Phil Mickelson on the other and Vijay Singh bringing up the rear of the practice round for the Ford Championship, some of the top players in the game took the opportunity on Wednesday to lobby for a shorter PGA Tour season. Eleven of the world's top 12 players have gathered at the Doral Golf Resort in Miami for this weekend's event, something Woods said would be more common if the US tour cut a few months off its schedule. "It would be more exciting for the fans, and I'm sure the sponsors and TV and everybody if we did play more often together," Woods said. "The only way you could do that is if we shortened the season."
■ Soccer
World Cup tickets on offer
Soccer's World Cup finals don't begin until June 9, 2006, but it's not too early to try to get tickets. And "try" is the operative term: The first phase of sales -- 812,000 tickets, according to FIFA -- will be through a drawing from applications received by March 31. At US$1.33 to the euro, prices begin at US$46.50 for the cheapest seats for 47 first-round matches (higher for the opening match, in Munich), and go to US$800 for the most expensive ticket for the final, July 9, 2006, in Berlin. The first drawing will be on April 15, but there will be four more sales periods, FIFA says, with the next from May 1 to Nov. 15. The only credit card accepted is MasterCard. You can apply for tickets by site or to follow one of the 32 national teams in the finals. To enter the drawing, go to www.fifaworldcup.com or request a form by mail: 2006 FIFA World Cup Ticketing Center, Re: 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, 60583 Frankfurt am Main. Tickets will go out about six weeks before the tournament with an embedded chip to deter forgeries, FIFA says.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and