■ Cycling
Team suspends Hondo
German cyclist Danilo Hondo was suspended by Team Gerolsteiner on Friday for a positive drug test. The German, 31, tested positive twice for a "stimulating substance" at the Tour of Murcia in March, Gerolsteiner said. The team was informed on Thursday by cycling's governing body, UCI. Hondo, who finished second in the Milan-San Remo race on March 19, could be suspended for two years by UCI if a "B" sample proves positive. Gerolsteiner, which entered the Tour de France for the first time in 2003, said the rider was suspended immediately and the team was waiting for more details from the UCI. "Any other statements at this time would be pure speculation," said team manager Hans-Michael Holczer, adding that the team would release any new information as it became available.
■ Golf
Broadhurst and Filipe lead
England's Paul Broadhurst and Portugal's Jose Filipe Lima headed the Portugal Open at 8-under par after the second round on Friday in Cascais. They led by a stroke from Englishmen Barry Lane and Simon Dyson, who set a course record 7-under 64 with seven birdies and an eagle at the Oitavos Golf Club. Broadhurst, a former Ryder Cup player whose last European Tour victory was in the 1995 French Open, made five birdies in shooting a 66. Lima racked up seven birdies in 16 holes in calm, sunny conditions, and carded 65 after a bogey on the 18th. "There was less wind and it was straight into you today, whereas yesterday every shot was into a crosswind which is a nightmare, especially round here where there is a lot of trouble," said Broadhurst. At 6 under were 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie, Argentina's Cesar Monasterio, and Englishmen Ian Garbutt and Stuart Little.
■ Swimming
Phelps eases into trials
Michael Phelps withdrew from one of his strongest events at the US trials for swimming's World Championships -- the 400m individual medley -- on Friday in Indianapolis, Indiana, and then won the 400m freestyle, an event he hasn't contested at a major meet since 2003. The 19-year-old Olympic gold medalist led the entire way in the 400m free, completing the distance in 3 minutes, 47.79 seconds and winning by nearly 1.6 seconds. Coach Bob Bowman said he didn't want to push Phelps into two long-distance events on the same day because of a back injury that forced Phelps out of the Short Course World Championships in October. Besides, Bowman said, the schedule at the world championships in July likely would have precluded Phelps from competing in the 400m IM at Montreal.
■ Golf
PGA suffers rain delays
Ian Woosnam will have to wait another day to make his first US PGA Tour appearance of 2005. Rain fell again on Friday in Duluth, Georgia, postponing the opening round of the BellSouth Classic for the second straight day. Heavy thunderstorms also washed out play on Thursday at the TPC at Sugarloaf course. "It's very difficult," said Woosnam. "You tend to get very stiff sitting around just waiting. ... It's hard to keep your concentration going," said the 47-year-old, who will also play next week in the Masters, which he won in 1991. "Every year I look forward to this time. That's why I play this week to try to get myself into a bit of better shape going into Augusta."
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but