■ Cycling
Petacchi wins Stage 2
Alessandro Petacchi took a second successive stage victory Thursday in the Tour de Romandie, narrowly beating fellow Italian cyclist Daniele Colli in 4 hours, 17 minutes, 13 seconds. Petacchi also snatched the overall lead from Spain's Oscar Pereiro after the second stage, a 171.9kg loop starting and finishing in Fleurier near the French border in western Switzerland, ended in a bunch sprint. Mirco Lorenzetto and Giovanni Lombardi completed an Italian sweep of the top four, followed by Spain's Josu Silloniz in fifth. The top 10 all finished with the same time as Petacchi. Tyler Hamilton of the US won last year's Tour de Romandie, but is unable to compete this season while he serves a two-year suspension for a blood-doping violation.
■ Boxing
Ruiz set to face Toney
WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz weighed in at 108kg in New York on Thursday, two days before his 12-round title bout against James Toney. Toney was 4kg lighter at 104kg during the weigh-in at Madison Square Garden. Ruiz has a 41-5-1 record with 28 knockouts. Toney, a three-time world champion in other weight classes, is 68-4-2 with 43 knockouts.On the undercard, IBF junior bantamweight champion Luis Perez of Nicaragua fights a mandatory defense against Luis Bolano of Colombia. Also, WBA super featherweight champion Yodsanan Nanthachai of Thailand faces Vicente Mosquera of Panama.
■ Boxing
Mesi hearing suspended
A hearing to determine whether suspended heavyweight Joe Mesi should resume boxing was postponed until June after he changed lawyers. Keith Kizer, Nevada's chief deputy attorney general, said on Thursday the Nevada State Athletic Commission granted Mesi's request to postpone the May 5 hearing to allow the boxer's new legal team -- headed by noted constitutional lawyer Paul Cambria -- time to research the case. A new date hasn't been set. Mesi changed lawyers after the commission's medical advisory committee recommended last week Mesi (29-0) stop boxing after he suffered bleeding on the brain during a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov in March 2004.
■ Boxing
Pacquiao sues M&M Sports
Former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines filed a lawsuit against his promoters, alleging they withheld some of his earnings. The lawsuit against M&M Sports Inc and Murad Muhammad, filed on Wednesday, alleges the promoters transferred more than 30 percent of Pacquiao's purses to a shell company on the basis his American taxes would be paid from there. But the taxes were never paid, the lawsuit said, leaving Pacquiao with huge bills for back taxes, penalties and interest. The lawsuit also alleges the arrangement meant his business managers agreed to purses that were below market, since they could make more from the money they set aside than they would from the 10 percent fee on properly negotiated purses. "It has taken me a while to come to terms with the fact that I have been cheated by people whom I trusted," Pacquiao said in a statement.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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