■ Cycling
Vinokourov wins Stage 4
Alexandre Vinokourov won Thursday's fourth stage at the Dauphine Libere, beating six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong into fourth place. Vinokourov finished the 182km ascent up Frances Mont Ventoux 6 seconds faster than Jose Gomez Marchante and 16 seconds quicker than Wim Van Huffel. Armstrong was 37 seconds behind Vinokourov, who was third at the 2003 Tour de France and -- along with T-Mobile teammate Jan Ullrich -- may be challenging this year. "I'm a little disappointed," said Armstrong, who will retire after the July 2-24 Tour. "I wouldn't say it was great. I wouldn't even say it was good."
■ SOCCER
Mourinho loses appeal
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho lost an appeal on Thursday against a 5,000-pound (7,200 euros) fine for alleging that Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson tried to influence a referee during a match between the teams. Mourinho was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association because of comments he made in a television interview after Jan. 12's 0-0 draw in the first leg of a League Cup semifinal. Mourinho accused Ferguson of talking to and influencing referee Neale Barry at halftime. "The referee controlled the game in one way during the first half but in the second [Manchester United] had dozens of free kicks. It was fault [foul] after fault, dive after dive," he told Chelsea TV at the time. The FA said an appeal board hearing dismissed Mourinho's appeal on Thursday. Mourinho last season coached Chelsea to its first league title since 1955.
■ Football
Ragone, Scanlon MVPs
Berlin Thunder quarterback Dave Ragone and linebacker teammate Rich Scanlon have been named the Most Valuable Players in NFL Europe. The Admirals' Bart Andrus was named coach of the year in the NFL's Europe-based developmental league. The Admirals and Thunder play today in the World Bowl -- the league championship game -- at the LTU Arena in Duesseldorf, Germany. NFL Europe also named its all-league team on Thursday. The Hamburg Sea Devils led with nine selections. Ragone, allocated by the Houston Texans, set an NFL Europe record by throwing 176 passes before yielding an interception.
■ Soccer
Liverpool can defend title
Liverpool will be allowed to defend its Champions League title, but will have to begin play in the first qualifying round. European soccer's governing body announced the decision yesterday after the 14-member executive committee agreed to make a special case for the five-time European champions. Despite beating AC Milan on penalties in the final in Istanbul last month, Liverpool was unable to gain an automatic spot in next season's competition. Under UEFA's rules, the champion didn't automatically qualify. The top four in the English Premier League qualify, and Liverpool finished only fifth. Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton qualified automatically.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just