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Sports Quick Take

■ Soccer
Becks and Posh go to court
David and Victoria Beckham are due to appear in court in December to deny that they "cynically and hypocritically" presented a false image of a happy marriage in order to protect their commercial interests. The England soccer captain and his pop star wife are suing British tabloid News of the World for an article in September last year, called "Posh & Becks on Rocks" that was based on allegations by their children's nanny, and will have to show the court their marriage is as strong as they say it is. What promises to be a high-profile celebrity trial at London's High Court is expected to begin on Dec. 5 and last for about two weeks.

■ Soccer
World Cup 2010 on track
South Africa's preparations for the 2010 World Cup finals were ahead of schedule and well on track, FIFA general secretary Urs Linsi said on Monday. Linsi, on a one-day visit to the country to attend meetings of the local organizing committee, said he was pleased with the pace of the early stages of organizing the 2010 event, which will be the first to be hosted on the African continent. He said he expected several legal contracts and budget agreements to be signed between FIFA and the South African local organizing committee in the coming weeks which would add to the impetus of the preparations. Linsi's trip coincided with the start of a second five-day inspection of the proposed venues for the 2010 World Cup by a team of FIFA experts. The same team visited eight proposed venues in July.

■ Ice Hockey
Havlat suspended again
Czech Republic star Martin Havlat was suspended on Monday for five games by the National Hockey League's disciplinary committee for kicking Boston's Hal Gill with his skates on. The incident occurred at 3:53 of the second period when Ottawa Senators forward Havlat kicked Gill, who had pinned him on the Bruins' net. Ottawa, the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference, will not have Havlat for the next five games as a result of the incident in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Bruins. Havlat, who will forfeit US$66,326 in league penalties, begins serving the suspension on Friday, when Ottawa visits the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. In January last year, Havlat was suspended for two games after kicking New York Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns in front of the New York goal. He also was suspended for two games for a high-sticking incident in March last year.

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