■ Sailing
Ellen MacArthur at it again
British sailor Ellen MacArthur, who last year set the fastest solo around-the-world record, embarked from Yokohama, Japan, yesterday on a new voyage to establish a series of new records between major ports in Asia. MacArthur, 29, will cover more than 7,250km in total distance over the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The first leg will take her from Yokohama south of Tokyo to South Korea's Jeju island. She will then make stops at eight ports in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia before her scheduled finish at Singapore on May 12, according to the itinerary published on her official Web site. No yacht voyage record has been set on the route, Kyodo News agency reported. In February 2005, MacArthur set the solo round-the-world record of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, 33 seconds.
■ Auto Racing
Loeb leads in Catalunya
Sebastien Loeb led the Catalunya Rally after the first six stages in Riudecanyes, Spain on Friday, on a day marred by the death of a German co-driver. Loeb took advantage of other drivers' mechanical problems to lead in his Citroen with a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes, 7 seconds. The Frenchman was 27.3 seconds ahead of Daniel Sordo of Spain, who drove his Citroen into second place. Marcus Gronholm of Finland won the first three stages before having mechanical problems with his Ford. He could only manage 10th place by the end of the day, 2:33.6 behind the leader.
■ Boxing
Bailey easily beats Arroyo
Former WBO junior welterweight champion Randall Bailey (30-5) won a lopsided unanimous decision over Costa Rica's Lenin Arroyo (15-4-1) in Miami, Florida on Friday. Bailey's speed and power shots frustrated Arroyo throughout the eight-round welterweight bout at Miccosukee Indian Gaming. Early in the second, Bailey floored Arroyo with a right to the head for the fight's only knockdown. All three judges scored the bout for Bailey, 77-74, 78-73 and 79-72.
■ Athletics
Ben Johnson a `cheetah'
Former sprint world record holder Ben Johnson is trading on his disgraced past, endorsing a sports drink called Cheetah in a TV commercial. The Toronto Star reports that Johnson is featured in two commercials for the Cheetah Power Surge sports drink. One ad is a mock interview between Johnson and Frank D'Angelo, the president and chief executive of D'Angelo Brands which makes the drink. D'Angelo asks Johnson: "Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?" "Absolutely," Johnson says. "I Cheetah all the time." The other commercial includes Johnson and a cheetah, the world's fastest land animal, and encourages viewers to "go ahead and Cheetah." Johnson was approached by D'Angelo a few months ago about the campaign.
■ Soccer
Atletico dodges the bullet
Atletico Madrid escaped closure of its Vicente Calderon stadium after the Spanish soccer federation chose to fine the club 3,000 euros over crowd trouble that led to the temporary suspension of a match against Sevilla. Atletico has been warned that a repetition of the crowd incidence will lead to the stadium's closure, the club's Web site said yesterday.
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