■ Boxing
Klitschko loses Kiev race
Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko conceded defeat in his bid to become the Ukrainian capital's next mayor after early results on Monday showed him trailing the front-runner. "I tried to be the leader ... that was my aim," Klitschko said in remarks broadcast on Ukraine's TV5. "But it is important to know how to win and how to lose." The 34-year-old retired boxer, who was making his first ever bid for public office, turned up at a news conference to publicly offer his congratulations to Leonid Chernovetskiy. Klitschko retired from boxing in November after hurting his knee in training and pulling out of a defense of his heavyweight title.
■ Soccer
Madrid eyes Eriksson
England's Sven-Goran Eriksson and Chelsea's Jose Mourinho are among seven names put forward as candidates to become Real Madrid's new coach. Real Madrid president Fernando Martin told Spanish news agency Efe that the shortlist also includes Juventus' Fabio Capello, Liverpool's Rafael Benitez, Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, AC Milan's Carlo Ancelotti and Italy's Marcello Lippi. "We are clear about the type of coach we want," Martin said. "We want one of the coaches that you all know we want. It will be one of these. I am not going to say them in order of preference, but they are Mourinho, Capello, Benitez, Wenger, Ancelotti, Lippi. The seventh is Eriksson, just so there's no doubt." Eriksson is the only one of the seven who is certain to be free this summer. The Swede, who had been England's coach for more than five years, is leaving the post after the World Cup.
■ Basketball
Brawl instigator convicted
The man accused of sparking the brawl between National Basketball Association players and fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 was convicted of assault on Monday for punching Ron Artest. John Green was acquitted, however, of throwing a cup at Artest -- who was playing for the Pacers at the time -- before the forward charged into the stands and began fighting with Detroit Pistons fans. Green was the last person with a case pending after the brawl, one of the worst in US sports history. He faces up to 93 days in jail and a US$500 fine. Sentencing was scheduled for May 1. The fighting began after Detroit's Ben Wallace shoved Artest following a hard foul. They were separated, and Artest lay back on the scorer's table where he was hit with a beverage. He rushed into the stands and began beating a man he apparently thought had thrown the drink. Some of his teammates joined him in the stands and clashed with fans on the court.
■ Hockey
Hordichuk suspended
Nashville left wing Darcy Hordichuk was suspended for three games by the National Hockey League on Monday after instigating a fight in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Hordichuk will lose US$6,887 in salary and miss Predators games at Phoenix yesterday, at home against Detroit tomorrow and at home against St. Louis on Saturday. The Canadian will be eligible to return next Monday against Columbus. Hordichuck, 25, received a minor penalty for roughing and a misconduct for the incident 5:08 into the second period when he started a brawl with the Kings' George Parros.
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
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