■ Soccer
Striker banned over cocaine
Wolverhampton striker Chris Cornes was banned for six months on Monday after testing positive for cocaine. The 19-year-old striker, who was randomly tested by the Football Association at training in February, denies taking the drug and has appealed to the FA. "We were extremely disappointed to learn that one of our players had tested positive for a banned substance," Wolves chief executive Jez Moxley said. Cornes' ban was backdated to April 13, the date when the League Championship team provisionally suspended him. "His continued employment with the club will be discussed at a scheduled board meeting ... and with football management and the Professional Footballers' Association," a statement on Wolves' Web site said.
■ Formula One
McLaren replaces Montoya
McLaren-Mercedes will replace Juan Pablo Montoya with their test driver Pedro de la Rosa, effective immediately, the Anglo-German Formula One team announced yesterday. The Spaniard De la Rosa will become the partner of Kimi Raikkonen at McLaren at the weekend French Grand Prix. The move comes after Montoya said on Sunday that he has reached an agreement to switch into the NASCAR series next year. "We have agreed that with so many things happening in Juan Pablo's life right now, he should take some time out of the car and prepare professionally and personally for the future," McLaren boss Ron Dennis said. Montoya said: "I have enjoyed most of my time in Formula 1 and I'm grateful for this opportunity to settle my personal life and concentrate on my future career." De La Rosa was an F1 driver for Arrows and Jaguar in 1999-2002 before becoming test driver for McLaren. He replaced then injured Montoya at the Bahrain GP last year, in which he finished fifth and set the fastest race lap. "I know the MP4-21 [car] better than anyone else and I'm confident that I can achieve important World Championship points for the team," de la Rosa said.
■ Soccer
Deschamps inks Juve deal
Didier Deschamps signed a two-year contract on Monday to coach Juventus, which faces demotion and being stripped of its last two Serie A titles in the Italian match-fixing scandal. The former Juventus midfielder, who captained France to the 1998 World Cup title, replaces Fabio Capello after his resignation last week to coach Real Madrid. In June, Juventus officials met with Deschamps, who said he was interested in coaching the Turin club even if it is demoted. The Italian soccer federation's sports trial ended last week with AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and 25 soccer officials also facing charges. Verdicts are expected this week.
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