■ Soccer
Fans riot as River crash out
Rioting River Plate fans forced the match against Paraguay's Libertad to be called off in the 80th minute as the Argentine team were knocked out of the Libertadores Cup in Asuncion on Tuesday. Libertad were leading 3-1 at home in the quarter-final second leg and 5-3 on aggregate when Chilean referee Ruben Selman abandoned play at the Defensors del Chaco stadium after River supporters clashed with riot police on the terraces. Trouble began when a large contingent of River fans began tearing up plastic seats and hurling them at home supporters, whose contingent included a number of fans wearing the shirts of River's arch-rivals, Boca Juniors. The River supporters forced riot police to retreat against a fence and set fire to banners as the situation turned ugly before being brought under control.
■ Basketball
Seattle SuperSonics sold
The Seattle SuperSonics, who have been in the Emerald City since 1967, have been sold for US$350 million, the Seattle Times reported on Tuesday. Former owner Harold Schultz and new owner Clay Bennett announced the sale of the SuperSonics and Storm, their WNBA sister team. Schultz, who bought the Sonics in 2001, presented Bennett with a Sonics jersey and a WNBA ball, symbolic of basketball in Seattle. The SuperSonics have been in Seattle since 1967 but have a very unfavorable lease at KeyArena that runs through 2010. Under Schultz, who also owns Starbucks Coffee, the team reached an impasse with local and state officials in discussions for a new or refurbished arena that would allow the team to remain in the greater Seattle area. Bennett heads a group of investors from Oklahoma City. He said at a news conference that whether the Sonics remain in Seattle for the long term would depend on whether the team can reach an agreement with the city to replace or renovate KeyArena.
■ Basketball
LeBron cements extension
LeBron James signed a three-year contract extension worth about US$60 million with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, cementing a deal announced last week. The NBA All-Star forward signed the contract in Las Vegas, where he was preparing to train with the US for the world championship. The deal will keep James with the Cavaliers through the 2009-2010 season and includes a player option for a fourth year. The extension is for two fewer years than the deal the Cavaliers offered, a five-year package worth about US$80 million. But by the summer of 2010, James will be a seven-year veteran with the option of seeking a new contract as an unrestricted free agent, making him eligible to negotiate a maximum contract worth 30 percent of the salary cap. Players with less than seven years experience can earn only 25 percent of the cap. The contract will take effect after the 2006-2007 season. The superstar will earn US$5.8 million next season, the last year of his rookie contract.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but