■ Baseball
Castilla resigns for Rockies
Vinny Castilla, a fan favorite in two stints with the Colorado Rockies, agreed to a minor league contract with the team and is expected to join the expanded roster next month. The 39-year-old Mexican third baseman was released by the San Diego Padres on July 21 after hitting .232 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 72 games. Castilla is a career .276 hitter and was a member of the Rockies' only playoff team in 1995. "In the brief history of our franchise, few players have endeared themselves to Rockies fans as much as Vinny," Rockies president Keli McGregor said on Monday.
■ Golf
Tiger and Ernie to hit Asia
World No. 1 Tiger Woods and three-times major winner Ernie Els will compete in Asian Tour events starting next month, organizers said yesterday. Woods, with 11 majors and 50 US PGA Tour event wins under his belt, will headline the US$5 million HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November, the Asian Tour said in a statement released from its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. It will be Woods' second appearance in Shanghai. South African Els, meanwhile, is the leading player at the US$3 million Barclays Singapore Open early next month, the statement read.
■ Baseball
Matt Diaz ties NL record
Atlanta Braves outfielder Matt Diaz tied a National League record on Monday night by hitting safely in a 10th consecutive at-bat. Diaz's single in the seventh inning off Washington Nationals reliever Travis Hughes made him 4-for-4 in the game and allowed him to break the Braves' team record and equal the NL mark, shared by several players. The most recent to accomplish it was Cincinnati's Bip Roberts on Sept. 19-23, 1992. Diaz hit a two-run homer in the second and singled in the fourth and fifth Monday, all off starter Ramon Ortiz. His streak ended with a groundout to short in the ninth.
■ Rugby Union
Pivac still Fiji coach
New Zealander Wayne Pivac will coach Fiji at next year's World Cup after the Fiji Rugby Union rejected calls for his sacking. Pivac had been under fire after Fiji's 47-18 and 80-9 losses to Australia A last month, which called into question the state of Fiji's preparation for the world tournament in France. The board of the Fiji Rugby Union met in Suva on Monday to consider Pivac's report on the Australia A matches and on the inaugural Pacific Five Nations tournament in which Fiji finished third. Chief executive Keni Dakuidreketi said Pivac had been confirmed as coach but would be expected to provide a report to the board on his World Cup preparations. His performance would now be monitored on a monthly basis.
■ Horse racing
Jockey charged over fixing
Irish jockey Robert Winston was one of nine people charged in a British race-fixing probe, the sport's governing body confirmed on Monday. Winston is among four jockeys to face corruption charges by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (HRA) in relation to 37 races between June 2003 and February 2004, following an investigation by the HRA. Winston denies any wrongdoing. Winston, 26, is third in the jockey's title race. He rode in 21 of the races under investigation. Three other less well-known jockeys and a former bookmaker were among those charged. A preliminary hearing at HRA headquarters has been set for Sept. 27.
■ England
West Ham buy Robert Green
West Ham United's bid for Norwich goalkeeper Robert Green was accepted on Monday. The transfer could rise to £2 million (US$3.8 million) depending on appearances and incentives. Green's move to Upton Park is still dependent on him passing a medical test and agreeing to personal terms. The 26-year-old England reserve is currently recovering from a groin injury he picked up in a B game against Belarus in May. After coming through the Norwich youth academy, Green has played 241 games for the senior team. He is West Ham's sixth pre-season acquisition.
■ Ireland
Coach threatened at gunpoint
Ireland coach Steve Staunton was threatened by an armed man outside the team hotel north of Dublin on Monday but was unhurt and the man had been arrested, police and football authorities said. "A man in his early 30s was arrested following an armed incident outside the Portmarnock Hotel," a police spokeswoman said. "A man was approached by a lone male and threatened by a firearm. The man was pursued and was arrested by a gardai [police officer]." The Football Association of Ireland said in a statement: "The Republic of Ireland Manager Stephen Staunton is absolutely fine and looking forward to training tomorrow [yesterday]." Ireland host the Netherlands in a friendly in Dublin today.
■ Botswana
Bhamjee expelled from FA
Disgraced FIFA official Ismail Bhamjee has been kicked out of the Botswana Football Association, reports said. A long, heated debate over the man caught selling tickets at three times their value during the World Cup in Germany in June ended with a 42-40 vote in favor of his expulsion. World football governing body FIFA ordered long-serving Bhamjee home after the English newspaper the Mail on Sunday reported he sold 12 tickets to England supporters for a group fixture against Trinidad and Tobago. The official credited with the steady rise of soccer standards in southern Africa said his action was based on the desire to help desperate fans he met at a hotel. Bhamjee retires from FIFA at the end of this year.
■ Champions league
Haifa, Reds to play in Kiev
The Champions League third qualifying round second leg tie between Israeli side Maccabi Haifa and Liverpool will take place in Kiev next Tuesday because of the conflict in the Middle East, UEFA announced on Monday. Liverpool won the first leg 2-1 at home last Wednesday. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had said that there was no way the English Premiership side would travel to Israel for the tie.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set