■ Rugby League
Former player dies in cave-in
Former New Zealand rugby league international Bernard Green died in a cave-in at a coal mine on New Zealand's South Island, mine owners said yesterday. Green, 47, was killed on Friday when a shaft of the privately-owned Roa mine, 800m below ground, collapsed. Nine other men working in the shaft escaped without injury. Green toured Britain and France with the New Zealand team in 1980, scoring two tries.
■ Basketball
Gasol out for four months
Spanish center Pau Gasol is not expected to return to the NBA until January after successful surgery on his left foot on Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies announced. Gasol underwent the operation to repair a broken fifth metatarsal. Grizzlies team doctor Fred Azar, assisted by foot specialists, performed the surgery and gave the prognosis, which will mean Gasol will be out for about the first two months of the upcoming NBA season. "We inserted a 45mm screw and bone graphs into the fifth metatarsal. Pau will wear a cast for two weeks while his foot heals and then begin the rehabilitation process. His expected return to play is approximately four months," Azar said.
■ Soccer
Vietnamese players charged
Vietnamese police have charged eight players, including seven internationals, in connection with match-fixing at last year's Southeast Asian Games, the Thanh Nien daily reported yesterday. The paper quoted a source saying the players would face trial for their part in rigging a game against Myanmar in Manila last December. Internationals Bat Hieu, Van Truong, Quoc Vuong, Van Quyen, Hai Lam, Phuoc Vinh and Quoc Anh, and former player Truong Tan Hai will be charged with betting and organized gambling, the daily said. The players were allegedly paid 500 million dong (US$31,000) each to fix the game, and are believed to have used their money to place bets on their team beating Myanmar 1-0.
■ Auto Racing
State funeral for Brock
Peter Brock, who dominated Australian auto racing for three decades and was one of its most popular drivers, will have a state funeral at a date to be determined, his family said yesterday. Brock, 61, died on Friday when his car crashed into a tree during the Targa West Rally in Western Australia state. Brock's former wife, Bev Brock, who split with the former touring car driver in May last year after 28 years together, said the decision to accept the formal state funeral, likely in Melbourne, was made by the couple's three children. "Their dad was loved. He was in the public eye, and everything had to be done with a flourish and with a bang," she said. Witnesses told reporters that Brock's car hit a tree near the small town of Gidgegannup, about 40km north of Perth.
■ Cycling
Ullrich prosecutors seek help
The Bonn district attorney's office has asked Spanish police for help in its investigation of alleged doping by former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich. Chief district attorney Fred Apostel said on Friday his office was looking into whether the German cyclist had been provided with banned performance-enhancing drugs since 2003 -- in an operation allegedly centered on Spanish sports doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Fuentes is under investigation following Spanish police's arrest of five people at a Madrid clinic in May, where drugs and frozen blood were seized.
■ Soccer
Fans demand state aid
Greek soccer fans clashed with police on Friday near a conference center where Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was to give a speech. Supporters of PAOK Thessaloniki hurled flares and rocks at police outside the conference center in the northern Greek city as Karamanlis arrived. About 5,000 protesters chanting "Free PAOK" gathered to demand government intervention to rescue the near-bankrupt club from financial ruin. There were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries. Some 3,000 police have been deployed in Thessaloniki for weekend protests, which were due to include several large rallies yesterday, including marches organized by Greece's largest unions and anti-globalization groups.
■ Olympics
Drug czar suit nearly over
A lawsuit filed against the US Olympic Committee by the organization's former drug czar is close to a resolution, according to documents filed in federal court on Friday. Wade Exum, who served as the Colorado Springs-based agency's director of drug control administration for nine years until he resigned in 2000, sued the organization in El Paso County District Court last year. The case was moved to federal court in May last year. Exum's attorney, John Pineau, filed to suspend the case because the two sides had reached an agreement and needed time to finalize paperwork. Exum, a psychiatrist, accused the USOC of undermining his push to eliminate doping and failing to discipline athletes who used drugs.
■ Basketball
Henderson, McFarlin sign
Alan Henderson, an 11-year NBA veteran, and rookie Ivan McFarlin, who played last season in France, signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The forwards should help add depth up front for a club that went 38-44 last season and failed to make the playoffs despite the skills of playmaker Allen Iverson. "Both of these guys will add depth to our frontcourt," 76ers president Billy King said. "Alan will provide us with additional experience and leadership. Ivan earned a spot on this team with his hard work and rebounding." Henderson averaged 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 51 games with Cleveland last season.
■ Soccer
UEFA mulls Israel ban
European soccer governing body UEFA will meet on Thursday next week to decide if the suspension on international matches being played in Israel should be lifted. On Aug. 7, UEFA put a stop to all matches involving Israel or Israeli teams being played in the Jewish state due to the state of war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. But a ceasefire to end the month-long conflict was agreed on Aug. 14 and there has been almost no resumption of hostilities since then. Israeli side Maccabi Haifa were victims of UEFA's ban when their `home' Champions League final qualifier tie against Liverpool was switched to Kiev.
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