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Former All Black Jonah Lomu sits on the bench with North Harbour teammates against Wellington in their Air New Zealand Cup match in Auckland on Aug. 19. PHOTO: REUTERS

■ Soccer
Greek fans riot after match
Four Greek soccer fans were charged on Monday with causing a public disturbance. Police said 24 cars, two buses and a motorcycle were seriously damaged or destroyed on Sunday when youths attacked the vehicles with iron bars and gasoline bombs after a Greek league match at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. The rioting followed Panathinaikos' 2-1 win over PAOK Thessaloniki. Police said Panathinaikos fans started the trouble, attacking vehicles with license plates from northern Greece. Seven people were initially detained inside the stadium for violent behavior, but three of them were later released without charge.

■ Skiing
US Freestyle skiers retire
US Freestyle skier Joe Pack, a silver medalist in the 2002 Olympics, and teammate Travis Cabral, a 2003 world champion, both announced their retirement on Monday. Pack won his silver in the aerials in front of his home fans in Park City, Utah, in 2002. He returned to the US team this year but didn't place. Cabral won three World Cup moguls events in 2003 to win the world championship. He was also on this year's Olympic team. The skiers join Toby Dawson (moguls) and Eric Bergoust (aerials) in announcing their retirements this year. Jeremy Bloom (moguls) has also presumably quit skiing to pursue his career in the NFL, which means that the US freestyle team must rebuild over the next four years.

■ Weightlifting
Iranians nailed for doping
Nine Iranian weightlifters have tested positive for doping, forcing the national team to withdraw from the upcoming world championships. The World Anti-Doping Agency tested all 11 Iranian weightlifters on Sept. 10 and nine failed, the Iranian weightlifting federation said in a statement. The statement did not name the lifters who failed, but it said world champion Hossein Rezazadeh and Asghar Ebrahimi didn't test positive. Iranian officials blamed the team's Bulgarian coach, Yourdon Georgy Ivanof.

■ Auto racing
Indy cars to return to Japan
The Indy Racing League will return to Japan in April. The 2.4km oval track at Motegi, about 145km from Tokyo, has been the site of an IndyCar Series race each year since 2003. "The staff there has done an incredible job in hosting our drivers, teams, staff and sponsors," IRL president Brian Barnhart said on Monday. "Motegi is particularly important to us, as it gives both Honda and Firestone an opportunity to showcase our sport in front of its corporate leaders."

■ Soccer
Bolton pips Portsmouth
Kevin Nolan scored for Bolton to beat Portsmouth 1-0 and end the south coast club's unbeaten start to the English Premier League on Monday. Nolan scored in the 22nd minute at Fratton Park -- the first goal conceded by Portsmouth in six games this season. Portsmouth would have gone top of the league with a win. Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a series of saves in the first half, with Sean Davis and Benjani Mwaruwari having the best chances for Portsmouth. Portsmouth was third in the standings with 13 points, behind second-place Manchester United on goal difference. Chelsea leads with 15 points. Bolton is sixth with 11 points.

■ Soccer
Socceroos name squad
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill was named yesterday in a strong Australian soccer squad for matches against Paraguay and Bahrain but headliners Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell were not available. Strikers Viduka, Kewell and Josh Kennedy are the only members of Australia's World Cup squad not named for the friendly against Paraguay in Brisbane on Oct. 7 and the Asian Cup qualifier against Bahrain at Sydney on Oct. 11. Viduka's wife is expecting a baby while Kewell and Kennedy were not considered because of injury.

■ Tennis
Hantuchova advances
Former top-five player Daniela Hantuchova defeated Tatiana Golovin of France 7-6 (1), 6-3 to open the Fortis Championships on Monday. Hantuchova, twice a quarterfinalist in Luxembourg, aced Golovin eight times to hand the Moscow-born Frenchwoman her seventh loss in the first round at 16 tournaments this year. The Slovak next meets fourth-seeded Dinara Safina, who received a first-round bye with all the seeds. Samantha Stosur of Australia will play top-seeded Elena Dementieva after putting out wild card Anne Kremer, Luxembourg's only player in the main draw, 6-1, 6-4. Stosur, world ranked co-No. 1 in doubles, will also be defending her doubles title here. Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic defeated Julia Schruff of Germany 7-5, 6-1 in Monday's only other first-round match.

■ Tennis
Montanes ends losing streak
Albert Montanes of Spain ended a six-match losing streak since June on the main ATP tour when he advanced at the Palermo International at the expense of injured seventh seed Luis Horna of Peru on Monday. Horna quit with a right shoulder injury while trailing 5-2 in the first-round match. Montanes, while mixing his season with challenger events, hadn't won on the main tour since the French Open. Eighth-seeded Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain began his quest for a third semifinal this year by beating Alessio Di Mauro of Italy 7-6 (7), 6-3. Other winners included Italy's Potito Starace and wild card Fabio Fognini, and Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello and Sergio Roitman.


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