■ Rugby Union
All Blacks' squad enlarged
New Zealand will take 32 players on its end-of-season rugby tour to Europe, adding an extra hooker and halfback to its planned 30-man squad. The All Blacks are scheduled to play two tests against France and matches against England and Wales on next month's tour. The New Zealand squad has yet to be named. "It is prudent to have additional cover at the specialist positions, particularly given the time it would take to call in replacements from New Zealand," coach Graham Henry said in a statement yesterday.
■ Soccer
Obi Mikel looks to future
Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel said on Friday he was confident he would make an impact with Chelsea in the Premier League after his full debut for the club in Wednesday's Champions League match with Levski Sofia. The 19-year-old international was signed for ?12 million (US$22.4 million) in June. He told a news conference: "I know my time is going to come, but there are a lot of world-class players at Chelsea and I respect them a lot ... I was out for long time while my future was undecided and I knew I had to get my fitness back before I could start playing here. But the manager has been excellent and made sure I worked hard."
■ Soccer
EU says no to salary caps
The EU and soccer authorities have no plans to introduce salary caps on players, the CEO of UEFA said on Friday. "Salary caps just simply wouldn't work and was never our intention," Lars-Christer Olsson said on the margins of a meeting between soccer authorities and EU lawmakers. Speculation that UEFA, European soccer governing body, and EU governments were seeking to restrict players' wages had grown since the release of the EU-sponsored "European Sports Review" in April. A recommendation in the review, commissioned to look at how sports should be governed throughout the 25-member bloc, was that players' wages should be capped in the top leagues.
■ Soccer
Fluminense fire Lopes
Fluminense fired coach Antonio Lopes on Friday, a day after the club was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Argentina's Gimnasia y Esgrima in the second round of the Copa Sudamericana. The Brazilian club hired former Sao Caetano coach Paulo Cesar Gusmao to replace Lopes. Gusmao was fired from Sao Caetano on Aug. 31 after only four matches at the helm of the club. "I'm very satisfied to return to Fluminense, where I was champion in 1995 as a goalkeeper trainer," Gusmao said. "Our priority will be to take Fluminense out of this uncomfortable situation in the standings." Fluminense, winless in its last three matches, is 11th in the 20-team Brazilian league with 34 points from 26 games.
■ Boxing
Ortiz easily wins decision
Former WBC light-flyweight champion Eric Ortiz of Mexico knocked down Benji Garcia in the ninth round and went on to take a unanimous 10-round decision on Friday night in Camp Pendleton, California. Ortiz, who lost the title to Brian Viloria in September last year, won on the scorecards of all three judges, 97-90, 96-91 and 95-92. Ortiz improved to 25-6-1 while Garcia dropped to 11-8-3.
■ Soccer
Fans clash with police
Five policemen were injured and nine fans arrested after violent clashes with supporters of Argentine first-division club Lanus at an airport south of Buenos Aires, it was revealed on Friday. The supporters were returning from Sao Paulo where Lanus had been playing Brazilian first-division club Corinthians in a South American Cup match. The trouble started when fans refused to open their luggage at the request of customs officials, though supporters claimed club banners and shirts had been confiscated.
■ Cricket
Sri Lankan team improves
Sri Lanka's cricket coach Tom Moody yesterday said his team had improved vastly since their last tour of India and should do well in the upcoming Champions Trophy. "We are a good side now in all three departments of the game with several youngsters performing creditably," Moody said before his team's departure for the neighboring country. Marvan Atapattu led Sri Lanka to a 2-0 thrashing in a Test series and 6-1 in a one-day series in India. But they had a remarkable change in fortunes when they drew a three-Test series in England 1-1 and blanked them 5-0 in one-dayers. Moody said Atapattu's return to the side after back surgery had added to the team's strength.
■ Soccer
Gil Vicente decides to play
Gil Vicente, the club at the center of a relegation dispute that almost led FIFA to ban Portugal from international competition earlier this month, has agreed to turn up for their second-division match against Rio Ave today. The club failed to show for their first three scheduled second-division matches in a protest against the Portuguese Football Federation's decision to relegate them from the first division last season for using an ineligible player, Angola midfielder Mateus Galeano da Costa. If Gil Vicente skipped four consecutive matches it would face being kicked out of Portuguese competitions for several years. While the club agreed to play in the second division today, it said in a statement on its Internet site that it would seek to have the three matches which it missed against Feirense, Estoril and Trofense rescheduled.
■ Baseball
Suzuki to play center field
Ichiro Suzuki is willing to play center field for the Seattle Mariners next year. "He said he wants to play there, so that's good," Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said before Friday's game against Texas. Hargrove met earlier this week with the six-time US Major League Baseball All-Star from Japan, who played 120 games in right field this season. Suzuki started his 36th game in center field on Friday night. The experiment of moving Suzuki there began on Aug. 20 and he became a fixture in a position where seven players have started this season. Jeremy Reed began the season there and started 55 games but struggled at the plate and was sidelined for the season after breaking his right thumb.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely