■ Soccer
Arsenal's Dein gets G14 nod
Arsenal chairman David Dein was on Wednesday named the new president of the G14 group which represents 18 of Europe's richest clubs. The English official, who was a unanimous choice, replaces Roberto Bettega in the role for a two-year mandate. "As G14 president, I hope to build bridges between UEFA [Europe's governing body] and FIFA [the world's governing body]," Dein said in a statement.
■ Soccer
Lawyer to contest Zizou's red
A French lawyer is to contest Zinedine Zidane's World Cup final red card in the French civil courts, a court source said on Wednesday. Mehana Mouhou, a lawyer in Rouen and Paris, wants the red card overturned on a technicality because he claims the fourth official watched video evidence of the French captain's infamous head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi, before bringing it to the referee's attention. France went on to lose the World Cup final on July 9 after a penalty shoot-out.
■ Soccer
UEFA selects final venues
The 2008 and 2009 Champions League finals will be played in Moscow and Rome respectively, European soccer's governing body said on Wednesday. The UEFA Cup finals of those same years will be held in Manchester (2008) and Istanbul (2009), UEFA's executive committee said from their meeting in Slovenia, adding the 2009 European under-21 championships would be hosted by Sweden. The stadiums used in those finals will be Spartak's Luzhniki stadium, Roma and Lazio's Olympic stadium, Manchester City's City of Manchester stadium, and Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu ground.
■ Basketball
Wizards tie down Grunfeld
The Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations, Ernie Grunfeld, has signed a multi-year contract extension, the club said on Wednesday. The team has made the postseason the last two years, a streak the team had not seen since the late 1980s. "From his first day, Ernie has worked tirelessly to improve our team, and everything he has done has been with an eye toward our long term success," team owner Abe Pollin said in a statement. "I'm proud of the direction our team is going, and with two consecutive playoff appearances behind us, our future looks extremely bright.?ashington was 42-40 last season and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
■ Basketball
Shooting two to stand trial
Two men accused of shooting five Duquesne University basketball players outside a school dance were ordered on Wednesday to stand trial. Derek Lee of Pittsburgh and William Holmes of the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, both 18, face five counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and one count of carrying a firearm without a license in the Sept. 17 shootings. Neither is a Duquesne student. A woman who allegedly encouraged the men, Erica Sager, 18, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg, also was ordered to stand trial. The most seriously injured of the five players, Sam Ashaolu, was moved on Monday from critical care into a rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital. The other four are back on campus.
■ England
ECB wants compensation
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has requested compensation from Pakistan for the loss of revenue stemming from the forfeited fourth test in August. A Pakistan TV station reported that the ECB is attempting to claim ?800,000 pounds (US$1.5 million) from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). "The PCB will contest the claim through its lawyers," PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said on Wednesday without confirming the amount.
■ Pakistan
Younis refuses captaincy
Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has refused to lead his country in the Champions Trophy in India, a Pakistani Cricket Board official said yesterday. The official, who declined to give further details, said Younis had announced his decision at a scheduled news conference in Lahore. Younis was named as the captain after regular skipper Inzaman-ul-Haq was banned for four one-day matches for bringing the game into disrepute after Pakistan refused to take the field on the fourth day of the fourth test against England in August.
■ England
Vaughan eyes Ashes role
Michael Vaughan said yesterday he was hopeful of being fit to play a part in the Ashes series this winter. The 31-year-old has not played Test cricket this year due to a knee injury. He has begun running again and there has been talk he could play in the final two Tests. "Everything would have to go perfectly between now and then but in my mind there is a small window of opportunity," Vaughan told the Daily Mail. "I would have to make runs in Perth and, of course, I would have to stay fit," he said. "It would also depend on the state of the series and how the England management are thinking. But it is definitely what I'm aiming for and definitely a target."
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite