■ Baseball
Oakland A's sack manager
The Oakland Athletics sacked manager Ken Macha on Monday, just two days after the team was swept aside 4-0 in the American League Championship Series by the Detroit Tigers. Macha led the Athletics to the AL West title with a 93-69 record followed by a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the AL division series. But the 56-year-old will still join Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker, Florida Marlins' Joe Girardi, San Francisco's Felipe Alou, Washington Nationals' Frank Robinson and Texas Rangers' Buck Showalter on the baseball unemployment line. A former player for the Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, Macha posted a record of 368-280 in four seasons at Oakland.
■ Cricket
Ashes arrive in Australia
The Ashes arrived in Australia for only the second time yesterday just over a month before the hosts resume battle with England to regain the fabled urn. The 10cm-high artifact was sealed in a protective case and had its own seat in business class as it arrived in Sydney for a three-month tour before returning to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in January. The urn, reclaimed by England after an 18-year spell of Australian domination last year, will be the centerpiece of the Ashes Exhibition opening in Sydney on Saturday before traveling to Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Hobart. A welcoming party that included former Australian captains Steve Waugh, Allan Border and Mark Taylor were on hand to see the case descend to the tarmac at Sydney's international airport.
■ NHL
Malkin to make debut
Evgeni Malkin, a 20-year-old star Russian center who left his homeland to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, will make his National Hockey League debut in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, the club announced. Malkin will return from a dislocated left shoulder to face the New Jersey Devils. He resumed training last week and because no surgery was needed has been cleared by the team's medical staff. The 2006 Russian Olympian deserted Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the Russian League during the off-season in order to play in the NHL, ditching a club for which he produced 36 goals and 55 assists in 132 games the past three seasons. Malkin was selected second in the 2004 NHL Draft but suffered the shoulder injury in his first exhibition game on September 20 against Philadelphia after colliding with teammate John LeClair and landing awkwardly on the ice.
■ Rugby union
Tawake sacrifices finger
Fijian-born rugby player Jone Tawake has had a finger amputated in the hope of ensuring his fitness for next year's World Cup in France. The 24-year-old ACT Brumbies No. 8, capped by Australia at under-19 and under-21 level, had the ring finger on his right hand removed in an operation in Canberra last week, media reported yesterday. Previous attempts to repair a dislocation had resulted in a severe infection. "It was a big decision," said Tawake, a former Waratahs forward weighing 118kg and standing 1.87m. "I thought about my rugby future, especially with my history of injuries, and I couldn't afford to have any more time off. With the World Cup next year, I wanted to give myself every chance and to do that I needed a good pre-season," he said. Tawake is on the fringes of Wallaby team selection.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was