■ Cricket
Speed wants more tests
A top official of the International Cricket Council wants all the major cricket-playing countries to regularly conduct drug tests of its players after two Pakistan fast bowlers were withdrawn from the Champions Trophy for failing dope tests. "I would urge those not already doing so to follow suit for the good of the game," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement issued on Tuesday. Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif's "A" samples tested positive to the banned substance Nandrolone in out-of-competition testing conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last month. The PCB suspended the pair pending the outcome of analysis of their backup samples.
■ Soccer
Pele's daughter dies
Sandra Arantes do Nascimento, the illegitimate daughter of Pele who sued him to admit he was her father, died of breast cancer, officials at the Beneficencia Portuguese hospital in the port city of Santos, Sao Paulo state, said on Tuesday. She was 42. Nascimento, who was born Sandra Machado, was the child of an affair between Pele and housemaid Anizia Machado in 1963. For years, Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, denied he was the girl's father and refused to submit to DNA tests. Nascimento sued him in 1991 and was recognized by courts as his daughter based on DNA evidence in 1993. Pele appealed the court's decision, but it was upheld in 1996 and she was allowed to adopt Pele's surname. Nascimento wrote a book The Daughter the King Didn't Want, detailing how she felt about her father's rejection. She later won a city council seat in Santos.
■ Baseball
Piniella to manage Cubs
Lou Piniella was introduced as the newest manager of the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, vowing to make a winner of the Major League Baseball club whose last World Series appearance came in 1945. "Urgency is important," Piniella said. "We're going to win here, and that's the end of the story." Piniella agreed on Monday to a three-year contract worth nearly US$10 million, with an option for a fourth year. "I'm just a little piece of the puzzle. My job is to come in here and unite this team," he said at a news conference. Piniella said he was assured by general manager Jim Hendry that the Cubs would make moves necessary to improve the team.
■ NFL
Robinson suspended
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson was suspended without pay for a minimum of one year on Tuesday for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. The league's action came hours after Robinson pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving and fleeing police stemming from a high-speed chase in August. Robinson was taken into custody earlier on Tuesday because of a warrant in Blue Earth County, Wisconsin, for a previous traffic violation.
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