■ Soccer
Clubs fined over violence
Panathinaikos and AEK Athens were fined 120,000 euros (US$152,100) on Friday following the violence which marred their derby match earlier in the week. Monday's game was delayed by 20 minutes after fighting between rival fans led to 20 people being injured. A spokesman for AEK said the club had already lodged an appeal against the fine. Panathinaikos are expected to follow suit. Another Athens club Ionikos have been docked four points and fined 80,000 euros after club president Christos Kanellakis was found guilty of trying to hit a referee after a league game.
■ Baseball
Bonds to be free agent
San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds will become a free agent at the earliest opportunity and the team has yet to enter talks with him about staying, his agent said on Friday. Bonds, 21 home runs away from breaking Hank Aaron's career record of 755, will be able to file for free agency the day after the World Series concludes. "We've had no discussion up to this point," Jeff Borris, Bonds' agent said in a telephone interview, referring to the Giants. Bonds, 42, has been with the Giants for 14 of his 21 years in Major League Baseball and played a major role in the BALCO steroids scandal that plagued professional sports.
■ Golf
University drops range idea
Peking University has dropped a plan to build a golf practice range on its campus because of charges that the sport is too elitist, the official Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The prestigious university, a birthplace of the anti-establishment Cultural Revolution movement in the 1960s, announced in August that it would build the range as part of its physical education program. The plan sparked controversy among students and internet bloggers. Some said the sport was healthy and a useful networking skill, but others complained it was an activity for the rich and inappropriate at a university serving students from a range of backgrounds.
■ Soccer
Club denies razor rumor
Sheffield United have insisted that the training ground confrontation between striker Ade Akinbiyi and Claude Davis has been resolved. According to Friday's edition of the Daily Mail, Davis approached Akinbiyi while holding a razor as an argument, following the defender's sending-off against Everton last week, escalated. In a statement later Friday, the club said: "Following the allegations in a national newspaper concerning an alleged flare-up between Claude Davis and Ade Akinbiyi, Sheffield United has concluded its investigation. "The two players did have a difference of opinion, the sort of which occurs often in dressing-rooms throughout the land. Contrary to reports, no razors or knives were involved, the pair have shaken hands and the disagreement has been resolved."
■ Soccer
Bayern's Podolski out
German international forward Lukas Podolski is out for three weeks, his club Bayern Munich said on Friday, after suffering an injury in training. Podolski, who signed for the German double winners from relegated Cologne in the close season, has injured his heel and is also out of Germany's Euro 2008 qualifier against Cyprus on Nov. 15. The 21-year-old, young player of the tournament at the World Cup, was injured in a clash with Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel. He is struggling this season, though, having scored only one league goal, despite boasting an impressive record of 24 strikes in 38 international matches.
■ Basketball
Swift out for season
Seattle center Robert Swift is out for the entire NBA season after suffering a knee injury, his team said on Friday. Swift, who had only regained his place in the starting line-up at the expense of France's Johan Petro during the pre-season, injured his ligaments in a friendly against Sacramento on Wednesday. The 20-year-old will need to undergo an operation and will be out for around eight months. The injury leaves the SuperSonics with two relatively inexperienced centers in Petro, playing in only his second season, and Senegalese Mouhamed Sene, who is making his debut in the NBA. Both players are also just 20.
■ Golf
Canada lead in Eisenhower
Three-time Canadian Amateur champion Richard Scott birdied his final hole to help Canada take a one-stroke lead over the US after the second round of the Eisenhower Trophy on Friday. Scott finished with a 4-under 68 on the De Zalze course to share the individual lead at 7 under with the US' Chris Kirk, a former teammate at the University of Georgia. Kirk shot a 66 on the Stellenbosch course. Andrew Parr had a 71 and James Love added a 75. Only the top two scores count each day, leaving Canada with a 5-under 139 total and an overall score of 10-under 278. Mexico and the Netherlands were tied for third, three strokes back.
■ Golf
Tiger to skip Championship
Tiger Woods is skipping the US Tour Championship next week for the first time in his career, saying he was mentally and physically tired from a hectic stretch through the Ryder Cup. "I'm confident that this extended break will help me to recharge my batteries for the 2007 season," Woods said on his Web site. It was a huge blow to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake for the top 30 players on the US PGA Tour money list. Masters champion Phil Mickelson previously has said he was done playing for the year. And with Stephen Ames out with a back injury, the 27-man field will be the smallest since the Tour Championship began in 1987.
■ Baseball
Houston legend Niekro dies
Former major league pitcher Joe Niekro, Houston's career victory leader, died on Friday, Astros president Tal Smith said. He was 61. The two-time 20-game winner suffered a brain aneurysm on Thursday and was taken to hospital in nearby Plant City, where he lived. He later was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died. Niekro, father of San Francisco Giants first baseman Lance Niekro, won 221 games in his career but never became as well known as his Hall of Fame brother, Phil. Like his older brother, who won 318 games, Joe Niekro found success after developing the knuckleball and pitched into his 40s. They had a combined 539 major league victories, a record for brothers.
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