■ Rugby Union
Willie Mason suspended
Australian rugby league second rower Willie Mason was given a one-week suspension yesterday for striking Britain's Stuart Fielden during Saturday's Tri-Nations match won by Britain. Mason pleaded not guilty to punching Fielden in the third minute, citing self-defense. But the Tri-Nations judiciary panel said Mason's reaction was "disproportionate" to Fielden's provocation in the match won 23-12 by Britain. Mason was also fined. The one-week ban means he'll miss the Nov. 18 match in Brisbane against Britain, but be available for the tournament final a week later in Sydney against either Britain or New Zealand.
■ Horse racing
Yeats running in Melbourne
Irish stayer Yeats heads a list of seven overseas horses trying to take home Australia's biggest racing prize, the Melbourne Cup, over 3,200m today at Flemington. Yeats, ridden by controversial English jockey Kieren Fallon, has two major races victories this year. It's the one the six-year-old Yeats didn't win -- the Group 1 Irish St Leger -- that nearly caused trainer Aidan O'Brien to cancel his trip to Australia for the AU$5 million (US$3.85 million) race. On Sept. 16, Yeats, the odds-on favorite, finished second in the 2,800m St Leger, and connections for O'Brien told Australian officials that the horse, with earlier wins in the Ascot Gold Cup in June and the Goodwood Cup in August, wouldn't be coming. But Yeats' strapper David Hickey said O'Brien changed his mind.
■ Cricket
Jayawardene to be retained
Mahela Jayawardene will be retained as Sri Lanka's captain for next year's cricket World Cup following his impressive record which also won him the ICC's best captain's award for this year, an official said. "We are looking at having him up to the World Cup," Sri Lanka's chief selector Ashantha de Mel said. He said even though an official announcement is yet to be made, Jayawardene deserves to be retained after he led the team with success since being awarded stand-in captaincy in March after Marvan Atapattu's injury.
■ Boxing
Briggs looks to future
An hour after his stunning, last-second knockout victory over Sergei Liakhovich in Phoenix, Arizona, new WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs began to look ahead. If it were up to Briggs, he would take on IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko to unify two of the four heavyweight titles. Briggs claims Klitschko's camp once led him to believe he was in line for a title shot, only to snub him. "I've got a vendetta against him," Briggs said on Saturday. "When it comes to feelings, I want him. If it's money, or something like that, then I've got to take somebody else. But feeling-wise, I want him."
■ Golf
Asian Tour adds matches
The Asian Tour will add five tournaments to its schedule for next year, with three new events in Indonesia and a first-ever stop in Cambodia, organizers said yesterday. Prize money for next year was also bumped up by more than US$2 million to a record US$26.5 million from this year, the Asian Tour said in a statement. Total prize money has more than doubled since 2004, it added. "The expansion of golf in Asia is epitomized by a number of new events that will take place next year, most notably in Indonesia, and it will be exciting to break new ground with the inaugural Cambodian Open," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla-han said in the statement. The Tour's flagship Singapore Open, won by Australia's Adam Scott this year, will also increase in prize money from US$3 million in 2006 to US$4 million next year. No. 1 Tiger Woods, South Africa's Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, Scotland's Ryder Cup star Colin Montgomerie and Scott were among the notables in the region recently.
■ Ice Skating
Canadians top dancing
Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, the world silver medalists, stood atop the Skate Canada podium after a home victory in ice dancing on Sunday. Teenagers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the world junior champions this year, were right below them when the free dance concluded the four-day Grand Prix meet on Sunday. Canada has rarely had such a potent 1-2 punch in ice dancing. Dubreuil and Lauzon scored 196.68 points, placing them well clear of Virtue and Moir, who had 171.92. Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali of Italy finished third. Other winners in Skate Canada were two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel in the men's event, Canada's Joannie Rochette in the women's and China's Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao in pairs.
■ Soccer
Revolution makes MLS Cup
League MVP Taylor Twellman scored in the fourth minute to lead the New England Revolution over DC United 1-0 and to a second consecutive appearance in the Major League Soccer final in the US on Sunday. New England will play Houston next Sunday in the MLS Cup in Frisco, Texas after the Dynamo defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-1. It will be the Revolution's third appearance in the title game; they lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002 and again last year. Though this is the first season for the Dynamo, the squad is made up primarily of players and coaches from the San Jose Earthquakes, the MLS champion in 2001 and 2003. For New England's goal, Pat Noonan lifted a cross to Twellman, who lost defender Brian Namoff and put a 14m shot past goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
■ Basketball
Concerns linger for Hornets
NBA commissioner David Stern said there is no question about the Hornets' full-time return to New Orleans in the short term, but that long-term concerns about the city's recovery and corporate support for pro basketball need to be resolved sooner than later. "We have to do it shortly upon the return," Stern said during a visit on Sunday for the Hornets' home opener against the Houston Rockets, which the Hornets won 96-90. "We have to lock it all in, otherwise it becomes a lame duck and that's really bad for us, but it's even worse for New Orleans," Stern said. Sunday's game was the first of six the Hornets will play in New Orleans this season. The rest, including any playoff home games, will be in Oklahoma City as part of a two-year agreement following Hurricane Katrina.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two