■ Tennis
Molik makes Aussie Open
It's been a tough road back from illness for Alicia Molik. Formerly the sixth-ranked player in the world, the Australian was struck down by a debilitating inner ear illness last year that saw her ranking slide out of the top 100. Yetserday, Molik, now No. 165, won the Australian Open wild card tournament that advances her to the main draw of next year's first Grand Slam beginning on Jan. 15 in Melbourne. Molik, who reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last year, beat Jessica Moore 6-4, 6-4.
■ Soccer
Wenger in hot water
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was charged with improper conduct on Monday for criticizing match officials during his team's draw with Portsmouth. The Football Association said the Frenchman was cited "in relation to his words and behavior" toward the officials at halftime of Sunday's game. Wenger was unhappy about the awarding of a free kick to Portsmouth, which led to Noe Pamarot's opening goal in first-half injury time. He complained to the fourth official and was ejected from the touchline by referee Steve Bennett, forcing him to watch the second half from the stands. The game ended 2-2. Wenger has until Jan. 5 to respond, the FA said.
■ Golf
Woods wins again
Tiger Woods was voted player of the year for a record eighth time by the Golf Writers Association of America, which selected Lorena Ochoa the best female player. He finished the season with six consecutive US tour victories. He won 97 percent of the vote. Woods has won the award every year except 1998 and 2004 since his first full season as a pro. Ochoa, the 24-year-old from Mexico, won six times on the US LPGA Tour and swept its major honors by leading the money list with over US$2.5 million, winning the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average and winning its points-based player of the year.
■ Soccer
Fulham sink 'Boro
Brian McBride and Heidar Helguson scored first-half goals as Fulham beat struggling Middlesbrough 2-1 in the English Premier League on Monday. Helguson converted a penalty kick in the 12th minute after George Boateng brought down Moritz Volz. McBride doubled the lead in the 35th with a shot that deflected off Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott. Middlesbrough pulled within a goal in the 74th minute when Mark Viduka capitalized on a poor goal kick from Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi. Fulham improved to 23 points and 11th place, while Middlesbrough remained in 17th, putting pressure on manager Gareth Southgate.
■ Football
Owens fined US$35,000
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens has been fined US$35,000 for spitting at Atlanta Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall, the NFL said on Monday. The incident occurred in the first quarter of the 38-28 victory over the Falcons on Saturday. Hall knocked Owens out of bounds on a pass play and the Cowboys receiver responded by spitting in his opponent's face. "I got frustrated and I apologize," Owens told the NFL Network. "It was a situation where he kept bugging me and getting in my face."
■ Football
Bruised McPherson sues
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Adrian McPherson is suing the Tennessee Titans because the NFL team's mascot hit him with a golf cart before the second half of an August exhibition game. McPherson filed his civil lawsuit on Friday in Davidson County Circuit Court and also also seeking US$5 million in compensatory damages for the Titans' negligence and US$15 million in punitive damages. A team spokesman said on Monday afternoon the Titans were aware of the lawsuit but had no further comment.
■ Baseball
Larry Sherry dies
Larry Sherry, MVP of the 1959 World Series as a reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 71. Sherry died early on Sunday at his home in Mission Viejo, according to his brother, Norm, a former catcher who also played for the Dodgers. Sherry was 2-0 with two saves and an 0.71 ERA to lead the Dodgers past the Chicago White Sox in six games to win the baseball World Series in their second year in Los Angeles. He was the winning pitcher in the fourth and sixth games.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but