■ England
Niemi close to returning
Fulham expects goalkeeper Antti Niemi to be back in action within weeks after an MRI scan showed the Finnish goalkeeper suffered no spinal damage. Niemi was taken to hospital after landing awkwardly on his head in Fulham's 0-0 draw with Watford on Monday. "Having seen the incident on TV, I can see that it looked very bad but fortunately it looked a lot worse than it was," Niemi said on Wednesday. "However, I consider myself very lucky as the outcome could have been much worse." The 34-year-old was released from hospital on Monday, and scans revealed he suffered "irritation to the related soft tissues in his neck." Niemi played in all 20 games for the 12th-placed Cottagers this season.
■ England
`Drunk' Hammers hard up
West Ham "played like a bunch of drunks" in its 6-0 loss to Reading, midfielder Yossi Benayoun said on Wednesday. "I am ashamed. I am shocked at the way we played," Benayoun told the Sun newspaper. "If we keep on playing like this, we will definitely be relegated. The situation is very bad. I felt like crying." The 26-year-old Israel midfielder called the Hammers' next league match against Fulham on Saturday week "the most important of the season." After beating Manchester United 1-0 in manager Alan Curbishley's debut on Dec. 17, West Ham has drawn one and lost three straight to remain in 18th and in the relegation zone. The Hammers were promoted in 2005 and subsequently qualified for the UEFA Cup by reaching the FA Cup final, and finished ninth in the table. "Let's be serious, this isn't the team that played last year, so it's just nonsense to carry on comparing the two seasons," Curbishley said.
■ England
Leeds bag Tore Andre Flo
Leeds signed striker Tore Andre Flo from Norwegian club Valerenga on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Flo hooks up again with manager Dennis Wise and coach Guy Poyet, who he played with at Chelsea, after signing a contract that will keep him at Elland Road until the end of the season. Flo scored 28 goals in 76 appearances for Norway before retiring from the national side in 2004. He played at Rangers, Sunderland and Italian side Siena. Leeds, currently 23rd in the 24-team League Championship, also signed striker Tresor Kandol to a three-and-a-half year contract and Espanyol defender Armando Miguel Correia De Sa until the end of the season for an undisclosed fee.
■ England
Charlton appeal red card
Charlton appealed defender Osei Sankofa's red card on Wednesday from its 4-0 loss to Arsenal. Sankofa was sent off on Tuesday for taking down Arsenal forward Robin van Persie inside the area in the 29th minute. The Addicks believe that referee Mike Riley wrongly judged that Sankofa was the last man and that Van Persie was in an offside position. Striker Thierry Henry subsequently scored from the penalty spot. The appeal was to be heard by the Football Association's disciplinary commission yesterday.
■ England
FA charges Chris Morgan
The Football Association charged Sheffield United defender Chris Morgan with violent conduct on Wednesday. An FA disciplinary commission will hear the case today, which left the United captain until yesterday afternoon to appeal. Morgan appeared to strike Arsenal forward Robin van Persie in the stomach out of sight of referee Alan Wiley in United's 1-0 win over Arsenal last Saturday.
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