■ Baseball
Selig rakes in cash
Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig earned as much last year as some of the league's top players. Selig received US$14.5 million in the 12 months ending Oct. 31, according to MLB's tax return, which was obtained by the Sports Business Journal. Bob DuPuy, MLB's chief operating officer, received US$4.87million the publication reported in this week's issue. The publication, citing unidentified sources, said Selig received a US$6 million base salary, an equal amount in a bonus and the remainder in expenses and personal fees.
■ Swimming
Competitors go missing
Australian immigration agents are searching for two Democratic Republic of Congo swimmers who went missing after competing in the World Swimming Championships, officials said yesterday. Immigration officers said officials from the world swimming body FINA were trying to locate Aymard Lumuamu-Dimbu and Iglay Dangassat-Sissoulou, who failed to catch their flight back home. Immigration officials said the men would be able to lodge asylum claims but warned that they could damage their case by evading officials or overstaying their visas, which expire in June.
■ Cricket
Villages ban cricket
Sick of the hullabaloo over India's dismal performance at the cricket World Cup, a string of villages in the north of the country have banned the game. Elders from 28 villages in Jind district decided enough was enough, the Asian Age reported yesterday. They met at Uchana, north of New Delhi, on Tuesday and unanimously declared cricket a "meaningless game," the daily said. Cricket was "no different from alcoholism or the DJs who dish out noisy and senseless Bollywood songs and western music," the council said. It went on to decree that "nobody would be permitted to either play cricket or even watch matches on TV," in the district of Haryana state.
■ Cycling
Sample implicates Ullrich
A DNA sample taken from former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich has been matched to blood bags seized in a Spanish doping scandal, German prosecutors said on Tuesday. Ullrich retired from cycling on Feb. 26, 10 months after his name surfaced in Operation Puerto -- leading to the 1997 Tour winner being excluded from last year's race. He has denied using any banned substances. Earlier this year, Ullrich gave a saliva specimen to be used for a DNA comparison with a blood sample seized in the Spanish investigation. Ullrich has maintained his innocence of doping. In a brief statement posted on Ullrich's Web site, the cyclist's lawyer said he did not rule out manipulation.
■ Boxing
Authorities investigate death
Philippine boxing officials said they planned to fly to Bangkok yesterday to investigate the death of a Filipino boxer hours after an unauthorized match believed to have been arranged by an illegal boxing syndicate. Lito Sisnorio, 24, former World Boxing Council youth flyweight champion, died of suspected brain injuries on Saturday after a fourth-round knockout by former WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul of Thailand. Nasser Cruz, boxing division chief of the government's Games and Amusement Board, which issues permits to Filipino boxers said Sisnorio did not have permission to fight. A permit is issued after a boxer receives medical clearance and his boxing record is reviewed. Cruz said Sisnorio's fight record failed to qualify him.
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