Sports Briefs

■ Soccer
Ferguson backs AC Milan
Sir Alex Ferguson, whose Manchester United side lost to Champions League finalists AC Milan in the semi-finals, said in comments published yesterday he is "absolutely certain" the Italian side will beat Liverpool in the Athens final in two weeks. "I'd bet for sure that Milan will win the Champions League," Ferguson said in the Sun tabloid. "I'm absolutely certain of it." Milan and Liverpool will clash in a repeat of the 2005 Champions League final which the English side won on penalties, after overcoming a 3-0 half-time deficit. Ferguson said that he plans to acknowledge Milan's victory with a bottle of wine presented to him by Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti after Ferguson's side was defeated in the semi-finals. "I said to Carlo at the end of our semi-final that there is no way he can now not win this competition ... Carlo gave me a magnificent bottle of wine," Ferguson said.

■ Rugby Union
Fiji budget for World Cup
Fiji will spend F$2 million (US$1.23 million) on its bid to win this year's Rugby World Cup in France, the Fiji Times newspaper reported yesterday. "This includes the whole program for 43 days for the Pacific Nations Cup and 78 days for the Rugby World Cup," Fiji Rugby Union high performance manager Peter Murphy said. "It's a lot of money and the budget includes both preparations and tournament days and we'll be spending roughly F$33,000 [US$20,460] a day." The budget, presented by Murphy to the board of the Fiji union on Tuesday, covers transport, player allowances, accommodation, meals, telephone, medical costs, insurance, uniforms, laundry and bonuses for winning. Fiji will send 30 players and 15 management and support staff to the Sept. 7 to Oct. 20 World Cup, Murphy said.

■ Cricket
Selectors caught in sting
Indian cricket was plunged into fresh controversy yesterday after a TV sting caught national selectors blaming ex-coach Greg Chappell and senior players for a disastrous World Cup campaign. Private broadcaster Headlines Today showed selectors accusing the Australian of running a divide-and-rule policy. Chappell quit as coach of India after the World Cup debacle that saw them exit in the first round after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The four national selectors -- Ranjib Biswal, Bhupinder Singh Sr, Venkatapathy Raju and Sanjay Jagdale -- squarely blamed Chappell and his star cricketers for the humiliation. Asked if reports of factionalism in the team were correct, Singh replied, "not 100 percent, but by and large correct. And Greg Chappell is to blame for it." Biswal said that Chappell could not understand the psyche of Indian cricketers. "He was more like a schoolmaster than a friend," he said.

■ Baseball
Hurdle urges instant replay
Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants Major League Baseball to take another look at instant replay. Twice in three games, Hurdle contends, wrong calls by umpires cost the Rockies home runs. He spoke to the MLB office on Tuesday to voice his concern. "It's a very difficult call and my point of contention is it either is or is not a home run," Hurdle said. "I don't think that's an area where the umpires' discretion should be involved." The NFL, NBA and NHL all use some form of instant replay. The issue has been raised in recent years by baseball officials, but never gotten very far -- MLB commissioner Bud Selig is among those against it.