■ Soccer
Fighting starts early
Apparently, former world champions Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga can't wait to get into the ring on Sept. 8. A press conference to announce their bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles degenerated into a brawl on Wednesday as Mayorga's trash talking goaded Vargas into action. When Nicaragua's Mayorga said he was going to do Vargas' family a favor by forcing him into retirement, specifically mentioning Vargas' wife, Vargas snapped. "I will do Vargas a favor by retiring him in this fight so his family doesn't have to suffer every time he steps in the ring," Mayorga said. "I'm going to do your wife a favor and not let her cry anymore after I disfigure you." "You don't talk about my wife," shouted the Californian, who leapt up and landed several blows that left Mayorga with a slightly cut left eye and bloody lip.
■ Soccer
Real Madrid unveil Pepe
Spanish giants Real Madrid on Thursday unveiled their new Brazilian defender Kleper Laveran Lima Ferreira, otherwise known as "Pepe." The arrival of 23-year-old Pepe, who cost the Spanish champions 30 million euros (US$41.3 million), has raised a few eyebrows in the Primera Liga but the Brazilian is determined to prove he is worth every penny. "I am going to be very committed and get my shirt wet with sweat, it is up to me to show how much I am worth." The fee paid by Real for a relatively unknown player provoked criticism from Barcelona president Joan Laporta. "This kind of transaction, these elevated fees, raise the market prices for everyone. We have to work on more appropriate amounts," he said. Pepe has agreed a five-year contract and will immediately join up with the squad and newly appointed head coach Bernd Schuster.
■ Soccer
Argentina off to winning start
Florencia Quinones and Clarisa Huber each scored as Argentina beat Panama 2-0 in the women's soccer competition to kick off the Pan American Games on Thursday. Also, striker Tashana Vincent scored a 47th-minute winner to lead Jamaica over Ecuador 1-0. The opening ceremony was yesterday at Maracana, and the women's soccer tournament began a day earlier to accommodate the competition's long schedule. Quinones scored in the 15th minute with a powerful shot from outside the area, hitting the right upper corner of the net. Huber added the other in the 62nd after the Panama defense failed to clear the ball after a free kick. The Jamaicans played a woman down from the 70th after Omolyn Davis was sent off for a foul.
■ Motor Racing
Future of F1 in US unclear
The US Grand Prix won't return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next year, and it's unclear if the Formula One race will remain in the US. Speedway chief executive officer Tony George said on Thursday that he and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone agreed not to schedule the event for next year. The only US-based race on the F1 schedule had been held at Indianapolis the past eight years, drawing some of the biggest crowds on the circuit. "We did agree it was prudent to try and leave the door open for the future," George said. "My sincere hope is that we will have an opportunity to bring it back in the not-too-distant future." George, who had set Thursday as the deadline for reaching an agreement to extend the contract with F1, said he did not believe a US Grand Prix would be held elsewhere next year, but that such a decision would be up to Ecclestone.
RSS