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■ Soccer
Record signing for Bremen
Werder Bremen said on Saturday they had signed midfielder Carlos Alberto in a 7.8 million euro (US$10.8 million) transfer deal, the most expensive in the German club's history. He last played at Fluminense in Brazil on loan from Corinthians. "I'm here to win titles with Werder," the 22-year-old said after his first training session with his new club. "I like Bremen and would only have wanted to come here." Alberto won the Champions League in 2004 with Portuguese club Porto.

■ Motorcycling
Barbera, Simoncelli fined
Italian rider Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera of Spain have both been fined US$2,000 after they clashed during 250cc qualifying at the German Grand Prix on Saturday. As the pair were entering the pit lane side-by-side, Barbera lashed out at Simoncelli with his arm and the Italian responded with a kick, the International Motorcycling Federation said. It was unclear what caused the altercation. Barbera, fifth in the world championship standings, was seventh quickest in Saturday's qualifying and Simoncelli was eighth fastest.

■ Soccer
Jose Mourinho relieved
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho revealed yesterday that he and Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich have held clear-the-air talks in an effort to repair their stormy relationship. "I had a very good and long meeting with Abramovich at Stamford Bridge last week," Mourinho said in News of the World. "It left everything clear between us so there is no doubt, no doubt at all. I know what he thinks, I know what he feels, I know what he wants. And he knows me as a person, as a manager and he knows the way I work. It was an easy, long and enjoyable meeting and I was more than delighted -- the air is clear again and there is no problem. We have a professional relationship and we understand each other."

■ Rugby Union
Dominici happy with health
France international Christophe Dominici insisted on Saturday that giving up smoking had helped keep his World Cup dream on track at the age of 35. The Stade Francais winger only packed up cigarettes a year ago and Dominici said that kicking the habit has played a major role in his present form. "It is more in the recovery than in the performance. You take a lot longer to recover when you are smoking," Dominici said on Saturday. Despite reaching the veteran stage, the winger said he is in the best possible shape ahead of the World Cup which starts on Sept. 7 with hosts France facing Argentina at the Stade de France in Paris.

■ Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar tunes up
Sachin Tendulkar tuned up for the first Test at Lord's with a masterly 171 against the England Lions in Chelmsford, England, on Saturday. Tendulkar hit 26 fours and a six to rescue India from 14-3 at Chelmsford and shared in stands of 140 with Yuvraj Singh, who made 59, and 99 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was 44 not out at the close of the second day. When he was caught by Owais Shah off seam bowler Graham Onions, India was 304-5. It finished the day on 336-7 in reply to 413-8 declared by the Lions, who are made up of Test stars and potential England players.

■ Volleyball
Brazil, Russia make final
Brazil and Russia advanced to the final of the World League volleyball tournament on Saturday. Brazil, the reigning world and Olympic champions, beat Poland 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, while Russia defeated the US 25-22, 17-25, 25-13, 25-21 in the semi-finals of the tournament held at the Spodek Arena in Katowice. Brazil were due to play Russia in the finals yesterday, while Poland and the US were due to compete for the bronze.

■ Athletics
Taylor wins second medal
Christian Taylor of the US claimed his second podium at the World Youth Championships on Saturday, winning the triple jump with a leap of 15.98m -- his personal best and the season's longest jump in the youth category. The 17-year-old Taylor, who took the bronze medal in the long jump on Friday, also had the competition's second longest leap of 15.64m. "I am definitely very satisfied with my performance today. Another personal best, that's perfect," Taylor said. "I played basketball before and somebody noticed that I had a good potential for triple jump. So that's how I got into athletics, I have been training for four years now." Two Russians also made the podium -- Aleksey Fedorov was second with 15.59 and Gennadiy Chudinov third with 15.54. Vicky Parnov of Australia cleared 4.35m to win the girls' pole vault, while Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece cleared 4.25 for the silver and Sweden's Petra Olsen took bronze with 4.05.
■ Boxing
Kermit wins by knockout
Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron knocked out Argentina's Walter Dario Matthysse in the second round in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to retain the International Boxing Federation welterweight title. Cintron delivered a devastating left-right combination to finish off Matthysse 29 seconds into the second round. He had already sent the Argentinian challenger to the canvas twice before, including in the opening seconds of the second round with a right hook. Matthysse was able to get to his feet, but Cintron immediately pounced on the 28-year-old, landing a left uppercut, then a hard right to end the bout. Cintron had sent Matthysse to the canvas for the first time in his career with a right in the first round. It was the fourth straight victory for Cintron since he suffered his only career loss on April 23, 2005 against Antonio Margarito, who holds the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization welterweight title. Cintron said this fight should show his 2005 loss to Margarito was an abberration. "Everyone knows Kermit Cintron is back," he said. "That fight with Margarito was nothing. This is it. This is the real Kermit Cintron."

■ Indy Car
Rain causes postponement
The IRL Firestone Indy 200 was postponed on Saturday night and rescheduled for yesterday, marking the first rainout in the IndyCar Series in seven years. The cars made it as far as the starting grid before the rain began. The showers slowed several times, but heavy downpours followed after workers tried to dry the track. After a delay of nearly three hours, the race at Nashville Superspeedway was rescheduled for yesterday afternoon. It was the first rain postponement in the IndyCar Series since June 2000 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Most of the crowd had left and race crews had retreated to their trailers by the time officials announced the postponement.


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