■ CRICKET
Lawson to coach Pakistan
Former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson said yesterday he had been confirmed as Pakistan's new cricket coach to succeed Bob Woolmer, who died during the World Cup campaign in the Caribbean in March. Lawson told Sky news he regarded the job - seen as one of the most difficult in the game - as "a wonderful challenge." "It's such a talented squad they have over there," he said after being informed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that he had secured the job. "When you look at the class of player they have, you just have to be excited about being involved with them." PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf had said earlier the race for the post was between Lawson and fellow Australian Dav Whatmore after a third countryman, Richard Done, had been eliminated.
■ RUGBY UNION
Hong Kong may host Test
Hong Kong's rugby union is in advanced talks to host a Test match between New Zealand and Australia next year, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) said it was negotiating with rugby authorities in Australia to organize the city's first top-tier rugby international. HKRFU commercial manager Warrick Dent said there was a "strong possibility" of the teams playing in the territory, which hosts the popular annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament. "There's still a lot to sort out yet but negotiations are going positively so far. Nothing is signed, sealed and delivered and it will be a few months before anything will be finally confirmed," he said. The newspaper said a possible date for the match would be November next year.
■ RUGBY UNION
Huxley out of decider
Australia fullback Julian Huxley has been ruled out of the Tri-Nations decider against the All Blacks on Saturday after picking up an injury when he was playfully tackled by a teammate at a party. The 27-year-old has played in all Australia's six Tests this year in the absence of the injured Chris Latham, but will miss the Bledisloe Cup crunch match Eden Park, Auckland after the high-jinx at the function in Canberra last Saturday. Huxley said he was tackled as a prank by ACT Brumbies teammate Gene Fairbanks at a party following an awards night for his Super 14 club, and suffered a thigh injury. "We were at a private function ... and it was just a joke gone wrong and it turned out to be quite embarrassing," Huxley told reporters yesterday. "It's really disappointing to miss the Test match."
■ SOCCER
Park Ji-sung out injured
Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung will miss the first half of next season following knee surgery, media reported yesterday. Park, who underwent an operation in the US in April, arrived on Sunday in his native South Korea and will join up with the United squad on their pre-season tour later this week. "I will be able to be back playing in January of next year," Park was quoted saying in local sports daily Sports Seoul. Park said his knee was healing well but that he would have to start months of intense rehabilitation when he returns to England next month. "It is very disappointing news but hopefully we have the squad to cover injuries this year," United manager Alex Ferguson said. Park, 26, joined United from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in 2005. United play FC Seoul on Friday, three days after a game against Japanese team Urawa Reds.
■ GOLF
Seve denies suicide rumors
Spanish legend Severiano Ballesteros has spoken publicly for the first time to deny a claim that he had attempted suicide. A report aired on Spanish television claimed that the 50-year-old had taken an overdose in despair following the death in a car crash of a close female friend. Ballesteros told BBC Radio Five: "I am perfect -- doing great. I know that a lot of rumors have been out all over the world, all as a consequence of one of the TV channels in Spain. They said things that were not even close to reality and that's why I have to make a statement later in the day to deny the things. I feel great -- as good as ever and I want to say that I really appreciate all the people for the phone calls and letters and everything. They were really worried about my health."
■ VOLLEYBALL
Brazil win World League
Reigning world and Olympic champion Brazil won another World League crown on Sunday, defeating Russia 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-22 to take the title for a seventh time. It was the fifth straight World League title for Brazil and sixth in seven years. Brazil also have won the last two world championship titles. The match in the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland, marked the third time the two nations have faced off in the final for the World League gold. Brazil won in 1993 while Russia claimed the 2002 crown -- both on Brazilian soil. Earlier on Sunday, the US defeated host Poland 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19 to win the bronze.
■ GOLF
Byrd earns third US tour win
Jonathan Byrd birdied three of the final five holes and shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic. It was the third US tour victory for Byrd, who finished the tournament at 18-under 266 -- one stroke ahead of Tim Clark (68). Third-round leader Nathan Green (71) finished in a tie for third with Troy Matteson (66) three strokes back. Byrd moved into a tie with Clark with a birdie on 17. Clark found a bunker on 17 and sent a 6-foot putt for par wide left for a bogey that put him at 17 under and in second place. Byrd finished with a par on 18, meaning Clark needed a birdie to force a playoff. That didn't happen. Instead, Byrd watched as Clark's approach on the par-4 hole settled on the left edge of the green -- just under 71 feet from the cup. His putt for birdie rolled wide left, giving Byrd the victory.
■ BASKETBALL
Union may appeal bans
The NBA players association is considering an appeal of the seven-game suspensions given to Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson for legal issues. Both players were suspended by the league on Saturday without pay and are scheduled to miss the first seven games of next season. "Based on prior precedent, we think the suspensions are excessive," union director Billy Hunter said on Sunday in a statement. Artest pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife. Jackson pleaded guilty last month to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside a strip club last fall. The seven-game bans topped the five games Ruben Patterson was hit with in 2001 after he entered a modified guilty plea in Washington state to third-degree attempted rape for allegedly forcing his children's nanny to perform a sex act on him.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier