■ Football
Vick indicted over dogs
NFL star Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday on charges of sponsoring a dogfighting operation so grisly the losers either died in the pit or sometimes were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others were charged with competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines. The operation was named "Bad Newz Kennels," according to the indictment, and the dogs were housed, trained and fought at a property owned by Vick in Surry County, Virginia.
■ Golf
Monty worries bookies
Colin Montgomerie has only seriously challenged to win the claret jug once, but the combination of his victory two weeks ago in Ireland and the British Open which starts at Carnoustie in his native Scotland today has bookmakers nervous. William Hill has lowered his odds to 25-to-1, but the number of bets placed on Montgomerie to win has been so large that bookmakers say the betting turnover would be more than US$50 million. The second worst-case-scenario for the bookmakers would be Luke Donald winning. The bookmakers say Phil Mickelson, who lost the Scottish Open in a playoff, was not getting much action at 14-to-1. Woods remained the favorite at 3-to-1, followed by Ernie Els at 12-to-1.
■ Rugby Union
'Boks ponder Zulu war dance
The Springboks are considering matching the All Blacks' haka at the rugby World Cup with a Zulu war dance they haven't used in 80 years. South Africa coach Jake White told the Star newspaper he has talked with national officials about reproducing the Zulu dance to answer the famed challenge New Zealand rugby teams have been performing before games for almost 120 years. "The history books show that the 1926 Springboks performed a Zulu war dance in major matches on their tour," White said. "New Zealand have come up with a new haka recently and, quite honestly, I would like to use ours as a challenge to them. We have done this challenge before in our team room in the four years since I have been involved as coach, but it hasn't really taken off as an idea to do it in public. Not yet, anyway," he said. "All I am saying is that maybe it is time we revived a genuine tradition from the past of South African rugby when we performed a Zulu war dance. This is no gimmick -- it is a part of our rugby history and tradition," White said.
■ Sumo
Hakuho in three-way lead
Newly promoted grand champion Hakuho yesterday bounced back from a loss the previous day and compatriot Asashoryu defeated early front-runner Kotomitsuki to set up a three-way lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Hakuho quickly sent Ama sprawling to the dirt with an onslaught of powerful pushes at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Hakuho improved to 10-1, while Ama fell to 3-8. Grand champion Asashoryu, who is gunning for his 21st Emperor's Cup, dispatched Kotomitsuki, grabbing the sekiwake's belt with both hands and throwing him onto the ground. Asahoryu, Kotomitsuki and Hakuho now lead the tournament with one loss each. Bulgarian Kotooshu got hold of rank-and-filer Miyabiyama by the back of his head and pushed him onto the dirt, improving to 7-4. Miyabiyama fell to 5-6. Ozeki Kaio survived an onslaught from Homasho, drawing back from his barrage of thrusts and pushing him down onto the dirt.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at