■ Soccer
Joyriding ex-pros arrested
Former England internationals Robert Lee and Warren Barton were arrested on Wednesday after allegedly stealing a limousine and crashing into a parked car. Lee, 41, and Barton, 38, who played together at Newcastle in the 1990s, were questioned by police on suspicion of taking away and driving while unfit. The stretch Mercedes was taken and then driven into a van in east London on Tuesday evening. Scotland Yard refused to name the men but said a 41-year-old and 38-year-old were being questioned. Police are also investigating an allegation of theft of a satellite navigation system and a mobile phone from the car.
■ Rugby Union
O'Neill lashes out at Jones
Australian Rugby Union chief John O'Neill lashed out at ex-Wallabies coach Eddie Jones yesterday for helping South Africa in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup. O'Neill, who returned to rugby this year after a stint heading Australian soccer, said he could not understand why Jones joined the Springboks for a training camp in Cape Town this week. "It's not something you would expect of a former Australian coach," O'Neill told Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "He would argue `I'm a professional' -- I would put a caveat in there that you've got to be a bit more discerning. In a sense, it tells you that the game has changed and coaches will take on jobs driven by motives other than loyalty and patriotism."
■ Soccer
United fans invade pitch
Enthusiastic Manchester United fans stormed the field and briefly interrupted a training session held by the English soccer powerhouse in the southern city of Guangzhou yesterday. After star players like Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney emerged from the dressing room to loud cheers, a sea of screaming Chinese fans ran onto the pitch at a Guangzhou stadium, some taking pictures, Hong Kong television footage showed. The players were sent back to the dressing room and waited until the crowd dispersed before returning, said Vicky Ho, spokeswoman for United's Asian tour. Ho said none of the players were injured, although they were overwhelmed by the passion of their Guangzhou fans. The chaos was initiated by one or two fans who rushed to the pitch once they saw the team arriving, she said. Yesterday's practice session came ahead of United's friendly match today against local team Guangzhou Pharmaceutical -- the last stop on the club's Asian tour.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Staal brothers arrested
Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal and younger brother Jordan, also a National Hockey League forward, were arrested after the elder sibling's bachelor party went out of control. Both players were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. Jordan, an 18-year-old left wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, was also charged for underage drinking in the incident on Monday in Cook County, Minnesota. Police said they received complaints about loud music and screaming and warned the revelers "multiple times" to leave the party area. "After leaving the property, the group gathered on Highway 61 and began harassing passing motorists," according to a statement from the Cook County sheriff's department. That's when law-enforcement officials arrested 14 members of the celebrating group at 4am in the morning. Eric Staal, 22, is set to be married next month.
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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