■ SOCCER
Eto'o now a Spaniard
Barcelona confirmed on Wednesday that their Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto'o has obtained Spanish nationality. Eto'o is the third Barcelona player to obtain Spanish nationality after Brazilian Ronaldinho and Mexico's Giovani Dos Santos. Spanish league sides are only permitted three non-European players.
■ SOCCER
Court reins in Web site
A Beijing court has ruled that a Chinese Web site violated the Juventus soccer club's copyright by using the name of the Italian team in its domain name, state press said yesterday. The court ruled that Li Ning had violated the club's copyright by selling Juventus merchandise on its juventus.com.cn Web site, the Beijing Times reported. The report did not say if the Chinese Web site was fined or ordered to shut down. The ruling comes after China's international commercial arbitration panel ruled in August last year that Li violated the Juventus copyright, but Li refused to abide by the ruling and brought the case to the Beijing court, the paper said.
■ DOPING
90g of HGH seized
Police raided a chemist in New York where they seized more than US$7 million in human growth hormone (HGH) from China, the US media reported on Wednesday. The raid carried out on Tuesday was the second in five months on Lowen's Pharmacy in the suburb of Brooklyn which has been linked to a larger probe of HGH in professional sports. Officials discovered 90g of raw HGH, worth an estimated US$7.2 million. They also found kilogram quantities of steroids, comprising testosterone, nandrolone and stanazolol.
■ SUMO
Asashoryu delays return
Troubled sumo grand champion Asashoryu has injured his ankle and is unlikely to return to Japan this month as was originally expected, a report said on Wednesday. "I don't think there is any way there will be a return to Japan this month," Kyodo News said quoting an unnamed trainer who returned from visiting the top-ranked wrestler in his native Mongolia. Asashoryu hurt ligaments in his left ankle during training, while a lingering injury to his left elbow is not healing as hoped, the report said. The 27-year-old Mongolian returned home a month ago for treatment after doctors said he had developed mental problems following his harsh punishment by sumo authorities. Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, was suspended until late next month after he was caught on camera playing soccer in Mongolia despite skipping a non-competition tour of provincial Japan citing injuries.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Thrashers coach fired
Bob Hartley was fired on Wednesday as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, who have lost their first six games and are the only National Hockey League team without a victory. General manager Don Waddell will be the coach until a replacement is found. He has no timetable for selecting a replacement. "We felt after six games the direction we were going was not the direction we wanted to go," Waddell said at a news conference in announcing the first coaching change of the NHL season. "We couldn't let it go any further."
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