■ Police arrest River fans
Argentine federal police said on Friday they detained four suspected River Plate hooligans wanted in connection with the Aug. 7 shooting death of Martin Gonzalo Acro. The slain man was a fan from a rival River gang. They added they were seeking 10 others. Judge Jose Luis Rodriguez ordered the detentions and police reported those detained were arrested amid a series of raids in around Buenos Aires and in central Cordoba Province. The killing of Gonzalo, 29, remains unsolved.
■ Soccer
Porto drop first points
Portuguese Premier League leaders Porto were held to a 1-1 home draw by Belenenses on Friday, ending their 100 percent record this season. Despite the setback before Tuesday's Champions League match against Marseille, Porto comfortably retained the lead with 25 points from nine matches, nine ahead of Benfica. Porto striker Helder Postiga scored his first goal of the season, slipping a low shot under Belenenses goalkeeper Costinha after 20 minutes. Five minutes after half-time Belenenses midfielder Ze Pedro slotted in a pass from Brazilian winger Roncatto to equalize.
■ Trotting
Thieves steal star horse
A celebrated Italian trotter worth several million euros, Equinox Bi, was stolen overnight from a training stable near northeastern Venice, its owner said on Friday. Equinox Bi, winner of this year's Breeders Crown Open Trot in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada, was to have raced for trotting's most prestigious prize, the 1 million euro (US$1.45 million) Prix d'Amerique in Paris in January. Equinox Bi's trainer was in the US to sign a stud service contract worth some US$6,000 for his star to stand at Blue Chip Farms in New York next year when the theft occurred. Another racehorse, Lemon Dra, was stolen from the center in Mirano two years ago and never recovered.
■ Soccer
Dida attacker sentenced
The fan who ran on to the pitch during Celtic's Champions League win over AC Milan last month was sentenced to 120 hours of community service on Friday after admitting causing a breach of the peace. Robert McHendry, 27, ran on to the pitch and confronted visiting goalkeeper Dida as Celtic celebrated a last-minute winning goal against AC Milan in Glasgow on Oct. 3. McHendry made the slightest of touches with his hand on Dida's cheek, who collapsed theatrically to the ground. UEFA responded to the keeper's antics by banning him for two matches, one of which was suspended on appeal. Celtic were fined 60,000 Swiss francs (US$50,750) for failing to control their crowd.
■ Doping
Chinese duo fail tests
Two Chinese athletes have failed drugs tests at a domestic event in the city of Wuhan, the official Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The two were wushu competitor Zhao Jie and cyclist Xu Xiang, who were taking part in the 6th Chinese City Games, the report said. They were suspected of using "stimulants and anabolic agents", Xinhua quoted event spokesman Jiang Zhixue as saying. Chinese officials have been at great pains to assure the world its doping problems are a thing of the past after several scandals uncovered systematic doping in the 1990s. With much prestige invested in next year's Beijing Olympics, China has repeatedly pledged it would rather win no gold medals than have one positive test.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later