■ AUTO RACING
Peugeot wins at Interlagos
Peugeot's Marc Gene and Nicolas Minassian won the traditional Mil Milhas Brasil race at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with teammates Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin finishing second to clinch the Le Mans Series title. Gene and Minassian, driving a Peugeot 908, finished the 1,600km, 374-lap race in 8 hours, 58 minutes, 21.822 seconds late on Saturday night. Lamy and Sarrazin, also with a Peugeot 908, crossed the finish line at the 4.2km Interlagos track 12 laps behind, a result that guaranteed them the Le Mans Series title. Lamy and Sarrazin had the pole position but had to overcome mechanical problems that forced them to start from last place. Felipe Ortiz, Stuart Hall and Jamie Campbell Walter, with a Creation-Judd, finished third, 18 laps behind.
■ SPEEDSKATING
Wotherspoon wins in Utah
Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon won his second World Cup speedskating 500m of the weekend and also took the 1,000m on Sunday. Wotherspoon won the 500 in 34.14 seconds, slightly off the world record of 34.03 he set on Friday at the Utah Olympic Oval. South Korea's Lee Kang-seok, who held the record until Friday, was in the same pairing with Wotherspoon and finished second in 34.23. Wotherspoon added his third gold medal of the weekend in the 1,000 with a time of 1 minute, 7.03 seconds, edging the US' Shani Davis (1:07.04). In the women's races, Italy's Chiara Simionato won the 1,000 in 1:13.47. The Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova wrapped up the races by winning the 3,000m in 3:57.98 on the same track where she won two titles at the World Single Distances Championships in March.
■ FOOTBALL
Coach Dick Nolan dies
Former NFL player and coach Dick Nolan died on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers said on their Web site. Nolan, who was 75 and had spent several years battling prostate cancer, coached both the 49ers and the New Orleans Saints and is the father of current San Francisco coach Mike Nolan. "The San Francisco 49ers organization is mourning the loss of one of our legends with the passing of Dick Nolan," 49ers owners Denise and John York said in a statement. Nolan won an NFL championship as a player with the New York Giants in 1956 and became the 49ers head coach in 1968. He led the team to three consecutive division titles. He was fired after the 1975 season following records of 5-9, 6-8 and 5-9. He had a 56-56-5 record with the 49ers.
■ AUTO RACING
Button threatens to quit
Jenson Button threatened to leave Honda unless the Formula One team can provide him with a more competitive car. Button scored six points in this year's F1 competition and teammate Rubens Barrichello didn't earn any. Button is blaming the car. "The car was a complete dog," Button was quoted as saying in the Mail on Sunday. "I'm just not interested in racing like this any more." Button said he was jealous of the success of Lewis Hamilton, who finished second in the drivers' championship in his first year in the sport, because his McLaren car was a better one. "I did a bloody good job with what was given to me and I'm not afraid to say so," Button said. "I remain one of the best drivers but until I'm given a competitive car, it's difficult to prove it." Button won his first Grand Prix last year in Budapest, Hungary, after seven years of racing.
■ CRICKET
Kiwi replacements fly in
Medium-fast bowler Kyle Mills and opening batsman Jamie How will join the injury-hit New Zealand cricket team in South Africa. New Zealand Cricket said yesterday that Mills will replace Shane Bond, who suffered an abdominal strain during New Zealand's record 358-run loss to South Africa in the first Test match which ended on Sunday. Bond will return to New Zealand. How will join the Kiwi squad on standby to cover several other players who have minor injuries. Both Mills and How were to join the New Zealand team for next month's limited-overs series in South Africa, but their departure has been brought forward. The second Test of the two-match series begins at Centurion on Friday.
■ BASEBALL
Fukudome a free agent
Chunichi Dragons outfielder Kosuke Fukudome declared free agency yesterday, opening the door for a possible move to the major leagues. "I'd like to see what kind of interest I get," Fukudome said at a news conference. "We'll see where this goes." Fukudome, 30, is regarded as one of the best outfielders in Japanese professional baseball. He was a key member of the Japan team that won the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March last year. He had surgery on his right elbow in August and sat out the Japan Series, but has 192 homers and a .305 batting average over nine seasons with the Dragons, who won their first title in 53 years on Nov. 2. Many have compared his defensive skills in the outfield to those of Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki.
■ POOL
Peach wins pool title
England's Daryl Peach clinched the World Pool Championship title on Sunday, beating Philippine qualifier Roberto Gomez with a nerve-wracking 17-15 victory. Peach, the first Englishman to win the world crown, played solid safety shots to seal his victory in Manila's Araneta Coliseum. "There was pressure. It was just the most amazing match I was ever involved in. In the end, all I thought about was keeping my head still and making one shot at a time," said the 35-year-old from Blackpool who won US$100,000 in prize money. Gomez, nicknamed "Superman," was bitterly disappointed with his performance, which earned him US$40,000 as runner-up. "When it was 15-12 in my favour, I felt I could make it to the end but I missed a crucial jump shot in the deciding last two racks which cost me the title," he said.
■ SUMO
Hakuho beats Homasho
Mongolian grand champion Hakuho overwhelmed Homasho yesterday to pick up his first win at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukoka, Japan. Hakuho, who lost to Kotoshogiku on Sunday, fought off an attempted arm throw in the day's final bout at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and shoved the top maegashira out to improve to 1-1. Homasho fell to 0-2. Hakuho also lost on the first day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, but came back to win the Emperor's Cup in the September meet. In other major bouts, Mongolian komusubi Ama overpowered Bulgarian Kotooshu when he got his hand on the neck of the ozeki and thrust him out to improve to 2-0. Kotooshu couldn't use his size advantage and dropped to 1-1 after being shoved into the first row of seats. Ozeki Chiyotaikai deployed a barrage of arm thrusts to the head to send Kotoshogiku out over the straw ridge. Chiyotaikai picked up his second win while komusubi Kotoshogiku dropped to a 1-1 record.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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