■ SOCCER
Lazio ease relegation fears
Lazio eased their relegation fears and boosted their Champions League morale with a 2-0 win over Catania on Saturday. Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev were on target in a timely tune-up ahead of their Champions League trip to Real Madrid tomorrow, where they have to win to have any hope of making the knockout round. "We have nothing left to lose at Real," Lazio coach Delio Rossi said. "There are teams far stronger than Lazio in the Champions League, but I know full well my lads will not let their heads drop." Fabrizio Miccoli and Fabio Simplicio's stunning goals gave Palermo a 2-0 win over Fiorentina who had to play the final 22 minutes with 10 men after Alessandro Gamberini went off injured and all three substitutions had already been used.
■ BOXING
Abraham stops Elcock
Undefeated Arthur Abraham stopped Wayne Elcock in the fifth round to retain his IBF middleweight title in Basel, Switzerland, on Saturday. The Armenia-born German knocked down Elcock in the second round and then again in the fifth. The referee stopped the fight after Abraham landed a flurry of punches to the Englishman's head. Abraham -- who extended his record to 25-0 with 20 knockouts -- has been eyeing a unification bout against either Jermain Taylor or Kelly Pavlik next year in the US. The 27-year-old's only scare came in the third round, when an accidental head-butt opened up a cut above his right eye. But Elcock, 18-3, was unable to take advantage. "I'm happy that I won tonight," Abraham said. "It wasn't an easy fight."
■ SOCCER
Etoile Sahel edge Pachuca
Tunisia's Etoile Sahel overcame Mexico's Pachuca 1-0 at the Club World Cup yesterday to set up a lucrative semi-final against Boca Juniors. Midfielder Moussa Narry's deflected 25m drive five minutes from time finally settled an absorbing contest in favor of the African champions in Tokyo. Argentine giants Boca await Etoile on Wednesday. European champions AC Milan play either Japan's Urawa Reds or Iranian side Sepahan in the second semi-final on Thursday. Sepahan will be aiming to avenge their defeat by Urawa in last month's Asian Champions League final when the teams meet in Toyota today. Pachuca will consider themselves unlucky after sustained early pressure led to striker Juan Carlos Cacho crashing a header against the crossbar in the 15th minute. Christian Gimenez shaved the bar with a free kick, while defender Julio Manzur had a goal ruled out for offside midway through the second half for offside.
■ SKIING
Coach criticizes course
The women's World Cup downhill race should never have taken place because the course was dangerous and contributed to two skiers being injured, the head coach of the Austrian women's World Cup team has said. Four Austrian skiers withdrew after their team mate Alexandra Meissnitzer suffered a heavy crash, injuring her left knee. Later in the race France's Anne-Sophie Barthet also suffered a heavy fall and was left screaming after crashing into the side of the course -- a French team official said she had dislocated her knee and would spend the night in hospital having undergone minor surgery. "Meissnitzer has a bruised bone -- she was lucky actually," Austrian coach Herbert Mandl said at the team captain's meeting following the race.
■ SE ASIA GAMES
Thai fails drug test
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