■ FORMULA ONE
Hamilton caught speeding
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton had his driver's license suspended for a month in France after he was caught speeding. Hamilton was clocked going 196kph in a Mercedes on the A26 highway near the northern town of Laon on Sunday night, police spokesman Arnaud Dujardin said on Tuesday. "He [Hamilton] recognized the infraction he had committed straight away," Dujardin said. "He was very courteous. The police officers then took him back to his hotel." Hamilton is banned from driving on French roads for one month.
■ SOCCER
Rooney plans honeymoon
With England not playing in next year's European Championship, Wayne Rooney is planning a honeymoon instead. The England striker intends to use the involuntary break in June to wed his longtime girlfriend, Coleen McLoughlin. "For a while we couldn't make any plans because I didn't know whether I would be playing in Euro 2008," said the Manchester United star, who has been dating McLoughlin for five years. "But when we failed to qualify, as devastating as that was, we were able to come up with some firm dates. Had England got through to the tournament then we would have married later on in the summer, but that meant we wouldn't have had a honeymoon. So I guess there is some upside to it." The couple are yet to set a date.
■ BOXING
Valuev to face Lyakhovich
Former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev of Russia will meet Sergei Lyakhovich of Belarus in Nuremberg on Feb. 16, the promotor said on Tuesday. Valuev has changed trainers since his surprise defeat to Uzbekistan's Ruslan Chagaev in April, the only defeat of his professional career, and has fought only once since, a points victory over Canadian Jean-Francois Bergeron at the end of September. "I want to get my title back and this fight against Lyakhovich will put me one step nearer," said the 2.13m, 145kg Valuev, who could get a rematch with Chagaev should he win in February.
■ SOCCER
Teen arrested in rape case
Police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with a rape investigation at a hotel being used by Manchester United players for their Christmas party. Greater Manchester police said the man surrendered for questioning and remained in custody during their inquiries. As is usual with police policy, they declined to identify him or say whether he was connected with the club. Earlier, the police said the alleged assault happened at the Great John Street Hotel in downtown Manchester, England.
■ OLYMPICS
Vancouver in the black
A strong Canadian dollar and sponsorship windfalls have left Vancouver's Olympic organizing committee in good financial shape. In its latest quarterly report, released on Tuesday, Vancouver's Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) said it was confident planning for the 2010 Games remained on track and on budget -- and they've even managed to save a little cash. Built into the C$580 million (US$577 million) budget for venue construction for the Games was an emergency fund that the committee was forced to access earlier in the planning process. But Tuesday's report suggested VANOC was able to funnel C$250,000 back into the fund after one venue was completed under budget.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite