■ CRICKET
Black Caps drop Vincent
The stop-start career of New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent was halted by another red flag yesterday when he was dropped from the squad for the one-day series against Sri Lanka. Vincent struck a dismal run of form against South Africa and Australia recently and will make way for Peter Fulton, who is returning from knee surgery. Fulton has been scoring plenty of runs in New Zealand domestic cricket and New Zealand coach John Bracewell is hoping he can add some backbone to the faltering batting lineup.
■ BASEBALL
Dog eats World Series ball
The World Series ball is gone and Jonathan Papelbon has an excuse: My dog ate it. Papelbon blames the loss of the ball on his bulldog, Boss. "He plays with baseballs like they are his toys," Papelbon said. "He jumped up one day on the counter and snatched it. He likes rawhide. He tore that thing to pieces. Nobody knows that. I'll keep what's left of it." While the Red Sox have swept two of the past four World Series, they've had less luck when it comes to preserving the ball that was caught for the final out. It took a prolonged negotiation before first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz agreed to donate the 2004 ball to the Hall of Fame.
■ FORMULA ONE
Piquet Jr aiming to win
Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr has set high goals for his debut season in Formula One. "I'm here to try to win," the 22-year-old Brazilian said. "I think I'm capable of becoming the world champion." Piquet Jr -- son of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet -- was Renault's test driver this year and will drive alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who moved back to the French team after a controversial season with McLaren.
■ SWIMMING
Web pics outrage Laporte
French Sports Minister Bernard Laporte expressed outrage on Thursday over the posting of nude photos on the Internet of Olympic swimmer Laure Manaudou, saying he hopes those responsible will be punished. The images appeared on Internet sites over the weekend. "I find this destabilization campaign shameful," Laporte told Europe-1 radio. "I hope we find those who acted in this hateful way and that they will be punished because they deserve to be punished." Manaudou won the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
■ BASEBALL
Cuba to play in 2009 WBC
Cuba plans to participate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the nation's top sports official praised Major League Baseball (MLB) for engaging in "respectful dialogue" when it looked like the embargo might keep the country out of last year's tournament. Jose Ramon Fernandez, a Cuban vice president and head of the Olympic Committee, said on Wednesday in an interview that "for awhile we have been thinking about the Classic. It's been authorized. We have said we are going to participate." Cuba finished second in the first edition of the WBC, falling to Japan 10-6 in the final in San Diego. But the team was almost barred from participating when the US Treasury Department initially denied it a permit. An appeal by MLB and a promise by Cuba that any winnings would go to Hurricane Katrina relief -- thus ensuring no money went to Fidel Castro's government -- successfully reversed that decision.
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