■ SOCCER
City invite Iraqi for trial
Manchester City have invited Iraq international midfielder Nashat Akram for a 10-day trial, the club said on Wednesday. Akram was cleared to try out for Sven-Goran Eriksson's side by his club al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and will join Asian Player of the Year Yasser al-Qhatani who has also secured a trial at Eastlands. The 23-year-old Akram was runner-up to Saudi Arabia skipper al-Qhatani, who arrived in Manchester last week, in this year's Asian soccer awards.
■ BASEBALL
Padres seal deal with Prior
The San Diego Padres have agreed on a one-year contract with right-handed hurler Mark Prior, who became a free agent when the Chicago Cubs chose not to sign him for next year. The move will be a homecoming for San Diego native Prior, whose career has been disrupted by a series of injuries. "Mark is a competitor and is working hard to regain the form that made him one of the great young pitchers in the game," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. Last year, he made only nine starts and he missed all of last season after underdoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in March.
■ SOCCER
Families criticize Maradona
Families of victims of a deadly 1994 bomb attack on a Jewish center have hit out at Diego Maradona after the Argentine legend said he wanted to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Relatives of the 85 people who died in the attack on the Jewish-Argentine Mutual Association community center in Buenos Aires in July 1994 have fought a long battle to bring the killers to justice. Iran has been accused of being behind the attack which Jewish groups insist was carried out by Islamic militants. The Tehran government has vehemently denied any involvement. "I believe Maradona is wrong and I would like it a lot for him to meet us," said Sergio Burstein, a member of the victims support group formed in the aftermath of the blast.
■ WINTER OLYMPICS
Environmentalists pan plans
Environmentalists said on Wednesday that the Russian government has ignored their concerns in planning for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and three planned construction projects would cause irrevocable harm to the mountainous area on the Black Sea. Igor Chestin of the World Wildlife Fund expressed the most alarm about plans for the bobsled and luge tracks, which would require leveling a wide swath of forest. Environmentalists said construction of an Olympic village and a skating complex also threatened the ecosystem of the area. The Sochi 2014 organizing committee defended the chosen site for the bobsled and luge tracks, saying in a statement on Wednesday that it had studied the environmental impact and found it acceptable.
■ BASEBALL
Lawyers probe allegations
Allegations linking Roger Clemens to doping are being investigated by his lawyers, the superstar pitcher's lead attorney told the New York Times on Wednesday. Rusty Hardin said his firm had begun an investigation into how the charges came to be made in the Mitchell report on doping in baseball. Clemens has denied the allegations. "We are convinced the conclusions in Mitchell's report are wrong and are investigating the findings ourselves," Hardin told the newspaper.
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