■SOCCER
Lens crash out of cup
French first division strugglers Lens, coached by former international striker Jean-Pierre Papin, slumped to a new low on Friday when they were dumped out of the French Cup by second division Niort. Lens, third from bottom in the top flight, were undone by a 30th-minute strike from Jean-Francois Riviere in what proved to be the only goal of the game in the round of 32 clash. Riviere's goal was set-up by a right-wing cross from Benoit Leroy.
■TENNIS
Kuerten eyes French Open
Triple French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten said on Friday that he had a "99 percent" chance of playing at Roland Garros this year. "I love Roland Garros. It's where I have had the best performances of my career," the 31-year-old, who was crowned French Open champion in 1997, 2000 and 2001, told Brazilian media. Kuerten has been dogged by injuries in the last two years and hardly played at all last year being eliminated in the first round of the US Open and Miami Masters. The former world No. 1 has slumped to 680 in the current rankings.
■SOCCER
Star under investigation
A judge requested further investigation on Friday into Valencia Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes' involvement in a nightclub incident in which two police officers were allegedly attacked. Fernandes appeared in court in what was expected to be a fast-track trial to answer a charge of "resisting authority" during the incident early on Friday morning. However, the judge agreed to a request from the prosecuting lawyer, who argued for a more detailed legal procedure, which included physical examination of the officers. Fernandes' club and international teammate, defender Miguel Brito, said the nightclub trouble occurred when Fernandes, Brito and his brother were accused by another customer of stealing a watch, Efe and Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported. Brito was celebrating his 28th birthday. The police were called, leading to Fernandes, Brito's brother and four others being taken to the police station.
■ CRICKET
England axe Prior
England have dropped wicketkeeper Matt Prior for next month's tour of New Zealand after he dropped a number of chances in the series against Sri Lanka. Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose has been selected in his place and the uncapped 25-year-old will compete with Durham's Phil Mustard for a place in the team. Middlesex opening batsman Andrew Strauss who was omitted from the Sri Lanka tour was recalled to the 16-man Test squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday. "Ambrose fully deserves an opportunity at this level following impressive performances for the England performance squad in India before Christmas and for Warwickshire last season," said chairman of selectors David Graveney in a statement. "We felt in this instance that, as well as Matt Prior has batted, there are areas of his wicketkeeping that he needs to work at and that's the reason why we've made that decision," he said at a later news conference. Graveney said Strauss would come back stronger from the enforced break. "He's worked very hard on his game, we need his experience for what is going to be a tough series," he said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and