Print

Mail

wiki links

Sports Briefs

■ BOXING

Ali awaits B sample result

Top US amateur boxer Sadam Ali is awaiting the B sample result from a positive doping test for cathine, a banned stimulant found in some cold medicines. Ali, a lightweight who won the 2006 US Golden Gloves, tested positive at an exhibition in China in November. The 19-year-old from New York has gone on a voluntary suspension while awaiting the results. Jim Millman, the CEO of USA Boxing, said Ali and five other US boxers suffered from flu-like symptoms while in China. Possible penalties, which would be handed down by the International Amateur Boxing Association, could range from a warning to a two-year suspension. To have a chance at making the Olympics, Ali must be eligible for an Olympic qualifier scheduled for March 10 to March 18 in Trinidad and Tobago.



■ SOCCER

Fans make racist threats

The Serbian Orthodox Church in the southern Croatian town of Split said on Wednesday it received a letter purporting to be from fans of Croatian First Division side Hajduk Split threatening ethnic Serbs and Jews with "extermination." The letter signed with "Hajduk Jugend," a direct allusion to the "Hitler Jugend" (Hitler Youth) glorified Croatia's World War II Nazi-allied regime and listed threats such as "Serbs should be hanged high," and "Juden Raus," the statement from the church said. The church, which posted the letter on its Web site, added that Croatian police were investigating threats. Media were already reporting last year that fans of Hajduk Split sold and wore T-shirts bearing Nazi symbols and reading "Hajduk Jugend."



■ SOCCER

`Geordie messiah' returns

Newcastle United dramatically turned the clock back more than a decade on Wednesday by naming Kevin Keegan as manager. Keegan, 56, who played for the Geordies in the 1980s and managed them for five years in the 1990s, was chosen as the club's fifth boss in three and a half years. He succeeds Sam Allardyce who left last week after eight months in the job. "Geordie messiah to be unveiled as new manager," read a headline on the club's official Web site ahead of Wednesday night's 4-1 win over Championship (second division) side Stoke City in an FA Cup third-round replay. Keegan, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract according to British media reports, attended the Stoke match and was given a rapturous welcome by Newcastle's fans when they saw him enter the directors' box soon after kickoff.



■ Soccer

Podolski linked with City

Bayern Munich's unsettled Germany international Lukas Podolski could be on his way to English Premier League club Manchester City, according to Sport Bild. Podolski signed a four-year deal with Bayern in July 2006 in the wake of being voted the best young player at the World Cup, but has since failed to cement a regular starting place in the Bundesliga side. According to the magazine, Podolski and his agent have already held talks with City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Bayern chiefs have already held talks with a representative of the English club. City are reportedly willing to pay the Bundesliga giants £16 million (US$32 million), although Bayern do not want Podolski to leave before the end of the season.
This story has been viewed 712 times.