■ SOCCER
Scots favor George Burley
The next Scotland coach was expected to be named yesterday, with George Burley favored to get the job. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) said on Tuesday that the interview panel asked to name a successor to Alex McLeish had decided on a preferred candidate. The SFA board will be asked to ratify the decision yesterday. Burley, who is manager of Southampton in England's League Championship, has emerged as the new favorite ahead of Motherwell's Mark McGhee, Celtic assistant coach Tommy Burns and former Rangers and Liverpool chief Graeme Souness. The Scots have been looking for a new coach since McLeish quit in November to join Birmingham City in the English Premier League.
■ SOCCER
Iraq to host games in Dubai
Iraq will host its three World Cup qualifying matches in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The decision to play the third-round games in the Gulf state was taken at Iraq's request, FIFA said on Tuesday. Iraq's national team has not played an international match in its country since the 2003 US-led invasion. Iraq is in the Asian region's Group 1 along with Australia, China and Qatar. Two teams from each of the five groups will advance to the next round. Iraq will play their home games against China on Feb. 6, against Australia on June 7 and against Qatar on June 22.
■ SOCCER
Washington to host match
Anguilla's World Cup qualifier against El Salvador will be played in Washington on March 26 because the Caribbean island does not have a stadium that meets FIFA's new requirements on safety, security and quality. The opener of the two-leg series will be played on Feb. 6 in San Salvador. The winner advances to a second-round matchup with Panama. FIFA previously said the Dominican Republic, US Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Surinam will not be allowed to host World Cup qualifiers.
■ SOCCER
Manos to name manager
Real Zaragoza were to present Javier Irureta as their new manager yesterday. The former Deportivo La Coruna head coach replaces Ander Garitano, who resigned on Tuesday citing personal reasons after only eight days in charge. Garitano had replaced the fired Victor Fernandez. The 59-year-old Irureta, whose last job at Real Betis saw him resign in December of the 2006-2007 campaign, signed a contract to see out the remainder of the season. In seven seasons at Deportivo, Irureta led the club to their first league title in 2000, a Copa del Rey trophy in 2002 and five consecutive years of Champions League soccer, including a 2004 semi-final appearance when they lost 1-0 on aggregate to eventual champions Porto.
■ RUGBY UNION
Marco Bortolami injured
Italy lock Marco Bortolami will miss at least the first two games of the rugby Six Nations tournament because of an eye injury. Bortolami, Italy's captain until last week, suffered a fracture near his left eye this weekend while playing for his club Gloucester, and will be out for at least four weeks, the Italian Rugby Federation said on Tuesday. Italy open the Six Nations against Ireland on Feb. 2 in Dublin, and play England eight days later. Bortolami was to be examined by a specialist in Milan to see if he needs surgery, but could be back in time for the Feb. 23 game against Wales.
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