■ FOOTBALL
No comment on Brady injury
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady skipped part of practice on Thursday, but coach Bill Belichick would not comment on whether it was because of a possible ankle injury. The National Football League Most Valuable Player, who is preparing to lead the Patriots into Super Bowl XXXXII against the New York Giants on Feb. 3, was photographed on Monday wearing a cast-like walking boot while outside the New York apartment of his supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen. He was then seen on Monday night and Tuesday walking without the boot. Various reports have said the injury is a mild high ankle sprain, but Belichick declined to confirm that. "I don't have any comment on it," he said. Brady himself said on his weekly radio show on Monday morning that he would "have to be on a stretcher" to miss the Super Bowl.
■ RALLYING
Loeb leads in Monte Carlo
Four-time world champion Sebastien Loeb of France took the lead on Thursday at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally. Loeb, who is looking for a record fifth Monte Carlo title, won the second stage and moved to a 12.7 second lead over Citroen teammate Dani Sordo. The Frenchman, quoted on the World Rally Championship's Web site, said he gingerly negotiated icy conditions in the first stage that was won by Sordo. Sordo's car lost two light pods when it hit a hay bale in the first stage and he struggled to see without his headlights during the second. "It was very difficult for me to get a good feeling in there," Sordo said. "The visibility was bad and the cars ahead had pulled some dirt onto the road, making it very slippery in places."
■ CYCLING
Greipel wins fourth stage
Germany's Andre Greipel won the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under cycling race when he overpowered the field in oppressive conditions at the end of the 134km route yesterday. Australian Mark Renshaw (Credit Agricole) finished second to retain the ochre leader's jersey on an eventful stage from Mannum to Strathalbyn in South Australia. Italian Elio Rigotto (Team Milram) was disqualified after he brought down Mathew Hayman in the finishing sprint. The Australian crashed heavily and fractured his left collar bone after Rigotto lifted his head into the Rabobank rider's elbow and knocked him off his bike.
■ SOCCER
Barca held, Racing win
Barcelona were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Villarreal in their Spanish Cup quarter-final first leg clash on Thursday. Barca, who trail bitter rivals Real Madrid by seven points in the race for La Liga title, have not won the Spanish Cup for 10 years and will need to score in the return leg next week if they are to keep up their hopes of ending that streak. Racing Santander put one foot in the semi-finals after beating Athletic Bilbao 2-0 with goals coming from Congo striker Mohammed Tchite and Ebi Smolarek in a three-minute period late in the second half.
■ SOCCER
Lazio win first leg of tie
Lazio scored two quick goals and beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Thursday in the first leg of the Italian Cup quarter-finals. Aleksander Kolarov and Valon Behrami scored within a minute of each other to put Lazio up 2-0 by the 21st minute and Giampaolo Pazzini replied for Fiorentina in the 40th minute.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but