■ BASEBALL
Tickets sold out in Japan
Tickets for Major League Baseball's season-opening series between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in Japan have been sold out, organizers said yesterday. Tickets for the March 25 and March 26 games at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome went on sale on Feb. 9 and sold out in less than two weeks. Organizers said some tickets remain for the preseason games the Red Sox and Athletics will play against the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers on March 22 and March 23. Boston and Oakland will be the third set of teams to open the regular season at the Tokyo Dome, following the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs (2000), and the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay (2004). A scheduled 2003 series between Oakland and Seattle at the Tokyo Dome was canceled because of the threat of war in Iraq.
■ ATHLETICS
Isinbayeva loses meet
Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva lost at an indoor track meet in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on Wednesday, only four days after setting her 21st world record. The Russian cleared 4.61m at the Pedro's Cup meet to finish in a tie for second. Former record holder Svetlana Feofanova won the event with a vault of 4.71m. On Saturday, Isinbayeva cleared 4.95m at the Pole Vault Stars meet in Donetsk, Ukraine, to set her 10th indoor world record. After her most successful season in 2005, when she set four indoor and five outdoor world records, Isinbayeva switched to a new coach. She made 14 attempts last season to improve her 5.01m world outdoor record set at the world championships in Helsinki, Finland, in 2005. But despite the record drought, Isinbayeva still shared the US$1 million jackpot with 400m runner Sanya Richards by winning every Golden League meet last year.
■ HANDBALL
Hearing set for next month
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) plans to hold a hearing next month in Lausanne, Switzerland, to resolve the Asian Olympic handball qualifying dispute. CAS said on Wednesday that the Asian Handball Federation and the national associations of Kazakhstan and Kuwait filed a request for arbitration against the International Handball Federation (IHF) and asked for the case to be heard the week of March 10. The Asian federation has challenged a decision by the IHF, the sport's governing body, to order replays of Asian Olympic qualifying matches following questionable referee decisions. The qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics were initially held in September, when referees from Jordan and Iran were brought in at the last minute by the Asian federation to replace German referees.
■ SOCCER
Police detain former star
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne was being treated for mental health problems yesterday, a day after being detained by police. Northumbria Police said it received a report of concern for a 40-year-old man staying at the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead on Wednesday night. "The man has been detained under the Mental Health Act," Northumbria Police said in a statement. The individual was not named but all major British news organizations reported the man was Gascoigne. Under the Mental Health Act, police can take a person from a public place to a "place of safety" -- a police station or hospital -- if they are "suffering from mental disorder" and "in immediate need of care or control.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care