■ ATHLETICS
Thanou gets Jones' silver
Greek sprinter Ekaterina Thanou, herself no stranger to doping controversy, has been awarded the 100m silver medal won by Marion Jones at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton after the disgraced US athlete was stripped of her medals after admitting using the banned steroid THG. Jones came second in Edmonton, but all her results since September 2000 have been expunged. Thanou was involved in a scandal on the eve of the 2004 Olympics in Athens when, together with compatriot Kostas Kenteris, she missed a drugs test. Thanou was banned for two years after missing what was her third test. But the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport's world governing body, said on Monday its hands were tied when it came to the redistribution of Jones' Edmonton silver.
■ SOCCER
Capello faces prosecution
England coach Fabio Capello could be tried for false testimony and obstructing the course of justice by Rome judicial authorities, Italian media reported on Monday. Capello is being investigated in relation to the activities of Gea World, a sports agency which represented several footballers, and their dealings with Juventus during the England boss' spell at the helm of the Italian giants. On Monday morning Capello was questioned, alongside ex-Juve directors Luciano Moggi -- who was brought down over the matchfixing scandal that saw Juventus relegated to Serie B for the 2006-2007 season -- and Antonio Giraudo, by the Rome court, but all three repeatedly answered: "I can't remember." That led prosecutor Luca Palamara to warn that they risked being charged with reticence, which effectively amounts to obstructing the course of justice, and possibly false testimony, or perjury.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Watchdog clears NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL) won a legal faceoff on Monday when Canada's antitrust watchdog ruled there was nothing improper in its handling of a failed bid for the Nashville Predators. The Competition Bureau started an investigation last year when the NHL reportedly balked at an attempt by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, to buy the Nashville team with an eye to moving the club to southern Ontario. Locating the team in Hamilton, Ontario, would have put it in direct market competition with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, but there was no evidence the NHL blocked the move for antitrust reasons, the regulators said. "The NHL was consistently of the view that the Nashville Predators franchise should not be relocated at this time, irrespective of where the franchise would be relocated," the bureau said.
■ SOCCER
Stuttgart, automaker ink deal
Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart have leased their stadium name for 30 years to Mercedes Benz, the German car manufacturer confirmed on Monday. The 55-seater stadium, one of the few remaining in the German top flight that does not bear the name of a business, will be inaugurated the Mercedes-Benz-Arena during a friendly against English side Arsenal on July 30. It is currently called the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, after the founder of German vehicle manufacturer Daimler and inventor of motor fuel. Renovated for the 2006 World Cup, plans are underway to demolish the stadium next year and replace it with a new 60,000-seater without an athletics track, which hosted the 1993 world championships.
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