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■ SOCCER

Japanese club eyes Ronaldo

A cash-rich Japanese soccer club is interested in acquiring Brazilian superstar Ronaldo on loan as the AC Milan striker recovers from a ruptured tendon, a report said yesterday. The unidentified J-League club, rumored to be in or around the greater Tokyo area, has ¥1 billion (US$10 million) a year to spend on players, the daily tabloid Nikkan Gendai reported. The 31-year-old Ronaldo has ruled out retirement after undergoing surgery in February for a ruptured tendon in his left knee. He is expected to be sidelined for at least nine months. “He is expected to become able to run in May and train with the ball before the summer. That is enough to attract attention because he is Ronaldo,” the daily quoted an unnamed Japanese broadcaster as saying. “Depending on progress in his recovery, he may be asked to extend his loan period and play in the J-League in the 2009 season” which starts next March, the person said.



■ OLYMPICS

Rower completes trial

Controversial Australian rower Sally Robbins completed a time trial for this year’s Beijing Olympics in a double scull on Tuesday. Robbins, dubbed “Lay Down Sally” after she stopped rowing toward the end of the eights final at the 2004 Athens Games, now faces an anxious wait to see if she will row in Beijing in August. She was partnered in the trial by Catriona Sens, who was in the same eights boat as Robbins four years ago and infamously slapped her at a function after the Games. The pair negotiated the 2,000m course in seven minutes, 16.42 seconds in windy conditions at the Sydney International Regatta Center before taking part in a group hug with four other members of the sculls training squad. Donaldson has not yet decided whether Robbins will make the team for Beijing, due to be named next Tuesday.



■ SWIMMING

France rules out LZR ban

French swimming chief Claude Fauquet said on Tuesday that it would be “legally impossible” to ban competitors from wearing the record-breaking LZR Racer swimsuit at the French national championships, which act as qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics, starting in Dunkirk on Sunday. “My position is the same as the [French] Federation, which has decided that it will not prevent the wearing of equipment validated by the international federation [FINA] at the French championships,” Fauquet said. “Any athlete who could not wear this suit and did not qualify for the Games would go before any court and win his case, it’s obvious. I don’t feel like creating the conditions for a legal and political battle after the qualifiers.”



■ BASEBALL

Thome punished for arguing

Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox was suspended for one game on Tuesday and fined an undisclosed sum by Major League Baseball for “inappropriate actions” during a game against Detroit last week. He was ejected for arguing a call after he struck out. Thome said he would not appeal and would serve his suspension on Tuesday, when the White Sox were home against Oakland. He said he was due for a day off anyway. “You get caught up in the situation, emotions. No grudges, you move on,” Thome said before the game against the A’s. Thome was ejected in the fifth inning last Friday following a third-strike call by plate umpire James Hoye. Replays showed the 3-2 pitch borderline low. Thome, the designated hitter, headed toward first thinking he had walked. He then turned and began arguing with Hoye. Manager Ozzie Guillen had to separate Thome from the umpire.
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