■ CYCLING
Event canceled after threat
South Korea’s cycling governing body canceled a slew of races at its main velodrome on Sunday after receiving anonymous warnings that the venue would be blown up, officials said. The Cycle Racing Association issued an emergency notice canceling all 14 events at Gwangmyeong Speedom, the country’s main velodrome south of Seoul. It also decided not to relay by satellite link another four events taking place at a different location. The association said an unidentified person faxed and called its offices Saturday warning them to manipulate the results of weekend events or face the explosion of the main velodrome. Police searched the velodrome but found no explosives, it said.
■ SOCCER
Rangers hobble into opener
Injury-plagued Rangers tackle little FBK Kaunas in a Champions League qualifier tomorrow, but the Lithuanians’ coach admits he’ll need superhuman powers to overcome the Scottish giants. Influential defender Carlos Cuellar suffered a calf injury in Rangers’ friendly win over Raith on Saturday and will miss the first leg of the second qualifying round tie. The former Osasuna man joins skipper Barry Ferguson as well as Chris Burke and Steven Naismith on the sidelines while striker DaMarcus Beasley will be out for another two weeks with a hamstring problem.
■ OLYMPICS
Aussies expect scandals
A majority of athletes in Australia’s largest-ever Olympic team believe the Beijing Games will be tainted by drug scandals, with nearly a fifth believing an Australian could be among the cheats, a poll showed yesterday. Three in four of those surveyed, including high-profile swimming captain and two-time gold medal winner Grant Hackett, believed athletes in Beijing would be using performance-enhancing drugs, the poll in the Herald Sun newspaper showed. “We would have our heads in the sand to think the Games will be clean, and that gets my blood boiling more than anything else in sport,” Hackett told the paper before leaving.
■ SOCCER
America beats Santos 3-2
Federico Insua looked impressive in his return to Azteca Stadium and Salvador Cabanas scored twice as America defeated Santos 3-2 in the Mexican Apertura on Sunday. Insua, the Argentine midfielder who last season with a knee injury, opened the scoring in the 15th minute and his cross in the 47th led to Cabana’s first goal. Cabanas’ second strike in the 86th made it 3-0 before Santos rallied too late with goals by Juan Pablo Rodriguez from a free kick in the 87th and Agustin Herrera in injury time. Second-half goals by Ismael Iniguez and Dante Lopez enabled Pumas to down Necaxa 2-0, while Monterrey drew 2-2 at Puebla.
■ SOCCER
Hertha fans trash tram
Two officers were injured when they tried to prevent Hertha Berlin fans from vandalizing a tram, police said on Sunday. Around 250 fans broke the street car’s windows and doors after their team beat visiting fourth-tier FC Magdeburg 4-2 on Saturday. One officer was hurt on the head, the second through smoke inhalation. Damage to the tram was estimated at thousands of euros. The police didn’t make any arrests, but accompanied the fans to Berlin’s main train station. Germany’s soccer season starts in three weeks.
■ SOCCER
Souza goes to Panathinaikos
Flamengo striker Souza has moved to Greek club Panathinaikos for US$4.7 million, the Brazilian team said on Sunday. Flamengo said it will receive 60 percent of the fee. Portugal’s Maritimo, where the Brazilian striker used to play, will receive 40 percent. Souza scored 24 goals in 74 matches with Flamengo after his debut at the start of last year. Flamengo, a five-time Brazilian champion, recently also reached a deal to transfer midfielder Renato Augusto to Germany’s Bayern Leverkusen and striker Marcinho to Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates.
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