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■SOCCER

Queens bow out in Denmark

Scottish minnows Queen of the South saw their UEFA Cup campaign come to an end on Tuesday in Denmark as they bowed out to FC Nordsjaelland in the second qualifying round, going down 2-1 on the night to lose 4-2 on aggregate. After the 2-1 home reverse the odds were against Queens pulling off the win but Bob Harris leveled the encounter with a piledriver of a freekick after just two minutes to give Gordon Chisholm’s men some hope. But they failed to capitalize as Paul Burns and then Harris allowed half chances to slip away. Martin Bernburg then missed for the Danes from inside the six-yard box but he had the last laugh with a pair of close-range strikes in the final five minutes.



■RUGBY UNION

Team eyes coup leader

Former Fijian coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka is in the running to be appointed manager of the Pacific Islands rugby team for its tour of Europe in November, the Fiji Times reported yesterday. Rabuka became Prime Minister of Fiji in 1987 after staging the country’s first coup. Pacific Islands Rugby Association Chairman Keni Dakuidreketi said that Rabuka was one of several candidates being considered as manager of the team, which brings together players from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. Rabuka is a former captain of the Fiji rugby side, playing two internationals and 10 other matches for the Pacific Islands nation.



■RUGBY UNION

MacDonald set to miss Tests

Injured All Blacks fullback Leon MacDonald is unlikely to play in the next two Tests as he recovers from concussion, coach Graham Henry said yesterday. Henry said team management was unwilling to place the 56-Test veteran at risk after MacDonald was concussed during the All Blacks’ 28-30 loss to the Springboks in Dunedin on July 12. The 30-year-old is expected to miss a Test against Samoa in New Plymouth next Wednesday and the Tri-Nations decider against Australia in Brisbane on Sept. 13.



■RUGBY UNION

Toulouse start with defeat

French champions Toulouse opened the defense of their title with a surprise 16-11 defeat at Montpellier on the first day of the new Top 14 championship on Tuesday. Elsewhere, last season’s runners-up Clermont went down 16-22 to Toulon, back in the top flight after a two-year absence. Ambitious Toulon scored three tries, one from their new signing, former Australian rugby league backrower Sonny Bill Williams. Toulouse were unable to capitalize on their first half domination with Didier Nourault’s Montpellier coming out after the break to take and hold on to the lead. The fledgling table is headed by Montauban and Stade Francais, who saw off newly promoted Mont-de-Marsan 37-19 and Dax 31-9 respectively.



■SOCCER

Pavlyuchenko set for Spurs

Spartak Moscow’s Russian international striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is set to sign for English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, media reported yesterday. “I can confirm that I’m moving to Tottenham. I will fly to England as soon as I receive an English entry visa,” Pavlyuchenko said. Spartak spokesman Eduard Nissenboim confirmed that Pavlyuchenko was very close to the move but that no papers had been signed yet. “We have just reached a verbal agreement,” Nissenboim said. “But Pavlyuchenko is likely join Tottenham in the nearest future.” The 26-year-old forward has 22 caps for Russia, scoring nine goals.





■CRICKET

Bangalore Test going ahead

Australia’s high-profile cricket Test series in India will begin as scheduled in Bangalore in October, even though a tennis tournament was called off there over security fears, officials said yesterday. India’s four-match series against world champions Australia opens in Bangalore from Oct. 9 to Oct. 13. The remaining Tests will be played in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.

A string of bomb blasts last month in Bangalore, the country’s high-tech hub in the south, left one person dead and a dozen injured. The ATP confirmed in a statement issued yesterday that the tournament due to begin on Sept. 29 had been canceled.



■PARALYMPICS

Beijing calls in cheerleaders

Beijing will mobilize 350,000 people to boost spectator figures and liven up the atmosphere for the Paralympic Games, state media reported yesterday, amid flagging ticket sales for the event. The vast crowds would be organized by the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions to attend Paralympic events at 17 venues, the Beijing Times said. These “cheerleaders” would be required to watch track and field and other events, it said, while also bumping up spectator numbers and adding atmosphere. The paper’s Web site said only one-third of the tickets had so far been sold. The Paralympics start next Saturday and run through Sept. 17.



■OLYMPICS

Yao Ming’s bed for sale

China plans to auction off 20 million items related to the Beijing Olympics, including the bed that basketball star Yao Ming slept in while taking part in the Games, state media reported yesterday. Also on the block will be electric appliances used by Liu Xiang, the celebrity 110m hurdler forced to quit the Games with an injury, and ancient musical instruments from the opening ceremony, the Beijing Times said. There are so many items it could take up to two years to auction them all, it said. The auctions will be conducted by the China Beijing Equity Exchange, which mostly sells off shares in state-owned enterprises to private buyers.



■MOTOR RACING

Sato talking to Toro Rosso

Japan’s Takuma Sato has had talks with Toro Rosso about a possible return to Formula One next season, but a test has yet to be agreed, the team said on Tuesday. “We have had talks, but there is nothing to confirm yet,” a spokeswoman said when asked whether they might try out the 31-year-old at Jerez in southern Spain after next month’s Italian Grand Prix. Sato is Japan’s most successful Formula One driver, but he has been looking for a way back into the sport since his Super Aguri team folded in May. The driver’s manager Andrew Gilbert-Scott said they were talking to several teams.



■BOXING

Ali ex-manager dies at 79

Jabir Herbert Muhammad, a longtime manager of boxer Muhammad Ali, has died following heart surgery. He was 79. His oldest son, Elijah Muhammad III, said he died on Monday at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Muhammad was born in Detroit and lived most of his life on Chicago’s South Side. He managed Ali’s boxing career from 1966 until 1981 and managed his post-fighting career for another 10 years. He went on to a career in business. A Muslim prayer service was to be held yesterday, with a memorial service on Saturday.


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