■TENNIS
Alicia Molik retires at 27
Australia’s Alicia Molik has retired from international tennis after a long run of injuries, including a debilitating inner-ear virus. Molik peaked at a No. 8 ranking after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2005, but spent most of the rest of that season off the circuit because she was unable to balance owing to the ear virus. She won the bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics and, despite only limited time in competition, achieved her ambition of making the Beijing Olympics last month, but was knocked out in the first round. “It’s tiring and it’s very draining,” Molik told Melbourne’s Age newspaper on Friday. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking ... It took a while to get back and since then I’ve just struggled with a few more things that I never imagined would come along the way.”
■CYCLING
Chavanel takes Vuelta lead
Italian rider Paolo Bettini of Quick Step won the sixth stage of the Tour of Spain on Thursday, a 150.1km course from Ciudad Real to Toledo, while France’s Sylvain Chavanel of Cofidis took the overall lead. Bettini came in ahead of Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert of Francaise des Jeux, while Spain’s Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d’Epargne was third in the sprint. It was the fourth Vuelta stage triumph of Bettini’s career. The 34-year-old said was an encouraging sing for his bid for a third successive win at the world championships in Itlay starting on Sept. 23. Chavanel, who climbed to second place in the overall standings after Wednesday’s individual time trial, collected 12 bonus seconds for winning both intermediate sprints which allowed him to take the leader’s golden jersey from US rider Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer is now 10 seconds behind Chavanel in the overall standings, while Valverde is third at 26 seconds.
■SOCCER
Club punished over violet
FIFA has ordered Romania’s soccer authorities to deduct six league points from top-division club FC Timisoara for refusing to change its playing colors. Timisoara began the season wearing a violet-colored strip despite a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling last April ordering it to change. The CAS hearing was held to decide which of two rival Romanian clubs had the strongest claim to the historical identity — including the traditional playing colors — of the team associated with the Politehnica student team of Timisoara. The ruling asked FIFA to deduct the points from FC Timisoara if it failed to comply with its legal defeat.
■PARALYMPICS
Aussie not blind enough yet
An Australian athlete in Beijing for the Paralympics has been told she cannot compete because she is not blind enough, a team spokesman said yesterday. Jessica Gallagher, 22, had been due to contest five events, the discus, long jump, shot put and the 100m and 200m sprints, before her hopes were dashed after she failed a classification test in Beijing. Although her right eye met the criteria, her left eye was found to be too good. A spokesman for the Australian team in Beijing said Gallagher was aware before she traveled to China that she was borderline and could fail the classification test. “It hasn’t come as a shock to her,” he said, adding that within 12 months it was likely that the level of deterioration in her left eye would mean she would be eligible to compete. The International Paralympic Committee has allowed Gallagher to stay after the Australian team said her osteopathy skills would be useful, the spokesman said.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
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