■ENGLAND
Sunderland appoint Sbragia
Coach Ricky Sbragia, who has been in charge of Sunderland as caretaker since Roy Keane quit, has been appointed manager, the Premier League club announced on Saturday. “Ricky took up the reins when we were at a low ebb and has without doubt revitalised the club. He is the unanimous choice of the executive board,” chairman Niall Quinn said on the club’s Web site. Sbragia, a 52-year-old Scot, took charge early this month after Keane walked out with the team in the relegation zone. He has signed an 18-month contract. In four matches since Keane’s departure, Sunderland have impressed with two wins and a draw lifting them to 14th.
■England
Ferdinand out for 10 days
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will be out for 10 days after a recurrence of a back injury before Friday’s 1-0 win at Stoke. Ferdinand is set to miss today’s match against Middlesbrough and the following weekend’s FA Cup third-round match at Southampton. It is just a month since he was sidelined with the same injury. “He had a back spasm again, we have to get to the root of this,” manager Alex Ferguson said. “He’s had this back problem too many times, so we want to get to the bottom of it. First of all, we’ll give him complete rest, but I think he’ll be OK in about 10 days.”
■England
Beckham deal goes flat
Despite his high-profile loan move to AC Milan, the fizz could be evaporating from David Beckham’s commercial appeal after ending a 10-year deal with Pepsi. “David’s football legacy will live on and everyone at Pepsi will continue to be as passionate about his success as we have been over the last 10 years,” the soft drinks manufacturer said. “We wish David well with the many projects he is pursuing and look forward to the possibility of partnering together with him again someday.” The 33-year-old still has lucrative sponsorship deals with major brands like Adidas and Armani. “I have nothing but good memories of my association with Pepsi,” Beckham said. “I’ve played a gladiator, a cowboy, a surfer, and worked alongside Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez as well as some of the biggest names in world football.”
■Scotland
Cup winner Miller dies
George Miller, who won the Scottish Cup with Dunfermline in 1961, has died aged 69 of cancer, it was announced on Saturday. Miller’s moment of glory came under the stewardship of Scottish soccer great Jock Stein and saw the unfashionable club claim its first ever piece of silverware with a 2-0 replay victory over Celtic. Miller went on to play for then English giants Wolves but he soon returned to Scotland to play for Hearts.
■Spain
Fans demand Basque team
Thousands of people marched through the city of Bilbao on Saturday to demand the Basque soccer team be allowed to take part in international competitions. Britain is allowed “to have teams from Scotland or from Wales play at international level and we are demanding that same right within the states of Spain and France,” said Elisa Sainz de Murieta, the head of the Basque Solidarity political party. The demonstrators marched behind a banner reading “Basque Nation, one nation, one national team, one federation.” A Basque soccer team, drawn from the Basque regions of both Spain and France, does exist but it is not officially recognized by the game’s authorities and is restricted to occasional friendly games.
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