■SOCCER
Gerrard arrested at 2:30am
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was arrested early yesterday in connection with an alleged assault at a nightspot that led to a man being hospitalized with facial injuries. The England midfielder was detained by police at 2:30am in Southport, England, along with five other men and remains in police custody for questioning, a person close to the investigation said. A 34-year-old man was taken to hospital with facial injuries that are not believed to be life threatening, police said. The incident near Liverpool came hours after Gerrard had scored twice and made another goal in the club’s 5-1 victory at Newcastle in northeast England. “Merseyside Police is investigating an assault that took place in the early hours of Monday ... on Bold Street in Southport,” police said in a statement, without naming Gerrard. “Six men were arrested on suspicion of section 20 assault on Lord Street.”
■CRICKET
Proteas near rare win
South Africa were on the brink of a rare Test series victory in Australia yesterday after they bowled out the Aussies for 247 in their second innings. That leaves the Proteas requiring a score of 183 in their second innings and they got off to good start, finishing the day on 30-0. South Africa won the first Test in Perth by six wickets and will be looking to secure an historic victory when play resumes in the second Test in Melbourne today.
■FORMULA ONE
Carlos Slim denies reports
The Telmex racing team owned by Carlos Slim has denied reports the Mexican billionaire will buy Honda’s flailing Formula One outfit. The Telmex team said in a statement that Slim “has not bought, nor is negotiating to buy, the Honda Formula 1 team, and thus all reports in that sense are baseless and completely false.” The statement was posted on the team’s Web site on Sunday. The Italian daily La Stampa reported on Saturday that Slim planned to buy the Honda team after the Japanese automaker announced earlier this month it was pulling out of F1 racing because of the escalating crisis in the automobile industry.”
■BASKETBALL
Bonzi Wells wows Chinese
Former NBA bad boy Bonzi Wells scored 52 points and hauled in 14 rebounds as he continued his spectacular start in Chinese basketball’s top league, leading Shanxi Zhongyu to an overtime victory. Wells scored 13 of his team’s 18 overtime points to seal victory over Fujian SBS on Sunday night, wowing a sell-out crowd of 6,000 in his home debut in the Chinese Basketball Association and fourth game overall. Since arriving this month, Wells has averaged a league-leading 46.8 points a game and the Chinese press has hailed him as a “scoring machine.”
■TENNIS
Federer to start early
Roger Federer faces an early start to next year’s season as he begins his campaign to reclaim the world No. 1 spot from Rafael Nadal. The Swiss star was deposed from the top ranking by Nadal this year, with the Spaniard also taking his Wimbledon crown after a five-year reign. Federer will begin his new year in the unlikely surroundings of the Zayed Sports City at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex where Nadal, as well as four other top 10 players, will battle for the US$250,000 top prize. “Never before have I started a tennis year as early as the one ahead. I will be back in action on January 1st,” said Federer ahead of the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, scheduled from Saturday to Monday.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping