■SOCCER
‘Dead’ player still alive
An English club held a minute’s silence for one of their former great players — only to find that he was still alive. Bishop Auckland printed tributes to former England amateur international Tommy Farrer in the club program and arranged a death notice in the local paper. But when club chairman Terry Jackson phoned the 86-year-old’s wife, Gladys, to offer his condolences, she stunned him by saying he would be coming back soon — not from the afterlife, but from shopping. Farrer played in three FA Amateur Cup finals at Wembley with northeastern side Bishop Auckland, who were among the top non-professional clubs of the 1940s and 1950s. “We are not upset, but we did think it was a bit of a joke at first,” he told the Northern Echo regional daily newspaper. “Whoever it was who told people I had died obviously contacted the football club and they decided to go the whole hog by arranging the silence. I’m very moved that they went to such trouble.”
■SWIMMING
Manaudou in photo mix-up
A look-alike of former Olympic swimming champion Laure Manaudou appeared on the front page of L’Equipe this week with the woman in question claiming on Friday it had been an invasion of privacy. Manaudou on Wednesday announced she would not be competing this year and a front page photo of the other woman was published by the French sports daily the following day. The paper on Friday said on its front page that Manaudou had contacted them to say it wasn’t her in the photo. They said if that were the case, then they were sorry. The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous but called herself “Claire,” faced the media on Friday with her lawyer. “Apparently, I am the spitting image of Laure Manaudou and I am deeply shocked. The publication of this photo is an invasion of my private life and I learned about the photo from my best friend,” she told journalists. “The problem is that there is now information about me on the Internet and I have learned that I have been followed or risk being followed for several months,” she said.
■SOCCER
Wigan snap up Mido
Wigan on Friday sold Emile Heskey to Aston Villa for £3.5 million (US$4.8 million) and immediately snapped up Egypt striker Mido on loan from Middlesbrough as cover until the end of the season. England forward Heskey’s move to Villa was completed after he passed a medical and agreed personal terms while Mido was being lined up to form an Egyptian double act with compatriot Amr Zaki.
■CRICKET
Smith returns to Windies
Left-hander Devon Smith was recalled to the West Indies squad on Friday for next month’s first test against England while Barbados opener Dale Richards earned his first call-up. Smith, who has opened the batting and filled in a lower middle order slot, was omitted from the recent tests in New Zealand but earned his latest recall thanks to a double century for the Winward Islands in a regional game against Guyana.
Richards, a late developer at 32, has shown consistent form in the regional competitions but will have caught the eye of the selectors with his century against Trinidad and Tobago. There is no place in the squad for Guyana opening bat Sewnarine Chattergoon. Seamer Lionel Baker, of Montserat, retains his place after debuting in the drawn test series in New Zealand.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
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