■CRICKET
Prisoners protest IPL TV ban
Hundreds of inmates at a prison in Kolkata have gone on hunger strike after they were not allowed to watch Indian Premier League cricket matches, officials said yesterday. B.D. Sharma, the inspector general of West Bengal prisons, said the protest began after guards rejected prisoners’ demands to be able to watch the matches that are being broadcast on a private channel. “They are free to watch the national channels aired by the state-run network, but we can’t allow inmates to watch private channels for security reasons. We have to go by the rules,” Sharma said. The protest, by 500 inmates at the Alipore Central Jail in Kolkata, was continuing yesterday, Sharma said.
■SOCCER
Under-fire keeper speaks out
Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Charles Itandje, banned for 14 days for inappropriate behavior during the Hillsborough memorial service, said British media had blown the affair out of proportion. Television footage showed Itandje smiling at a ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, where 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush while attending an FA Cup semi-final. “It is a 30-second video montage that was given senseless proportions. My behavior should be judged over a one-hour video,” Itandje told Sunday’s French sports daily Aujourd’hui Sport. “You know the papers here [in Britain], they do a lot with not much. I even heard I was dancing!” Itandje added he did not feel liked at Anfield. “What happened will not do much to change my situation at the club since I am already on the transfer list,” he said. “I don’t want to be paranoid but I hope this whole story is not linked to my situation at the club. I was supposed to leave last summer. I am kind of the unwanted player in the squad.”
■SOCCER
President slams own fans
Action must be taken to end Italian soccer’s culture of racism, Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said on Sunday. Inter goalscorer Mario Balotelli was racially abused by some home fans during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Juve. “In the name of Juventus and the great majority of our fans, I express a firm condemnation of the racist chants against Inter player Mario Balotelli,” Cobolli Gigli told Italy’s ANSA news service. A section of Juve fans sang “a black Italian does not exist” toward Balotelli on Saturday. The 18-year-old is of Ghanaian descent but was born in Palermo.
■SOCCER
Ref fails to turn up for game
An Argentine third division game was called off on Sunday because nobody told the referee he had been selected to take charge, officials and media reports said. A club official said referee Ariel Montero was sleeping at his home, nearly 600km away, when worried colleagues called him two hours before kick off to ask his whereabouts. The Clarin newspaper said that around 1,000 fans had traveled to see the game between Alumni de Villa Maria and Racing de Cordoba. “The linesmen were in the hotel and Montero hadn’t arrived and so they started to get worried,” Alumni president Guillermo Morelatto said. “They called his house and he didn’t know anything. He was sleeping. Apparently, the Council [championship organizers] said that they hadn’t told him. The assistants spoke to him and he said he hadn’t been told. There was a mix-up.” Clarin said that Racing refused to accept a substitute official and the police would not allow the kick off time to be put back to give Montero time to arrive.
■BASEBALL
Beckett won’t miss game
Josh Beckett’s suspension has been reduced to five games from six, meaning the Boston Red Sox pitcher won’t miss his scheduled turn in the rotation. The results of Beckett’s appeal were announced on Sunday. He was suspended for throwing near the head of Los Angeles’ Bobby Abreu last Sunday. He will start on Saturday against the New York Yankees. Jon Lester is now scheduled to pitch the series opener on Friday. Beckett (2-1) pitched six innings in Boston’s 6-4 win over the Orioles on Saturday.
■HORSE RACING
Vets probe horse deaths
Veterinarians are trying to find out why at least 14 polo horses died in a short time before their match at a Florida tournament. The horses from the Venezuelan Lechuza Caracas team fell ill on Sunday shortly before they were to play in a match at the US Open Polo Championship in Wellington. Veterinarian Scott Swendlin told the Palm Beach Post that some of the horses died immediately, while others struggled for about 45 minutes. Witnesses said the horses began breathing heavily and stumbling while veterinarians quickly tried to hook up intravenous lines and cool them down. The horses’ carcasses were taken to a state laboratory for necropsies. Results were not yet available. “They started getting dizzy,” polo club spokesman Tim O’Connor told the Palm Beach Post. “They dropped right onto the grass.”
■TENNIS
Mantilla wins return match
Spain’s Felix Mantilla, who spent two years bravely battling skin cancer, made an emotional return to tennis on Sunday, winning the ATP Champions Tour title in Barcelona, Spain. The 34-year-old Mantilla saw off compatriot and former French Open champion Albert Costa 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the opening event on this year’s seniors tour. The former top 10 player, who won the ATP claycourt title in Barcelona in 1999, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2006 after undergoing tests on a mole on his back. He made a brief comeback before retiring, but went on to win his battle against the disease and be given a clean bill of health. “I didn’t think I’d be playing tennis like this again,” Mantilla said. “When I got my illness, I felt like I was retired and that it was finished. But then they gave me the possibility to come here and to play on the ATP Champions Tour and I thought Why not?’ It’s always nice to play your sport whilst having fun.” As well as playing on the seniors tour, Mantilla has also been working for Tennis Australia as a talent-spotter for the last year and he now spends half of the year living in Australia working with young players.
■SPORTS CAR RACING
Ullrich enjoys first win
Retired former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich enjoyed his first success in his second career as a sports car driver in a race at the famous Nurburgring circuit on Sunday. The 35-year-old German notched up his first driving success at the wheel of a BMW 335 in the Diesel category of the second leg of the endurance championship. “I felt more confident lap after lap, I’m really happy,” he said. Ullrich won the 1997 Tour and was a multiple runner-up behind Lance Armstrong before retiring from cycling after being sacked by his T-Mobile team in 2006. His dismissal was because of his alleged links with Eufemiano Fuentes, the Spanish doctor at the center of the Puerto drugs affair.
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
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
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely