■GOLF
Mickelson’s wife has cancer
Phil Mickelson’s wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the three-time major champion said on Wednesday he would suspend his US PGA Tour schedule indefinitely. According to a release from Mickelson’s management company, his wife was to have more tests but would begin treatment with major surgery as early as the next two weeks. Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world with 36 career US PGA Tour victories, was to play in the Byron Nelson Championship this week before defending his title next week at Colonial.
■OLYMPICS
Vancouver’s ‘Olympic Toke’
Organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are taking the mellow approach to suggestions that their planned Olympic torch looks like a marijuana cigarette. “We’re not worried about it at all,” Dave Cobb, the executive vice-president of the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC), told reporters on Wednesday in response to a newspaper article that dubbed the torch “The Olympic Toke.” Vancouver is a major production area for illegal marijuana, and there has been quiet snickering about the comparison since the high-tech metal torch was unveiled in February to mark the one-year countdown to the Winter Games. The torch’s design is intended to “represent Canada through the contours of winter landscapes and lines of winter sports,” according VANOC’s Web site. “I think people are poking a little bit of fun at us,” VANOC chief executive John Furlong said.
■SOCCER
Reggina drops out of Serie A
Reggina were relegated from Serie A with a game to go on Wednesday when they lost 1-0 to Lazio at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico thanks to a first-half Mauro Zarate goal. Reggina, 19th, have 30 points and cannot catch Torino, who are fourth from the bottom and four points ahead and have two matches left to play. Argentine forward Zarate latched on to Ousmane Dabo’s threaded pass and poked home a right-foot shot in the 26th minute for mid-table Lazio, who qualified for next season’s Europa League by winning the Italian Cup for the fifth time.
■SOCCER
Figo eyeing China: report
Former World Player of the Year Luis Figo wants to extend his career outside Europe and would consider playing in the Chinese Super League (CSL), a Chinese newspaper reported yesterday. The Portugal midfielder announced his retirement from “high level” soccer after helping Inter Milan to a fourth successive Serie A title last weekend. “I am still waiting for the calls from outside Europe, from US or Japan,” the 36-year-old told the Chinese sports newspaper Titan Sports. “I am also happy to accept recruitment offers from CSL clubs,” he added.
■YACHTING
Volvo race hits Gulf Stream
The competitors in the Volvo race hit the Gulf Stream on Wednesday and began a sprint for Galway in Ireland led by Sweden’s Ericsson 4, in the seventh stage of the round-the-world event. The seven yachts left Boston, Massachusetts, last weekend and are expected in Galway on Sunday after what promises to be a tight race. After bypassing a zone southwest of Newfoundland to avoid icebergs, the yachts hoisted their spinnakers and headed northeast at rate of 16 to 18 knots. Ericsson 4, the overall race leader, held a slim advantage on Wednesday over the Spanish yachts, Telefonica Black and Telefonica Blue.
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