■ENGLAND
Malouda signs new deal
Chelsea’s French international midfielder Florent Malouda signed a four-year contract extension with the FA Cup winners on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who had two years remaining on his current contract, had been linked with a move to Italian Serie A giants AC Milan despite a generally hugely disappointing spell at Chelsea since joining from French champions Lyon in 2007. “I am staying. I have four years left on my contract,” said Malouda, whose performances improved once Guus Hiddink replaced Luis Felipe Scolari at the club earlier this year. “Every time the transfer window opens there are rumors and I hope in this one people will know what happened.” Promising English under-20 international striker Daniel Sturridge is also set to sign for Chelsea from their English Premier League rivals Manchester City it was announced on Tuesday. The 19-year-old’s present contract at City was due to terminate at the end of this month and he has turned down the offer of a new one from the big-spending club. The ultimate transfer fee for him will be decided by a tribunal, with the two clubs unable to agree on a deal. Chelsea have to pay a transfer fee as Sturridge is under 24 and as a result cannot move for nothing under the Bosman ruling.
■ITALY
Zola bags striker Jimenez
Italian champions Inter’s Chilean international striker Luis Jimenez was snapped up on loan by English Premier League side West Ham United on Tuesday. The 25-year-old — known as the Wizard and capped 20 times — is the first signing for the Hammers’ Italian manager Gianfranco Zola this summer. Jimenez — who hasn’t represented Chile for more than a year — joins on a season-long loan with a view to a possible permanent move. “I can’t promise anything, but I am going to do everything possible to do a good job for the club,” Jimenez told West Ham’s Web site. Jimenez made his name in Italy at Serie B side Ternana, where he scored 25 goals in 88 league appearances between 2002 and 2007.
■SPAIN
Messi outshines Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo may be the world’s most expensive player, but Barcelona star Lionel Messi outshines him in terms of media value, at least according to a team of Spanish researchers. The team from the University of Navarra said the Argentine had ousted the Portuguese striker as the player with the highest profile last season. However, Ronaldo remains the most expensive player, with the researchers valuing him at 82 million euros (US$115 million), less than the world record 93 million euros Real Madrid paid Manchester United for him this month. Messi was next at 80 million euros, followed by Liverpool’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres at 67 million euros.
■CHINA
Tianjin players go on strike
Tianjin Teda players went on strike on Tuesday after being asked to sign new long-term contracts with the Chinese Super League club, local media reported. The players are unhappy at being asked to sign deals of five years for younger players and two years for their more experienced teammates. The club hopes long contracts will prevent players going abroad on free transfers, as happened earlier this year when Shandong Luneng’s Zhou Haibin moved to PSV Eindhoven and Feng Xiaoting left Dalian Shide for South Korea’s Daegu FC. None of Tianjin’s Chinese players turned up for training on Tuesday after negotiations broke down.
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
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