■CRICKET
Windies turn to government
Protesting West Indies players have turned to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Governments for help in their current impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). At the same time, the WICB reaffirmed its commitment to start paying out money owed to the players under what agreements it believes it had already established with them. These are the latest developments in the continuing saga between the two sides which has led to the leading West Indies players making themselves unavailable for the ongoing home series against Bangladesh. The West Indies Players’ Association said late on Wednesday that it had written to Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo to seek his intervention. Jagdeo is the current chairman of the Heads of Government of CARICOM committee, which is similar in its composition and function to the African Union.
■SOCCER
United cancel Jakarta game
Manchester United have canceled the Jakarta leg of their Asia tour after the hotel where they were due to stay in the Indonesian capital was bombed yesterday. The English champions were scheduled to play against an Indonesia “All Star” team on Monday on the second leg of their preseason tour, which also included stops in Malaysia, South Korea and China. The team canceled the trip, however, after bomb blasts ripped through the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta’s business district.
■SOCCER
TV deal irks Old Firm clubs
Celtic and Rangers, the richest and most powerful clubs in Scottish soccer, have condemned the Scottish Premier League’s decision to accept a £65 million (US$107 million) broadcasting deal with Sky and ESPN. The 12 SPL clubs agreed, in a non-unanimous vote, to accept the contract that will see 60 live games screened per season but deliver only about half the income of the previous deal with Irish broadcaster Setanta, which has gone into administration. The new arrangement with satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting and Walt Disney Co’s sports TV newtwork ESPN will last until the end of the 2011-2012 season with an option for a further two years but the Old Firm clubs are unhappy with it. “The whole SPL is now a commercial victim, in an uncompetitive TV market, in the middle of a recession, locked in for years to an income some 60 percent lower than last year’s bid,” Celtic chairman John Reid told www.celticfc.net. Celtic and Rangers have previously discussed the idea of buying the rights themselves and Reid said his club “reserved the right to continue to explore those options.”
■SOCCER
Austria bans the ‘vuvuzela’
The Austrian professional soccer league on Thursday imposed a stadium ban on the vuvuzela, the long plastic trumpet that made such a noisy impression in last month’s Confederations Cup in South Africa. But the league said the vuvuzela was being banned not for the deafening and tuneless din they produce, but because they might be used as missiles. “Vuvuzelas can be used as projectiles. Furthermore, they can incite aggressive behaviour amongst other fans,” Austrian league spokesman Christian Kircher said. The trumpets caused consternation among some in South Africa for the Confederations Cup, with several non-African players and coaches calling for their ban. But FIFA president Sepp Blatter has given them his blessing, blasting the detractors by telling them Africa is about dance and music and that moaning about the instrument bordered on discrimination.
■SKIING
Cody Marshall suffers fall
US alpine skier Cody Marshall was hospitalized with a head injury on Thursday, one day after he fell off the rail of an out-of-service escalator at a shopping center. Police said the 26-year-old was apparently sliding down the rail of the mechanical stairway, which was not in use and had been cordoned off. He tumbled backwards off the rail, falling about 6m. The 26-year-old Marshall, who finished third in the slalom at the US alpine championships earlier this year, was out with teammates when the accident happened. He was taken by ambulance to hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was listed in critical condition on Thursday.
■SKI JUMPING
Women to appeal ruling
A group of female ski jumpers will appeal a court decision that prevents them from competing at next year’s Winter Olympics. The appeal will be based on the argument that the organizers of the Vancouver Games must abide by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, said Ross Clark, the lawyer representing the jumpers. “It cannot host events on Canadian soil that implement discrimination,” Clark said in a statement on Thursday. The British Columbia Supreme Court ruled last week the International Olympic Committee is discriminating against the ski jumpers by keeping them from the Games. But the judge said the court does not have the power to order the sport be part of the program. The 15 former and current female ski jumpers went to court in April, saying their exclusion violated the charter. The women said the Vancouver organizing committee should either hold women’s ski jumping or cancel all ski jumping events. Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon said the IOC, not the local organizers, decides which sports are on the roster and that the organization does not fall under her court’s jurisdiction. The IOC has said its decision to not allow women’s ski jumping at the games was based on “technical issues without regard to gender.”
■BASEBALL
Israel wants to play ball
America’s favorite pastime could be heading back to the Holy Land. Israeli baseball authorities say they’ve reached a deal giving a group of US businessmen a two-year option to operate a pro league in Israel. The group is headed by Marvin Goldklang, a minority owner of the New York Yankees, and Jeff Rosen, a US businessman who owns the Haifa Heat in Israel’s pro basketball league. Israeli baseball official Nathan Pomerantz said the Americans were conducting “due diligence” on the venture. He hopes the league will be ready for play next year or in 2011. The announcement comes two years after a separate group of Americans tried to bring pro baseball to Israel. The Israel Baseball League folded after one season.
■OLYMPICS
London chief receives bonus
David Higgins, the man responsible for ensuring preparations for the London 2012 Olympics stay on track, was awarded a £200,000 (US$328,100) bonus this year on top of his £384,000 salary. The Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) annual report released on Thursday revealed that a total of more than £500,000 in performance-related bonuses had been paid to its senior figures in the 2008-2009 financial year. ODA chief executive Higgins voluntarily deferred half of his bonus until no later than December 2012 subject to the Games being delivered on time and within the £9.3 billion budget, the report said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care