■SOCCER
Ibrahimovic to join Barca
Forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks to be headed to Barcelona after Inter president Massimo Moratti admitted he was in talks with the Spaniards about the Swede. Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o could be heading in the opposite direction, while Brazil fullback Maxwell and Belarus winger Alexander Hleb could also switch between the two. “We’ve finalized a transfer for Maxwell and now we’re trying to do likewise for Hleb,” Moratti told Sky Sport 24. “Obviously, we spoke about other things because they were interested in knowing something about Ibrahimovic and talking about Eto’o — two players of the same level — to see if it would be possible to do something with these two players.” Spanish dailies AS and Marca, as well as Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, said the deal would be worth 40 million euros (US$56.5 million) to Inter.
■CRICKET
Harmison takes six wickets
Discarded England fast bowler Stephen Harmison gave the selectors another indication of his Ashes credentials as he bowled county champions Durham to the brink of victory over Nottinghamshire on Friday. Harmison, released from England’s squad before the start of the ongoing second Test at Lord’s, had dramatic figures of six wickets for 20 runs at Trent Bridge. Earlier this season, bowling for the England Lions, he took six wickets against Australia, having been dropped from the Test side during England’s tour of the Caribbean earlier this year.
■SOCCER
Ferguson joins Birmingham
Barry Ferguson joined Birmingham City from Scottish Premier League side Rangers on Friday after an acrimonious end to his second spell. Ferguson’s time at Rangers soured last season when he was stripped of the captaincy following a breach of discipline while on international duty with Scotland. Ferguson was filmed making obscene gestures during Scotland’s match against Iceland, days after being dropped for a late-night drinking session. He was subsequently banned from representing Scotland again. The 31-year-old will be reunited with manager Alex McLeish, who managed him at Rangers.
■GOLF
Chalmers leads at halfway
Australian Greg Chalmers grabbed a two-stroke lead midway through the Milwaukee Championship by posting a three-under 67 in Friday’s second round at Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Milwaukee. Chalmers, a 35-year-old lefthander looking for his first US PGA Tour victory, had four birdies against a lone bogey to register a total of nine-under 131 after two rounds. Tied for second on seven-under were Americans Chris Riley (66), overnight joint-leader Jeff Klauk (69) and Kris Blanks, who fired a seven-under 63.
■SOCCER
Marquinhos rebuked
Japan’s Kashima Antlers have rebuked Brazilian forward Marquinhos for baring his underwear after putting his shorts on back-to-front before a game. The club president failed to see the funny side after the player had to re-dress himself in full view of a packed stadium at a J-League Cup match in midweek. “He must be careful,” Antlers chief Kazumi Ohigashi told Japanese media yesterday. “He will be properly informed about the matter.” A 15-game unbeaten run for the runaway J-League leaders failed to lighten the president’s mood, despite the relatively mundane nature of the incident. “They need to tighten up [on discipline],” he said. “Not only Marquinhos, but the lot of them.”
■FOOTBALL
Police track down gun
Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair’s mistress bought the gun she used to kill him from a convicted murderer whose fiancee was afraid to have it in the house, authorities said on Friday. Adrian Gilliam Jr, 33, was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted selling a 9mm Bryco/Jennings to Sahel Kazemi for US$100, court documents said. Kazemi, 20, shot McNair to death at his condo on July 4 before killing herself. Authorities say she met Gilliam while she was trying to sell her car and told him she was looking to buy a gun. A criminal complaint says Gilliam — who was convicted in 1993 in Florida for murder and attempted armed robbery — told police he sold the gun to Kazemi, whom he identified from a police photo. Detectives traced the gun to its 2002 sale at a pawn shop. Gilliam eventually bought it from someone for US$100 about a year or year-and-a-half ago.
■SOFTBALL
US hold lead at Cup
The US remained atop the standings in the World Cup of Softball with a 12-0 thrashing of Italy on Friday that was stopped by the mercy rule after five innings. That made it two wins from two games for the host nation. Australia also has two wins, albeit from three games, after winning one and losing one on Friday, beating the Netherlands 6-1 before going down 3-2 to Canada. Japan notched its first win by inflicting Italy’s second mercy rule defeat of the day with a 7-0 win in five innings.
■AQUATICS
China take first gold
Qin Kai won the men’s 1m springboard event as China took the first gold medal at the world aquatics championships, which began on Friday in Rome. Qin, who won gold in the synchronized 3m competition at the Olympics in Beijing last year with partner Wang Feng and bronze in the individual event, triumphed with a score of 449.00 after leading the field for most of the final. His compatriot Zhang Xinhua was second with 445.90 after pushing Australian Olympic 10m platform champion Matthew Mitcham down to third with his two final dives. Britain’s Peter Waterfield was fourth.
■FIELD HOCKEY
Australia make finals
Nic Arrold scored on a 43rd-minute penalty stroke to give Australia a 2-1 win over Beijing Olympic gold medalists Netherlands yesterday and a place in today’s women’s field hockey Champions Trophy final. Australia, which needed to win to make the final while the Dutch required only a draw, took a 1-0 lead after two minutes on Casey Eastham’s goal. Maartje Paumen, off a ninth-minute penalty corner, scored the Dutch equalizer at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Center. Australia will face Argentina in the final.
■BASEBALL
Maddux’s number retired
Atlanta Braves retired Greg Maddux’s number on Friday amid a hail of superlatives for the superstar pitcher’s talent and competitive drive. “I get asked by managers and press people all the time, how good was he?” his former manager Bobby Cox said. “Was he the best pitcher I ever saw? Was he the smartest pitcher I ever saw? Was he the best competitor I ever saw? Was he the best teammate I ever saw? The answer is yes to all the above.” Cox guided the Braves to 14 straight division titles from 1991 to 2005, with Maddux joining the team in 1993. Maddux, nicknamed “Mad Dog” for his fierce competitiveness, announced his retirement last December after 23 seasons. He left with more wins than any living pitcher.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set