■ENGLAND
Canaries sack Bryan Gunn
Norwich City sacked manager Bryan Gunn on Friday less than a week into the new League One season. Gunn paid the price for his side’s humiliating 7-1 home defeat to Colchester United in their first match of the season last weekend. The Canaries, relegated from the Championship last term, bounced back with a 4-0 League Cup win at Yeovil Town in midweek, but it was not enough to save Gunn, a legendary figure at Carrow Road from his days as the club’s goalkeeper. Gunn’s assistant manager Ian Butterworth has been placed in temporary charge for this weekend’s match at Exeter City.
■ENGLAND
Wigan sign Antonio Amaya
Premier League club Wigan Athletic signed Spanish defender Antonio Amaya from Rayo Vallecano on a three-year contract on Friday. Amaya was not expected to be available for the season-opener at Aston Villa as the deal cannot be completed until international clearance is secured. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said: “Antonio is someone I have admired from a distance for a long time and I am very happy we have convinced him to come to us. He is a really powerful lad, technically excellent, with good pace and he will fit in well to our system. I have no doubts about him adjusting to English football.”
■SWITZERLAND
Basel’s Costanzo banned
FC Basel captain and goalkeeper Franco Costanzo has been banned for three matches after attacking a teammate at the end of a match. A Swiss league disciplinary panel found the Argentina international guilty of “gross unsportsmanlike conduct” on Friday in Basel’s 1-1 draw with main rivals FC Zurich last Sunday. Costanzo grabbed the hair of teammate Beg Ferati and wrestled with him after a heated exchange of words as the teams left the St Jakob Park pitch. He blamed the defender for poor marking when Zurich took an 87th-minute lead.
■UNITED STATES
Donovan catches swine flu
US forward Landon Donovan has contracted swine flu, but is not contagious. The Galaxy announced on Friday that Donovan had tested positive for swine flu and that the midfielder, coming off the US’ 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Mexico, would not practice on Friday. England midfielder David Beckham, criticized by Donovan in a book published last month, was also set to skip the workout after being recalled for international duty in the Netherlands. Donovan, who has scored nine goals this season for the Galaxy, has been ill since joining the US squad last Sunday in Florida ahead of the Mexico match, but there is no danger of infection. “It’s not infectious. We’re well past that stage,” coach Bruce Arena said.
■ENGLAND
Schmeichel rejoins Eriksson
Sven-Goran Eriksson has overseen his first major acquisition as Notts County’s new director of soccer by signing Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for a club record transfer on Friday. The 22-year-old son of former Manchester United star Peter played under Eriksson at Eastlands and has now moved to the League Two side for a fee which is believed to eclipse the £685,000 (US$1.1 million) County paid to buy Tony Agana from Sheffield United in 1991. Manager Ian McParland told the club’s official Web site: “We’re very pleased that Kasper has chosen to come to Meadow Lane. He is a significant part of the jigsaw puzzle we’re trying to complete before the transfer window closes.”
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