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■SOCCER

Gold Coast fans limited

The billionaire owner of one of Australia’s A-League soccer team is restricting attendance at his club’s next home match to cut costs, a move that has run him afoul of league authorities. Clive Palmer, a mining magnate who owns Gold Coast United, has capped the crowd at Saturday’s match against the North Queensland Fury to 5,000 spectators by only opening one of four sides of the 27,400-seat Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast. By limiting the crowd to 5,000, the team is not required to pay a state government transport levy of US$3 a ticket. It will also save money on stadium staff by opening fewer concession stands and not having to implement a traffic plan, reducing its costs by about US$100,000. The Gold Coast is averaging about 5,600 spectators a match, the lowest in the league.



■BASKETBALL

Nash to carry Olympic torch

NBA star Steve Nash will carry the Olympic torch for the Vancouver Winter Games. Nash, the two-time league MVP, is from Victoria, where the relay starts tomorrow. Over 106 days, it will stop in every Canadian province and territory leading to the lighting of the cauldron at BC Place. The games will be held from Feb. 12 to Feb. 28 in Vancouver and Whistler, followed by the Paralympics from March 12 to March 21. Other Canadian athletes scheduled to carry the torch include Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, former Vancouver Canucks captain Trevor Linden and golfer Stephen Ames.



■BOXING

Knockdown worth US$1,000

Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has offered US$1,000 to any sparring partner that can knock the Filipino down, local media reported. Pacquiao, widely regarded the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, started training on Tuesday at Hollywood’s Wild Card boxing club in Los Angeles ahead of his Nov. 14 challenge for Miguel Cotto’s WBO welterweight title in Las Vegas. “[The money’s] still with me and I am telling the new sparring partners that they will be rewarded with US$1,000 if they score a knockdown over Manny in sparring,” Roach told the Manila Bulletin.



■SOCCER

Bayern missing banned pair

Bayern Munich will be without banned pair Daniel van Buyten and Thomas Mueller for next Tuesday’s Champions League group stage match against French side Bordeaux in Munich. The pair are banned for the Allianz Arena clash after picking up red cards in last week’s group stage match. Bayern’s rising star Mueller was sent off after just 30 minutes of the 2-1 defeat in Bordeaux for a second yellow card, while Belgium’s van Buyten, 31, was shown a straight red for hauling down Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh. Bordeaux are currently top of Group A with Juventus second in the table while Bayern are third.



■RUGBY

Kirk to review Super 15

Former World Cup winner David Kirk and retired New Zealand High Court judge Barry Paterson are to conduct a review to decide where the 15th franchise in an expanded Super Rugby competition from 2011 will be based. The existing Super 14 competition will be reorganized along a conference system based in each of the three South Africa, Australia New Zealand Rugby ­(SANZAR) partners with a bid from Melbourne and South Africa’s Southern Kings seeking to be the fifth team in the Australian conference.



■FOOTBALL

Johnson probed over slur

The Kansas City Chiefs have barred running back Larry Johnson from team activities pending an investigation into his use of a homosexual slur this week. Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl running back for the Chiefs, apologized on Tuesday to his team, fans and the NFL “for the words I used.” Johnson posted the slur on his Twitter account Sunday in a response to another tweet. On Monday, he said it again in refusing to talk with reporters, according to a recording made by the Kansas City Star. “I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate,” he said. “I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said.” The Chiefs and the NFL are investigating.



■BASEBALL

Woman offers sex for tickets

Police charged a 43-year-old woman with prostitution on Tuesday after she offered sexual services in exchange for tickets to the upcoming World Series. Susan Finkelstein of Philadelphia was arrested after police responded to an advertisement she posted on online classified site Craigslist, the Bensalem, Pennsylvania, police department said on its Web site. Finkelstein’s ad, which was still posted on Craigslist on Tuesday, described her as a “desperate blond” in need of tickets to the World Series featuring her hometown Philadelphia Phillies against the New York Yankees. “Diehard Phillies fan — gorgeous tall buxom blonde — in desperate need of two World Series tickets. Price negotiable — I’m the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!” it said. Bensalem police said they responded to Finkelstein’s ad and filed prostitution charges against her after she “solicited an undercover police officer to perform various sex acts in exchange for World Series tickets.”



■RUGBY

Henry names strong line-up

New Zealand coach Graham Henry expects Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia to be a full-blooded encounter and has signaled his intentions by naming a strong lineup for the match at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium. Winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and center Conrad Smith have returned to the starting side from injury after they missed the game against Australia in Wellington last month, while stalwart Rodney So’oialo returns to the back of the scrum. So’oialo replaces Kieran Read, who was dropped to the bench, in the only change from the forward pack who demolished the Wallabies in the 33-6 victory at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. New Zealand have already retained the Bledisloe Cup after their three victories over Australia in this year’s Tri-Nations. The team will be: 15-Mils Muliaina, 14-Cory Jane, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Ma’a Nonu, 11-Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10-Dan Carter, 9-Jimmy Cowan, 8-Rodney So’oialo, 7-Richie McCaw (captain), 6-Adam Thomson, 5-Tom Donnelly, 4-Brad Thorn, 3-Neemia Tialata, 2-Andrew Hore, 1-Tony Woodcock. Replacements: 16-Corey Flynn, 17-John Afoa, 18-Jason Eaton, 19-Kieran Read, 20-Brendon Leonard, 21-Stephen Donald, 22-Tamati Ellison.



■ICE HOCKEY

Avs goalie has swine flu

The Colorado Avalanche confirmed that backup goalie Peter Budaj has swine flu. Budaj did not accompany the Avalanche on their four-game road trip that began late on Tuesday in Edmonton. There’s a chance the Slovak could rejoin the team later in the trip if he’s cleared by team doctors. The team said no other players have come down with the virus.
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