■SOCCER
Beckham no all-star in US
David Beckham may have led the Los Angeles Galaxy to the Major League Soccer (MLS) championship game but he was left off the league’s all-star squad on Monday. While Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan and Swedish star Freddie Ljunberg made the squad, there was no room for Beckham. Beckham’s Galaxy will face Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup game in Seattle on Sunday. Donovan and Ljunberg were two of the five midfielders on the 11-man all-star team, which also comprised one goalkeeper, three defenders and two forwards. Chivas USA’s Zach Thornton was picked as a goalkeeper while the defense featured Columbus Crew center back Chad Marshall.
■SOCCER
Two fans shot in clashes
Two Estudiantes de La Plata supporters were shot and wounded in clashes between rival factions of the team’s hardcore fans on Monday, Argentine police said. They said three suspects had been arrested. A 29-year-old man was shot in a foot and a 30-year-old in the stomach. They were taken to a hospital in La Plata, Argentina. The incident occurred as fans were about to board buses in La Plata to travel the 60km to Racing Club in the Buenos Aires suburb of Avellaneda for a first division match which Estudiantes lost 1-0. As South American champions, Estudiantes will take part in next month’s Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.
■SOCCER
De Nigris dead at 31
Mexican striker Antonio De Nigris who played for Greek first division club Larissa has died of a suspected heart attack, the club announced on Monday. The official cause of death will be announced by the General University Hospital of Larissa following an autopsy. “It is with deep sorrow that the club’s administration, coaching staff, footballers and members express their condolences to those close to the player, especially his wife Sonia and his five-year-old daughter Miranda,” the club announcement said. Local press reports said that the 31-year-old player had complained of not feeling well during the night of Sunday to Monday and his wife called for an ambulance. De Nigris was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
■DOPING
Austria may crack down
Athletes in Austria caught doping could be charged with serious fraud and face prison terms of up to 10 years, according to an amendment to the national fraud act which is expected to take effect on Jan. 1. Under Austria’s current anti-doping laws, possessing and selling banned substances are already a criminal offence, but not so the actual use of the drugs. Austria sports minister Nobert Darabos and justice minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner on Monday announced the amendment, which awaits ratification by parliament later this year.
■MARATHON
Runner turns farmer
Japan’s former Olympic marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi has decided to become a vegetable farmer. The 37-year-old, who won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, will start her own farm on Hokkaido, Japanese media reported yesterday. “It’s a new challenge for me,” she said, dressed in an orange farming suit and rubber boots and holding an onion and a giant radish. “We are currently discussing what we want to grow. We are studying hard — we want our produce to be really delicious.” Takahashi shot to fame with her gold medal run at the 2000 Olympics, and also her choice of supplement drink, derived from the stomach acid of killer hornets.
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