■SNOWBOARDING
Lago blames woman
American halfpipe bronze medalist Scotty Lago says risque photos of him that showed up on the Internet weren’t his idea. Lago was photographed last week at a party wearing a Team USA T-shirt when somebody snapped a photo of a woman kneeling below Lago’s waist to kiss his medal. Appearing on Friday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Lago says the woman wanted to take the photo so that “it looked as it does.” After the photos surfaced, Lago left the Vancouver Olympics. Now he’s saying he didn’t leave voluntarily, but rather that the US Olympic Committee and the US Ski and Snowboard Association asked him to leave the Games.
■NORDIC SKIING
Bjoergen cheated: rival
A rival athlete has accused Norway’s triple cross-country gold medalist Marit Bjoergen of using asthma medication to help her win at the Vancouver Olympics. “Without the medication she would not have won,” her Polish rival Justyna Kowalczyk said on a Polish Web site. “Marit knows very well that without this ‘aid’ she would not have much to show.” Bjoergen’s coach Aage Skinstad said the medication used by his athlete was legal. “This is the most idiotic thing I have heard since the start of the Olympics,” he said.
■SKATING
Zhou gets new apartment
Chinese teenager Zhou Yang will be able to display her two Olympic short track speed skating gold medals in a new apartment when she returns from Vancouver. The parents of the 18-year-old 1,500m and 3,000m relay champion were awarded a new home by the local government in their home city of Changchun on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported. “It is a surprise to get the flat that solves our housing problem. Zhou Yang can live with us when she comes home,” said Wang Shuying, Zhou’s mother. The 94m² apartment, with two bedrooms and two living rooms, was valued at 300,000 yuan (US$43,960), Xinhua reported.
■ALPINE SKIING
Iranian shows pride
For Marjan Kalhor, the most important thing about competing at the Winter Olympics was that she started, not where she finished. Kalhor, wearing a pink Islamic headscarf beneath her safety helmet, finished last among the 55 skiers who completed the women’s slalom on Friday — a full 35.71 seconds behind winner Maria Riesch of Germany. She was the first Iranian to compete at the Winter Games. “I’m proud,” the 21-year-old Kalhor said through a translator. “I’m the first one and we’ll practice and practice, and we’ll be better in the next Olympics.” Kalhor said the headscarf she wears to comply with Islamic dress code was no big deal: “We’re used to it, we wear it at every event in Iran and everywhere we go ... Women in Iran are free, and accept that the Islamic revolution rules ... President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad wants women to be more active, to be free,” she said.
■RUSSIA
Putin disappointed at team
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed disappointment with the performance of Russian athletes at the Vancouver Olympics and suggested officials “analyze” their mistakes and shortcomings. Putin said in televised remarks on Friday that he “expected more” in Vancouver from the Russian team, which has so far collected three gold medals and 13 overall, the nation’s poorest result at the Winter Games. He said, however, that the haul was “no reason to throw in a towel.”
■BASKETBALL
Robertson facing charges
Former star Alvin Robertson faces sexual assault of a child and sex trafficking charges alleging he was among seven people who kidnapped a 14-year-old girl who was forced into prostitution and made to dance at a strip club, authorities said on Friday. Robertson, who was an All-Star player for the San Antonio Spurs, was taken into custody on Friday in Arkansas, Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Ino Badillo said. The arrest comes as part of an investigation that began last April when a 14-year-old girl waved down a police cruiser in Corpus Christi and told authorities she had been abducted from San Antonio, Badillo said. She told police she was driven around the city and forced to have sex with various men, before being driven to Corpus Christi and forced to dance at a strip club. The girl escaped her alleged captor, Leslie Campbell, while he was showering, Badillo said. The 49-year-old Corpus Christi man pleaded guilty last month to sexual assault of a child. Badillo said the girl was able to identify several of her assailants and the locations she was taken in great detail. Robertson’s girlfriend, Raquel McIntosh, 41, was arrested early on Friday on charges of sex trafficking of a minor and forcing a sexual performance by a child, Badillo said.
■BASEBALL
Former Yankee arrested
Dominican pitcher Maximo Nelson, once on the books of the New York Yankees, has been arrested by Japanese police after a live bullet was found in his bag at an airport in Okinawa. Nelson, who had been in the southern prefecture for spring training with the Chunichi Dragons, was taken into custody on Friday on suspicion of breaching Japan’s laws on gun and sword control, Kyodo news agency reported. The 27-year-old was signed by the Yankees in 2000 and was a highly-rated prospect before being named by the New York Times as one of dozens of Dominican Republic natives caught up in a marriage scheme to fraudulently win US visas for women. All of the minor league players involved were banned from getting visas for the US and Nelson subsequently played in the Israeli league, before moving to Japan in 2008.
■GYMNASTICS
Chinese set to lose medals
The six Chinese women gymnasts who won a team bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics are likely to be forced to return their medals after one of them was found to have falsified her age. An International Gymastics Federation probe has found Dong Fangxiao was younger than the minimum age requirement of 16 during the 2000 Games after she registered different ages at Sydney and the Beijing Games eight years later. “Consequently, the results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been canceled,” the federation said in a statement yesterday. The statement said Dong had registered a Jan. 20, 1983, birth date at Sydney, but when accredited to act as “secretary” at the vault in Beijing, she had declared her birth date as Jan. 23, 1986.
■GOLF
Gatorade drops Tiger Woods
Gatorade has ended its marketing deals with Tiger Woods, joining the list of sponsors to drop the superstar golfer in the wake of a sex scandal. “We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship,” Gatorade spokeswoman Jennifer Schmit said. “We wish him all the best.” Gatorade discontinued its Tiger Woods-brand drinks in November. His image went into free-fall as 14 women claimed to have had an affair with the married father of two.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely