■SOCCER
Barca to choose new head
Barcelona says its membership will vote for president Joan Laporta’s replacement on June 13. Barcelona says candidates can register for the June 4 to June 11 election campaign between May 25 and June 1 if they collect at least 2,095 signatures. Laporta, who has been president since 2003, leaves the Spanish champions having presided over one of the most successful periods in the Catalan club’s history. Barcelona is one of the richest clubs in the world on the back of two Champions League titles, three Spanish league crowns and a Copa Del Rey. Coach Pep Guardiola said he would not commit to the club for next year until knowing who the new president would be. Guardiola led Barcelona to six major trophies last year.
■SOCCER
Brazil is best team: Mueller
Former Germany great Gerd Mueller says Brazil is the favorite to win the World Cup, adding that his own country doesn’t have a good team. Mueller, one of the heroes of Germany’s 1974 World Cup triumph at home, says Germany coach Joachim Loew is being stubborn for still not picking Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi for the World Cup. Mueller says “as long as he [Loew] is stubborn, we won’t have the best [Germany] team. He [Kuranyi] is the man scoring goals right now. Loew has said he will consider Kuranyi’s return after kicking the striker off the team for disciplinary reasons in October 2008. Asked to name a World Cup favorite, the 64-year-old Mueller says “Brazil.”
■BOXING
Montiel eyes title bouts
Mexico’s Fernando Montiel is eying off a bout against the likes of Nonito Donaire or Vic Darchinyan after claiming the WBC bantamweight title. Montiel claimed the belt with a surprise fourth-round TKO defeat of Hozumi Hasegawa in front of the Japanese fighter’s home fans in Tokyo on Friday. A bout with either Filipino Donaire or Australia-based Armenian Darchinyan would require either them moving up from super flyweight or Montiel going back down to that level where he formerly held the WBO title. The Mexican staggered Hasegawa with a series of punches at Nippon Budokan and the referee stopped the bout at two minutes, 59 seconds in the fourth round.
■SOCCER
No action against Fulham
The Premier League has announced it will take no action against Fulham for fielding a below-strength lineup against relegation-threatened Hull. West Ham, which was also threatened by relegation, complained that Fulham rested five key players for the March 27 game that came ahead of its Europa League match at home to Wolfsburg. Fulham, which reached the Europa League final on Thursday, lost that domestic league game 2-0. The Premier League issued a statement on Friday saying that it had heard from Fulham and decided there had been no breach of its rules. Hull is now six points behind West Ham and with two games to play and a hugely inferior goal difference.
■SOCCER
Valeron signs contract
Deportivo La Coruna has signed Juan Carlos Valeron to a five-year contract extension that will see the former Spain midfielder eventually move into the front office. Deportivo says the 34-year-old Valeron will play for the Spanish club at least next season before evaluating whether to continue his career.
■SOCCER
S Korean striker may return
South Korea striker Ahn Jung-hwan, whose golden goal knocked Italy out of the 2002 World Cup, could be set for a dramatic World Cup return after making a provisional 30-man squad for the South Africa finals. The China-based forward, who played his last game for South Korea in a World Cup qualifier two years ago, was named by coach Huh Jung-moo for a May 16 home friendly with Ecuador. Ahn, South Korea’s answer to David Beckham, cemented his place as a national idol during South Korea’s barnstorming run to the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup and also found the net at the 2006 finals in Germany.
■BASEBALL
Arizona boycott urged
Major League Baseball chiefs were urged to strip Arizona of next year’s All-Star game on Friday in protest at the state’s tough new immigration law. San Francisco city officials called on MLB commissioner Bud Selig to move next year’s mid-season extravaganza to a different state. Arizona’s law, which makes it a crime to lack proper immigration papers and requires police to determine whether people are in the US legally, has triggered calls for an economic boycott of the southwestern state. Now baseball has entered the debate, with San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera and supervisor David Campos lobbying Selig in an open letter.
■ATHLETICS
Swimming not doing enough
As USA Swimming gets set to discuss a new plan to deal with a rash of sexual abuse cases, a former vice president says the governing body has dragged its feet for years and still isn’t doing enough to prevent coaches from having improper contact with athletes. Mike Saltzstein, a vice president at USA Swimming from 2000 to 2006, wrote a letter to the organization recommending what he says are six decisive steps to deal with a culture that makes it easier for abuse to occur. Saltzstein says the seven-point plan that USA Swimming unveiled last week doesn’t address the problem.
■MOTOGP
Stoner dominates practice
Australia’s Casey Stoner, desperate to make up for his crash at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, dominated practice on Friday for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain. The Ducati rider clocked one minute, 39:731 seconds, to edge Spain’s Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden of the US in third place, 0.417 seconds off the pace. World champion Valentino Rossi, who injured his shoulder in a motocross accident recently, was in fifth place on his Yamaha at 0.628 seconds behind old rival Stoner. The Australian rider had also set the fastest time in Qatar and then went on to take pole position, but he crashed out on the fifth lap.
■BASEBALL
Phillies lose Ryan Madson
The Philadelphia Phillies lost reliever Ryan Madson to injury, but welcomed back closer Brad Lidge from the disabled list, the team said on Friday. Madson, 1-0 with four saves this season, was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken right big toe sustained after Wednesday’s game, the National League champions said without providing any other detail. Helping to ease the loss of Madson was the return of Lidge, who joined the club after off-season elbow and knee surgeries. Philadelphia recalled reliever Antonio Bastardo from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Madson on the roster.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was