■SOCCER
Tosic joins CSKA Moscow
Manchester United have sold Serbia winger Zoran Tosic to CSKA Moscow for an undisclosed fee. The English club’s Web site said on Tuesday that Tosic has signed a five-year deal with the Russian team. Tosic, currently on World Cup duty with Serbia, arrived in Manchester from Partizan Belgrade in January last year, receiving a UK work permit after United manager Alex Ferguson made a personal plea to authorities. However, Tosic made just five appearances as a substitute for United, who loaned him to German side Cologne in January. Cologne said earlier this week they could not afford to keep the 23-year-old Tosic.
■TENNIS
Dementieva pulls out
Women’s world No. 5 Elena Dementieva has pulled out of Wimbledon with a calf injury. The Russian was injured at the French Open this month, forcing her to retire during her semi-final against Francesca Schiavone. She has still not recovered, she said on her Web site on Tuesday. Olympic champion Dementieva reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last year, and has reached the final of the French Open and US Open during her career.
■TENNIS
Muster, 42, returns to circuit
Austrian former world No. 1 Thomas Muster has announced his comeback to the ATP circuit at the age of 42 — 11 years after playing his last match on the professional tour. The 1995 French Open champion said yesterday he had accepted a wild card for the Nord/LB Open ATP challenger event starting on June 25 in Braunschweig, Germany. He said he was planning to appear in more events on the second-tier circuit. Clay-court specialist Muster, who won 44 ATP Tour titles, said he “still loves competitive tennis ... I won’t set my goals too high but will just play my best tennis and we’ll see where it brings me.”
■SOCCER
Silverdome to host AC Milan
The Pontiac Silverdome will host its first major soccer match in 16 years when AC Milan and Panathinaikos meet on Aug. 6. The Silverdome was the host to four first-round games during the 1994 World Cup — the first time World Cup matches had been played indoors — but the stadium has mainly sat empty since NFL club Pittsburgh Steelers used it as their practice facility for the 2006 Super Bowl. The Silverdome, which started hosting events again this year, was scheduled to host an international tournament in May, but it was canceled because of poor ticket sales and visa problems for some of the teams. AC Milan finished third in Italy’s Serie A this season, nine points behind archrival Inter. Panathinaikos won the Greek league.
■SOCCER
Toni shown the door
Bayern Munich are to release out-of-favor Italian striker Luca Toni one year before the end of his contract, the German champions said yesterday. “FC Bayern Munich and striker Luca Toni will terminate their contract as of 30 June, 2010. The contract with the Italian striker was due to run until 2011,” the club said in a statement. “I want to thank Luca Toni warmly for his performances and goals, especially in the 2007-2008 season, when we won the double,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. The 33-year-old fell out of favor with coach Louis van Gaal, with Rummenigge saying last month: “He has to be realistic about his future with Bayern Munich ... It is up to him and his agent to find a solution in Italy.” This season, Toni was on loan to AS Roma, but he failed to make his mark at the club.
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