■HOCKEY
Former enforcer dead at 45
Former enforcer Bob Probert collapsed and died on Monday during a family boating trip in Windsor, Ontario, the NHL reported on its Web site. He was 45. Known as one of the most feared fighters in the NHL, the Canadian enjoyed a 17-year playing career with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks. Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch released the following statement: “Bob was one of the toughest men to ever play in the NHL. He also was one of the kindest, most colorful, and beloved players Detroit has ever known.” Probert was drafted by Detroit in 1983 and went on to be voted to the Campbell Conference All-Star team in 1988, his only such honor. However, Probert’s unpredictable nature led to many problems off the ice and he was suspended for several months by the NHL in 1989 after he was arrested for cocaine possession. Probert left the Red Wings to sign with the Blackhawks in 1994, where he played out the rest of his career before officially retiring in 2002.
■BASKETBALL
Knicks land Stoudemire
The New York Knicks have landed one of the NBA’s big-name free agents, Amare Stoudemire, the All-Star forward said on Monday. “The Knicks are back,” Stoudemire told reporters in New York in a video posted on the NBA’s Web site. “It feels great to be a part of a beautiful organization. I’m looking forward to building something special here.” The five-year deal, which remains in-principle until tomorrow, would be worth US$99.7 million, the New York Times said. The 27-year-old five-time All-Star averaged 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds last season to lead the Phoenix Suns into the Western Conference Finals. The Knicks are among a raft of teams bidding in one of the richest free-agent pools in the history of the NBA and are seen to have the financial clout to sign another headlining player. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and scores of other top players hit the open market on Thursday, setting off a frenzy of speculation and bidding wars.
■SOCCER
Govou goes Greek
France winger Sidney Govou has joined Greek champions Panathinaikos on a three-year deal. Panathinaikos say Govou, who was a free agent after his contract at French side Lyon expired this summer, completed his move on Monday but has not disclosed financial terms of the deal. Govou, who turns 31 this month, had spent his whole career at Lyon. He was part of the France squad that suffered a disappointing first-round exit at the World Cup in South Africa. Govou will link up at Panathinaikos with compatriot Djibril Cisse, whose international career was revived after finishing as the Greek league’s top scorer last season with 23 goals.
■SOCCER
Chygrynskiy joins Shakhtar
Ukraine defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy has agreed to return to former club Shakhtar Donetsk after spending just one season in Spain with Barcelona, the Ukrainian champions said yesterday. The center back has signed a five-year deal with last year’s UEFA Cup winners, who will pay 15 million euros (US$18.87 million) for the player, it said in a statement. Chygrynskiy was the first Ukrainian to play for Barcelona after the Catalans paid 25 million euros for him last August. He has played 24 times for Ukraine.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier