■Futsal
Taipei hosts tournament
The 2010 Taipei International Invitational Futsal Tournament kicks off today at Taipei Arena and runs through Monday. The tournament features teams from Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as the International Union of Brothers, a side composed of local and expat players from Taipei City FC and other Taipei-based soccer clubs. Futsal is a five-a-side variant of soccer played on a smaller playing surface, normally indoors. Action in the round-robin event starts at 9am, with the official opening ceremony at 2:30pm.
■Soccer
Kiwi star joins Hammers
West Ham United have signed New Zealand defender Winston Reid from Danish side Midtjylland for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The 22-year-old center back, who has penned a three-year deal at Upton Park, becomes new manager Avram Grant’s fifth close-season signing. “My dream has been to come and play in the Premier League and I am happy that I am a West Ham player,” Reid told the club’s Web site. “It has been a mad couple of weeks and the last couple of days have been pretty hectic. I’m pretty decent fitness-wise. I had a game last Sunday so I am in pretty good nick.” Reid, who has spent five seasons with Midtjylland, scored the last-gasp equalizer in New Zealand’s 1-1 World Cup draw with Slovakia in the group stages in South Africa.
■Soccer
Colombia coach aiming high
Colombia coach Hernan Dario Gomez has picked a team of players from clubs that play at high-altitude venues for Wednesday’s game against Bolivia in La Paz. Ten of Gomez’s players are with clubs that play above 2,000m. Four of those picked play in Bogota, which is located at 2,650m. All players on the squad are with clubs in Colombia. The Bolivian capital La Paz is located at 3,600m and always presents problems for visiting teams unaccustomed to the thin air.
■Cycling
Ireland’s Martin wins stage
Ireland’s Daniel Martin, riding for Garmin-Transitions, won Thursday’s fifth stage of the Tour of Poland, a 149km ride from Jastrzebie Zdroj to Ustron, to take the overall lead. Martin set off on an escape 3.5km from the line as he saw off Slovenia’s Grega Bole by 20 seconds and Poland’s Sylwester Szmyd to take pole position off overnight leader Mirco Lorenzetto of Italy after the event’s first mountain stage in the Tatra mountains. Early on, a five-man group including Australian Ben Swift of the Sky team and home racer Maciej Bodnar of Liquigas Domo broke away and after the opening three climbs Poland’s Mateusz Taciak (Polska BGZ) and Germany’s Martin Reimer (Cervelo) joined the fray. But on the final ascent, Martin broke away to triumph and bag the yellow jersey with a 14 second advantage over Lampre racer Bole and 21 seconds over Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing).
■Boxing
Mayweather sued for rent
Floyd Mayweather Jr is being sued for unpaid rent and breach of contract after his promotions company was evicted from a Las Vegas office. Mayweather lawyer Jeff Morse on Thursday downplayed the July 27 eviction of Mayweather Promotions LLC from what he said was a substandard building. Attorney Ross Goodman says Mayweather owed almost US$63,000 in outstanding rent, and never notified the landlord of any property problems. A court date hasn’t been set in the civil lawsuit filed against Mayweather.
■GO
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