Captain predicts gold
The captain of Taiwan’s Go team that will compete in this year’s Asian Games said on Thursday that the country’s mixed doubles teams stand a great chance of winning a gold medal in the competition. “Red-faced King of Go” Chou Chun-hsun will be paired with Hei Chia-chia, while Chang Hsu will be teamed with Hsieh Yi-min in the mixed doubles category of the contest. Japan-based Chang and Hsieh have both returned home to prepare for the games. The dream team, under the guidance of head coach H.F. Lin, has been training in Taipei since December last year and the players are making every effort to ensure victory, Chou added. Go, or weiqi, will be on the roster of the Asian Games for the first time this year, and China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Taiwan, are fielding teams to compete in the grand tournament.
■HOCKEY
Modano signs one-year deal
Mike Modano, the highest-scoring US-born player ever in the National Hockey League, has signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings, the team said on Thursday. The team did not disclose financial terms of the deal in a statement to announce the signing, but local media reported he would earn about US$1.25 million. The 40-year-old forward, who led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup championship in 1999, was not re-signed by the Stars after 20 seasons with the Minnesota-Dallas franchise. After missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the Stars informed Modano in June they were moving forward with younger players and would not re-sign him.
■FOOTBALL
Johnson gets record deal
The Houston Texans have given Andre Johnson a contract extension that media reports say will make the four-time Pro Bowler the highest paid wide receiver in the National Football League. The Texans did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but the Houston Chronicle reported the two-year extension that will keep Johnson with the team through the 2016 season is worth US$38.5 million with US$13 million guaranteed. Coupled with the five years and US$35 million Johnson had on his previous contract, the deal is worth US$73.5 million over seven years, the Chronicle reported. The 29-year-old Johnson led the NFL in receiving with 1,569 yards last season and wanted to be the league’s highest paid receiver. He missed the first three days of voluntary workouts earlier this year because he was unhappy with his contract.
■SWIMMING
FINA won’t ban Munoz
Spanish swimmer Rafael Munoz escaped a ban for missing doping controls because of his emotional state when failing to be available for out-of-competition testing. FINA said in Thursday it accepted medical evidence that Munoz was in a “vulnerable psychological condition” when first failing to report his whereabouts to testing teams. Munoz, who holds the 50m butterfly world record, had three reporting failures since last year’s world championships in Rome, where he won two bronze medals. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes who have three missed tests or whereabouts violations in an 18-month span can be banned for between two months and two years. The ruling cleared Munoz to swim next week at the European championships in Budapest, Hungary. FINA said Munoz will still face sanctions if he misses another test or fails to report his whereabouts before Aug. 25, next year.
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