■ CYCLING
McEwen misses out
Road cycling veteran Robbie McEwen says he has not been selected in Australia’s team for the elite road race at the road world championships in Melbourne and nearby Geelong next month. McEwen posted on his Twitter account yesterday that he will not be in the team of nine riders for the main event of the Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 worlds, the elite men’s road race on Oct. 3. Cycling Australia was yet to officially announce its team. McEwen posted “I won’t be at worlds in Geelong, not selected ... yes, I’m disappointed.” The sprint specialist has participated in the Tour de France 11 times, the first in 1997, and has 12 stage wins.
■WUSHU
Chan makes Games case
Hollywood martial arts star Jackie Chan has called for wushu, better known outside China as kung fu, to be recognized as an official Olympic sport, state media reported yesterday. “I love wushu a lot and I would love to see it included in future Olympic Games,” Chan, who was in Beijing to record a theme song for an upcoming combat event, was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes wushu as a sport but has not included it as an official event in the Games, unlike other Asian martial arts such as taekwondo and judo that are now part of the global sports gathering. However, the IOC allowed China to organize an international wushu tournament at the same time as the 2008 Beijing Games to showcase the sport. Chan explained that wushu’s many styles of fighting and different schools could have hindered its inclusion as an official Olympic sport, the report said. “This makes it difficult for wushu to make a unified impression to international audiences,” he said. Chan began practising wushu as a child and says he still works on his moves daily, the report said.
■ WATER POLO
US win women’s title
The US led 6-0 at half-time and held on for a 6-3 win over Australia in the women’s World Cup final yesterday — the Americans’ first title since the inaugural event in 1979. Both teams had one-goal wins in Saturday’s semi-finals. Australia, the defending champions, edged Russia 11-10 and the US beat China 10-9. In other matches yesterday, China defeated Russia 11-9 to take the bronze medal while Canada beat Hungary 18-16 in a penalty shootout to finish fifth. The playoff for seventh in the eight-team tournament saw Greece outclass New Zealand 16-8.
■ GOLF
Hanson leads Czech Open
Ryder Cup hopeful Peter Hanson shot a 5-under 67 to open a four-stroke lead after the third round of the Czech Open on Saturday. Hanson, who was tied for the overnight lead with fellow Swede Fredrik Widmark, birdied four of the last six holes to finish at 12-under 204 at the Prosper Golf Resort. “I really took my birdie chances on the way in on 13 and 14,” Hanson said. “I was very happy with the up and down on 16. It was a tough lie just off the green and then the long putt on the last.” Hanson is 15th on the points list and a victory could help him make the Europe Ryder Cup team. Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, who co-designed the 7,155-yard course, also carded 67 to move up from 18th to a share of second with Englishman Simon Dyson at 8-under 208. Jimenez, eighth in the standings, is close to automatically making the Ryder Cup team while Dyson, who is 16th, needs a good result in Celadna to have a chance to qualify.
■ BASEBALL
A-Rod on disabled list again
New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day disabled list (DL) with a calf strain on Saturday, leaving the Bronx Bombers without one of their biggest weapons during a crucial part of the season. “[General manager Brian Cashman] talked to the doctors and the trainers and we just felt it was probably in the best interest to put him on the DL,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi told MLB.com. “We’re going to play it safe. “We don’t feel he’s any worse than he was before, but we’re just going to play it extremely safe here and know that we’ll have a player in 15 days.” Rodriguez, who recently hit his milestone 600th home run, injured his calf on Monday last week in a game against the Detroit Tigers and returned to the New York lineup on Friday against the Seattle Mariners only to re-aggravate the injury. While the Yankees own the major league’s best record (76-47), they are locked in a tight pennant race with the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.
■ NASCAR
Vickers treated for clots
NASCAR driver Brian Vickers said he had heart surgery last month as part of his treatment for blood clots. Vickers stopped racing in May when doctors discovered clots in his leg and lungs. He said a third clot was found in a finger on his left hand. Vickers said he had surgery to close a hole in his heart, and a second procedure to insert a stent into a vein in his left leg. He said doctors found he suffers from May-Thurner syndrome, a blood clot disorder that increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis. The 26-year-old Vickers said doctors have told him he’s still on track to return to stock car racing next season.
■ BASEBALL
Stairs blasts 21st pinch hit
San Diego Padres outfielder Matt Stairs hit his 21st career pinch hit home run in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday to set a Major League record. Stairs, hitting for Ernesto Frieri in the eighth inning, smashed a pitch off Milwaukee Brewers reliever Kameron Loe over the right field fence to move past Cliff Johnson, with whom he had shared the previous record of 20 pinch-hit home runs. “It’s a great accomplishment, it really is, for a couple reasons,” San Diego manager Bud Black told reporters. “Matt has maintained a level of play for a long time. Also, one of the hardest roles on a team is the pinch-hitter.” The two-run blast, however, was not enough to help his team to victory. Milwaukee held on for the 6-5 win. Stairs, who broke into the majors in 1992 and played for 12 teams, has hit 262 home runs.
■ BASEBALL
Strasburg to have MRI scan
Washington’s rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg will have an MRI scan on his pitching arm after he was forced off early in his team’s 8-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. The Nationals, behind a strong performance from Strasburg, were leading 5-1 in the fifth inning when he winced in pain and shook his right arm following a pitch. Nationals manager Jim Riggleman immediately replaced the starter, who had allowed just two hits while striking out six. Strasburg, who was making his third start since returning from the disabled list for a stiff right shoulder, was scheduled to have an MRI yesterday. “He wanted to stay in the game,” Riggleman told reporters. “After the initial feeling, he said he didn’t feel anything and he wanted to keep pitching.
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
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