■ FOOTBALL
Dolphins hunt for diamond
Several Miami Dolphins crawled across the field after practice on Tuesday — not because of exhaustion, but because they were looking for a diamond earring. Defensive end Kendall Langford said he forgot to take his earrings off before practice and lost one during drills. He said the diamond was nearly 2.5 carats, which is why he was still on the field an hour after practice scanning the grass. At least nine teammates helped. Some were on their hands and knees, and a couple used rakes to comb through the turf. They had a lot of ground to cover, because the NFL team practices on two fields. “I’ve got a great group of guys out here helping me — family-type guys,” Langford said. He declined to say how much the earring cost. One jewelry distributor said it could be more than US$50,000. Several fellow defensive linemen were among those assisting Langford in his search. “He’s a teammate. That’s what you do,” defensive end Ryan Baker said. “It’s a fat diamond. It’s a shame.” Langford finally abandoned the search because he was due at a team meeting.
■ RUBGY UNION
Colin Slade called up
New Zealand yesterday included uncapped flyhalf Colin Slade as cover for Dan Carter in the 26-man squad to face Australia as the All Blacks seek a clean sweep in the Tri-Nations tournament. Slade was the sole change to coach Graham Henry’s all conquering squad, who have won all five of their Tri-Nations Tests this year and have already claimed the southern hemisphere title. The 22-year-old is likely start on the bench against the Wallabies in Sydney on Sept. 11, with Aaron Cruden promoted from the reserves to take over the playmaker role from Carter, who is recovering from ankle surgery. Henry said Cruden would definitely be starting against Australia, but Slade’s domestic form for Canterbury had earned him a place in the squad. “Colin Slade I thought was probably the best player on the field against Auckland on Saturday and he’s been playing very well,” he told reporters. Slade said winning a cap off the bench for the All Blacks would fulfill a childhood dream. “Every boy growing up wants to play for the All Blacks and I was no different,” he said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Doctor can go back to work
The doctor at the center of the Harlequins “Bloodgate” controversy was told on Tuesday that she is free to work in medicine again. Wendy Chapman deliberately cut the lip of Harlequins winger Tom Williams, who wanted to conceal that he had bitten into a fake-blood capsule during a European Cup quarter-final tie in April last year against Irish side Leinster, who held on to win 6-5. His so-called injury meant a specialist goal-kicker could come on to the pitch in the final stages of the match. Chapman later concealed her role in the event, but a General Medical Council disciplinary panel ruled Chapman’s fitness to practice was not impaired despite her actions, which it said were not in the best interests of her patient.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Khabibulin handed jail term
Russian goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin has been sentenced to 30 days in jail in connection with an Arizona drink-driving conviction. The four-time All-Star, who now plays for the Edmonton Oilers, received the sentence on Tuesday in an Arizona court. He was also fined US$5,100 and must take part in an alcohol-treatment program. The 37-year-old was pulled over in his Ferrari six months ago for speeding. Khabibulin is appealing the sentence.
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