■ SOCCER
FIFA officials visit US
FIFA World Cup inspectors visited New York on Tuesday as part of a three-day, five-city US tour that includes breakfast at the White House. The six-man delegation is touring potential stadiums and facilities as part of the process in determining if the US is a suitable host for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The highlight of the tour for the group, which is led by Chile Football Federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls, was to be breakfast at the White House yesterday morning. Former US president Bill Clinton attended World Cup matches in South Africa and is chairman of the US bid. The US is one of eight of nine stops on the FIFA world tour. FIFA’s executive committee votes on both event hosts Dec. 2.
■ BASEBALL
S Korea to target drug tests
South Korean baseball officials could introduce drastic anti-doping protocols next year with a plan to target specific players for drug tests. The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) said players who showed marked statistical improvement would be targeted in a clampdown on drug cheats, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported yesterday. The KBO currently tests five local players randomly selected from each of the eight ballclubs, plus all foreign players. League officials said they would begin examining the new testing procedures at the end of the season, with players exceeding their career averages set to be selected for testing.
■ FIGURE SKATING
Kim Yu-na to train in LA
Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na is set to train in Los Angeles, although for how long and under whose tutelage remain to be seen. Since splitting from her longtime coach Brian Orser in a public spat last month, Kim had remained coy on her future plans. Kim eliminated some of the mystery on Tuesday, confirming she would be moving her training base from Canada to Artesia on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
■ SWIMMING
Stephanie Rice sorry for slur
Triple Olympic swimming gold medalist Stephanie Rice made a tearful apology yesterday for a homophobic slur she posted on Saturday on Twitter. Rice twice broke down in tears at a news conference she called in Sydney where she asked for forgiveness for her “thoughtless and careless” comment. Rice, 22, tweeted the derogatory remark after Australia’s last-minute win over South Africa in a Rugby Union test match at Bloemfontein. Rice, who reportedly is dating Australia flyhalf Quade Cooper, later deleted the tweet and apologized, saying she didn’t mean to cause offense. She said she called Wednesday’s news conference because she felt a public apology was also necessary. “I owe it to those who I have offended to publicly say, I am sorry,” Rice said. Saturday’s tweet cost Rice an endorsement contract with luxury carmaker Jaguar.
■ FOOTBALL
Parcells gives up control
Miami Dolphins vice president Bill Parcells is handing over control of the team to general manager Jeff Ireland and will remain a daily consultant, the Dolphins said on Tuesday. “Effective immediately, Jeff Ireland will assume full control over all aspects and decisions in regard to the Miami Dolphins football team and support staff,” the team said in a statement. Parcells had named Ireland the Dolphins’ general manager in 2008. Prior to joining the Dolphins in December 2007, Parcells spent 19 years as an NFL head coach with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later