BASEBALL
Nats sign GM for five years
The Washington Nationals have signed general manager Mike Rizzo to a five-year contract extension that includes naming him executive vice president of baseball operations, the team said on Tuesday. “Mike Rizzo is unquestionably one of the best baseball minds in the game,” managing principal owner Ted Lerner said in a statement on the team’s Web site (washington.nationals.mlb.com). “He has a unique ability to see player talent for what it is, what it can be and how it fits into building a team.” The Nationals increased their win total to 69 this season, 10 more than last year. Pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper, both No. 1 draft picks, and pitchers Drew Storen and Jordan Zimmermann and infielder Danny Espinosa were all signed during Rizzo’s tenure as general manager.
TENNIS
Serena out for season
Serena Williams is done for the season, just like her sister. In a statement e-mailed to reporters by her agent, the younger Williams said on Tuesday that she “re-tore the tendon” in her right foot, which she originally injured by cutting it on glass at a restaurant shortly after winning Wimbledon in July. Williams says she had “another procedure to repair” the tendon on Monday. Her announcement came less than two weeks after her sister Venus said she wouldn’t play for the rest of the year.
FOOTBALL
No healthcare in lockout
The NFL has told the players’ union that it will stop providing healthcare for players and their families in March if the two sides do not reach a new collective bargaining agreement. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith says he was working to figure out a plan to ensure medical coverage for players and their families should they be locked out. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said it’s one more reason to reach an agreement. He also pointed to the US COBRA law that allows employees to continue their existing coverage without interruption at their own expense or the expense of their union. During the National Hockey League lockout in 2004-2005, the NHL players’ union paid for substitute coverage.
CRICKET
Suspended players barred
The Pakistan Cricket Board has barred three players under international suspension from practicing at the National Cricket Academy. Board spokesman Nadeem Sarwar yesterday said Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been informed that they cannot utilize practice facilities at the academy. Butt had been practicing at the academy in Lahore since he returned from the tour of England last month. The three players have been suspended by the International Cricket Council pending investigations into accusations of spot fixing first raised by a British tabloid. All three have denied the allegations and have filed appeals against their suspensions. The council will hold a hearing in Doha on Saturday and Sunday next week.
OLYMPICS
London Games’ budget cut
The British government is planning cuts in the security budget for the London 2012 Olympics as it looks to clear the country’s crippling debts. In a defense and security review, the government says it has identified “some efficiency savings” to ensure that security at the Olympics “as cost-effective as possible.” A separate security report highlighted fears that cyber warfare could hit the London Games, after the 2008 Beijing Olympics experienced 12 million such attacks every day.
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