SOCCER
Ivanov sets unwanted record
Levski Sofia defender Ivo Ivanov shed tears of despair when he put the ball into his own net 14 seconds after coming on as a substitute during their Europa League game against Lille to set a curious record. A Bulgarian soccer Web site claimed that Ivanov had scored the fastest own-goal by a substitute in European club competition history on Thursday, with some statisticians claiming it was the quickest ever own-goal by a player coming off the bench. Ivanov headed the ball into the Levski net in the 87th minute with his first touch to level the scores at 2-2 just six minutes after Vladimir Gadzhev had put the home side ahead. “This is the worst moment of my life,” Ivanov said on Friday. British record books claim Torquay United central defender Pat Kruse scored the fastest own-goal in history — taking only eight seconds to find his own net against Cambridge United in a Fourth Division match in January 1977.
SOCCER
FC United grab FA Cup win
FC United, the non-league semi-professional team formed by disillusioned Manchester United fans, beat Rochdale 3-2 to secure a memorable FA Cup victory on Friday. The side from the seventh tier of English soccer, founded after United’s takeover by the Glazer family, reached the second round with a dramatic late winner by Michael Norton. The FC United No. 9 appeared to kick the ball out of Rochdale goalkeeper Josh Lillis’ hands before tapping into an empty net, but referee Geoff Eltringham allowed the goal to stand.
CYCLING
Jason Queally strikes gold
Jason Queally’s efforts at avoiding a “proper job” paid off on Friday when the 40-year-old Briton won a gold medal in the team pursuit at the European track championships in Poland. Queally, who won Kilo gold at the 2000 Olympics, has turned from sprints to endurance racing in the hope of competing at the London Games in 2012 after coming out of retirement. “My ambition in life is to stay and play for as long as possible, I don’t want to go out and have a proper job like normal people,” he said. “I’m 40 years old, still riding my bike and getting paid for it, and it keeps me away from the real world.”
HORSE RACING
Jockeys trade punches
Jockeys Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano traded punches in the winner’s circle of the Breeders’ Cup after Castellano made an abrupt move on the racetrack. Borel pointed his finger at Castellano and the two went at each other, scuffling as others tried to separate them. An enraged Borel refused to relent, pushing to get back at Castellano as other tried to pull him away. Eventually, Borel’s wife and brother each grabbed an arm and walked him back to the jockeys’ room. Borel was upset with how Castellano rode Prince Will I Am during Friday’s US$500,000 Marathon at Churchill Downs.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Clubb shines on debut
Harlequins center Tony Clubb celebrated his debut with four tries as England beat Papua New Guinea 36-10 in their final match of the Four Nations yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand. The 23-year-old Clubb proved to be the backbone of the England side as they secured their solitary win of the tournament. In the first match of a double-header, ahead of Australia defeating New Zealand 34-20 in the last pool match, England outscored PNG seven tries to two. In addition to Clubb’s four, Luke Robinson scored twice and Ben Harrison once.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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