CANADA
Rapids take MLS crown
The Colorado Rapids were crowned champions of Major League Soccer for the first time after a 2-1 extra-time win over FC Dallas on Sunday. Dallas took the lead in the 35th minute when Colombian David Ferreira coolly converted a superb cross from Marvin Chavez. In a largely scrappy game, Colorado drew level through a scrambled effort in the 57th minute when striker Conor Casey scooped the ball home while lying on the floor. Colorado went in front in extra-time when a shot from substitute Macoumba Kandji was deflected in by Dallas defender George John.
SOUTH KOREA
FIFA official speaks out
FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon thinks the recent suspension of two executive committee members for alleged ethics violations is too harsh. “I personally believe the disciplinary measures on the two executive committee members are excessive,” Chung told reporters in Seoul yesterday. The ethics panel for soccer’s world governing body last week banned Nigeria’s Amos Adamu from all soccer activity for three years for allegedly agreeing to take bribes from undercover reporters from Britain’s the Sunday Times newspaper who posed as lobbyists trying to buy votes. It also suspended Reynald Temarii of Tahiti, the president of the Oceania confederation, for one year for breaching FIFA’s loyalty and confidentiality rules when he was secretly filmed. Chung said it’s obvious the two committee members’ remarks were “not careful,” but he wondered if their behavior was serious enough to warrant such a punishment. He said many other executive members have also expressed regret over the suspension.
SCOTLAND
Referees vote to strike
Scottish soccer fixtures may be postponed this weekend after the country’s leading referees voted to strike, media reports said on Sunday. BBC Scotland said the officials had become concerned that their integrity was constantly being questioned by some clubs and individuals. A decision to take strike action received unanimous backing at a meeting on Sunday, the reports said. Former Scottish Premier League referee Stuart Dougal told Sky Sports News: “What’s got to referees is the level of abuse, the intensity of the criticism and of the scrutiny ... My understanding is there are referees who believe, not only their own personal safety, but that of their family [is at risk] as well. When it gets to that level it is unacceptable.” The reports of a possible strike followed weeks of controversy surrounding match officials.
FRANCE
Bolt fancies himself a striker
Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt on Sunday revealed that he would like to try his hand at professional soccer when he retires from athletics and dreams of playing for Manchester United. “I’d like to try to become a professional [soccer player] at the end of my career,” the triple Olympic champion on French television station Canal Plus said. “I’ll stop athletics at the age of 30. If I could have the chance to play for a team, even for one of the smallest teams in the English Premier League or a lower division, just to see if I can do it.” Bolt is an avowed United supporter and he went on to admit that it is his dream to line up alongside his heroes at Old Trafford. The world record holder at 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay says he could see himself playing in midfield or as a striker. “But lots of people say I should play as a winger,” he added, “because I’m quick.”
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier