SOCCER
New Chinese coach named
China named Croatia’s Miroslav Blazevic the new head coach of its Olympic team yesterday, state media reported. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is bringing Blazevic in after the team’s poor performance at the Asian Games in Guangzhou last month, the official Xinhua news agency said. He replaces Chinese coach Sun Wei. Blazevic signed a two-year contract with the CFA, which expires in December 2012, Xinhua said. Li Bing was named assistant coach. Blazevic, 75, who coached Croatia to third place in the 1998 World Cup, led the Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua to third place this year. He resigned as Bosnia’s national coach last year after the team failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup.
BASEBALL
LA Angels sign Downs
The Los Angeles Angels have bolstered their bullpen by signing left-handed reliever Scott Downs to a three-year contract, the club said on Friday. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Free agent Downs, 34, who pitched the last five seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays, has been one of the league’s most durable middle relievers. In 67 appearances for Toronto this past season, Downs was 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA. Since 2007, he has compiled an ERA of 2.36, which was the lowest among left-handed relievers over the span and fifth lowest overall in the American League.
LUGE
Huefner notches up win
Olympic champion Tatjana Huefner gave Germany its 101st straight women’s World Cup victory on Friday, leading a one-two sweep for her third win in three races this season. Huefner had a two-run time of one minute, 33.658 seconds at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. “It was a very difficult race. My two runs were not so good, but I was happy to still lead,” Huefner said. “Conditions were very difficult because it was so cold tonight. No grip.” She opened the season with victories in Igls, Austria, and Winterberg, Germany. Germany’s Anke Wischnewski was second in 1:33.801 and the US’ Erin Hamlin was third in 1:33.955.
BOBSLED
Russia duo win World Cup
Russia’s Alexsandr Zubkov and Dmitry Trunenkov overcame poor visibility to win the men’s two-man bobsled World Cup event in Park City, Utah, on Friday night. The Russian team finished in one minute, 37.33 seconds — 0.14 ahead of the Italian team of Simone Bertazzo and Sergio Riva. Germans Andreas Bredau and Manuel Machata took third (1:37.87) after Germany 2 was disqualified for having a brakeman who wasn’t registered in the event. Snow began falling during the second run of the men’s race. “My vision was not very clear, especially on the second run,” said Zubkov, who came out of retirement after crashing in the four-man race in the Vancouver Olympics.
SNOWBOARD
Karl wins giant slalom event
Olympic silver medalist Benjamin Karl of Austria won a snowboard parallel giant slalom World Cup event on Friday. Karl led an all-Austrian podium, beating teammate Andreas Prommegger in the big final, while Manuel Veith edged Swiss boarder Nevin Galmarini in the small final. There was an all-Russian podium in the women’s event, with Ekaterina Tudegesheva beating Alena Zavarzina for first and Svetlana Boldykova finishing ahead of Austria’s Claudia Riegler for third.
FOOTBALL
Patriots’ Spikes suspended
New England Patriots rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes has been suspended for four games without pay for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, the league said on Friday. The suspension for the unnamed substance was effective immediately, starting with today’s game against the Chicago Bears, the NFL said in a statement. Spikes will be eligible to return to the Patriots on Monday, Jan. 3, following the team’s final regular season game against the Miami Dolphins. He would be eligible to participate in all playoff games, should the Patriots qualify for the postseason. “The substance was a medication that I should have gotten clarification on before taking. It was not a performance enhancer or an illegal drug,” Spikes said.
RUGBY SEVENS
Kiwis trounce England
New Zealand powered to a 20-7 win over England at the South Africa Sevens on Friday to send last week’s Dubai winner into a quarter-final against host South Africa. England hasn’t beaten New Zealand in South Africa since 2003, and the Kiwis were highly motivated to avenge a loss to the English in the Dubai semi-finals last weekend. As winners of Pool C, New Zealand will face Argentina in Saturday’s quarters. Defending series champion Samoa gave up a 14-0 lead with a minute remaining to draw 14-14 with Fiji, who took top spot in Pool B. Fiji faces Australia in the last eight while Samoa plays Pool A winner Wales. South Africa beat Argentina 29-5 in Friday’s final game for a 3-0 record in the pool stage.
CRICKET
Pair denied play in league
The Pakistan Cricket Board has refused permission for former captain Shoaib Malik and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal to play league cricket in Bangladesh. The pair had applied for no-objection certificates after they were overlooked for Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand starting this month. “I was very keen to go and play in the Bangladesh league, but the board has told us to just focus on playing in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in domestic cricket,” Akmal told reporters. “I had got a good offer and wanted to go and play there, but unfortunately the clearance has not come.”
TENNIS
Navratilova gets ill on climb
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova was recovering in a Nairobi hospital on Friday after suffering a pulmonary edema during a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Navratilova, who was leading a team of 27 climbers to raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation charity, fell ill on the fourth day of the climb up Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m. The 54-year-old, who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, was helped down the mountain and flown to Nairobi for further tests that revealed the edema.
FOOTBALL
Fines levied for hard hits
Philadelphia defensive end Trent Cole topped the list of fines imposed by the NFL for improper hits last week, when he was fined US$20,000 for striking Houston quarterback Matt Schaub in the knee area last week, the NFL’s Web site reported on Friday. Four other players were also sanctioned by the league: Detroit Lion defensive end Cliff Avril was fined US$15,000; Arizona Cardinals defensive end Alan Branch was docked US$10,000; Buffalo Bills running back Quinton Ganther was hit with a US$5,000, while Bills guard Andy Levitre was fined $7,500.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely