BASEBALL
Athletics sign Matsui
The Oakland Athletics and free agent slugger Hideki Matsui finalized a US$4.25 million, one-year contract on Tuesday after he passed a physical. The sides had agreed to terms during the weekend. Oakland formally introduced Matsui on Tuesday afternoon in a news conference attended by more than 100 media members — mostly Japanese — and featuring 17 television cameras. The 36-year-old Matsui batted .274 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs last season with the Los Angeles Angels, the Athletics’ American League West rival.
FOOTBALL
Vikings go ‘alfresco’
The Minnesota Vikings said they would host the Chicago Bears on Monday in the great outdoors after finding their indoor Metrodome home would not be ready after a snowstorm caused a rip in the inflatable roof. An inspection on Tuesday ruled out the Metrodome and the NFL team announced their Monday night game next week would be shifted to the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium. “We are committed to playing Monday night’s game in Minnesota in front of our fans,” the Vikings said in a statement posted on their Web site. “We appreciate the tremendous cooperation of the University of Minnesota and look forward to completing preparations for the game and turning this into a memorable experience for the State of Minnesota and Vikings fans.”
TENNIS
Parents duke it out
One man was arrested and paramedics were called after a dispute over a line call in a junior tennis match sparked a fight between parents in Melbourne, Australia. Tennis Australia condemned the incident, which left one man needing hospital treatment for cuts and grazes. Police spokeswoman Sharna Roberts said officers responded to a call to Melbourne Park — home of the Australian Open — on Tuesday after a fight involving a 48-year-old and a 51-year-old man. One man was charged with assault.
SWIMMING
Lochte goes Phelpsian
Having surpassed Michael Phelps as the top all-around swimmer this year, Ryan Lochte hopes to punctuate the fact with a Phelpsian performance this week. Lochte wants to swim eight events over five days at the short-course world championships which began yesterday in Dubai. If he wins them all, he’ll match the record eight golds Phelps won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lochte is listed to swim five individual events — the 100m, 200m and 400m individual medleys, plus the 200m freestyle and 200m backstroke. He’ll also take part in the 400m and 800m free relays. The only question in his program is whether he’ll race in the 400m medley relay.
SWIMMING
2010 going record-less
The clock is ticking very slowly in swimming these days. For the first time in more than a century, the sport risks ending the year without a single world record established in the pool. By outlawing the rubberized suits that rewrote the record book in 2008 and last year, swimming governing body FINA has turned back the clock so far that most swimmers are no longer anywhere close to their best times. This year’s record book has already been closed on long-course events without a single entry and this week’s short-course world championships in Dubai present the final chance to make some history.
AGENCIES
SOCCER
Miners inspired United win
Watching soccer while trapped underground gave the trapped miners in Chile hope during their 69-day ordeal this year and their experience helped inspire Manchester United to beat Arsenal on Monday. Some of the 33 miners rescued in October were at Old Trafford to watch Alex Ferguson’s team go top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over one of their main title rivals. “You played a part in that great win over Arsenal last night because Alex referred to your story in his team talk before the game and used the motivation from that to galvanize the players,” club chief executive David Gill told them on Tuesday. Wearing United scarves and clutching bulging bags of souvenirs from the club shop, the miners were attending a champagne and canapes reception for them at Old Trafford. Some brushed away tears as a video of their rescue was shown, while others cheered and laughed as they saw themselves sharing passionate kisses with their loved ones.
SOCCER
Tevez reports for training
Want-away Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez returned to the club’s training ground on Tuesday as scheduled, Britain’s Press Association reported. Tevez was scheduled to take part in a training session on Tuesday following a four-day break in Tenerife. The Argentina striker sat out the weekend victory against West Ham United, which emphasized City’s title credentials, as he was banned, but following the win, it was revealed Tevez had handed in a written transfer request that has been rejected by the club. It is understood he was unlikely to travel to Turin yesterday with the squad ahead of their Europa League match against Juventus. Manager Roberto Mancini apparently made that decision before the weekend, knowing the team is already through to the next stage of the tournament.
SOCCER
Three injured in bus attack
Three people were injured on Tuesday when a group, believed to be Dinamo Zagreb fans, stoned and threw torches at a bus carrying VIP guests of Greek side PAOK ahead of their Europa League match, police said. Several dozen people attacked the police-escorted bus that was carrying about 40 guests of the Greek team on the outskirts of Zagreb, police said in a statement. Three people were injured and treated in the hospital, while seven more refused medical help, police added. Attackers pelted the bus with stones and after breaking its windows, they threw torches into it. Several perpetrators were detained, while a car that was passing nearby was also damaged, police said. Local media reported that firefighters managed to immediately extinguish the fire in the bus.
RUGBY UNION
Banned physio appeals
A former rugby physiotherapist who was stripped of his license because of his involvement in the faking of blood injuries has launched an appeal in one of Britain’s senior courts. The lawyer acting for Steph Brennan says the sanction imposed by the Health Professions Council in September is too severe. Paul Harris told London’s High Court that “it couldn’t possibly have been proportionate for the conduct committee to have effectively adopted a ‘one strike and you are out for good’ approach.” Brennan admitted to a total of five instances of faking blood injuries, a practice brought to light by a high-profile case involving Harlequins winger Tom Williams in a Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster in April last year.
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
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two