CRICKET
Shaun Tait chooses Surrey
Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait will play for Surrey in English cricket’s domestic Twenty20 competition this season, it was announced by the Oval-based county on Thursday. Tait, who now restricts himself to limited overs cricket because of a shoulder injury, is currently playing for Australia in their ongoing one-day series at home to England. The 27-year-old is set to be available for the entire duration of the tournament including, should Surrey qualify, finals day at Edgbaston on Aug. 27.
BASKETBALL
AI to return to Besiktas: club
Besiktas says former NBA star Allen Iverson will return to Turkey next month after surgery in the US. Iverson’s longtime manager, Gary Moore, has said the player plans to have a lesion removed from his right leg in the US and intends to rejoin his Turkish team in time for the playoffs. On Thursday, Besiktas spokesperson Kursat Kaplan said Iverson would return to Turkey and undergo rehabilitation. Iverson, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001, agreed to a US$4 million, two-year deal with Besiktas after no NBA team offered him a contract.
BASKETBALL
Blazers’ Roy to have surgery
Portland Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy will have arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees next week and the NBA team said they don’t know how long he’ll be off the court. Roy has missed 16 games this season because of soreness in his knees. He has said the pain is caused by insufficient cartilage. In 23 games this season, Roy is averaging 16.6 points. The 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year has a career average of 19.9 points and 4.9 assists. Last season, Roy had arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee two days before the Trail Blazers opened their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.
BASEBALL
Robinson exits from hospital
Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was released from an Arizona hospital on Thursday after being admitted earlier in the day with an irregular heartbeat. Robinson, 75 and a senior vice president of MLB operations, became dizzy during a meeting of owners and general managers near Phoenix, the league said on its official Web site (www.mlb.com). After a battery of tests, however, Robinson was released and allowed to return to his hotel. “The doctor said I was a little dry — not dehydrated — and my heart rate was 190 [beats per minute],” Robinson told MLB.com. Robinson played 22 seasons in the MLB and became the first black American manager in the MLB when the Cleveland Indians hired him as a player-manager in 1975. He later managed the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.
FOOTBALL
Newton declares for draft
Auburn University’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton declared himself eligible for this year’s NFL draft on Thursday. Newton, who led the Tigers to a perfect 14-0 season capped by 22-19 victory over the Oregon Ducks in US college football’s championship game on Monday, said on the Auburn Web site (auburntigers.cstv.com) that he will forgo his senior year and pursue a professional career. “After talking to [Auburn head] coach [Gene] Chizik, I think it is best that I make that next step in my career and forego my senior season and enter the NFL Draft,” he said. Newton, rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns while passing for 2,854 yards and 30 scores this season and is expected to be a first round selection.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and