BASKETBALL
Yao eyes return to Rockets
Chinese giant Yao Ming has not given up hope on making a return to the NBA Houston Rockets after his latest injury setback, saying that he expects to return to on-court workouts in 10 weeks. In remarks posted on the team’s Web site, Yao said he would attempt to make a comeback with the Rockets after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot on Nov. 10 in a loss at Washington and playing only five games this season. “I will try continuing,” Yao said. “A lot will depend on this foot.” Yao underwent surgery in December after a fifth consecutive season that was interrupted by bone injuries, including a major operation to reconstruct the left foot before last season, but the latest injury was not as severe as first thought and it did not complicate the previous surgical work, meaning it was not necessarily a career-ending injury for the eight-time NBA All-Star.
BASKETBALL
Stoudemire foul overturned
NBA officials rescinded a technical foul issued to New York’s Amare Stoudemire after reviewing the call on Friday, enabling the playmaker to suit up for the Knicks today against Indiana. Stoudemire was assessed his 16th technical foul of the season in a 127-109 loss at Dallas on Thursday, a mark that what normally would see a one-game ban imposed because of accumulated season technical fouls. Brendan Haywood of Dallas and Stoudemire, who were each called for technicals off the same play, were laughing about the call after referee Bennett Salvatore whistled them. The reversal is the third overturned technical foul for Stoudemire this season. Once 16 technicals have been reached, every second technical foul picked up thereafter brings a one-game ban.
FOOTBALL
NFL owners lock out players
The NFL was left facing an uncertain future after being plunged into its first work stoppage for almost a quarter of a century at midnight on Friday, when team owners imposed a lockout on their players. Although the NFL did not release an official statement, the league-owned NFL Network reported on air that the lockout began immediately after the collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union expired at midnight. The announcement came just hours after two years of labor negotiations between the NFL and the union collapsed, prompting the union to dissolve itself and allowing players to take legal action against the league. At least 10 players immediately filed antitrust lawsuits against the NFL to prevent a possible lockout, even before the deadline had been reached.
BADMINTON
Zwiebler marches into semis
Giant-killing Marc Zwiebler, enjoying the best week of his badminton career, booked a semi-final slot in the All England championships on Friday, beating Japan’s Kazushi Yamada 21-18, 17-21, 21-15. The German had claimed the scalp of world champion Chen Jin on Thursday and battled all the way against Yamada, who had made his own piece of badminton history in the first round with a shock win over ex-Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat. Zwiebler now meets four-times All England winner Lin Dan, who eased past Vietnamese seventh seed Tien Minh Nguyen 21-17, 21-11. World No. 1 and defending champion Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia made short work of eighth seed Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, winning 21-15, 21-7 in 30 minutes. Fourth seed Peter Gade of Denmark, champion in 1999, had to give second best to Chinese fifth seed Chen Long, who won 21-12, 21-12 and will meet Chong Wei in the semis.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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
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