OLYMPICS
Illegal ticket seller arrested
British police said they arrested a man suspected of illegally offering to sell London Games tickets. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested the 23-year-old man at his home on Monday in Brent, England, after it was tipped off about activity on social networking sites luring people to a fraudulent Web site offering tickets to next year’s Games. Police said on Tuesday it was the first arrest of its kind. The man has been bailed to return in early August. Police are warning people to be wary of buying tickets from unauthorized sources.
HOCKEY
Belfour heads Fame list
Former All-Star goalie Ed Belfour has been elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Joe Nieuwendyk as the newest class of inductees. The four former NHL stars were chosen by the hall’s 18-member selection committee on Tuesday. Belfour, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goalie, posted 484 wins — third on the NHL career list — and 76 shutouts during a 17-year career during which he played for Chicago, San Jose, Dallas, Toronto and Florida.
RUGBY UNION
McCaw could be fit to play
Canterbury Crusaders assistant coach Daryl Gibson is confident All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will be fit for the Super 15 semi-final against South Africa’s Stormers on Saturday. Gibson said All Blacks backrower Keiran Read was also likely to be fit for the match in Cape Town, South Africa. McCaw has been sidelined for the past month with a foot injury and Read was in doubt after injuring an ankle during last weekend’s elimination qualifier against the Durban-based Sharks. Gibson said “we anticipate Richie will be back and he will lead the team. Kieran, too, is expected to be fit.” He said it was “a pure luxury” for the Crusaders to be able to name a full strength team at this stage of the season.
HOCKEY
Canucks’ Bieksa extended
The Vancouver Canucks signed defenseman Kevin Bieksa to a five-year contract extension, the NHL team said on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but local media reports have suggested the deal is worth US$23 million. Bieksa, Vancouver’s fifth-round selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, has 34 goals and 147 points in 347 games with the only team he has played for. A cornerstone of the Vancouver blueline, Bieksa had five goals and five assists the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Stanley Cup finalists still have two key defensemen unsigned with Christian Ehrhoff and Sami Salo set to hit the free agent market tomorrow.
CRICKET
‘Big Bash’ salary cap set
Cricket Australia say eight city-based teams in Australia’s revamped Twenty20 “Big Bash” competition will have a salary cap of A$1 million (US$1.05 million). The teams, including two each from Melbourne and Sydney, can sign up to 18 players, including up to two from overseas, within the cap, Cricket Australia said yesterday. Players will be paid retainers, not match fees. Retired Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and attacking West Indies allrounder Chris Gayle are the highest-profile international players figuring in contract speculation. The Indian Premier League, which spawned a number of domestic Twenty20 competitions around the world, imposed a US$9 million salary cap on its clubs for this year’s competition.
Real Madrid yesterday apologized to China for star striker Kylian Mbappe’s comments poking fun at Mao Zedong, after the star striker’s remarks sparked a social media storm and saw Spanish soccer yanked off state TV. Mocking former leader Mao — blamed by historians for millions of deaths — is taboo in China, and Mbappe’s remarks saw him become the latest foreign sports figure to anger Beijing. In a clip of a video interview with French show The Bridge — since taken down — Mbappe talked about being amused by an Internet meme of his face photoshopped onto “some guy, think he’s a
AFP, OVIEDO, Spain Lionel Messi received Spain’s most prestigious sports award on Friday in recognition of his glittering career and his work for disadvantaged children’s access to health and education. The Argentine forward, 39, was named winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports in June, with the jury hailing “the most successful footballer of all time” and his social work. Dozens of fans wearing Argentina soccer shirts cheered and chanted Messi’s name as he arrived to the sound of bagpipes and drums at the ceremony in Oviedo, capital of the northern Spanish region of Asturias. Messi collected a formal roll of parchment
The CTBC Brothers took another step yesterday to overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the Taiwan Series with a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Wei Chuan Dragons at the Taipei Dome, extending the championship series to a Game 6. The Brothers got strong performances from starting pitcher Nivaldo Rodriguez and shortstop Chiang Kun-yu, who scored the winning run in the top of the ninth to give CTBC its second straight win in the series. With the score tied at 3-3, Brothers first baseman Huang Wei-sheng hit a sacrifice fly to drive home Chiang, who had reached base with his third hit of the
On the eve of the MLB World Series, there is a realization that these might be the competition’s last games for a while. Owners are pushing for a salary cap, which could prompt a lockout starting on Dec. 2 and result in canceled games next year. “It would be a real bummer to lose a season, that’s for sure,” Tampa Bay Rays ace Drew Rasmussen said on Thursday ahead of the World Series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. “I think the industry as a whole is in way too good of a place.” The World Series is scheduled to start at 8am today,
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