CRICKET
Harbhajan’s mom at bat
Spin bowler Harbhajan Singh’s mother has filed a legal notice against a liquor company for running an advertisement in which India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ridicules her son, local media reported yesterday. Dhoni, promoting a UB Group brand in the commercial, mocks teammate Harbhajan’s catchphrase from another advertisement promoting a rival product. The spoof also shows a Harbhajan lookalike being slapped, something many feel was not in good taste. Harbhajan’s mother Avtar Kaur has asked the company to apologize through newspapers and television channels and to withdraw the advertisement within three days of receiving the legal notice. However, UB Group chief Vijay Mallya has ruled out withdrawing the commercial, the Times of India newspaper reported. “It was not meant to attack Harbhajan Singh personally. It was just a spoof between two brands,” Mallya, who is also the head of Formula One team Force India, told the newspaper. “There are several TV programs that spoof our politicians. What will happen if all of them start sending legal notices?”
CRICKET
Dhoni bat hits six figures
The cricket bat used by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to hit a match--winning six in the World Cup final has fetched a staggering £100,000 (US$160,500) at an auction, media reported yesterday. The auction was held in London on Monday to raise funds for his charitable foundation that was launched in India last year, the Press Trust of India news agency said. The India captain, who scored an unbeaten 79-ball 91 with the bat in his team’s six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai in April, sealed the match when he smashed seamer Nuwan Kulasekara for six.
SOCCER
Given signs with Villa
Aston Villa on Monday announced the signing of experienced Irish goalkeeper Shay Given on a five-year contract from Premier League rivals Manchester City. The 35-year-old, who arrived for an undisclosed fee, is Villa coach Alex McLeish’s first signing since he succeeded Gerard Houllier at the end of last season. “Aston Villa is a huge club and I’m really excited to be joining,” Given told the Villa Web site. “It’s a new challenge and I’m eager to embrace it.” Given joined City from Newcastle United for £7 million (US$11.2m) in 2009, but has spent much of his time on the bench after City coach Roberto Mancini decided to make England international Joe Hart his first-choice goalkeeper. The Irishman, his country’s most capped player with 113 appearances, will replace American goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who left Villa for Tottenham Hotspur last month after three years at the Midlands club.
SOCCER
Final sparks Twitter frenzy
Twitter users fired off a record number of tweets per second at the final whistle of Japan’s thrilling upset win over the US in the women’s World Cup final. The San Francisco-based real-time blogging service said Twitter users sent 7,196 tweets per second after Japan defeated the US in a penalty shootout. Twitter, in a statement on its @TwitterGlobalPR feed, said another soccer match was next in terms of the highest number of tweets per second ever sent: Brazil’s shock loss to Paraguay in the Copa America. Twitter users sent 7,166 tweets per second at the conclusion of that match. Twitter’s previous record was the 6,939 tweets per second sent on January 1 this year as the New Year arrived in Tokyo.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was