RUGBY UNION
Wallabies unafraid: NZ coach
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen said that the Wallabies no longer fear the All Blacks and probably don’t even respect them, but that won’t be New Zealand’s motivation when the teams meet in a Tri-Nations rugby match on Saturday. Australia has been bullish this week about the chances of its talented young team beating New Zealand in New Zealand for the first time in 11 years and at Auckland’s Eden Park — venue for this year’s World Cup final — for the first time since 1986. Australian selector David Nucifora said because most of the current Wallabies are young and new to international rugby, they are unaffected by hoodoos or history. Nucifora said young Wallabies were more likely to be excited by the challenge of playing New Zealand than daunted.
OLYMPICS
Commuters told to innovate
The British government is urging London residents to “travel differently” during next year’s Olympics to avoid traffic chaos. An additional 3 million trips are expected to be made on London’s public transport system on Aug. 3 next year, the first day of athletics competition and one of the busiest travel days of the games. That’s on top of the regular 12 million journeys a day on public transport. The government wants commuters to change their travel habits to ease the congestion. British Transport Secretary Norman Baker says: “It’s time to oil the creaking bike, dig out the walking boots, work out how to use the video conferencing equipment, and fire up the laptop gathering dust at the back of the cupboard.”
SOCCER
Extremists a worry again
The head of British soccer’s anti-racism body warns that extremists are trying to infiltrate the game again, citing the massacre in Norway as a wake-up call. Kick It Out chairman Herman Ouseley says extremists are “trying to get back into football ... [and] trying to win over the minds of young, vulnerable people.” He says “events in Norway over the last week reminds us that the hatred ... exists not far from our shores.” Confessed Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik says he carried out last month’s twin attacks, which killed 77 people, to launch a revolution against a Europe spoiled by Muslim immigration. House of Lords member Ouseley said: “Believe you me, there are people like that living among us in the UK and organizations that are very hateful.”
SOCCER
Venezuela, FIFA in dispute
Venezuela is on collision course with world soccer governing body FIFA and the International Olympic Commission after its parliament approved a controversial sports law that threatens the autonomy of its sports federations. The bill passed by the national assembly on Tuesday would allow the country’s athletes to vote for officials in their federations, while setting up a “sports justice commission” that could undermine the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF). The law, which still needs Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s approval, would also establish a sports development fund that would slap a 1 percent tax on companies that post annual profits exceeding 1.5 million Venezuelan bolivars (US$350,000). “The law could be considered a direct interference by the government in affairs that are exclusive to the FVF,” FIFA warned in a statement last week. Venezuela’s sports minister Hector Rodriguez has further fanned the flames, dismissing the statement as “lies.”
SOCCER
Vucinic hails Juventus
New Juventus forward Mirko Vucinic hailed the Turin giants as the most famous team in the world and the best-loved in Italy on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Montenegro captain completed his 15 million euros (US$21 million) move from AS Roma on Monday and was presented to the press on Tuesday. Speaking about his move, he insisted it was a step up, even though Roma will play in the Europa League this season, while Juve failed to even qualify for continental competition. “I had come to the end of a cycle. Now I’m at the most famous club in the world and the most loved by Italians,” he said. “When my agent mentioned Juve to me, I had no doubts. I’d already decided to leave Roma last year before [new coach Luis] Enrique arrived. At Roma, like all teams, there were great moments and ones not so good, but the important thing is that I’m here now and I hope that I’ll have some great moments with Juve.”
SOCCER
Arnautovic left out by Austria
Troubled striker Marko Arnautovic has again been left out of the Austria squad for this month’s friendly against Slovakia, the first game of the new season. “Arnautovic is no longer an issue from here on,” coach Didi Constanini told reporters after announcing the squad. “He has to stay quiet and show that he can fulfill his potential in the matches. I have decided in favor of collective spirit and I stick by that.” Arnautovic was dropped for June’s Euro 2012 qualifier at home to Germany and Austria gave a much--improved performance without him, despite losing 2-1. That decision came less than two weeks after the fiery striker was dropped by his club Werder Bremen for unspecified reasons amid reports he had been nightclubbing two days before a Bundesliga match. The 22-year-old managed only three goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances for Werder last season — two of them in his second game — having joined the club after an equally problematic season with Inter in Italy before that.
CRICKET
Bradman family settle suit
A settlement was reached yesterday over the use of Donald Bradman’s name and image, after his son said he feared the cricket legend was being turned into a “brand name like Mickey Mouse.” Executors of the Bradman estate accused law firm Allens Arthur Robinson — responsible for managing the “intellectual property” of his name and image — of negligence in allowing him to be “exploited” by the Bradman Foundation. Son John Bradman’s displeasure became public in 2005 when the foundation licensed an Australian food company to market “Bradman” chocolate chip cookies in India. The Adelaide Advertiser said lawyers for the Bradman family and Allens Arthur Robinson reached a confidential out-of-court agreement yesterday ahead of a scheduled trial in the South Australian Supreme Court. “This has been a long-running matter which has been very important to the Bradman family and we are very pleased with the outcome,” John Bradman told reporters outside the court.
ATHLETICS
Wariner to miss the worlds
Former Olympic and world 400m champion Jeremy Wariner will miss this month’s world championships with a foot injury, his agent said on Tuesday. Wariner, a three-time 400m world champion and a key player in the US’ Olympic and world 4x400m relay victories, tore a ligament in the second toe of his left foot while training last month, Deon Minor said. “Jeremy said he felt a pop while he was training,” Minor said in a telephone interview.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite