BASKETBAL
Hoyas, Bayi bury hatchet
Georgetown University coach John Thompson III said he has buried the hatchet with the coach of the Chinese team whose players traded punches with their US college opponents in a bench-clearing melee on Thursday. Speaking to reporters in Shanghai yesterday, Thompson said he met with the Bayi Rockets coach on Friday and they shook hands and chatted about basketball and other matters. The Hoyas coach said he did not think the brawl in Beijing had any political connotations.
GOLF
Weir has elbow surgery
Former Masters champion Mike Weir had season-ending elbow surgery and will be sidelined for three-to-six months, the Canadian golfer said in a statement on Friday. Weir, who had the surgery on Thursday in Florida, has not played since he withdrew from last month’s Canadian Open when the elbow problems that have plagued him the past two seasons flared up during the second round. “My elbow has caused me problems over the past year and during the RBC Canadian Open it essentially became unplayable,” Weir’s statement said. “It’s my hope with patience, and diligent post-surgery rehab, I will be able to put my elbow problems behind me and look forward.” Once a fixture among the world top 10, Weir’s career has nose-dived this season, losing his PGA Tour privileges in May and watching his ranking plunge to 539. He is without a PGA Tour win since 2007 and this season has missed the cut in 13 of 15 events, while adding a paltry US$23,312 to his career earnings.
RUGBY UNION
Nakarawa quits Fiji military
Lock Leone Nakarawa has resigned from the Fijian military to join the country’s 30-man World Cup squad, the Fiji Rugby Union said yesterday. The Sep. 9 to Oct. 23 tournament is being held in New Zealand, who have banned those with ties to Fiji’s military or government from entering their country following a 2006 military coup in the Pacific nation.
BASEBALL
Cubs GM Hendry axed
Jim Hendry, the only general manager to lead the Chicago Cubs to consecutive post-season berths, was fired, the struggling MLB team said on Friday. Hendry had been the third-longest-tenured general manager in the NL, but the Cubs, who own the second-worst record in the league despite one of the highest payrolls, said it was time to begin a fresh approach. “My family and I appreciate Jim’s dedication during our time with the Cubs and thank him for his overall 17 years of service to the Cubs organization,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said on the team’s Web site. He was named general manager in 2002 and leaves as the only Cubs general manager to oversee three postseason teams — 2003, 2007 and 2008.
CANOEING
Van Koeverden wins K1
Canada’s Adam Van Koeverden won the men’s 1,000m single kayak (K1) event on Friday at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. The three-time world runner-up finished in three minutes, 36.194 seconds, more than three seconds ahead of Anders Gustafsson of Sweden. Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway was third. Max Hoff of Germany, who had been going for his third world title in a row, finished fourth. Another upset came in the men’s 1,000m single canoe, where defending champion Uzbek Vadim Menkov finished only third behind Olympic champion Attila Vajda of Hungary and David Cal of Spain.
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