SOCCER
Fenerbahce appeal rejected
Turkish league champions Fenerbahce on Thursday lost their appeal against being banned from Europe’s top club competition over a match-fixing probe, local media reported. Fenerbahce were prevented from entering the Champions League because of the scandal, with runners-up Trabzonspor taking their place instead in Thursday’s draw. “The arbitration committee of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) judged that the TFF conformed to the rules and the appeal was rejected,” Anatolia news agency reported. Last month, about 30 people were charged and jailed pending trial in a probe into alleged match-fixing and bribery in Turkey’s first and second divisions last season. Among them is the president of Fenerbahce, Aziz Yildirim. The TFF said on Wednesday that UEFA had warned that either Fenerbahce should withdraw from the competition or the TFF should ban the club to prevent UEFA starting its own disciplinary investigation.
SOCCER
Ameobi junior rescues Toon
Sammy Ameobi scored his first Newcastle United goal to give the Premier League side a 2-1 extra-time victory over third-tier Scunthorpe United in their League Cup second-round tie on Thursday. Ameobi, the younger brother of Magpies striker Shola, hit the winner in the 113th minute after Scunthorpe had led thanks to Chris Dagnall’s 14th-minute opener. Ryan Taylor leveled for Newcastle 10 minutes from the end of normal time. “I’ve been saying privately he [Sammy] could threaten a place in this first team,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said. “He was terrific tonight and it was a fabulous goal.”
BASEBALL
Flanagan’s death suicide
The death of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Mike Flanagan was ruled a suicide as a result of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head, the Maryland medical examiner said on Thursday. Baltimore County police said no note was found, but an investigation showed that Flanagan, 59, who was found dead on Wednesday, had been upset about financial issues.
BASEBALL
Dykstra facing jail term
Former major league star Lenny Dykstra has been charged with allegedly exposing himself to women he contacted through the Craigslist Web site, prosecutors said on Thursday. Dykstra, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, could face up to six months in jail and a fine of US$1,000 if convicted. The Los Angeles attorney’s office said Dykstra is accused of finding victims by placing Craigslist ads seeking personal assistants or housekeepers. The 48-year-old allegedly exposed himself to women on several occasions between 2009 and this year.
ICE HOCKEY
Boy’s dream comes true
Sidney Crosby’s return from concussion is uncertain following several recent consultations with medical specialists, but the Pittsburgh Penguins captain found time this week to make one of his fans very happy. Crosby, who has not played in the NHL since suffering a concussion in early January, spoke to an 11-year-old boy who is battling cancer, giving him various tips about the sport and words of encouragement. “I am really lucky to have the opportunity to help others and I am glad I was able to talk to Matthew,” Crosby said in a statement on Thursday about his telephone conversation with the Ontario boy, who said the chat was a dream come true.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but