FOOTBALL
Four players suspended
The National Football League issued two-game suspensions to four players on Friday for substance abuse violations, ending a three-year court battle. Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams, New Orleans defensive end Will Smith and two free agent defensive linemen not on NFL rosters, Charles Grant and Pat Williams, were issued bans six days before the NFL season begins. The NFL had imposed four-game bans on the players before a long legal fight that resulted in reduced suspensions. Kevin Williams and former Vikings teammate Pat Williams, who are not related, fought their suspensions starting for testing positive for the banned diuretic bumetanide in 2008.
MOTOGP
Lorenzo clocks fastest time
Championship leader Casey Stoner had to make do with second best in Misano, Italy, on Friday as defending champion Jorge Lorenzo laid down the fastest free practice time for today’s San Marino Grand Prix. Stoner topped the first session, but Lorenzo, who was only sixth-fastest in the morning, came through in the second session to clock one minute, 33.929 seconds on his Yamaha. It left him 0.076 seconds clear of the Australian, whose Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa was third-fastest.
FORMULA ONE
Senna to replace Heidfeld
Lotus-Renault have announced that Brazilian Bruno Senna will replace Nick Heidfeld for the remainder of the season after reaching a settlement with the German, which sees him leave the team with immediate effect. Heidfeld had been dumped by the team prior to the Belgian Grand Prix, leading to tensions and threats of a court battle. Senna, 27, was called up to replace Heidfeld at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, where he drove to a 13th-place finish. Lotus-Renault said on Friday that an “amicable settlement” had been reached with Heidfeld, which “enables both parties to bring the matter to a close and concentrate on their respective sporting challenges in the future.”
BASEBALL
Clemens to face trial again
A US judge on Friday refused to throw out the perjury case against baseball star Roger Clemens over steroid use after a mistrial was declared when prosecutors presented evidence that had been barred. Judge Reggie Walton agreed to start a second trial on April 17 next year over whether the former pitcher lied when he told the US Congress and investigators in 2008 that he had never taken steroids or performance-enhancing drugs. After a lengthy and costly investigation, Clemens was indicted for lying to Congress, perjury and obstruction.
ULTRAMARATHONS
Four runners burnt in fire
Four runners taking part in a three-day, 100km international ultramarathon have suffered serious burns after being trapped in a gorge by a wildfire in Western Australia state’s Kimberley tourist region. Royal Flying Doctor Service spokesperson Joanne Hill told reporters in a telephone interview yesterday that two women, believed to be from the eastern states of Australia and aged 36 and 24, were in critical condition at Darwin Hospital after suffering burns over 60 to 80 percent of their bodies. She said two men, aged in their 40s and 50s, had less serious burns following the Friday afternoon incident. The race, which was scheduled to end today, was later canceled.
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