FOOTBALL
Bucs great Selmon dies
Lee Roy Selmon, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hall of Fame defensive lineman, died on Sunday two days after suffering a stroke at the age of 56. Widely recognized as the greatest Buccaneers player of all time, Selmon was one of the franchise’s pioneer players and a fierce defensive presence. The Glazer family, who own the Buccaneers, released a statement on the team’s Web site. “This is an incredibly somber day for Buccaneer fans, and all football fans,” it said. “Lee Roy’s standing as the first Buc in the Hall of Fame surely distinguished him, but his stature off the field as the consummate gentleman put him in another stratosphere.” Selmon was the first overall pick of the 1976 draft and the first ever selection of the Buccaneers when the franchise entered the NFL. Selmon retired in 1985 as Tampa Bay’s all-time leader in sacks (78.5) and forced fumbles (28.5), records that still stand. A six-time Pro Bowler, Selmon was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979 and became the first Tampa Bay player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
FOOTBALL
Patriots sign Brian Waters
The New England Patriots signed former Pro Bowl offensive guard Brian Waters, while the Baltimore Ravens agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode. The Chicago Bears on Sunday agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather, who was released a day before by the Patriots. The 191cm, 145kg Waters joins New England after spending the past 11 NFL seasons with Kansas City and making four Pro Bowl appearances.
CRICKET
Injured Sharma ruled out
India’s Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the remaining four one-day internationals (ODI) against England because of a finger injury, the Indian cricket board said. The middle-order batsman will be replaced by Manoj Tiwary, who has played just three ODIs. Sharma retired hurt after being struck on the finger by a Stuart Broad delivery during the opening game of the five-match series in Chester-le-Street, England, which was abandoned due to rain on Saturday. “Sharma fractured his right index finger during the first ODI against England and has been ruled out of the remainder of the series as a result,” the Indian cricket board said in a statement on Sunday. Injury-hit India are already without Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, who have all been ruled out of the one-day series. Superstar batsman Sachin Tendulkar also missed the first ODI due to a toe injury. India are still searching their first win against England this tour, having already lost the four-Test series 4-0 and a one-off Twenty20 international.
CYCLING
Schleck pulls out of races
Luxembourg star Andy Schleck has pulled out of the Quebec and Montreal GP WorldTour races this week because of an impending operation on his wisdom tooth, his team announced on Sunday. “Andy Schleck has to withdraw from competing in the upcoming WorldTour races in Canada because of an untimely, but imperative dental operation on the bottom left wisdom tooth,” a team statement said. “An infection to the root of the tooth during the Tour of Colorado caused complications that demanded the surgical removal of the tooth.” Leopard said Schleck “will not return to racing until the GP Wallonie on September 14.”
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