RUGBY UNION
Sapolu tweets away
Samoa’s Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu has again put himself on a collision course with rugby’s overlords after another Twitter tirade, this time for not acknowledging his country’s worst natural disaster. “Minute of silence for USA for 9/11, nothing for Samoa for tsunami. Both games played anniversary days. Our dead not good enough,” he said in a message sent yesterday. Sapolu was provisionally suspended from all rugby for calling Welsh referee Nigel Owen “racist.” Sapolu has been in hot water with the International Rugby Board for his outbursts throughout the tournament, which began when he said his side was being exploited with a tough schedule that he likened to “slavery” and “the Holocaust.”
SOCCER
W Germans may have doped
Three members of West Germany’s 1966 World Cup soccer team may have broken doping rules with cold treatment medicine, a letter seen by German magazine Der Spiegel said. The magazine is reporting in its current issue that historians at Berlin’s Humboldt University uncovered a letter from Nov. 29, 1966, in which FIFA medical committee chairman Mihailo Andrejevic informed West German Athletics Federation president Max Danz of slight traces of an ephedrine-based medicine found in three players. Ephedrine, a decongestant, is also a stimulant and was on FIFA’s list of banned substances at the time.
FOOTBALL
Andre Johnson to miss game
Five-time Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson will miss the Houston Texans’ game against Oakland this weekend because of a right hamstring injury that could sideline him for several weeks, the team announced on Wednesday. Johnson, who was injured during the second quarter of the 17-10 win over Pittsburgh last weekend, underwent a procedure on his right leg and will not be available for Houston’s home game against the Raiders on Sunday. One of the premier receivers in football, Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards in 2008 and 2009.
ATHLETICS
Mo Farah receives award
The UK’s men’s 5,000m world champion, Mo Farah, was named European male athlete of the year in Paris on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Somalia-born star — who also won silver in the 10,000m at the world championships in August — won the award ahead of last year’s winner Christophe Lemaitre of France. Russia’s 800m world champion Mariya Savinova was named female athlete of the year.
BOXING
Klitschko to fight Mormeck
World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has agreed to fight Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Dec. 10, the Ukrainian said yesterday. IBF, IBO WBO champion Klitschko also added the WBA crown to his collection when he beat Briton David Haye in July. His brother Vitaly holds the WBC belt.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Minnesota Lynx beat Dream
Seimone Augustus scored 36 points to lead Minnesota’s second-half surge as the Lynx moved within one win of their first WNBA title by beating the Atlanta Dream 101-95 in Game 2 of the finals series on Wednesday. Jessica Adair added 13 points in 18 minutes in a reserve role for the Lynx, who overcame 38 points by the Dream’s Angel McCoughtry. Game 3 in the best-of-five series is set for today in Atlanta, Georgia.
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
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is 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