BASEBALL
Sanchez traded to Royals
Pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter in 2009, was dealt by the San Francisco Giants to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Melky Cabrera on Monday. The 28-year-old left-handed starter was key part of the Giants’ rotation when they beat the Texas Rangers to win the World Series last year. He had four wins and seven losses this season with a 4.26 ERA, but he missed the final month of the season with a left ankle sprain. Kansas City also got left-handed minor league pitcher Ryan Verdugo in the three-player deal. “He’s a very dynamic left-handed pitcher,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said of Sanchez. “His hit rates are very low, his strikeout rates are very high, his walks aren’t something we’re overly excited about, but at the same time he’s very young. He’s somebody our scouts feel is a breakout candidate moving forward into 2012.”
SOCCER
Mihajlovic gets the boot
Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked as coach of Serie A side Fiorentina on Monday and replaced by Delio Rossi, the club announced. Mihajlovic, 42, had come in for some heavy criticism already this season and Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Chievo Verona — which left them 11th in the table — proved the final straw for the club’s board. The Serbian — who had previously coached Bologna and Catania in Serie A after a distinguished playing career which saw him win the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 — had been in charge since the beginning of last season when Cesare Prandelli left to coach the national side. Rossi is best known for two spells coaching Palermo in the past two seasons, guiding then on both occasions to a Europa League place. However, the 51-year-old fell foul of the so called “coach eater” Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini, who refused to renew his contract in the summer and only last season sacked him after a 7-0 humbling by Udinese, before rehiring him a month later.
SOCCER
Alcaraz charged for spitting
Wigan Athletic’s woeful start to the season got worse on Monday when Antolin Alcaraz was charged by the Football Association (FA) with spitting at Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Richard Stearman during Sunday’s 3-1 defeat. The 29-year-old Paraguay international defender, signed from Belgian side Club Brugge KV last year after an eye-catching World Cup campaign, has only just returned to action after being out with a torn leg muscle. “Wigan Athletic’s Antolin Alcaraz has today been charged by the FA for spitting at an opponent,” an FA statement said. “The incident, which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video, relates to his side’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.” If Alcaraz admits to the offense he will receive a three-match ban, but he risks a lengthier ban if he appeals and is found guilty at a hearing.
RUGBY UNION
New tournament launched
Southern hemisphere rugby body SANZAR has relaunched its annual Test tournament as the Rugby Championship, replacing the Tri-Nations and reflecting the inclusion of Argentina. Argentina have been confirmed alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to play from next year in the new Rugby Championship. SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters said yesterday that the regular participation of Argentina in a top-level tournament is “long overdue and we are excited about their inclusion.” Union Argentina de Rugby president Luis Castillo described the Pumas’ inclusion as an “historic moment for rugby in Argentina.”
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier