FOOTBALL
Packer released on bail
Green Bay Packers linebacker Erik Walden was released in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on US$1,000 bond on Monday after spending three days in jail following his arrest on Friday on suspicion of domestic violence. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Brown County Court was closed for the weekend, so Walden was behind bars after returning home with his teammates following a 27-15 victory against Detroit on Thursday. Prosecutors said they needed more evidence to decide whether or not to file charges against Walden, who allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend at the couple’s apartment. John Zakowski, Brown County district attorney, said the alleged victim has changed her story about what happened on Friday, now saying she initiated the attack and Walden hurt her while defending himself.
ICE HOCKEY
Pronger sidelined by knee
Chris Pronger, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers and two-time Olympic champion with Canada, will be sidelined for the next month following knee surgery, the Flyers said on Monday. The 37-year-old NHL star, who won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007 and Olympic gold with Canada in 2002 and last year, was to undergo left knee surgery yesterday, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. “The procedure will clean out some loose particles that have given Chris some problems over the last month or so,” Holmgren said. “We expect Chris will be back playing in four weeks.” That would be a welcome Christmas gift for the Flyers, who have 13 wins in 23 games to stand third in the Eastern Conference and second in the Atlantic Division on 29 points, three adrift of NHL overall leader Pittsburgh.
SOCCER
Police quiz John Terry
British police have quizzed Chelsea and England soccer captain John Terry over claims that he racially abused Queen’s Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, British media reported on Monday. A Metropolitan police spokesman confirmed that a 30-year-old man, named as Terry by BBC and Sky News sources, had been interviewed under caution on Friday. Terry has strongly denied hurling a racist slur at Ferdinand during the stormy west London derby at Loftus Road on Oct. 23. The claims against Terry emerged after video footage circulated on the Internet appearing to show the England star using racist language. Terry denied abusing Ferdinand, saying that footage had caught him asking Ferdinand if he mistakenly believed he had racially abused him. “I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively that I never used that,” Terry said.
ICE HOCKEY
Pacioretty banned for hit
Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty has been suspended three games for an illegal hit that left Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang with a broken nose, the National Hockey League (NHL) said on Monday. Pacioretty slammed into Letang while the defenseman was following through on a slap shot during Pittsburgh’s 4-3 win on Saturday. “Letang makes the decision to sacrifice his body and must accept the possibility of taking a hit to make the play,” NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said in a video posted on the League’s Web site. “However, what no player should expect is that his head will be picked and made the principal point of contact on such a hit.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later