SOCCER
Heskey signs with Jets
Former England international Emile Heskey will join Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero in Australia’s A-League this season after officially signing with the Newcastle Jets, the club said yesterday. The 34-year-old striker joins the Jets as their marquee player — whose salary is exempt from the salary cap — after 62 appearances for England and a total of 516 Premier League matches, scoring 110 goals in a 17-year career. In a significant signing for the developing A-League competition, Heskey, an FA Cup, Football League Cup and UEFA Cup winner, joins the Jets after playing for Aston Villa last season. “This is an exciting new period in my life and I am looking forward to making a special contribution to the A-League and most importantly, to the Jets,” Heskey said. Jets CEO Robbie Middleby said the signing was a “fantastic result for the Jets and for the A-League.”
SOCCER
Andy Wilkinson disciplined
Stoke City’s Andy Wilkinson has been handed a three-match suspension after the defender accepted a violent conduct charge following his clash with Manchester City star Mario Balotelli. Wilkinson caught Balotelli in the face with his elbow during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium in an incident that was missed by referee Mark Clattenburg. After reviewing the video evidence, an independent Football Association disciplinary panel decided the 28-year-old had a case to answer. Stoke boss Tony Pulis confirmed the club would not appeal against the punishment, meaning Wilkinson will miss his side’s next three Premier League matches against Chelsea, Swansea City and Liverpool.
BASKETBALL
Suns’ Frye has heart problem
Phoenix Suns forward Channing Frye has been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and will be sidelined until at least December, the NBA club announced on Thursday. Doctors discovered the condition during a routine echocardiogram and will monitor Frye ahead of a re-evaluation in December before allowing him to take part in basketball-related activities. Frye, who has spent the past three seasons with the Suns, is a 29-year-old three-point ace. Since joining the Suns, he has connected on 434 three-pointers, third-most in the NBA during that span. Frye averaged 10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 64 games last season. He had previous stints with New York and Portland.
RUGBY UNION
Carter in All Blacks squad
Flyhalf Dan Carter has been named in New Zealand’s 28-man squad for the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship Tests in Argentina and South Africa and should be fit for the clash against the Pumas next week, coach Steve Hansen said yesterday. “Dan is recovering well from his calf injury and we are expecting him to be fit for selection for the Argentinian Test,” Hansen said in a statement. “However, to be on the safe side we are also taking Beauden Barrett as cover at five-eighth, alongside Aaron Cruden.” Carter, rated one of the world’s finest at the position, has been troubled by a calf strain that caused him to miss the All Blacks’ last two matches of the southern hemisphere tournament against Argentina and South Africa on home soil. Understudy Cruden stood in at the pivotal position and although initially struggling in the grinding victory over the Pumas at Wellington, was a more composed presence in the team’s tight win over the Springboks in Dunedin.
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
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
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