FOOTBALL
Lazio face racism probe
Italian side SS Lazio will face disciplinary proceedings after their fans were accused of racist behavior during the Europa League clash at Tottenham, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) said on Friday. Monkey chants were aimed at three of Tottenham’s black players, Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend, during the game at White Hart Lane, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas had said after the match that UEFA should take action if there was a case to answer.
OLYMPICS
Bolt fighting advertising rule
Jamaican Olympic champion Usain Bolt is among those joining a group of US track and field athletes fighting a rule that bars Olympians from using their names or likenesses for advertising during the Games. The Track and Field Athletes Association, which includes high-profile US runners, such as Sanya Richards-Ross and Bernard Lagat, announced on Friday it had added international athletes. The athletes are opposed to Rule 40, an International Olympic Committee rule that prohibits Olympic athletes from advertising in the days leading up to and during the Games.
SOCCER
Loss piles pressure on Kean
Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean endured more calls for his dismissal after the Championship leaders crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Middlesbrough on Friday. Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough were without a point on their travels in three attempts this season, but they took a seventh-minute lead when Lukas Jutkiewicz converted a Marvin Emnes pass. Rovers hardly fashioned an opportunity of note in the first half and things got worse for Kean in the 61st minute, when Mustapha Carayol, who had a shot cleared off the line early in the second period, crossed for Jutkiewicz to head in Middlesbrough’s second goal. That brought renewed chants of “Kean Out” and an 89th-minute goal from substitute Grant Hanley could not prevent further jeers for Kean at the final whistle.
BASKETBALL
Raptors sign McNeal, Wright
The Toronto Raptors have signed guard Jerel McNeal and forward Chris Wright. McNeal played last season in Italy with Fabi Shoes Montegranaro. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32 games. He appeared in 47 NBA D-League contests with Rio Grande Valley. Wright appeared in 24 games with Golden State last season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. He posted season highs of 25 points and eight rebounds in the Warriors’ season finale against San Antonio. Wright also appeared in 13 NBA D-League games with Maine and Dakota.
SOCCER
Henry banned for headbutt
French striker Thierry Henry of the New York Red Bulls was suspended by Major League Soccer for one match on Friday for a headbutting incident in the 93rd minute of a match two days earlier. The 35-year-old missed New York’s game at New England yesterday and could be fined an undisclosed sum for violent conduct after striking Sporting Kansas City forward Kei Kamara in a 2-0 Red Bulls home loss on Wednesday. During a late-match substitution, Henry ran at Kamara and slammed his head into that of Kamara, sending both men falling to the field and clutching their heads in pain. In a New York loss at Kansas City last year, Henry received a red card after slamming into Roger Espinoza away from the ball.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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