OLYMPICS
Putin on alert for Islamists
Russian President Vladimir Putin told security forces on Tuesday that they must outsmart and outmuscle Islamist militants to prevent attacks on major events to be hosted in Russia, like the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup. Russia is working hard to prevent its image being tarnished by security problems at the events that will be watched around the world. Islamist insurgents have promised to attack the Olympics, which will be hosted in Sochi, near the region the militants want to turn into an Islamic state. Russia said in May authorities had foiled a plot by Islamist insurgents to attack the Olympics and confiscated arms, ammunition and explosives — including surface-to-air missiles. Russia’s Anti-Terror Committee suggested in May that the plot was likely the work of insurgent group Caucasus Emirate, led by Chechen-born Doku Umarov, Russia’s most wanted man. Umarov took responsibility for a suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport that killed 37 people in January last year and twin bombings that killed 40 people on Moscow’s metro in 2010. Kazan, another city where the soccer games are to be held, was rocked by an attack on the region’s top Muslim religious leader earlier this year.
FOOTBALL
Browns sale approved
The sale of the Cleveland Browns to Jimmy Haslam III was unanimously approved by NFL owners on Tuesday, and team president Mike Holmgren will be leaving the Browns at the end of the season. A person familiar with the sale told The Associated Press that Joe Banner has been hired as CEO of the Browns to replace Holmgren. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Banner’s hiring and Holmgren’s departure have not been announced. Haslam bought the team from Randy Lerner for US$1 billion. Haslam, who built his fortune with Pilot Flying J truck stops, has been a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but divested that stock to buy the Browns. Haslam and Lerner agreed to the sale in August just as training camp was opening.
CRICKET
Nazmul new BCB president
Bangladesh has appointed ruling party lawmaker Nazmul Hasan as the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), a senior official said. Nazmul replaced AHM Mustafa Kamal, who was recently appointed vice president of the International Cricket Council for 2012-2014, a position that requires him to relinquish his BCB post. “The National Sports Council ... has appointed Nazmul Hasan MP as the new president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board,” a government statement said. Bangladeshi Secretary of Sports Mahbub Ahmed said the appointment would be effective from Wednesday. Nazmul, the only son of Bangladeshi President Zillur Rahman, is the chairman of one of Bangladesh’s top cricket clubs, Abahhani.
FOOTBALL
Cities bid for Super Bowls
Houston, San Francisco and South Florida are bidding for the 2016 and 2017 Super Bowls. NFL owners will vote in May between San Francisco — the 49ers are building a new stadium in Santa Clara, California, — and South Florida for the 50th Super Bowl in 2016. The loser of that race will then compete with Houston for hosting the 2017 game. Several owners have said a return to SunLife Stadium in Miami would require major upgrades to the building, and commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that the Dolphins “feel that [renovations] are a large part of their bid.”
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