SOCCER
Minnows sign Balotelli’s bro
The younger brother of Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has signed for a non-league club in the England’s eighth tier. Salford City, a team also based in Manchester, says it has signed Enoch Barwuah subject to international clearance. The semi-professional club displayed a picture of Barwuah on its Web site on Friday and says “we wish Enoch all the best in his time with us and we look forward to seeing him in a tangerine shirt soon.” Salford are currently ninth in the Northern Premier League First Division.
BASKETBALL
Nash out for at least a week
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash will be sidelined for “at least another week” because of a small fracture in his left leg, the NBA team said on Friday. The twice former Most Valuable Player has missed seven games since suffering the injury against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 31. The 38-year-old Nash was examined by a Lakers team doctor earlier on Friday and will be re-evaluated next weekend, the Lakers said in a statement. A magnetic resonance imaging examination on Nov. 3 showed a small non-displaced fracture in the head of his fibula, the team said. Nash was acquired by the Lakers in a trade with the Phoenix Suns during the offseason. The eight-time All-Star has averaged 4.5 points and 4.0 assists this season.
BASKETBALL
tatue honors Abdul-Jabbar
The Los Angeles Lakers paid tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Friday, unveiling a statue of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in his trademark sky-hook pose outside their Staples Center arena. Abdul-Jabbar became the sixth Los Angeles sports figure memorialized with a statue outside the downtown arena, joining fellow NBA greats Magic Johnson and Jerry West, the NHL’s “Great One” Wayne Gretzky, boxer Oscar de la Hoya and longtime Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn. “I’m very glad we got here before the pigeons got to it,” quipped Abdul-Jabbar after he pulled the cord to unveil the nearly 4.9m-tall likeness. “You should have had the first statue,” said Johnson, who was on hand for the unveiling along with Pat Riley, who coached both Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar on the “Showtime” era Lakers who won five titles in the 1980s. “It was on your back that we’re here at Staples Center,” Johnson said. Abdul-Jabbar, a towering 2.18m center who changed his name from Lew Alcindor after leading Milwaukee to the 1971 NBA title, scored 38,387 points in 1,560 games over a 20-year NBA career and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player six times. Since retiring from the NBA in 1989, he has focused on raising awareness of African-American history and campaigning for socio-economic justice.
Soccer
Job like Merkel’s: Heynkes
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has said coaching the Bavarian giants is the second-toughest job in Germany, only behind that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “I think that the coach of FC Bayern has the most difficult job in Germany after the chancellor,” the 67-year-old told Munich daily TZ, having taken charge for the third time in July last year. “Here there is an absolute desire for success, there are always ups and downs, you always have to be wide awake. In a top club, you can’t really enjoy the football anymore. The fans can, but the coach or the chief executive? No, you can never be sure that you will be successful.”
MOTOR SPORT
Macau hit by second fatality
The Macau Grand Prix suffered a second fatal accident in two days on Friday when a Hong Kong-based touring car driver died in a crash during qualifying on the street circuit, organizers said. They said in a statement that the Chevrolet car, which slammed into barriers and caught fire, had to be cut to extricate driver Phillip Yau Wing Choi after the crash. “At 13:19, the competitor was removed from the car, and at 13:20 Mr Yau was transported by ambulance to hospital where he was admitted at 13:24. Continuous CPR was performed, however, he succumbed to his injuries at 13:51,” they said. Portuguese rider Luis Carreira died in hospital on Thursday after crashing in qualifying for the motorcycle grand prix. Race coordinator Joao Manuel Costa Antunes defended the circuit’s safety record after Carreira became the first fatality in seven years at the track. “In over 60 years of the Grand Prix, the record can be considered acceptable,” he told the South China Morning Post.
TENNIS
Players to star in TV show
Former women’s tennis greats Chris Evert and Lindsay Davenport will guest star in an episode of popular US television drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in January, the CBS network said on Friday. Evert and Davenport, as well as former men’s player and current broadcaster Justin Gimelstob, will appear as themselves on the CBS show in an episode depicting an investigation into the death of a professional female tennis player. Evert won 18 Grand Slam singles titles in the 1970s and 80s. Davenport, like Evert a former world No. 1, was the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and her 55 career singles titles include three Grand Slam crowns.
SOCCER
Lorient end winless streak
Lorient beat LOSC Lille Metropole 2-0 on Friday to end a two-month run without a win in the French league. Lorient had leaked 16 goals in losing three and drawing one of its past four matches since Sept. 16. Centerhalf Gregory Bourillon gave Lorient the lead in the 24th minute when he took advantage of poor marking to head in midfielder Yann Jouffre’s free kick from the left. Midfielder Benjamin Corgent made it 2-0 midway through the second half when he was set up by former Arsenal forward Jeremie Aliadiere. Lorient moved up to 10th place, while Lille are in seventh spot ahead of this weekend’s matches.
RUGBY UNION
Former Fijian player dies
Former Fiji and Toulouse wing Maleli Kunavore has died at the age of 29, the Fiji Rugby Union said yesterday. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Kunavore had undergone a cardiac operation in France two years ago before retiring from professional rugby. “It is so sad to lose a fellow rugby player and at such a young age,” Fiji Rugby Union development manager Sale Sorovaki said. “Kunavore was a very gifted and talented player and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, may he rest in peace.” His father Joeli Nagiri told the Fiji Times that Kunavore had been dining with former Flying Fijians teammates Norman Ligairi and Semisi Naevo on Thursday shortly before his death. “I had called him a few hours earlier and I was shocked when his wife called back to tell us the sad news,” he said. Kunavore played seven Tests at either wing or center for Fiji, starting his international career in 2005 the same year he was signed by French Top 14 side Toulouse.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care