TOUCH
Hulks lead Taipei league
The Taipei Hulks Touch team won their first two games in the Brass Monkey Taipei Touch League yesterday, downing Mr Sausage’s Kitchen 4-1 and newcomers Galaxy 8-0 to lead the table on points difference. The other unbeaten side were the Taipei Beasts, who beat the Kitcheners 3-1 and the Taipei Baboons 4-3. KGB had an easy win over Galaxy and a draw against the Taipei Celts, who lost to the Baboons in their other game. The league is on hiatus next weekend as the Taipei 10s Rugby tournament is to be played in Banciao. Round two is scheduled for May 31 at the Bailing Rugby fields in Shilin.
GOLF
Adam Scott marries
World No. 2 golfer Adam Scott has tied the knot with long-time girlfriend Marie Kojzar in a small ceremony in the Bahamas. “It’s official. I am a settled down man and very happy,” Scott told the Australian Associated Press (AAP). The wedding, attended by close friends and family, was at Scott’s Bahamas residence on April 17. Kojzar and Scott, 33, dated some years ago and got back together before he claimed the Masters last year, AAP said.
ICE HOCKEY
France beat Canada
France produced a stunning 3-2 shootout victory over Olympic champions Canada thanks to a goal from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare as the ice hockey world championship began in Belarus on Friday. Bellemare was the only scorer in the shootout after the preliminary round Group A game was tied at 2-2 following overtime at the Chizhovka Arenawere in Minsk. It was only the second time France had beaten Canada at the worlds since the event began in 1931, after their first victory over Canada at the 1995 tournament. Stephane da Costa struck two powerplay goals for France, while Brayden Schenn and Erik Gudbranson scored for Canada. The jubilant France were also indebted to former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet, who stopped 34 of 36 shots and all three shootout attempts by Canada. In Group B, the US coasted to a 6-1 win over hosts Belarus, while Russia beat Switzerland 5-0. The Czech Republic defeated Slovakia 3-2 in Friday’s other Group A game.
CRICKET
Pakistan defend coach move
Pakistan cricket heads on Friday defended their decision to appoint fast bowling legend Waqar Younis as head coach, after former interim coach Mohsin Khan lashed out at the decision. The Pakistan Cricket Board had on Tuesday handed Waqar a two-year contract for a second stint in the top job — without interviewing the other six applicants, including Khan.
CRICKET
Darren Sammy retires
Darren Sammy retired from Test cricket on Friday just hours after being replaced by Denesh Ramdin as West Indies captain. Sammy, 30, had been in charge of the Test team since October 2010. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said that he will remain in charge of the Twenty20 international squad. Sammy played in 38 Tests, captaining in 30 of those appearances. “Darren Sammy has formally notified the West Indies Cricket Board of his decision to retire from Test cricket,” a WICB statement said. “Sammy has also informed the Board of his decision to continue to make himself available for selection for the other formats of the game.” Wicketkeeper/batsman Ramdin, 29, has played 56 Tests, in addition to 109 one-day internationals and 46 Twenty20 internationals.
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