ICE HOCKEY
Canucks name new coach
Willie Desjardins, who guided the Dallas Stars’ top developmental club to a championship last week, was named on Monday as the new coach of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Desjardins coached the Texas Stars for the past two seasons, guiding the Austin-based club to the American Hockey League crown earlier this month. He was previously coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers, a Canadian junior club, for eight seasons, including a stint as general manager as well from 2005 to 2010. “Willie Desjardins has won at every level and we believe he’ll be an excellent fit as we strive to return to the playoffs and build with youth for long-term success,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said. “Willie is a great teacher, motivator and communicator. His teams have competed with a style of play we believe will help us compete in our division and in the playoffs.”
FORMULA ONE
Schumacher records stolen
Michael Schumacher’s management has warned that someone is trying to sell documents that may be the medical files of the seven-time Formula One world champion. Nearly six months after sustaining serious head injuries in a skiing accident, the 45-year-old Schumacher left a French hospital last week and was transferred to neighboring Switzerland. He is no longer in a drug-induced coma. Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, said in a statement on Monday that notes made about the German’s case have been stolen, and threatened to sue any publication willing to use them. “We cannot judge if these documents are authentic. However, the documents are clearly stolen. The theft has been reported,” Kehm said.
SOCCER
Costa turns down Clermont
Portugal’s Helena Costa will not be taking over as the new coach of French side Clermont Foot Auvergne 63, a decision described by the club president as “sudden and surprising.” The 36-year-old Costa made global headlines as the first woman to take charge of a men’s professional team in a leading European nation after being named in May to coach Clermont, who play in France’s second tier. “This decision is sudden and surprising. I deeply regret this situation,” Clermont president Claude Michy said on Monday. Clermont are a modest club from a city where rugby dominates, and they came 14th in Ligue 2 last season, while playing to average crowds of less than 4,000. When announcing her appointment last month, Michy dismissed suggestions that his move for Costa, who has a UEFA A coaching licence and a master’s degree in sports science, was a publicity stunt.
SOCCER
Hertha sign Heitinga
Hertha Berlin have signed Dutch center-back John Heitinga on a free transfer from Fulham, the Bundesliga club said on Monday. Heitinga, who has won 87 caps for his country, agreed a two-year deal. “I was desperate to play in the Bundesliga; that’s why I’m really looking forward to playing for Hertha,” the 30-year-old said on the Bundlesliga Web site (www.bundesliga.com). Sporting director Michael Preetz said: “John Heitinga is a defender with international experience, from whom our younger players in particular will learn a lot.” Heitinga began his career with Ajax in 2001, before moves to Atletico Madrid and Everton. He joined Fulham on a free transfer in January this year and played 14 times for the Cottagers before they were relegated to the Championship.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later