RUGBY UNION
Gear signs with Chiefs
Former All Blacks wing Hosea Gear announced yesterday that he is returning to Super 15 rugby with the Waikato Chiefs, making him eligible to join New Zealand’s World Cup defense in England next year. Gear, 30, signed with French club Toulouse last year, and after finishing the season there moved to Japanese side Honda. The Chiefs said he will join the Hamilton-based team in February after completing his commitments with Honda. Coach Dave Rennie said he was looking forward to working with the player, who will team up with returning superstar Sonny Bill Williams in a formidable backline for the Chiefs next year. “Hosea ticks all the boxes. He’s a good man, very professional and experienced,” said Rennie, whose side finished a disappointing fifth this year after back-to-back titles in 2012 and last year.
BOXING
Maloney changing sex
Former boxing promoter Frank Maloney is undergoing a sex change, according to a newspaper interview published on Sunday. The 61-year-old Maloney, who guided Lennox Lewis to the world heavyweight title in the 1990s, is now living as a woman by the name of Kellie, Britain’s Sunday Mirror reported. The twice-married Maloney ended an illustrious career in October last year and told the paper about undergoing hormone treatment for two years in preparation for a sex change operation. “I was born in the wrong body and I have always known I was a woman,” Maloney was quoted as saying by the Mirror.
SWIMMING
Phelps named in US team
Michael Phelps overcame the first hurdle to a potential return to Olympic competition in 2016 on Sunday when he was named along with exciting teenagers Katie Ledecky and Missy Franklin on the US team for the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps’ qualification for the Aug. 21 to Aug. 24 championships on Australia’s Gold Coast has also earned the winner of 18 Olympic gold medals a ticket to next year’s world championships in Russia. Fellow Olympic champions Allison Schmitt, Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff failed to make the team for the Pan Pacific championships. The trio were outside the top three in all of their individual events at the US National Championships in Irvine, California, and were not included in the 60-strong squad. Phelps, who came out of retirement in May after quitting the sport following the 2012 London Olympics, was using the national championships to determine whether he would push through to Rio de Janeiro. He qualified for the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley at the championships.
FOOTBALL
Joseph speaks on shooting
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Linval Joseph on Sunday said he was an “innocent bystander” when he was struck in the calf by a stray bullet in a shooting at a bar. Joseph was shot at a Minneapolis club after the Vikings’ 10-6 NFL pre-season win over the Oakland Raiders on Friday night. “I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and concerns over the past 24 hours,” Joseph said in a statement released by the team. “I am extremely thankful that this was a minor injury for me. As the team has communicated, this was an unfortunate situation where I, along with several others, was an innocent bystander to a senseless act. My thoughts are with all of the victims at this time,” the 25-year-old said. The Star-Tribune newspaper reported that several people were wounded, two seriously, by an unknown gunman who fired several shots in the club.
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