ICE HOCKEY
Jean Beliveau’s funeral held
Hundreds of fans, many clad in his famed No. 4 jersey, and a who’s who of hockey stars and politicians paid an emotional farewell to Montreal Canadiens great Jean Beliveau on a snowy Wednesday in Montreal, Canada. The afternoon funeral for Beliveau, who died last week at 83, was held at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral and featured affectionate eulogies from former Canadiens teammates Dickie Moore, Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard and Ken Dryden, as well as Canadiens owner Geoff Molson. After the service, a giant Canadiens flag that draped Beliveau’s casket throughout the service was folded carefully and given to his widow, Elise. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also attended the service, along with Canadian Governor-General David Johnston and former Canadian prime ministers Jean Chretien and Brian Mulroney.
BASEBALL
Tomas can opt out of deal
Yasmany Tomas can become a free agent again after receiving US$36 million during the first four years of his contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Under the agreement announced on Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed US$68.5 million over six seasons. Tomas gets a US$14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deal’s approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of US$2 million next year, US$4 million in 2016, US$6 million in 2017 and US$10 million in 2018.
ASIAN GAMES
Wushu athlete suspended
Wushu’s international governing body has banned Malaysia’s Tai Cheau Xuen from competition for four months over a positive doping test at the recent Asian Games, the Wushu Federation of Malaysia said yesterday. Tai, who was stripped of the Asian Games gold medal she won in September, has been banned until March 20 next year, after the banned stimulant sibutramine was found in her system following the competition in Incheon, South Korea, the federation said. Tai has returned her gold medal.
ICE HOCKEY
Dave Lewis to coach Belarus
Former Detroit Red Wings coach Dave Lewis will be the new coach of Belarus. The Belarusian Ice Hockey Association said in a statement on Wednesday that Lewis, aged 61, will be officially presented on Monday. Lewis had short-term assistant coaching roles with Belarus for the 2009 world championship and 2010 Olympics. The former New York Islanders defenseman takes over a team that hosted the worlds in May, losing 3-2 in the quarter-finals to eventual bronze medalists Sweden.
SOCCER
Asprilla flees after threats
Former soccer star Faustino “Tino” Asprilla says he has fled his home city of Tulua, in western Colombia, in fear for his life after receiving death threats and extortion demands from a criminal gang. Police were on Wednesday investigating the threats that forced Asprilla, a striker who played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, out of Tulua. Asprilla, 45, whose career included stints in Italy and England and who once hit a hat-trick against Barcelona while playing for Newcastle United in the UEFA Champions League, called it “one of the saddest days of my life.” “My family was threatened before me, my father, my sisters,” Asprilla said. “I dedicated my life to representing my country abroad, to giving happiness to my Colombian people. When I settled down to rest, to recover the time lost with my family, I’m forced to leave by the back door of my own town.”
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