CYCLING
Nike fights subpoenas
Athletic apparel giant Nike Inc is fighting subpoenas for documents and witness depositions in the US federal government’s lawsuit against former cyclist Lance Armstrong. Armstrong and the government have both subpoenaed Nike, which was one of Armstrong’s major sponsors until dropping him in 2012 after his use of performance enhancing drugs was exposed. The government is suing Armstrong to recover more than US$30 million the US Postal Service paid to sponsor his teams. Damages could reach US$100 million. The subpoenas seek Nike financial records and documents of any discussions about Armstrong’s doping. In a filing in Oregon federal court, Nike says its financial records are irrelevant to Armstrong’s Postal Service sponsorship. If ordered to provide documents, the company says trade secrets should be kept private by a court order.
ICE HOCKEY
Former Blackhawk dies
Ron “Chico” Maki, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks 1961 Stanley Cup champions, has died. He was 76. A notice on the Blackhawks’ Web site said that Maki died on Monday at his home in Port Dover, Ontario. The right wing spent 15 seasons with the Blackhawks (1961-1976), playing in three All-Star games. Maki had 143 goals and 292 assists in 841 regular-season NHL games. He had 17 goals and 53 points in 113 playoff games. Maki’s late brother Wayne played two seasons with the Blackhawks and also played for St Louis and Vancouver. Chico Maki played junior hockey with St Catharines, and was the captain of a Memorial Cup-winning team. A visitation is to be held today in Simcoe, Ontario, followed by a private family funeral tomorrow.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Billy Slater signs with Storm
Australia Test fullback Billy Slater is to join skipper Cameron Smith in playing out their National Rugby League careers with the Melbourne Storm after signing a new two-year deal yesterday. The contract will take 32-year-old Slater through to the end of the 2017 season, his 15th with the club he joined as a teenager.
SOCCER
Japan’s Inui to join Eibar
Japan midfielder Takashi Inui has requested to leave Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt for Spanish club Sociedad Deportiva Eibar, the German club announced on Wednesday. Eintracht, 12th in the Bundesliga after two games, said in a statement they had agreed to the 27-year-old’s request to cut short his contract, which runs until June next year. “I’ve had three wonderful seasons here. My time at Eintracht will always remain a wonderful memory,” Inui said.
SOCCER
Fans threaten boycott
Borussia Moenchengladbach fans are threatening to boycott the derby against Rhine rivals Cologne on Sept. 19 because of ticket purchase requirements imposed after incidents during the previous edition in February. Moenchengladbach fan groups are furious that they must now register their name, address and date of birth when they purchase a ticket. “In our view, it’s not right that we have to register weeks before a match and that all fans should be punished despite refusing to be drawn by the provocation” during the previous match against Cologne, a statement from one of the concerned fan clubs read. February’s game was overshadowed by numerous incidents with about 30 of Cologne’s extreme ultras fans invading the pitch at the end of the game to try and provoke rivals in their stands.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier