RUGBY UNION
Du Preez named captain
South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer pulled off a surprise in naming scrumhalf Fourie du Preez as captain for their key Rugby World Cup game against Scotland tomorrow. Du Preez, 33, takes the role vacated by center Jean de Villiers, who retired from international rugby after leading his side to defeat against Japan and then suffering a second broken jaw in six weeks against Samoa on Saturday last week. Veteran lock Victor Matfield misses the Pool B game in Newcastle, England, because of a hamstring strain and Du Preez beat the likes of Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw to the post when Matfield was ruled out. All have captained their domestic teams back home. Du Preez only captained a Super XV team back in 2008, but Meyer called Du Preez a “tactical genius” respected by his teammates.
SOCCER
Mourinho to avoid sanction
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is not to be sanctioned by the English Football Association (FA) for making discriminatory comments toward former club doctor Eva Carneiro. The FA on Wednesday said that he would not face any disciplinary action after it cleared him of any wrongdoing in the widely publicized incident that happened on the first day of the English Premier League season. The FA studied video footage from the 2-2 draw with Swansea City on Aug. 8 after a member of the public lodged a complaint against Mourinho, who publicly expressed his anger at the doctor for treating Eden Hazard on the field at Stamford Bridge in London late in the game. The FA statement said they appointed an independent academic expert in Portuguese linguistics to analyze the footage of the incident, which included an audio recording. “After receiving the report from the expert, the FA is satisfied that the words used do not constitute discriminatory language under FA Rules,” the FA said in a statement.
BASEBALL
First female MLB coach hired
Justine Siegal became the first female coach in MLB history when the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night announced that she had been hired to serve as a guest instructor. Siegal, who is to work in the A’s instructional league camp in Arizona from Sunday to Oct. 17, was the first woman to coach in men’s professional baseball when she served as a first base coach for the Brockton Rox, a minor league club, in 2009. During spring training in 2011, Siegal threw batting practice for the A’s, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, St Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. “We are thrilled that Justine will be joining us for instructional league,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said.
TENNIS
Tomic sees charges dropped
Miami police have dropped charges of trespassing and resisting arrest against tennis player Bernard Tomic, Australian media reported yesterday. The 22-year-old was arrested and charged in July after police were called to his Miami hotel room where he was hosting a party. Tomic’s lawyer said that prosecutors had dropped the case over inconsistencies in reports lodged by hotel security and police. “We knew all along the case would not hold up in court and the charges would be dropped,” attorney Chad Piotrowski said. “In the end, I was able to establish that Bernard did not break any laws and he did not do anything to deserve being arrested. I am very pleased that the state did the right thing in dismissing his case. Justice was served today.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and