■ Olympics
NATO to bear Athens costs
NATO will bear the cost for its role in helping safeguard the Olympics as Greece struggles with the growing financial burden to host the games, a top defense official said on Thursday. Deputy Defense Minister Yiannis Lambropoulos told parliament that "the cost of this assistance will burden only NATO." Plans to protect the Aug. 13 to 29 games are the most expensive in Olympic history, costing more than US$800 million -- three times higher than Sydney's security budget four years ago. On Tuesday, Olympic planners said overall costs have exceeded the US$5.6 billion budget. Some analysts predict the debt could weigh heavily on the Greek economy for years. Greece has asked for NATO's help with aerial surveillance, sea patrols and protection against "a chemical, biological and nuclear incident."
■ Soccer
Brazil in the dark
Fans joked bitterly on Thursday about the blackout that briefly suspended play in Brazil's 0-0 tie with Paraguay in a World Cup qualifier. Their team, they said, is still in the dark -- and still searching for the goal. The lights came back on and play resumed after half an hour Wednesday night. But the five-time Cup champions showed little of the flair and precision that marked their victorious campaign at the 2002 Cup in Japan. "No light and no goals," read one headline. "Where's our soccer?" said another, poking fun at a photo of a complaining Ronaldinho. It was Brazil's third straight tie and dropped the team into third place in the South American qualifying, behind Argentina and Paraguay. Brazil has nine points and a minuscule edge over Venezuela, which beat favored Uruguay 3-0 on Wednesday and also has nine. Brazil's new attack of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka, which hadn't played together before the game and had just one practice, showed the expected lack of teamwork and cohesion.
■ Rugby
Singapore Sevens kicks off
Favorite England enters the Singapore Sevens rugby tournament this weekend knowing a win here will either draw it equal or push it past New Zealand in the race for the IRB Sevens series crown. "We know we are still trailing behind New Zealand. ...We are not going to look back at previous years," said England coach Joe Lydon on Thursday, referring to his side's four-point series loss to the Kiwis last year. Lydon's team are currently four points behind New Zealand (86) in the sevens standings. A win at the Singapore Sevens is worth 20 points, while the runners-up receives 16. England won the Hong Kong Sevens last week while New Zealand only managed to reach the semifinals, losing to Argentina.
■ Soccer
Adu proves to be big draw
Freddy Adu's professional debut today is on the verge of a sellout. D.C. United announced that all of the single-game tickets had been sold for the Major League Soccer opener against San Jose. About 100 tickets were still available on Thursday, but they were to be sold as part of full-season or half-season packages. This season, United is listing 24,603 as capacity in the 53,000-seat RFK Stadium. The upper deck will not be open, even if there is a demand for walk-up sales on the day of the game. Officials are hoping the move encourages more fans to buy tickets in advance. Because of the sellout, United president Kevin Payne said the team will offer discounts for some tickets for the next home game, on April 24 against Chicago.
■ Motor Racing
Senna trial reopened
Italy's highest court has cleared the way for the reopening of a manslaughter trial over the death of Formula One champion Ayrton Senna 10 years ago. The court on Thursday published the reasons for its decision to annul the last verdict handed out in January last year, ANSA news agency reported, ruling there had been "material errors". Under Italian law, a written explanation must be published before a date can be set for the new hearing. Brazilian Senna, a three times world champion, died after crashing his Williams at Imola on May 1, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix. Team boss Frank Williams, technical director Patrick Head and former chief designer Adrian Newey must now face a new appeals court, ANSA said. Williams, Head and Newey, who is now at McLaren, were acquitted of manslaughter charges after a trial in Bologna in 1997 and that verdict was upheld by an appeals court in 1999.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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