■ Olympics
Marathon spoiler fined
An Athens court on Monday slapped a 3,000-euro (US$3,700) fine on the Irish-born former priest who disrupted the Olympic men's marathon by pushing the race leader into the crowd. The flagrant crimes court convening in Athens also barred Cornelius Horan, 57, from attending any sport events in Greece for three months. A 12-month prison sentence against Horan was suspended for three years. He paid the fine and was released. Horan told the court he wanted to announce the Second Coming of Jesus and did not intend to obstruct the marathon's Brazilian race leader Vanderlei de Lima. The Irishman, who now lives in London and has staged a number of demonstrations at high profile events, apologized for the incident and said he would not repeat it again. Horan was wearing a red kilt and green waistcoat when he bundled into de Lima. He carried a placard saying "The Grand Prix Priest. Israel Fulfilment of Prophecy Says The Bible. The Second Coming is Near." De Lima managed to rejoin the race but was passed 5km later by Italian Stefano Baldini and finished in third place. He was later awarded a fair-play medal by the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge in front of hundreds of millions of television spectators during the Games' closing ceremony. Describing himself as "a Catholic priest on sabbatical," Horan was jailed for two months last year for a dangerous protest at the British Grand Prix when he ran out on the track and forced Formula One drivers to swerve to avoid him.
■ Rugby
Woodward wants soccer job
England coach Clive Woodward has stunned the rugby and football establishment after it was reported he is looking to walk away from rugby to become a football coach. According to the Daily Mail, Woodward, who has been England's rugby coach for the past seven years and led them to World Cup victory over Australia last November in Sydney, is hoping to gain a foothold in the English football scene so that he can one day lead the national team. The newspaper claims that 48-year-old Woodward would speed up a remarkable and unprecedented switch of sports by gaining "elite work experience" with a Premiership soccer club early next year. And that, they suggest, would open the door for bigger things, possibly landing a major role with the England football squad. Woodward's existing Rugby Football Union contract expires after the 2007 World Cup, when England will defend the Webb Ellis Trophy they won in Australia last autumn. Woodward has been in charge of England for 83 Tests, winning 59 games and culminating in the World Cup triumph.
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
STAR IN DOUBT: After partially dislocating his shoulder in a feetfirst slide into second base, the status of Japanese slugger Ohtani is uncertain for Game 3 as he undergoes tests Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Saturday walked back to his dugout and made the slightest tip of his cap to cheering fans. He left Japan for moments like this, an opportunity to put the Los Angeles Dodgers in control of the World Series. Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6-1/3 innings and Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night as Los Angeles beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 Series lead. However, the Dodgers head to New York uncertain whether Shohei Ohtani can play after their biggest star partially dislocated his left shoulder on a slide at second base. “We’re going to get
Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto on Saturday led a Japanese podium sweep at Skate Canada, locking up a second straight Canadian women’s title despite two falls in her free skate. Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short program, looked a little tight during her jazzy free skate, falling on a Salchow jump and again on a triple flip while fighting to hang on to a few other moves. Her second-best free skate score of 126.24 was enough for gold in the second Grand Prix event of the season in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She finished with 201.21 points, well ahead
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on Monday combined for 63 points as the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers tumbling to their first defeat of the season. Booker bagged 33 points and Durant 30 to give the Suns a thrilling 109-105 win at Phoenix’s Footprint Center, avenging the Lakers’ 123-116 win over the Suns in Los Angeles on Friday last week. The Lakers arrived in Phoenix buoyed by an impressive 3-0 start to the campaign under new head coach J.J. Redick. They looked poised to keep that run going after making a blistering start, sprinting into an early 26-8