■ Auto Racing
Aussies introduce new car
Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula One world drivers' champion, on Wednesday launched the Australian car to contest the new A1 series, which is being billed as the world cup of auto racing. Sheik Maktoum Hasher Maktoum, a member of Dubai's ruling family, is founder of the series that will feature 25 national teams competing on an unusually even footing. Each of the 25 countries -- ranging from Lebanon to China to the US -- will have one entry apiece, owned and driven by a local competitor and with local sponsors. All of the cars will be the same: 550hp Zytec-powered open wheelers that Maktoum has bought from Britain's Lola Cars. The 10-race series is scheduled to start Sept. 25 at Brands Hatch, England, and finish the following April. Real Madrid soccer star Ronaldo will own the Brazilian franchise, Maktoum announced earlier this month.
■ Drug Panel
Big names appointed
Russian ice hockey great Viacheslav Fetisov and Olympic and world champion swimmer Janet Evans were among 13 members appointed to the newly formed athletics committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday in Montreal. The purpose of the committee is to allow WADA closer contact with athletes and to give the agency better insight into their concerns regarding doping. Fetisov was selected chairman of the committee, which was approved by WADA's executive committee in November. He played for the Soviet Union when it was the dominant power in international ice hockey, and later had a long career in the NHL. He is serving as Russia's Minister of Sport. Evans won three gold medals for the USat the 1988 Olympics, and a gold and silver at the 1992 Games.
■ Steroid Testing
NFL pressures union
The NFL reportedly will ask the players' union to agree to stronger testing for steroids. The New York Times reported in yesterday's editions that the league was following the lead of Olympic sports in seeking more stringent testing for testosterone. No date for a meeting with the players has been set, but any changes in the testing procedures require consent from the NFL Players Association.
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
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
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
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