■ Athletics
Denise Lewis retires
Denise Lewis, UK Olympic heptathlon gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Games, has quit athletics. The 32-year-old had been expected to compete at both the World Championships in six weeks and chase a third title in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next March. Lewis claimed her first major title at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and retained the title four years later in Kuala Lumpur. The victory in Malaysia came only weeks after winning the European title in Budapest and the following year, as she shrugged off injury problems, she finished runner-up at the World Championships. Then came her Olympic Games success in Sydney. Lewis has been hit by injury since then and it was three years before she contested her next competition, finishing fifth at the World Championships.
■ Soccer
Collina gets another season
Top referee Pierluigi Collina will be allowed to carry on for another season, Italian football federation (FIGC) president Franco Carraro confirmed on Wednesday after a meeting of their federation council. It was agreed to make an exception for the 45-year-old Collina, as the FIGC proceed to change the retirement age for international referees from 45 to 46. Collina will be able to handle Italian league and Champions League matches up to June 30 next year but will be ruled out of the 2006 World Cup. Voted world referee of the year five times, Collina has been a referee for 28 years. The pinnacle of his career was when he officiated at the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany. Instantly recognisable for his bald head and bulging eyes, Collina is a celebrity in his own right in Italy, often appearing on television shows.
■ Baseball
Japan must decide
Japan professional baseball yesterday said it has tentatively agreed to take part in the inaugural 16-nation World Baseball Classic subject to the approval of the Japanese baseball players' association. Japanese baseball officials were responding to an end-of the month deadline set by the US' Major League Baseball (MLB) for Japanese owners and players to decide on whether to take part in the World-Cup style tournament set for March next year. The Japanese players' association will hold a meeting on July 22 to decide whether to take part. MLB and its players' association have already approved the tournament. MLB officials and union traveled to Japan earlier this month and set an end-of-the-month deadline for Japan to reach a decision. MLB wants to make an announcement about the tournament on July 11, the day before the All-Star game in Detroit.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
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