■ Figure skating
Silver medal to silver screen?
Could there be Oscar gold ahead for Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen? Fresh from the Turin Winter Games, where she came back from a fall to take second place in figure skating, Cohen has taken a spin into the Hollywood arena. The diminutive brunette served as a special correspondent for the tabloid television show Inside Edition at Sunday's Academy Awards and the star-studded parties that followed. Her whirl through the celebrity world led to an offer for a cameo role in an upcoming picture, she said. Actor-comedian Ben Stiller approached her at the party hosted by Vanity Fair magazine to talk about his next project: a comedy focusing on figure skating, Cohen said. "I want to do it," she said. "It's not like it would be a stretch and hopefully I'll get to be funny."
■ Football
Chad takes a pay cut
The New York Jets have restructured quarterback Chad Pennington's contract as he seeks to return from a shoulder injury, the team said on its Web site. The agreement will cut Pennington's pay by US$6 million for the season, the Daily News of New York reported on Monday. Pennington, who had surgery on his throwing shoulder in October, was scheduled to make US$9 million this season. He agreed to forfeit his US$3 million roster bonus and accepted a base salary that was lowered from US$6 million to US$3 million, the Daily News said. Incentives, however, could increase the contract's value to US$9 million, the New York Times reported.
■ Rugby union
Teammates trade punches
Wellington Hurricanes rugby teammates Jerry Collins and Lome Fa'atau traded blows in a Bloemfontein nightclub after Saturday's Super 14 match against South Africa's Cheetahs, New Zealand newspapers reported yesterday. Collins, the All Blacks flanker, and Fa'atau, the Samoan international winger, were separated by Cheetahs and Samoan hooker Trevor Leota after a flurry of punches, eye witnesses said. Hurricanes management confirmed an incident took place and said both players had been disciplined. They refused to say what action had been taken but reports said Collins and Fa'atau would likely miss the Hurricanes next match against the Stormers at Cape Town on Saturday. Hurricanes manager Garry Carnachan described the incident as "pretty stupid and not acceptable." Coach Colin Cooper said the incident was "disappointing" but added "it was an issue between two players and it's not a big thing."
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘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
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
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