■ 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."
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
Robin Smith, the batter who shone for England in a period when it was beaten regularly in Test cricket, has died. He was 62. Smith’s family said in a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that he died unexpectedly at his home in Perth, Australia, on Monday. No cause was given. He played 62 Tests for England from 1988 to 1996, scoring 4,236 runs at an average of 43.67 with nine centuries. His signature shot was the square cut. Smith also played in 71 one-day internationals and was part of England’s squad who reached the 1992 ICC World Cup final. His unbeaten
SSC Napoli on Sunday joined AC Milan at the top of Serie A after winning 1-0 at title rivals AS Roma, as Inter kept pace with the leading pair by beating Pisa SC 2-0. David Neres stroked home the only goal of a feisty game in the 36th minute at the Stadio Olimpico, ending a blistering counterattack with a calm finish which put Napoli on 28 points. Napoli are behind Milan on goal-difference, and just one point ahead of both Roma and Inter in a tight scudetto battle in which Antonio Conte’s team are to host Juventus at the weekend. “To come to
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