■ Football
Ex-cheerleader avoids jail
A former Carolina Panthers cheerleader avoided jail on Monday by pleading no contest to charges stemming from her role in a brawl sparked by accusations that she was having sex with another cheerleader in the bathroom of a bar. Under the deal with prosecutors, 21-year-old Victoria Renee Thomas pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and unlawful display of a license. And she entered a pretrial intervention program for the one felony charge she faced, giving a false name to an officer. Thomas was ordered to participate in anger management counseling, perform 50 hours of community service and pay US$400 restitution to a woman she punched, who had been waiting to use the bathroom at Banana Joe's in November. A police report said witnesses reported that Thomas and another member of the TopCats cheerleading squad, 26-year-old Angela Keathley, appeared to be having sex in the bathroom stall before getting in a fight with patrons and getting arrested on Nov. 6. They were in town for the Panthers' NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
■ Soccer
Wenger not buying Beckham
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Monday dismissed English newspaper reports that he is interested in signing David Beckham for the new season. Wenger is quoted on the Arsenal Web site as saying that he is not interested in securing the England captain's services. "Once again that was the creative side of the English press," he said. The reports said that Arsenal were willing to offer 22 million euros (US$26.2 million) for the Real Madrid player, whose contract expires at the end of the next season. "I said he was a player I always liked and that he can give a final ball, but that does not mean I want to buy him," Wenger said.
■ Cricket
Proteas surprise punters
Australian gamblers relearned an old lesson along with the nation's cricketers in last week's record breaking one-day international in Johannesburg: There's no such thing as a certainty. After Australia posted a record one-day total of 434 at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, three punters lost A$56,000 dollars (US$42,000) betting that South Africa could not beat it. The odds were not attractive. Two of the gamblers bet A$20,000 each with Centrebet at 1.01 to one for the chance to win just A$200. The third put A$16,000 on with Sportsbook.com.au at 1.06 to one, hoping to make A$960. All lost when South Africa romped home with one ball to spare. Nobody backed South Africa at Centrebet's odds of 26 to one. At that price, A$20,000 would have earned a cool A$520,000.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
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