■ Soccer
Striker banned over cocaine
Wolverhampton striker Chris Cornes was banned for six months on Monday after testing positive for cocaine. The 19-year-old striker, who was randomly tested by the Football Association at training in February, denies taking the drug and has appealed to the FA. "We were extremely disappointed to learn that one of our players had tested positive for a banned substance," Wolves chief executive Jez Moxley said. Cornes' ban was backdated to April 13, the date when the League Championship team provisionally suspended him. "His continued employment with the club will be discussed at a scheduled board meeting ... and with football management and the Professional Footballers' Association," a statement on Wolves' Web site said.
■ Formula One
McLaren replaces Montoya
McLaren-Mercedes will replace Juan Pablo Montoya with their test driver Pedro de la Rosa, effective immediately, the Anglo-German Formula One team announced yesterday. The Spaniard De la Rosa will become the partner of Kimi Raikkonen at McLaren at the weekend French Grand Prix. The move comes after Montoya said on Sunday that he has reached an agreement to switch into the NASCAR series next year. "We have agreed that with so many things happening in Juan Pablo's life right now, he should take some time out of the car and prepare professionally and personally for the future," McLaren boss Ron Dennis said. Montoya said: "I have enjoyed most of my time in Formula 1 and I'm grateful for this opportunity to settle my personal life and concentrate on my future career." De La Rosa was an F1 driver for Arrows and Jaguar in 1999-2002 before becoming test driver for McLaren. He replaced then injured Montoya at the Bahrain GP last year, in which he finished fifth and set the fastest race lap. "I know the MP4-21 [car] better than anyone else and I'm confident that I can achieve important World Championship points for the team," de la Rosa said.
■ Soccer
Deschamps inks Juve deal
Didier Deschamps signed a two-year contract on Monday to coach Juventus, which faces demotion and being stripped of its last two Serie A titles in the Italian match-fixing scandal. The former Juventus midfielder, who captained France to the 1998 World Cup title, replaces Fabio Capello after his resignation last week to coach Real Madrid. In June, Juventus officials met with Deschamps, who said he was interested in coaching the Turin club even if it is demoted. The Italian soccer federation's sports trial ended last week with AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and 25 soccer officials also facing charges. Verdicts are expected this week.
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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