■ Soccer
Wolves keep cocaine striker
Wolverhampton striker Chris Cornes will remain with the club, despite his six-month ban for testing positive for cocaine. Wolverhampton chief executive Jez Moxey said on Tuesday that the club condemned the use of banned substances but, after discussions with Cornes, decided not to sack him. "However, we have made it clear to him that he could be dismissed if he is unable to demonstrate to the club and its supporters that he is a model professional from this point onwards," Moxey said. Cornes, 19, was banned by the Football Association on Monday for testing positive for cocaine in a random drug test taken in February. He denies ever knowingly taking a banned substance. Cornes will be fined and will work with the club's Football in the Community department during his suspension when he isn't training.
■ Soccer
Kirkland on loan to Wigan
Wigan signed Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland on a six-month loan on Tuesday. "Chris is a top quality goalkeeper, he is a very imposing figure who can command his box, and he combines that with a tremendous shot-stopping ability," Wigan coach Paul Jewell told Wigan's Web site. Kirkland, a former England Under-21 international, spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion. The 25-year-old moved to Liverpool in August 2001 from Coventry. Last season, Mike Pollitt was Wigan's No. 1 goalkeeper, with John Filan making 19 appearances. Both are still at the club.
■ Swimming
No early Melbourne finals
Finals at next year's World Swimming Championships in Melbourne will be held in the evening, not in the morning as world body FINA had considered, organizers said yesterday. The organizing committee, working with the Victoria state government and FINA, confirmed the program for the championships with heats starting at 10am and semifinals and finals beginning at 7pm. American broadcaster NBC has strongly lobbied FINA to hold finals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the morning to allow them to be shown in prime-time in the US. FINA then considered holding morning finals at the Melbourne world championships on a trial basis. The decision to stick to an evening format came as a relief to swimmers and organizers, including Australian Swimming chief executive Glenn Tasker, who applauded the decision. The International Olympic Committee will decide next month whether to program morning finals at the 2008 Beijing games.
■ Soccer
Portugal players must pay
Portugal's government on Tuesday rejected a proposal that the national soccer team be exempt from paying tax on their World Cup bonuses. Each player received 50,000 euros (US$64,000) for having reached the semi-finals. "At a moment when the country has to make sacrifices I think those sacrifices must be made by all," Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos told reporters. "I think that public recognition for the good results obtained should be enough for those who carry out with professionalism and dedication a job which they are supposed to do," he added. Earlier on Tuesday the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Gilberto Madail, was quoted as saying in business daily Jornal de Negocios that he would seek the tax break from the government for the 23 players.
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
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
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
Taiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Together, they combined for eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. The lone run surrendered came in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pitcher from Japan’s independent league took the mound. The pitching strategy was designed to preserve the arms of the Taiwanese ahead of their game against Australia at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning. Taiwanese-American Stuart Fairchild
RSS