■ Soccer
Arsenal's Dein gets G14 nod
Arsenal chairman David Dein was on Wednesday named the new president of the G14 group which represents 18 of Europe's richest clubs. The English official, who was a unanimous choice, replaces Roberto Bettega in the role for a two-year mandate. "As G14 president, I hope to build bridges between UEFA [Europe's governing body] and FIFA [the world's governing body]," Dein said in a statement.
■ Soccer
Lawyer to contest Zizou's red
A French lawyer is to contest Zinedine Zidane's World Cup final red card in the French civil courts, a court source said on Wednesday. Mehana Mouhou, a lawyer in Rouen and Paris, wants the red card overturned on a technicality because he claims the fourth official watched video evidence of the French captain's infamous head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi, before bringing it to the referee's attention. France went on to lose the World Cup final on July 9 after a penalty shoot-out.
■ Soccer
UEFA selects final venues
The 2008 and 2009 Champions League finals will be played in Moscow and Rome respectively, European soccer's governing body said on Wednesday. The UEFA Cup finals of those same years will be held in Manchester (2008) and Istanbul (2009), UEFA's executive committee said from their meeting in Slovenia, adding the 2009 European under-21 championships would be hosted by Sweden. The stadiums used in those finals will be Spartak's Luzhniki stadium, Roma and Lazio's Olympic stadium, Manchester City's City of Manchester stadium, and Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu ground.
■ Basketball
Wizards tie down Grunfeld
The Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations, Ernie Grunfeld, has signed a multi-year contract extension, the club said on Wednesday. The team has made the postseason the last two years, a streak the team had not seen since the late 1980s. "From his first day, Ernie has worked tirelessly to improve our team, and everything he has done has been with an eye toward our long term success," team owner Abe Pollin said in a statement. "I'm proud of the direction our team is going, and with two consecutive playoff appearances behind us, our future looks extremely bright.?ashington was 42-40 last season and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
■ Basketball
Shooting two to stand trial
Two men accused of shooting five Duquesne University basketball players outside a school dance were ordered on Wednesday to stand trial. Derek Lee of Pittsburgh and William Holmes of the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills, both 18, face five counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault and one count of carrying a firearm without a license in the Sept. 17 shootings. Neither is a Duquesne student. A woman who allegedly encouraged the men, Erica Sager, 18, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg, also was ordered to stand trial. The most seriously injured of the five players, Sam Ashaolu, was moved on Monday from critical care into a rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital. The other four are back on campus.
■ England
ECB wants compensation
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has requested compensation from Pakistan for the loss of revenue stemming from the forfeited fourth test in August. A Pakistan TV station reported that the ECB is attempting to claim ?800,000 pounds (US$1.5 million) from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). "The PCB will contest the claim through its lawyers," PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said on Wednesday without confirming the amount.
■ Pakistan
Younis refuses captaincy
Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has refused to lead his country in the Champions Trophy in India, a Pakistani Cricket Board official said yesterday. The official, who declined to give further details, said Younis had announced his decision at a scheduled news conference in Lahore. Younis was named as the captain after regular skipper Inzaman-ul-Haq was banned for four one-day matches for bringing the game into disrepute after Pakistan refused to take the field on the fourth day of the fourth test against England in August.
■ England
Vaughan eyes Ashes role
Michael Vaughan said yesterday he was hopeful of being fit to play a part in the Ashes series this winter. The 31-year-old has not played Test cricket this year due to a knee injury. He has begun running again and there has been talk he could play in the final two Tests. "Everything would have to go perfectly between now and then but in my mind there is a small window of opportunity," Vaughan told the Daily Mail. "I would have to make runs in Perth and, of course, I would have to stay fit," he said. "It would also depend on the state of the series and how the England management are thinking. But it is definitely what I'm aiming for and definitely a target."
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
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
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
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
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