■ El Salvador
Maradona to play friendly
Argentine World Cup hero Diego Maradona is scheduled to play in friendly matches next week in Honduras and El Salvador at events known as "Showbol," a seven-a-side, small-field exhibition, organizers said on Friday. Maradona's plans to participate were confirmed via telephone by Alejandro Mancuso, the Argentine's agent. Maradona was to have arrived on Friday in San Salvador, but his plane was delayed by weather, and his match in the country was rescheduled for Oct. 28, said Erick Acuna, one of the event's organizers. Maradona is also scheduled to play in the city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Wednesday.
■ Germany
Dortmund held by Bochum
Borussia Dortmund failed for a fourth time to move atop the Bundesliga this season, held to a 1-1 draw at home by last-place VfL Bochum. A 30th-minute goal by Theofanis Gekas gave Bochum the lead, while Dortmund was jeered by the crowd of 75,100 at Westfalenstadion after only 20 minutes. Polish forward Ebi Smolarek equalized in the 35th minute for Dortmund, which remained a point behind a lead trio topped by Werder Bremen. "It's unbelievable -- I'd really like to be able to explain it," Dortmund coach Bert van Marwijk said. "We just got more and more nervous." Dortmund was left in fifth with 12 points. Bochum welcomed the draw being routed 6-0 by Bremen last week.
■ Germany
Mooning fan to be quizzed
A Bayer Leverkusen fan who goaded rival supporters by flashing his bum repeatedly during his team's UEFA Cup tie at Club Bruges on Thursday faces court action, a Belgian public prosecutor said. The fan, who has not been named and was not arrested on the night of the match, will be questioned by German police and will receive a summons from a court in Bruges, prosecutor Yves Segaert said on Friday. If convicted, the German man faces a fine and a ban from the stadium. "He pulled his trousers down several times during the match and showed his butt to the Bruges fans," Segaert said. "He did this to annoy some hard core fans and provoke them."
■ China
Dujkovic new Olympic coach
The protracted search for a coach for their 2008 Beijing Olympics team came to an end when Ratomir Dujkovic was put in charge yesterday. The 60-year-old Serbian, who led Ghana to the second round of the World Cup finals earlier this year and has also coached Venezuela, Myanmar and Rwanda, signed a contract which will take him through until the end of the Olympics. The Chinese Football Association has spent much of the year searching for a coach, with media reports linking Frenchmen Jacques Santini and Philippe Troussier, England's Howard Wilkinson and German Berti Vogts with the job. Dujkovic faces a tough task getting a competitive team together in less than two years given the parlous state of Chinese soccer, which has been beset by match-fixing scandals and declining interest from the public.
■ Basketball
Diaw extends Suns contract
Versatile Boris Diaw, who won the NBA's Most Improved Player award last season, signed a five-year contract extension on Friday with the Phoenix Suns. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the extension is believed to be worth about US$8 million per season. Diaw, 24, is scheduled to make US$1.79 million this season. Had he not been given an extension by Oct. 31, he would have become a restricted free agent next summer, with the Suns holding the right to match any offer he received from another team.
■ Basketball
Spanish team nets award
Spain's national basketball team received the prestigious Prince of Asturias sports award on Friday in recognition of the World Championship title it won in Japan. The team beat 29 other candidates for the award, including French Open tennis champion Rafael Nadal, retiring eight-time Grand Slam event winner Andre Agassi and this year's World Cup chief Franz Beckenbauer. "To receive a first like this is a completely different emotion than in playing a game," World Championship most valuable player Pau Gasol said.
■ Baseball
Francona to lead MLB stars
Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has accepted an offer to manage a team of players from US Major League Baseball on an exhibition tour of Japan next month. Ken Macha had been scheduled to manage the team but the former Oakland skipper was fired two days after the American League West Division champions were swept out of the MLB playoffs by Detroit. "Unfortunately, Ken Macha was not able to represent a major league team," Francona said on Friday. Francona said he spoke to Macha before deciding to take the post. There are no Red Sox players on the team. Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets and Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox are among the players scheduled to play.
■ Rugby
Wannenburg to miss tour
Loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg was ruled out of South Africa's tour of Ireland and England on Friday because of a wrist injury. The 25-year-old has been a fringe player all season and team management said in a statement that there were no immediate plans to replace him for next month's four-game tour. Wannenburg, who has played in 16 tests, was hurt in last week's Currie Cup final and will undergo surgery tomorrow. His Blue Bulls side shared the trophy with the Free State Cheetahs after a 28-28 draw. Springboks coach Jake White will have five other loose forwards on the tour.
■ Cricket
Clarke plays down banter
Australian batsman Michael Clarke played down an incident with West Indies' Chris Gayle, saying it was only a bit of banter. Gayle was fined 30 percent of his match fee for his part in the incident after West Indies scored a 10-run victory over Australia on Wednesday. "There was definitely some banter, but it certainly wasn't personal ... Chris and I spoke after the match, so we're fine," said Clarke. "We give as good as we get, but we certainly cop some back, don't worry about that," the New South Wales batsman sai on Friday. "I remember after an over, Chris walked the whole way down to where Gilly and I were talking in the middle. He was right on my shoulder the whole time. I could imagine how that would look on TV. But for me personally, it was nothing but banter."
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
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