■ Soccer
Nemeth suffers embolism
Slovakian international striker Szilard Nemeth will be out of action for three months after suffering an embolism, his German club Alemannia Aachen said on Wednesday. The 29-year-old former Middlesbrough forward is currently in hospital for the blood clot but should return home at the end of the week according to his paymasters.
■ Olympics
North Korea calls for unity
North Korea has called for renewed talks with South Korea on forming a unified team for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, a South Korean official said yesterday. The North also proposed that athletes from the two Koreas march together at the opening and closing ceremonies at next month's Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, said Park Chul-geun, an official from the South Korean Olympic committee. North Korea asked for the talks on the joint Olympic team to take place in Doha, Park said.
■ Basketball
Spectator sues Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is being sued by a man who claims the LA Lakers star deliberately elbowed him during a Memphis Grizzlies' game last year. Bill Geeslin sat in the stands when the Lakers played in Memphis last Nov. 14. His three-page federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday claims Bryant came off the court during play, landed on Geeslin and "without provocation" committed assault and battery when he struck Geeslin with his elbow. Geeslin is seeking more than US$75,000 in damages for unspecified injuries.
■ Baseball
Devil Rays win Iwamura
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays won US Major League Baseball negotiating rights to Yakult Swallows third baseman Akinori Iwamura on Wednesday, submitting a winning bid of about US$4.5 million for the power hitter. The Devil Rays have 30 days to finalize a contract with Iwamura. If he is not signed by Dec. 15, Tampa Bay's bid is void and Iwamura returns to play in Japan. The 27-year-old Iwamura was a five-time All-Star in eight seasons with the Swallows. A left-handed hitter, he batted .311 with 32 homers and 77 RBIs in 145 games last season.
■ Tennis
Indonesia fined for no show
The International Tennis Federation has fined Indonesia US$31,600 and banned it from next year's tournament for canceling its July Fed Cup match against Israel at Tel Aviv. The Indonesian Tennis Association is expected to appeal the ruling before the Dec. 20 deadline, Ferry Raturandang, secretary general of the ITA, said yesterday after being informed of the decision by e-mail. Muslim-dominated Indonesia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, had asked that the venue of its World Group II playoff match be moved to another country. Raturandang said Indonesia was told it must pay US$5,000 for pulling out of the match and US$20,000 to host Israel.
■ Soccer
Real sell rights for US$1bn
Real Madrid agreed to sell its TV rights for 800 million euros (US$1.02 billion) in a seven-year deal, club president Ramon Calderon said on Tuesday. Calderon didn't disclose the buyer, saying the club would give details in the next few days. "It is the biggest contract in the history of world sport," Calderon was quoted as saying by the Web site of sports daily Marca. Spain's ABC newspaper recently reported that Madrid's regional government -- through its free-to-air network Telemadrid -- and bank Caja Madrid lodged a 600 million euro bid to broadcast Real Madrid games for five seasons from 2009 to 2013.
■ Cricket
Schoolboys rack up 721
Two schoolboys in the southern city of Hyderabad set a record partnership on Wednesday, evoking memories of a similar knock between batting great Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli nearly two decades ago. Openers Manoj Kumar and Mohammad Shaibaz Tumbi both scored triple centuries and put on 721 runs as they batted through a full 40 overs in an under-13s inter-school limited-overs match. Local journalists were quick to recall the 1988 exploits of a teenage Tendulkar and Kambli, who both hit triple centuries in Mumbai's Harris Shield schools competition. Tendulkar and Kambli put on a record 664 runs for the third wicket for Shardashram against St Xavier's. Manoj scored 320 off 127 balls and Tumbi 324 off 116 balls for St Peter's School and they ran up the highest total, highest partnership and eventually the highest margin of victory (700 runs) in any class of the limited-overs game. A stunned St Phillip's School were bundled out for a paltry 21 in just seven overs.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
FOCUS: ‘We came out here with a goal in mind ... to keep our foot on their throat and on their neck, and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball,’ Donovan Mitchell said The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win. The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Shuttler Lin Chun-yi yesterday kept Taiwan on the board as they faced their first major challenge of the group stage after marching into the last eight at the Sudirman Cup Finals in Xiamen, China. Taiwan were losing 3-1 to South Korea as of press time last night, with only the men’s doubles match remaining. Taiwan and four-time champions South Korea have already progressed to the quarter-finals, after Taiwan on Monday blanked the Czech Republic 5-0 without giving up a single game. Before last night’s tie, Taiwan were undefeated in Group B, with a 9-1 match record, ahead of South Korea, who, although also
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