■ England
Harmison still a doubt
England fast bowler Steve Harmison worked out in the Adelaide Oval nets yesterday, a day after a side strain left him out of his team's tour match against South Australia and in doubt for the first Ashes test. England coach Duncan Fletcher said that Harmison, who received a cortisone injection, would need to prove that the injury would not affect his bowling before the first test begins on Thursday. "He's not guaranteed for Brisbane with that problem he's had before," Fletcher said. "So we'll just have to see how this injection goes and what effect it has on him. We're not going to guarantee it, but we're planning, if he's fine tomorrow and it's not as bad as it was, we'll give him a bowl and see how he feels with it."
■ Australia
Clarke added as cover
Batsman Michael Clarke was yesterday added to Australia's squad for next week's first Test as cover for injured Shane Watson. Watson is still to be assessed by Cricket Australia physiotherapist Alex Kountouris but selectors indicated they would not replace him with another allrounder if Watson is ruled out of the Ashes opener. Watson strained his right hamstring while bowling in a domestic one-day game in Perth on Friday and was expected to arrive in Brisbane late yesterday. Cricket Australia said it did not expect to know the severity of Watson's injury until Sunday. Clarke's inclusion indicates Australia's selectors may opt for the extra batsman if they lose the allrounder to bolster the batting line-up. Clarke, 25, played all five Ashes Tests last year, and scored 335 runs at 37.22. He lost his place in the Test team last Australian summer and regained it in Bangladesh in April, although he failed to seal his spot with scores of 19, nine and 23 not out.
■ Entertainment
TV host goes undercover
Hugh Jackman, one of Australia's best-known film stars, upped the Ashes ante on Friday, unveiling a reality TV series in which an Australian infiltrates the ranks of England's notorious Barmy Army. In the Hollywood film star and producer's first series for Australian television, An Aussie goes Barmy, Jackman dares his British-based best friend to penetrate the British cabal of cricket fanatics on the Ashes tour. In the five-part documentary, starting Nov. 29, Gus Worland, who has known Jackman since childhood, must put his patriotism on the line to find out what makes the English cricket fans tick as a group. Worland, 37, will be decked out in Australia's national colors -- green and gold -- in the midst of thousands of English fans at each Test match. In each episode Worland will join a different faction of English fans, take part in their parties and compete in matches between the Barmy Army and the Fanatics -- Australia's equivalent. However, if England triumphs -- or draws to retain the Ashes -- Worland faces the unpleasant fate of surrendering his allegiance and joining the Barmy Army full-time.
■ Football
Schembechler passes away
US college football coaching legend Bo Schembechler died of heart failure after collapsing at a television studio in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday. He was 77. Schembechler, who had two heart attacks and suffered from diabetes, had a pacemaker implanted on Oct. 23 after a previous episode at the studio. Born Glenn Schembechler, he won a Michigan school-record 194 games and won or shared 13 Big Ten titles.
■ Soccer
Beckenbauer reelected
Franz Beckenbauer was re-elected for a fifth consecutive term as Bayern Munich president on Friday, receiving 98.2 percent of the vote from 2,500 members attending the club's annual meeting. There were 13 abstentions and 21 votes against the 61-year-old Beckenbauer, who has held the post since 1994 and is unlikely to run again when his fifth term expires in 2009. "Thanks for the faith in me," said Beckenbauer, who was captain of the West Germany team that won the 1974 World Cup and coach when the national side won again in 1990.
■ Baseball
MLB teams to bid for Igawa
Kei Igawa became the latest Japanese pitcher put up for bid to US Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The Hanshin Tigers made Igawa available for posting on Friday, and MLB teams have until 5pm on Nov. 27 to submit offers for the right to negotiate a contract with the 27-year-old left-hander. If his Japanese club accepts the highest bid by Dec. 1, the bidder would then have 30 days to reach a deal with Igawa. He went 14-9 last season with a 2.97 ERA in Japan and struck out 194 to tie for the Central League lead, adding to the strikeout titles he won in 2002 and 2004. Igawa's career mark is 86-60 with a 3.15 ERA. He would have had to play in Japan for three more seasons before he could become a free agent.
■ Basketball
Van Gundy fined for remarks
Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was fined US$25,000 by the NBA on Friday for publicly criticizing game referees. Van Gundy complained about the treatment of Chinese center Yao Ming in a story that appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday. He said he was irritated by the way the Rockets' victory at Miami on Nov. 12 was refereed, and also said what was being tolerated inside was both "reckless" and "mayhem." Yao had a cut on his arm after the game, which Van Gundy noted in his comments. "It just irritated me," Van Gundy said. "The whole game irritated me the way he was officiated," he said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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