■ Soccer
Cole's comeback on hold
Chelsea's injury-plagued midfielder Joe Cole will have to put his comeback on hold after a scan on Monday revealed a minor stress fracture of the foot. The England player has been dogged by injury so far this season, with a knee problem keeping him out of regular action for the Premiership champions for the past two months. The 25-year-old's comeback was curtailed when he missed the trip to Manchester United after suffering pain in his foot. The problem persisted and a scan revealed a stress fracture, which is likely to keep him out until well into January.
■ Soccer
United unveils `Opus'
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and soccer great Bobby Charlton unveiled a 35kg history book of the club on Monday. "The Manchester United story is a unique story," said Charlton, who the book names as the team's greatest player, beating out George Best and Roy Keane. David Beckham was 14th. The 850-page United Opus will be limited to 10,000 copies and cost about £3,000 (US$5,870). "Alex and I had to do 10,000 signatures," Charlton said. "It took us about two or three months." Former South African president Nelson Mandela was presented with a copy of the book during United's pre-season tour in July.
■ Horse racing
Race-fixers punished
Two jockeys were suspended for 18 months and a former owner and bookmaker was banned for eight years on Monday in a British race-fixing scandal. Jockeys Brian Reilly and Dean Williams were suspended for informing bookmaker Owen Churchill that their horses were unlikely to win or of ensuring they would not win. Churchill was banned for causing jockeys to break rules. The charges stemmed from the running of 10 horses in races between December 2004 and February last year. The hearing by the disciplinary panel of Britain's Horseracing Regulatory Authority had adjourned more than three weeks ago without a verdict. Gary Carter was banned for five years and fined ?2,000 (US$3,679) last year after the Jockey Club found him guilty of breaching racing rules.
■ Cricket
Mumbai to host final
India's financial hub Mumbai has been chosen as the venue for the 2011 World Cup cricket final, the hosts announced yesterday. The International Cricket Council awarded the mega one-day tournament to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in April this year. The Premadasa stadium in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, will host the semi-finals while the opening ceremony will be held in Bangladesh. India will host 22 of the 52 matches, including the final. Pakistan stages 15 matches, Sri Lanka nine and Bangladesh six.
■ Sponsorship
Ambush marketing banned
Australia's Victoria state plans to ban blimps from flying over major sports events to prevent attempts by non-sponsor companies to get free advertising. The first airship to be affected is likely one owned by the motor company Holden, which was expected to hover over the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England starting on Boxing Day. The Holden blimp was not seen at the first Ashes Test in Brisbane after the Queensland state government announced its intention to ban ambush marketing.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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