■ Soccer
Rooney in NBA injury scare
Wayne Rooney nearly got injured in a different venue -- while watching the New York Knicks basketball team at Madison Square Garden. The Manchester United striker and fiancee Coleen McLoughlin sat courtside on Monday night when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics lunged for a loose ball and landed on Rooney's surgically repaired right foot. "It was scary," Rooney said on Man U's Web site. "He rolled right over my foot." Luckily, there was no damage to the foot that kept Rooney out of England's opening match in the World Cup last summer.
■ Rugby Union
Rogers to switch codes
Wallaby back Mat Rogers is poised to immediately leave rugby union and return to rugby league after more than four years playing in the 15-a-side code, it was reported yesterday. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said the utility back would meet senior officials this afternoon to discuss a release from his contract, which is due to expire after next year's Rugby World Cup in France. But it was widely reported in the Australian media that the ARU has already agreed to release Rogers, who has played 45 Tests for the Wallabies since he switched from rugby league in 2002.
■ Cricket
Symonds replaces Martyn
Australia named all-rounder Andrew Symonds in place of the retired Damien Martyn in their team for the third Ashes Test against England starting today. Symonds, who played the last of his 10 tests against South Africa in April, will bat at No. 6 in the order with Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke moving up a spot to four and five respectively. Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was named as 12th man with uncapped batsman Adam Voges dropping out of the original 13-man squad. Martyn announced his retirement from cricket three days after Australia won the second Test in Adelaide.
■ Basketball
Iverson rejects Bobcats
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson was nearly shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats but his unhappiness at joining the newest NBA team reportedly doomed the deal. The Philadelphia Inquirer, citing an unnamed course, reported yesterday that the 76ers had reached terms for a package of players from the team formed in 2004 but Iverson's feelings made it impossible to complete the deal. The Bobcats are already struggling to build an audience and their 5-15 record is second-worst in the NBA. Charlotte was one of the few clubs that could fit Iverson's contract into their salary cap. The Hornets spend US$38 million in salaries, about US$15 million shy of the NBA's cap of US$53.1 million a team.
■ NFL
League pioneer seriously ill
Lamar Hunt, a 74-year-old gridiron pioneer who also financed the early struggles of tennis and US soccer, was fighting for his life on Tuesday. Hunt, who founded the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, has been hospitalized since Nov. 22 with a partially collapsed lung and doctors have discovered that the cancer he has been fighting has spread. "He's battling a very courageous fight," Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson said. "We hope and pray for good results. We'll continue to hope that miracles will happen." Hunt was the man who gave the Super Bowl its name. His Dallas Texans won the first American Football League crown in 1962 and moved after three seasons to Kansas City, where as the Chiefs they played in the first Super Bowl and won Super Bowl four.
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
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
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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