■ Soccer
Souness bids for Wolves
A consortium led by Graeme Souness made a written offer on Wednesday to buy League Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers. The former Rangers, Liverpool and Newcastle manager is leading an unnamed group of investors. "Following my verbal offer, myself and partners -- all of whom are UK-born and based -- have made a written offer which is being considered," Souness said. "Both parties have agreed to keep details of these negotiations confidential." Souness had a ?20 million (US$38.8 million) bid to buy Wolves rejected on Tuesday. Wolves owner Jack Hayward said he was willing to sell the club, which is ninth in the Championship.
■ Soccer
Garcia faces long lay off
Luis Garcia will be out of action for six months after a scan on Wednesday revealed the Liverpool forward ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The 28-year-old Spain player landed awkwardly on his knee in Tuesday's 6-3 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup quarter-finals. Chile's Mark Gonzalez will miss at least three weeks as a result of the right shin injury he also sustained in the loss.
■ Rugby Union
Hadden names large squad
Scotland coach Frank Hadden named a 33-strong squad on Wednesday for training next week at Murrayfield ready for the Six Nations championship. Injuries mean Scotland will be without their top two scrum halves, Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair, for at least the first game of the championship. Hadden has named scrum halves Rory Lawson and Sam Pinder in the training squad. The squad also features four uncapped players -- back Robbie Kydd, prop Alasdair Dickinson, flanker John Barclay and full-back Calum MacRae. Scotland's first Six Nations game is against England on Feb. 3.
■ Cricket
Doping duo in Cup squad
Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, cleared last month of a doping offence, have been included in a provisional 30-man squad for this year's World Cup. Pakistan officials said they had no concerns over the pair's availability despite the World Anti-Doping Agency challenging their exoneration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. "We have followed a decision of a proper appeals tribunal which lifted their bans last month after taking into account every aspect of the case. Pakistan has handled the case fairly," Saleem Altaf, director of cricket operations said. Akhtar was banned for two years and Asif for one after they tested positive for nandrolone in October. They were cleared by a PCB appeals tribunal last month.
■ Football
Hall of Fame finalists named
Recently retired NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and former Buffalo Bills star running back Thurman Thomas are among 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2007. Also making the cut is Bruce Matthews, who played every position on the offensive line for the Oilers/Titans from 1983-2001. Matthews is in his first year of eligibility, while Thomas is in his second year, as is former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin. The other 11 modern-era finalists are defensive ends Fred Dean and Richard Dent; guards Russ Grimm and Bob Kuechenberg; punter Ray Guy; wide receivers Art Monk and Andre Reed; linebackers Derrick Thomas and Andre Tippett; cornerback Roger Wehrli; and tackle Gary Zimmerman. Joining them are senior committee nominees guard Gene Hickerson and tight end Charlie Sanders.
■ Cycling
Doc asked riders for cash
The Spanish doctor at the center of a major doping scandal asked cyclists for bonuses of up to 50,000 euros (US$64,600) if they won the Tour of France, Spanish media reported on Wednesday. Eufemiano Fuentes also reportedly asked for 30,000 euros if they came in second and e20,000 euros (US$25,800) if they finished third, Madrid daily ABC reported, citing documents seized by the Civil Guard during last year's doping raids in Madrid. Fuentes faces preliminary charges in Spain of crimes against public health. He was arrested in May as part of a major investigation into doping in cycling known as Operation Puerto, but has not been formally indicted. The newspaper also reported that cyclists had to pay Fuentes 30,000 euros if they won an Olympic gold or the Giro d'Italia. ABC said that Fuentes charged top riders 70,000 euros per year.
■ Skiing
Skier makes nude descent
Austrian skier Rainer Schoenfelder lost a bet on Wednesday, and paid for it by skiing nude down the Lauberhorn. The 29-year-old, who hurt his neck and back in a crash last week, lost a bet with his physiotherapist, who had been treating his injuries. Schoenfelder had vowed to ski naked if his pains had lessened by Wednesday morning. Schoenfelder skied wearing only yellow boots and an orange helmet and gloves, and a photographer snapped a shot of the skier that has been circulated on the Internet. "Somehow I didn't notice the photographer," Schoenfelder said. "It was an internal bet and of course the whole thing wasn't planned for the public." Schoenfelder had been in pain since his crash in Adelboden last week. After little success treating the pain, his physio performed a "special" treatment on Tuesday and Schoenfelder said he woke up the following morning without pain for the first time since an accident in Turracher Hoehe, Austria, a day before the World Cup races in Adelboden.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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