■ Cricket
Darrell Hair to officiate
Controversial Australian umpire Darrell Hair is to officiate in the one-day international cricket series in Kenya next week, officials said on Saturday. The 54-year-old is one of the 10 umpires and referees appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the triangular series in Mombasa and the World Cricket League in Nairobi between Jan. 30 to Feb. 7. It will be Hair's first international assignment since being dumped from the ICC elite panel of umpires after Pakistan complained about his role in the historic forfeited fourth Test against England at the Oval in August.
■ Soccer
Raul mulls Premiership
Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez could move to English Premiership side Liverpool in the summer, according to Spanish sports daily As on Saturday. The publication speculated on its front page that the friendship between Raul and Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez, who was a Real youth coach during Raul's formative teenage years, could be the catalyst for the player to leave. He was also a regular visitor to Anfield during the last two seasons when his friend and fellow Spanish international Fernando Morientes was a player there.
■ Field hockey
Australia blanks Japan
Australia began their campaign to win a seventh women's Champions Trophy title with an impressive 3-0 win over Japan in Quilmes on Saturday. Renee Trost, one of the new players brought in by coach Frank Murray, repaid his faith by opening the scoring after just three minutes with a rasping shot past 'keeper Ikuko Okamura. Amy Korner (48 minutes) and Peta Gallagher (65) completed the scoring from short corners. Japan, playing in their first Champions Trophy, had chances to score with Chie Kimura twice coming close in the first period. They also earned eight short corners to their opponents' six but couldn't find their way through.
■ Sumo
Tamakasuga still unbeaten
Underdog Tamakasuga extended his unbeaten record on Saturday to stay one win clear of grand champion Asashoryu as the rivals headed into the second week of the New Year Grand Sumo. The Mongolian champ rose to 6-1 after arm-throwing fellow countryman Ama, a No. 4 maegashira, flying to the dirt for a third loss against four victories. Tamakasuga, 11th-ranked maegashira, showered Tosanoumi with a series of hand slaps and pulled him down for a perfect 7-0 record. Tosanoumi, a No. 16 maegashira, fell to 2-5. Asashoryu is gunning for his 20th Emperor's Cup, seeking to become only the fifth wrestler in the history of Japan's ancient sport.
■ Athletics
Marathon raises hackles
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf officially started a mixed-sex marathon race yesterday in the eastern city of Lahore, despite opposition by radical Islamic parties who say the event should be segregated by gender. More than 30,000 people, including 50 athletes from 15 foreign countries, have registered themselves in Lahore to participate in different categories of the marathon, said Ghaus Akbar, the organizer of the Lahore Marathon. "Although some religious elements had opposed the marathon, we have made best possible arrangements to avoid any untoward incident," he said.
■ Soccer
Davids to play in Dallas
Tottenham's Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids is following David Beckham's path to the US, signing with FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, La Opinion, a Spanish-language newspaper, reported on Saturday. According to the newspaper, MLS clubs are also eyeing Brazil's Ronaldo, a teammate of Beckham's at Real, as well as ex-Portugal skipper Luis Figo, another former "Galactico" at Real. At Dallas, Davids, 33, would join a team whose biggest name is Guatemalan goalkeeper Carlos Ruiz. Davids' career includes stays at Dutch club Ajax, Juventus in Italy and Barcelona in Spain.
■ Baseball
Suzuki report disputed
Ichiro Suzuki is not prepared to leave the Seattle Mariners as a free agent after this season, the Japanese baseball star's agent told the Seattle Times. The newspaper reported on Saturday that Tony Attanasio disputed a report in Japan that the outfielder would leave the Major League Baseball club after the end of a four-year, US$44 million contract he signed after the 2003 season. "We stand today where we stood weeks ago, months ago," Attanasio told the newspaper. "We have told the club that when they are prepared to talk, we would listen. I didn't say we would negotiate. I said we would listen."
■ Golf
Nicklaus, Watson take lead
Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson grabbed a share of the front-nine lead in the Champions Skins Game on Saturday in Wailea, Hawaii, teaming for two skins to match defending champions Raymond Floyd and Dana Quigley at US$60,000. The duos of Arnold Palmer and Loren Roberts and Gary Player and Jay Haas were shut out in the four-team, alternate-shot event. With no one able to capture the last five skins, the par-4 10th was set up to be worth six skins and US$220,000 yesterday. Nicklaus got his team on the board early, sinking a 1.3m birdie putt on the first hole to pick up US$30,000. The sun-soaked crowed roared for the Golden Bear.
■ Basketball
Allen surgery successful
Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen underwent successful reconstructive ligament surgery and cartilage repair to his left knee on Saturday, the NBA club announced. The morning surgery at Boston's Baptist Hospital is likely to end the season for the third-year NBA veteran who turned 25 on Thursday, although no firm timetable has been set for his return. Allen suffered the injury in a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday when he landed awkwardly late in the third quarter after leaping up for a dunk after a whistle. Allen averaged 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.48 steals in 33 games for the Celtics, who are 12-23 but only four games out of first place in the weak Atlantic Division.
■ Swimming
Phelps easily wins races
Michael Phelps won his first two races of the year, easily taking the 100-yard (91m) and 500-yard (457m) freestyle events in the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming on Saturday. Phelps and several other Olympians are using this year's first meet to fine-tune their strokes under racing conditions in preparation for the world championships in March. A goateed Phelps won the 100 free in 42.43 seconds over Ian Crocker, who finished in 42.88. The duo is better known for their butterfly rivalry.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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