■ Basketball
Yi breaks Yao's dunk record
Rising star Yi Jianlian (易建聯) has broken NBA center Yao Ming's (姚明) record for the most slam dunks by a Chinese player in the China Basketball Association, a Chinese sports Web site said yesterday. Yi, 19, who plays for the league champion Guangdong Tigers, surpassed Yao's CBA record of 302 dunks by a Chinese player, according to Sina.com. Yi overtook Yao's dunk milestone two weeks ago and, following Guangdong's 102-91 victory over Shandong on Wednesday, the 2.12m Yi has 314 dunks. Yi, who is averaging 24.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game this season, is expected to be a top pick in the National Basketball Association's June draft, following his famous countryman into the world's toughest league.
■ Cricket
McGrath and Lee recalled
Australia have recalled fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee for today's tri-series one-day international against England at the Gabba in Brisbane. The pair will replace Stuart Clark and Ben Hilfenhaus in a reshuffled team for the fourth match of the triangular series. Australian captain Ricky Ponting will miss the match as part of the team's rest and rotation policy to keep their players from burning out before the March 13-April 28 World Cup. Brad Hodge will fill Ponting's place at No. 3 in the batting lineup, while Adam Gilchrist will take over as skipper in his 250th limited-overs international.
Lee missed Australia's first matches of the series with bronchitis while McGrath played in Australia's eight wicket win over England but missed the 105-run victory over New Zealand.
■ Soccer
David Vanole dies aged 43
David Vanole, a goalkeeper who started for the US at the 1988 Olympics and helped the US team qualify for the 1990 World Cup, has died. He was 43. No reason was given for his death. Vanole, who lived in New York, collapsed at dinner on Monday in Salt Lake City during a family ski vacation and died later that day, National Basketball Association spokesman Brian McIntyre said on Wednesday. Vanole's wife, Kerry Tatlock, is the NBA's senior director of global marketing partnerships. "Vanole was one of the pioneers at the start of a new era for US soccer," US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. Vanole was a member of UCLA's 1985 US college championship team and helped the US national team qualify for its first World Cup in 40 years. He made 13 appearances and was unbeaten in five qualifiers, winning three, from 1986-1989.
■ Soccer
Man U lend Rossi to Parma
Parma acquired Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi on Wednesday on loan until the end of the season. "We've done a deal for the loan of Giuseppe Rossi," Parma board member Roberto Cappelli said. "Our sporting director [Gabriele Zamagna] did brilliantly. He managed to complete a swoop for a player, who was sought after by many clubs. ... We are particularly happy because he [Rossi] is an important reinforcement until the end of June," he said. Rossi, who was born in the US but has played for Italy's under-21 team, joined the Red Devils from Parma in July 2004, making 14 appearances. The 19-year-old recently completed a four-month loan to United's premiership rival Newcastle. Rossi was due to arrive in Parma yesterday and could play against Torino in Italy's Serie A this weekend.
■ Soccer
Sheva denies favoritism
Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko has denied accusations that he has a special relationship with billionaire Russian manager Roman Abramovich which is destabilizing the English Premier League champions. "Those rumors are all lies," the Ukrainian told the Times. "A lot of things have been said which aren't true. We might have a quick word with each other but that is natural as we both speak Russian. Maybe I shouldn't speak Russian." Shevchenko has scored only five goals this season and manager Jose Mourinho has made veiled references to a lack of effort. British newspapers have reported that Abramovich's backing for the out-of-form striker is one of several issues which have created a rift with Mourinho and might persuade him to leave at the end of the season.
■ Soccer
Gulf Cup kicks off
Oman beat the United Arab Emirates 2-1 on Wednesday in the opening match of the Arabian Gulf Cup. Oman's Fawzi Basheer scored in the 36th minute of the Group A game from outside the penalty area. Basheer set up the second goal for Emad Al Hosani in the 50th. Ismail Matar scored in the 63rd for the hosts. The UAE played with 10 men from the 27th when midfielder Hilal Saeed was sent off for a foul on Basheer. This is the 18th biennial championship. Oman lost the 2005 final to Qatar.
■ Ice Hockey
Straka extends his deal
Martin Straka, the leading scorer for the New York Rangers this season, signed a contract extension with the NHL club on Wednesday, the team announced. The 34-year-old left wing from the Czech Republic has scored 24 goals and added 31 assists in 47 games this season for the Rangers, proving invaluable in power play situations. Straka, an All-Star with Pittsburgh in 1999, has 238 career goals and 423 assists in parts of 14 seasons with the Rangers, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Kings, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders. The Rangers have lost 10 of their past 15 games and slid to 23-20 with four overtime losses, trailing division leader New Jersey by 10 points.
■ NFL
Chargers retain head coach
The San Diego Chargers have said Marty Schottenheimer will return as head coach next season, but that the veteran had turned down an extension for next year. There had been speculation Schottenheimer would be fired after the Chargers lost to the New England Patriots 24-21 on Sunday, bringing their tremendous NFL season to a disappointing end. San Diego went 14-2 but a late collapse in the playoff game against New England ended their Super Bowl aspirations.
■ Soccer
Withe set to get the boot
Indonesia coach Peter Withe is set to lose his job after the national side failed to reach the semi-finals of the Asean championship, the chairman of the Indonesian Football Association was quoted as saying yesterday. "Obviously I will fire him. We have given him a chance," Nurdin Halid told the Koran Tempo newspaper. The former England and Aston Villa striker was handed an ultimatum before the tournament began: take Indonesia to the final or face the axe. Indonesia drew 2-2 with Singapore on Wednesday when a win would have guaranteed them a place in the final four. Indonesia collected five points, but missed out on a semi-final berth because of goal difference.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
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