■ Sumo
Asashoryu on course for Cup
Grand champion Asashoryu dispatched veteran Kaio on Friday to stay on target for his 20th Emperor's Cup at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament. Mongolian Asashoryu spun ozeki Kaio around in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan and forced his opponent out to improve to 12-1 with two days left in the tournament. Kaio dropped to 6-7. Ninth-ranked maegashira Toyonoshima kept his title hopes alive, getting both arms around Ushiomaru and forcing out the No. 15 maegashira to improve to 11-2. Ushiomaru stands at 8-5. A win by Asashoryu on yesterday coupled with a loss by Toyonoshima would give the yokozuna his 20th title.
■ Soccer
Raul hits back at Calderon
Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez has criticized team president Ramon Calderon for disparaging the team's players. Although he conceded there are players "with problems," Raul defended his teammates against Calderon's accusations that they were pampered, uneducated and cared little for the club. "The president is the president and can talk whenever he wants to, but his comments created bad feeling and were not appropriate," Raul said. Calderon was recorded without his knowledge this week while speaking to students, and Raul said public comments such as the president's destabilized the club, which has not won a major trophy for almost four years.
■ Rugby Union
Horgan facing layoff
Ireland winger Shane Horgan could be ruled out of the Six Nations after limping out of Leinster's European Cup defeat at Gloucester on Friday. The Lions star picked up a knee injury late in the first half at Kingsholm in the 19-13 defeat. "It never looks good when somebody is carried off like that," said Leinster coach Michael Cheika. Ireland open their Six Nations challenge in Wales on Feb. 4.
■ Soccer
Crowd trouble costs Real
Real Madrid were fined an undisclosed amount and warned its home stadium could be closed on Friday after crowd trouble in the Copa del Rey match against Real Betis a day earlier. Spain's soccer federation said in a statement that referee Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez stopped Thursday's match when "an assistant referee was struck in the arm by a bottle" thrown from the stands. The game was twice halted briefly in the final moments due to crowd trouble. It finished 1-1 with Betis advancing on away goals. Fans in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium erupted in anger when a headed goal by Madrid defender Ivan Helguera was ruled offside.
■ Soccer
Feyenoord given the boot
Feyenoord were expelled from the UEFA Cup on Friday over crowd disturbances. The Dutch side were set to meet Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 32 of Europe's second-tier club competition. UEFA will meet tomorrow to decide whether the English club will have to play another opponent instead. Feyenoord fans fought and smashed windows at Nancy before ripping out and throwing seats during a 3-0 loss on Nov. 30. "This punishment has enormous implications for our club. Financially as well as on the sporting front, Feyenoord suffers a lot of damage," Feyenoord director Onno Jacobs said. "Our real supporters are the victims of the behavior of a few people that Feyenoord wants nothing to do with."
■ Wrestling
Iranians cheer US athlete
A day earlier, the Iranians shouted obscenities at US wrestler Mo Lawal after he taunted his Iranian opponent by beating his chest. But on Friday, they kissed him as he shimmied to Iranian music and passed out US flags after winning the gold medal. US-Iranian politics were put aside for sheer enthusiasm over wrestling, a sport Iranians have been passionate about and excelled in for centuries. Amid tensions over Iraq and Iran's nuclear program, the US sent a second aircraft carrier group to the Gulf this week, prompting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to retort that Iran was "ready for anything."
■ Football
Dolphins hire Cameron
The Miami Dolphins concluded a two-week coaching search on Friday, hiring Cam Cameron, the San Diego Chargers' offensive coordinator for the past five seasons. "It's not going to be about any individual," Cameron said at news conference. "We're going to build a team here. You're going to see a football team." Cameron signed a four-year contract to replace Nick Saban, who left for the University of Alabama after a 6-10 season. Saban missed the NFL playoffs in both years with Miami, whose roster needs an overhaul to fix an aging defense and a feeble offense.
■ Basketball
Artest to return to brawl site
Carmelo Anthony was supposed to be back on the court yesterday, but a postponed game extended his suspension another two days. So now he can watch another highly anticipated return of a brawler as Ron Artest returns to Detroit. "It's going to be crazy," Anthony said. "They might boo him [like] crazy out there. I can't wait to see that game." Artest can't, either. Sacramento's visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills last night was scheduled to be his first game in Detroit since the brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Pistons fans on Nov. 19, 2004. "I haven't played there in a long time and it's going to be a fun environment," he said earlier this week.
■ Figure Skating
Rochette wins again
Joannie Rochette captured her third consecutive Canadian figure skating title on Friday by beating runner-up Mira Leung in a repeat finish of last year's finish. Lesley Hawker was third, well behind Rochette, who clinched the title with a strong free skate on Friday to move a step closer to Jennifer Robinson's Canadian record of six crowns. "It was a tough week," Rochette said. "That was definitely the hardest one to win [of the three titles]. I'm glad it's over now." Rochette skated to a Flamenco routine and collected 113.76 points for her free skate and 170.65 overall.
■ Soccer
Crowd stampede kills fan
Bolivian police on Friday began looking for the cause of a human stampede during a soccer match the night before that killed a spectator and injured at least 16 more at a stadium near the capital La Paz. Police commander Miguel Vasquez told reporters on Friday that authorities were investigating whether the event was oversold and whether there was sufficient security. Bolivian media reported, citing witnesses, that about 45,000 crammed into Hernando Siles stadium and that 5,000 more people with tickets were unable to enter because of lack of space.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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
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