■ Basketball
Timberwolves fire coach
The Minnesota Timberwolves fired head coach Dwane Casey on Tuesday and named assistant coach Randy Wittman as coach of the NBA team for the rest of the season. The Timberwolves have lost four straight games to slip back to the .500 mark at 20-20, and the club was underachieving in the mind of vice president of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale. "We started the season with certain goals and expectations that have not been met," McHale told reporters. "We've struggled with being consistent throughout the year and ultimately that's the head coach's responsibility. I want to thank Dwane for his hard work and commitment to this team, and wish him well." Casey posted a record of 53-69 in less than two full seasons as head coach of the T-Wolves. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant with the Seattle SuperSonics prior to taking the job in Minnesota.
■ Football
Tank Johnson can play
Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson will play in the Super Bowl -- with court approval and a warning from a judge to stay out of trouble. Cook County Judge John Moran granted a defense request on Tuesday to allow Johnson to leave the state as he awaits trial on gun possession charges. The Bears will play the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4. Moran set no special restrictions on Johnson but said he must obey the law "or dire consequences will result." Johnson was arrested on Dec. 14 after police raided his home in Gurnee, about 65km northwest of Chicago. Prosecutors say officers found three rifles, three handguns and ammunition in Johnson's home. He faces 10 counts of possession of firearms without a state gun-owner identification card.
■ Soccer
Haiti wins Caribbean Cup
Haiti won the Caribbean Cup by defeating Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 in Tuesday's soccer final in Port-of-Spain, and Cuba claimed third place after downing Guadeloupe 2-1. First-time winner Haiti, contesting only its second final in the Cup's 18-year history, emerged triumphant after a competition lasting 73 matches and involving 25 teams. Eight-time winner Trinidad, fielding a fledgling side because of club commitments for many star players, fell behind in the 22nd minute when Alexandre Boucicaut scored off a rebound. The strength and pace of Eliphene Cadet took him round the Trinidad defense on the right flank, and his cross found Fucien Brunel, whose shot was saved by Jan Michael Williams but Boucicaut followed up. Brunel profited from confusion in the penalty area to double the advantage in the 51st.
■ Ice Hockey
East defeats West
New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise had two goals and four assists to lead the Eastern Conference over the Western Conference 9-8 in the NHL YoungStars game on Tuesday. Parise, a first-round pick by the Devils in 2003, was selected the MVP. Boston's Phil Kessel scored his third goal four minutes into the third period, assisted by Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal and Parise to give the East a 9-4 lead. The West scored the last four goals in the game, and had a chance to tie in the final 30 seconds when Finland's Jussi Jokinen of the hometown Dallas Stars -- the lowest draft pick in the game, picked 192nd overall in the sixth round in 2001 -- missed from the front of the net. Jokinen had a goal in the first period and another was disallowed.
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
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