■ Winter Olympics
Greenpeace bid rejected
Environmentalists lost their bid on Wednesday to block construction of sports facilities in Sochi if the Black Sea resort gets the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia's Supreme Court rejected Greenpeace's contention that Olympic-related projects would cause major ecological harm to the region. Sochi's infrastructure and sports facilities are less developed than the other two finalists for the games -- Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea. Russia plans to develop the Sochi region regardless of whether it wins the bid. Government representatives argued that significant studies showed construction would not pose a threat to the region's environment, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
■ Skiing
Svartedal clinches title
Jens Arne Svartedal of Norway clinched cross-country skiing's World Cup sprint title despite finishing last in the Royal Palace Sprint B final on Wednesday. Skiing on an illuminated 1km course around one of the world's biggest royal palaces in Stockholm's Old Town, Mikhail Deviatiarov of Russia won the men's classic-style. Petra Majdic of Slovenia won the women's race. Tobias Angerer, the two-time defending World Cup champion from Germany, did not compete. He clinched the men's overall title last week in Norway.
■ Soccer
Cole teams up with Bruce
Birmingham signed former England striker Andy Cole on loan on Wednesday from Portsmouth. Cole, the second highest career scorer in the Premier League with 188 goals, was a team-mate of Birmingham manager Steve Bruce when they played at Manchester United. Birmingham will have Cole until the end of the season. "We are absolutely delighted to bring Andy in for our Championship run because he is an exceptional player with a phenomenal goalscoring record," Bruce said. "We feel that his experience will prove to be very beneficial to the team, particularly as we have so many young players."
■ Basketball
US to face Venezuela
The US will open qualifying for next year's Olympics against Venezuela in the Americas tournament. Brazil, Canada and the US Virgin Islands were placed in the same group in a draw held on Wednesday. The tournament will be held from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2 in Las Vegas. The top two teams will earn spots in Beijing, while the teams finishing third through fifth have another chance in a qualifying tournament to be held in July next year. Each team plays the other four teams in its group, with the top four finishers advancing to the second round.
■ Baseball
No extension for Rodriguez
The New York Yankees don't intend to offer Alex Rodriguez a contract extension, leaving him the option of opting out of his deal after the season and becoming a free agent. Rodriguez has four seasons left in the record US$252 million, 10-year agreement he signed with Texas before the 2001 season. He is owed US$27 million in each of the final three seasons -- with the Yankees responsible for US$50.7 million and the Rangers owing US$30.3 million, including US$9 million in deferred money. Under the terms of the deal, Rodriguez can terminate it after this season. He also can stay for next year and have the right to opt out of the final two seasons if the Yankees don't boost his salary to US$32 million annually for the final two years.
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
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