■ Football
Benfica signs China striker
Yu Dabao, an 18-year-old striker from China, has signed a three-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica, the Beijing Times said yesterday. Currently on loan from Chinese club Qingdao Hailifeng, Yu has agreed to a more permanent move worth US$536,000 to join Benfica, which is currently second-place in the Portuguese league, the paper said. While on loan since the beginning of this year, Yu scored 12 goals in just eight appearances for Benfica's development side.
■ Football
Stingley dies at 55
Darryl Stingley, the former New England Patriots wide receiver who was paralyzed by a vicious hit in a 1978 NFL preseason game, died on Thursday at the age of 55. Stingley was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Thursday after he was found unresponsive at his home, according to a spokesperson with the Cook County medical examiner's office. The cause of death was not immediately known. "This is a sad day for all who knew Darryl Stingley," Patriots chairman Robert Kraft said.
■ Basketball
Gators heading to NBA
With two coveted collegiate basketball championships in their pockets, Joakim Noah and his fellow University of Florida starters are heading to the NBA. Forwards Noah and Corey Brewer, center Al Horford and point guard Taurean Green all announced on Thursday they will forego their final year of college eligibility and enter the NBA draft. Shooting guard Lee Humphrey is in his final senior year of college and also headed for the pros.
■ Basketball
Arenas likely out for season
Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas was scheduled to have surgery on Thursday on his left knee and is essentially done for the season. Arenas was diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear and was to have arthroscopic surgery later in the day at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. The Wizards said the recovery time will be two to three months, meaning he might play again this season only if Washington manages to make the NBA finals without him. Arenas was injured in the first quarter of Wednesday night's 108-100 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.
■ Soccer
Arsenal shares sold
Another US sports team owner bought into an English soccer club as Stan Kroenke, the billionaire owner of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids, purchased 9.99 percent of Premier League team Arsenal from British broadcasting company ITV. Kroenke follows Malcolm Glazer, Randy Lerner, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. as US investors in Premier League teams. Kroenke's British-based vehicle KSE UK bought the shares on Thursday, ITV said in a statement.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS