■ GOLF
Norman settles divorce
Two-time British Open golf champion Greg Norman and his ex-wife settled their divorce after 25 years of marriage, a contentious split marked by a dispute over money and assets. The winner of 87 professional victories and Laura Andrassy reached an agreement this month, and a judge completed the confidential settlement in Stuart, Florida on Friday. "Their marriage has been dissolved," Andrassy's lawyer, Russell Ferraro Jr, said on Monday. The 52-year-old Norman and tennis great Chris Evert, who also recently divorced, have been romantically linked. During a golf event in Australia last year, Norman said the two are "very, very close friends."
■ FORMULA ONE
Former boss on trial
The former head of Shanghai's multimillion-dollar Formula One auto racing track, Yu Zhifei (郁知非), is on trial for graft in Anhui Province, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. Yu's trial on embezzlement charges, part of a wide crackdown on corruption in Shanghai, began on Monday at the Intermediate People's Court in Wuhu, the report said, citing unnamed court sources. Yu, a former city government official and general manager of the Shanghai International Circuit, was a key force behind Shanghai's racing circuit. He is accused of embezzling 1.05 million yuan (US$138,700), Xinhua said.
■ WRESTLING
Third gold for Iranian
Hamid Soryan Reihanpour of Iran won his third gold medal on Monday at the World Wrestling Championships in Azerbaijan. Reihanpour defeated 17-year-old Park Eun-chol of South Korea 1-1, 3-0, 4-0 in the 55kg category at Geidar Aliev sports arena. In the 60kg final, David Bedinadze of Georgia rallied to beat Makoto Sasamoto of Japan 0-3, 1-1, 4-0. Olympic champion Jang Ji-hyun of South Korea settled for bronze with a 1-1, 3-2, 7-0 victory over Yuri Dubinin of Belarus. Farid Mansurov of Azerbaijan defeated Steve Guenot of France to win gold in the 66kg division.
■ TENNIS
Golovin through in three
Top-seeded Tatiana Golovin of France needed three sets to eliminate American Lilia Osterloh 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 on Monday in the first round of the Slovenia Open. It was the second meeting between the two. In their only other encounter at the French Open in 2005, Golovin routed the 29-year-old from San Francisco 6-0, 6-2. Golovin reached a career-high ranking of 16 in May, a month after claiming her only tour title in Amelia Island, Florida. In another first-round match, fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik routed Slovenian compatriot Masha Zec Peskiric 6-0, 6-0 in 40 minutes.
■ BASEBALL
Dice-K the Teletubby
The Boston Red Sox didn't need an interpreter for this: With one quick wardrobe change, Daisuke Matsuzaka went from star pitcher to Teletubby. "I didn't think there was anything that could make me laugh last night. There was," manager Terry Francona said on Monday. Many teams use a late season trip as a chance to have some fun with the rookies, dressing them in costumes that must be worn on the flight to the next city. Dice-K had to don the outfit following Sunday night's 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. In addition to Matsuzaka, Boston's veterans dressed reliever Hideki Okajami and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury as female pirates, pitcher Clay Buchholz as Minnie Mouse and outfielder Brandon Moss as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
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