Tue, Oct 30, 2007 page18

• Sports Briefs

  • Agencies
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  ■ SOCCER

  Rain has final say

  India's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Lebanon on Sunday in Chennai was postponed because of heavy rain. The match will now be played in Goa today, India's soccer federation said. The second leg of the first round tie has been shifted to the Margao in the west coast state, the federation said in a statement. Lebanon are favored to qualify for the next round after winning 4-1 in the first leg at home on Oct. 9.

  ■ SOCCER

  `Big Nose' to enter politics

  Former Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo, who led his country to World Cup victory in 1986, said he is set to enter politics. Bilardo, popularly known as Narigon (Big Nose), said in a radio interview that he had been offered a post as sports secretary of Buenos Aires province by governor-elect Daniel Scioli, who won Sunday's election. "They called me to see if I wanted to co-operate with the sporting area and I said yes," he told Radio Mitre. Bilardo was in charge of the Diego Maradona-inspired team that won the World Cup in Mexico in 1986 and was also at the helm when the South Americans finished runners-up four years later in Italy. Bilardo, 68, quit his last coaching job with Estudiantes in 2004 and works as a television presenter.

  ■ CRICKET

  Fletcher slams Flintoff

  Former England coach Duncan Fletcher said he had to cancel an Ashes tour practice session last year because captain Andrew Flintoff arrived under the influence of alcohol. England were thrashed 5-0 by Australia in that series and then performed miserably in the World Cup, where Flintoff was disciplined for drink-related incidents. Fletcher's comments appeared in yesterday's Daily Mail newspaper as part of a serialization of his autobiography. "We went to Sydney for a vital match against Australia and a fielding practice was arranged for 10am. Flintoff turned up still under the influence of alcohol," Fletcher wrote. "Flintoff was in such a state he could not throw properly. He had to pass the ball to the bloke next to him to do so. And when it came to trying to catch the ball I honestly thought I was going to hurt him, so uncoordinated was he." The coach decided against public censure but warned Flintoff about his behavior.

  ■ SOCCER

  No-show angers coach

  Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic has slammed Palestine as unprofessional after his side was forced to kick off without an opponent in their home World Cup qualifying match on Sunday. In farcical scenes, Singapore had to take the field despite Palestine failing to show up. They kicked off in an empty stadium before the match was abandoned by referee Sun Baojie. FIFA match commissioner Shahir Ahmed was unable to officially call off the game before then because Palestine had not indicated that they were not coming. Singapore was awarded the game 3-0 by FIFA, to give them a 7-0 aggregate victory. "We had to enact the farcical kick-off without them. It was unprofessional of the Palestine team," Avramovic told the Straits Times. "They cannot simply pick and choose who they want to play. They had a duty to fulfil this fixture." It is not the first time the Palestinian side has failed to turn up. They did the same thing last November when they were a no-show for their Asian Cup qualifying match, also against Singapore.

  ■ BASEBALL

  Rodriguez cancels contract

  The New York Yankees' hard-hitting third baseman Alex Rodriguez has notified the club he is opting out of the remainder of his record US$252 million, 10-year contract, Sports Illustrated magazine reported on its Web site on Sunday. The 32-year-old Rodriguez, who led the Major Leagues in home runs and runs batted in this season, would become a free agent able to negotiate with all 30 teams, including the Yankees, the report said. Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, said he had sent the Yankees word of the decision in writing on Sunday. The Yankees said they had not received word of the decision but that if Rodriguez had opted out of his contract, which has three years remaining, they would not pursue him.

  ■ SOCCER

  Rogerio plays both ends

  Goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored from a free kick, missed a penalty and made two crucial saves to help Brazilian championship leaders Sao Paulo win 2-1 at Sport Recife on Sunday. Sao Paulo stretched their lead over Santos and Palmeiras to 15 points with five matches to play and need one more point to clinch their second successive title. The visitors went ahead in the 28th minute when Rogerio curled the ball around the wall to score one of his trademark free kicks. Seven minutes later, Rogerio was in action at the other end as he brilliantly turned Everton's header over the crossbar. Two minutes after that, Sao Paulo were awarded a penalty but Rogerio's kick was saved by his opposite number Magrao. Palmeiras, who trail Santos on goal difference, drew 2-2 at Vasco da Gama, where Valdir Espinosa was making his debut as coach. Corinthians, champions two years ago and one of Brazil's biggest clubs, stayed in the relegation zone despite coming from behind to beat Figueirense 2-1.

  ■ BASEBALL

  A-Rod, Fielder win fan prize

  Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder have been selected by fans as winners of the Hank Aaron Award, which honors the top offensive players in the National and American leagues. Nearly 400,000 votes were cast at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and Commissioner Bud Selig announced the winners on Sunday. Rodriguez, who won the award each year from 2001-2003, was honored for a fourth time. It was the first Aaron Award for Fielder. One nominee was put forward from each Major League team. Rodriguez, who received 24 percent of all AL fan votes in the final phase, led the major leagues with 54 home runs, 156 runs batted in, 143 runs scored and a .645 slugging percentage. Fielder received 16 percent of the NL fan votes. The first baseman led the National League with 50 home runs and drove in 119 runs for the Brewers.

  ■ SKIING

  Svindal wins giant slalom

  Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal won the men's opening World Cup giant slalom ahead of the US' Ted Ligety and Kalle Palander of Finland in Solden, Austria, on Sunday. The defending giant slalom champion finished in 2 minutes, 17.87 seconds, 0.32 seconds in front of Ligety, with Palander 0.39 seconds adrift. Svindal, 24, endured a poor first run which left him struggling in sixth place behind Ligety and Palander. However, on the second run, after an impressive display of power and technique, he posted the fastest time and collected his eighth world title.
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