Wed, Oct 31, 2007 page18

• Sports Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ SOCCER

  Palestinians couldn't travel

  The Palestine soccer association has approached the sport's governing body, FIFA, with a request to reschedule Palestine's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Singapore after the team was refused permission by the Israeli government to travel to the game. Israelis, who consider the Gaza strip a terrorist region, refused 18 players permission to leave the area. Only humanitarian reasons are accepted for leaving the region. Palestine, who lost the first leg match 4-0, have now approached FIFA and requested them to find an alternative date for the match.

  ■ RUGBY UNION

  Keith Robinson retires

  New Zealand international Keith Robinson has announced his retirement from rugby as a result of injury. Robinson, who played lock for Waikato and the All Blacks, said a chronic left knee injury meant he could not sustain any more competitive rugby. "The decision to retire was an easy one because of the injury, but the hard part will be getting used to the fact I won't be playing again," Robinson said in a statement. Robinson, 30, has had an injury-plagued career. He played 12 Tests for the All Blacks after his debut in 2002, but at one point was sidelined for two years with a back problem. He was part of the All Blacks 2007 World Cup campaign, playing in the quarter-final loss to France.

  ■ SOCCER

  Zalayeta banned for diving

  A sports judge on Monday sentenced Napoli striker Marcelo Zalayeta to a two-game ban for diving to fool the referee in a Serie A game played at the weekend, ANSA reported. Napoli late on Saturday came from behind to beat Juventus 3-1 thanks to two controversial spot kicks they were awarded after equalizing the guests' opening goal. Referee Mauro Bergonzi awarded the second spot kick when the 29-year-old Uruguayan, a former Juve striker, came face to face with onrushing goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and dove above him, simulating a contact. Bergonzi, who was shortlisted to be named as an international referee later this year, appeared also to have misjudged the first spot kick.

  ■ RUGBY UNION

  White likely to move on

  South Africa's World Cup-winning coach Jake White looks set to end his stint in charge of the Springboks after declining to re-apply for his job. The South African Rugby Union (SARU) said on Monday a four-man shortlist for the position of Springbok coach did not include him. White, whose four-year tenure ends on Dec. 31, guided the Springboks to their second World Cup triumph with a 15-6 victory over England in Paris on Oct. 20, but SA Rugby have advertised his job. A SARU statement said the names of the four candidates would only be revealed once the applicants had been informed, but added: "Jake White did not apply for the position and he was therefore not considered."

  ■ RUGBY LEAGUE

  Wally Lewis recovering

  Australian rugby league great Wally Lewis says he won't know how effective brain surgery to treat his epilepsy has been for another 16 months. Lewis, who played 33 Tests and 31 State of Origin games for Queensland, said he had been advised that it would take two years after the operation to fully assess the treatment's effectiveness. "You don't really get to find out too much until two years [after surgery] but I'm feeling okay at the moment," Lewis said yesterday.

  ■ BASEBALL

  Bonds files for free agency

  Barry Bonds filed for free agency on Monday on the first possible day after Boston's World Series sweep of Colorado, effectively ending the slugger's tenure with San Francisco. Giants owner Peter Magowan told Bonds last month the club would not bring him back for a 16th season. Yet the 43-year-old Bonds, with a record 762 career homers, said last week he wasn't ruling out a change of heart by his longtime employer. "I told Peter Magowan, `If I'm a part-time player, I'm still better than your full-time player, and it's a wise idea to keep me,'" Bonds told a group of about 450 people in the audience of a speaking forum last week in San Francisco. "We still have time. Things might change."

  ■ OLYMPICS

  Vancouver signs UN pact

  Organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics signed a UN agreement on Monday as part of their efforts to tout the Vancouver Games' commitment to the environment. But the pledge reignited criticism of the negative impact from the infrastructure built for the Games as well as the carbon emissions from visitors to the region. Under the agreement, the organizing committee promises to come up with innovative ways to minimize the environmental footprint of major events before, during and after the games. Joe Foy, of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, said the massive transportation infrastructure built for the games would increase greenhouse gas emissions long after the athletes have gone. He said habitat for endangered species like the grizzly bear would be destroyed with the building of trails in Whistler.

  ■ BASKETBALL

  Judge turns down Sonics

  The Seattle SuperSonics cannot try to escape their lease at KeyArena in Seattle through arbitration, a federal judge said on Monday. Judge Ricardo Martinez called the team's interpretation of the contract "as errant as a typical Shaquille O'Neal free throw." The decision was a victory for the city and means officials may continue to seek a court order forcing the Sonics to play their next three seasons at the NBA's smallest venue. New Sonics chairman Clay Bennett failed to win public funding this year to build a new arena. Last month, he issued a demand for arbitration, hoping to buy out the remainder of the lease unless a deal on a new facility could be reached by the end of this month.

  In response, the city sued, trying to force the Sonics to honor the terms of a deal reached in the mid-1990s: In exchange for US$74 million in renovations to the old Seattle Coliseum, the team agreed to play all of its home games there through Sept. 30, 2010.

  ■ FOOTBALL

  Romo takes Cowboys deal

  Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo agreed to a six-year, US$67 million deal that was to be announced yesterday. The contract, which will become effective this week and provides salary cap relief for Dallas, includes US$30 million in guaranteed money, said a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the contact had not been announced. "It's a great feeling you have when the organization and the people stand behind you, and you can be the quarterback for a long, long time," Romo said in Irving, Texas. "It's a neat feeling that, `You're our guy, we like you.' ... It makes you feel good as a person and a player."
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