■ Police arrest River fans
Argentine federal police said on Friday they detained four suspected River Plate hooligans wanted in connection with the Aug. 7 shooting death of Martin Gonzalo Acro. The slain man was a fan from a rival River gang. They added they were seeking 10 others. Judge Jose Luis Rodriguez ordered the detentions and police reported those detained were arrested amid a series of raids in around Buenos Aires and in central Cordoba Province. The killing of Gonzalo, 29, remains unsolved.
■ Soccer
Porto drop first points
Portuguese Premier League leaders Porto were held to a 1-1 home draw by Belenenses on Friday, ending their 100 percent record this season. Despite the setback before Tuesday's Champions League match against Marseille, Porto comfortably retained the lead with 25 points from nine matches, nine ahead of Benfica. Porto striker Helder Postiga scored his first goal of the season, slipping a low shot under Belenenses goalkeeper Costinha after 20 minutes. Five minutes after half-time Belenenses midfielder Ze Pedro slotted in a pass from Brazilian winger Roncatto to equalize.
■ Trotting
Thieves steal star horse
A celebrated Italian trotter worth several million euros, Equinox Bi, was stolen overnight from a training stable near northeastern Venice, its owner said on Friday. Equinox Bi, winner of this year's Breeders Crown Open Trot in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada, was to have raced for trotting's most prestigious prize, the 1 million euro (US$1.45 million) Prix d'Amerique in Paris in January. Equinox Bi's trainer was in the US to sign a stud service contract worth some US$6,000 for his star to stand at Blue Chip Farms in New York next year when the theft occurred. Another racehorse, Lemon Dra, was stolen from the center in Mirano two years ago and never recovered.
■ Soccer
Dida attacker sentenced
The fan who ran on to the pitch during Celtic's Champions League win over AC Milan last month was sentenced to 120 hours of community service on Friday after admitting causing a breach of the peace. Robert McHendry, 27, ran on to the pitch and confronted visiting goalkeeper Dida as Celtic celebrated a last-minute winning goal against AC Milan in Glasgow on Oct. 3. McHendry made the slightest of touches with his hand on Dida's cheek, who collapsed theatrically to the ground. UEFA responded to the keeper's antics by banning him for two matches, one of which was suspended on appeal. Celtic were fined 60,000 Swiss francs (US$50,750) for failing to control their crowd.
■ Doping
Chinese duo fail tests
Two Chinese athletes have failed drugs tests at a domestic event in the city of Wuhan, the official Xinhua news agency said yesterday. The two were wushu competitor Zhao Jie and cyclist Xu Xiang, who were taking part in the 6th Chinese City Games, the report said. They were suspected of using "stimulants and anabolic agents", Xinhua quoted event spokesman Jiang Zhixue as saying. Chinese officials have been at great pains to assure the world its doping problems are a thing of the past after several scandals uncovered systematic doping in the 1990s. With much prestige invested in next year's Beijing Olympics, China has repeatedly pledged it would rather win no gold medals than have one positive test.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS