■ RUGBY UNION
Bok coach announcement
The new Springbok coach will be selected on Jan. 9, the South African Rugby Union (SARU) announced on Monday. A meeting of the council of provincial union presidents -- which has 19 voting members -- will make the choice after receiving recommendations from a nine-man appointment committee. The four shortlisted candidates to succeed Jake White, who steered the Springboks to victory in the World Cup earlier this year, were to be interviewed on Monday and yesterday, a SARU statement said. The contenders are Springbok backline coach Allister Coetzee, SA under-21 coach Peter de Villiers, Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer and 1995 World Cup-winning Springbok wing Chester Williams.
■ Soccer
Rogerio Ceni honored
Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni, who allowed only 19 goals and scored seven, won his second straight Brazilian league player of the year award on Monday, the Brazilian soccer confederation announced. Ceni, whose penchant for leaving his own goal for scoring opportunities is his trademark, helped Sao Paulo claim its fifth Brasileiro and second straight title. "It's a moment of great happiness for me. To receive awards at this level is a great honor," Ceni said upon receiving the trophy. "The message I have is that all the fan clubs live in harmony. I am only an instrument of my team." He also won trophies for being the championship's best goalkeeper and was selected the top player with 51 percent in an Internet fan poll. Of Ceni's seven goals, two came via free kicks and five more on penalty kicks.
■ Rugby Union
Lionel Nallet honored
Lock Lionel Nallet was named France's international player of the year on Monday in a stinging rebuke to former national coach Bernard Laporte. Laporte, who quit as coach after the World Cup to become junior sports minister, omitted the 31-year-old Castres forward from his team for the World Cup semi-final loss to England in October. "I think I won the award because I played all the games of our winning Six Nations campaign," Nallet told reporters during the "Night of Rugby" ceremony. "I would have liked to play more during the World Cup. It was really frustrating because we didn't reach our objective which was to win the World Cup," he said. The awards were made by the French rugby league, players' union and coaches' association. The best player of the French championship award went to Juan Martin Hernandez, who plays for Stade Francais.
■ Soccer
Builders still on strike
Builders of a stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa were on strike on Monday with talks still locked on bonuses and transport allowances, the union said. Some 800 workers downed tools for the fifth day running at the site of the Mbombela stadium, where at least four first-round matches in the World Cup are scheduled to be played. "They want a 2,000 rand bonus and a 900 rand transport allowance," said Onismus Serothwane, the regional co-ordinator for the National Union of Mineworkers. Workers at the stadium in the northeastern city of Nelspruit first went on strike on Nov. 21, however they returned to work after a day to allow their employers to come up with a suitable offer. They resumed their strike action last Wednesday after the parties failed to reach an agreement.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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