■ Rugby Union
HADDEN NAMES SQUAD
Scotland coach Frank Hadden has named a 44-man squad for a training session at Murrayfield on Dec. 17 to begin preparations for next year's Six Nations. Hadden has stuck with the players he used for Scotland's World Cup preparations and has added four new players who have performed well this season in the Magners League. Number eight Johnnie Beattie, whose father John Beattie played in the same position for Scotland and the British and Irish Lions, received a call-up along with fellow backrow player Ross Rennie, Edinburgh flyhalf Phil Godman and Glasgow tighthead prop Moray Low.
■ SOCCER
Australia woos Troussier
Globe-trotting Frenchman Philippe Troussier has held talks in Australia about the vacant Socceroos job, heightening suggestions that he is the frontrunner to become the team's new coach. Troussier arrived secretly in Sydney on Sunday for talks with Football Federation Australia (FFA) officials before departing on Monday, the Australian newspaper reported yesterday. It said his talks with FFA chief executive Ben Buckley and others signalled that German Jurgen Klinsmann and Italian Fabio Capello were now out of the running due to pay demands and their lack of experience of Asian soccer.
■ RUGBY UNION
Cohen signs for Brive
England and former Northampton winger Ben Cohen has signed for French Top 14 strugglers Brive, the club confirmed on Tuesday. The 29-year-old 2003 World Cup winner has agreed a deal that will keep him in France until June 2009 with the option for an additional year. Cohen had been without a club since leaving relegated Northampton in August. He bought himself out of his Saints contract so he could join Leicester, but his testimonial earnings would have broken their salary cap. Cohen said he was excited to be joining a club with a tradition such as Brive, stating that he was ready for "an attractive and interesting challenge."
■ SOCCER
Beckham souvenirs on sale
A single french fry, reportedly dropped by David Beckham during his recent stay in New Zealand, is among souvenirs of the soccer superstar's visit offered for sale on Internet auction sites. A single bidder has offered NZ$1 (US$0.76) for the slightly salted piece of fried potato, which the seller claims was dropped by Beckham during a stroll around Wellington. The seller vouches for the item's authenticity and suggests it is ideal for anyone "who actually cares about David Beckham." Sharp-eyed souvenir hunters also pounced on items left behind by Beckham when he dined with Los Angeles Galaxy teammates at a Wellington fried chicken restaurant.
■ RUGBY UNION
Mark Regan sanctioned
England World Cup hooker Mark Regan has been sanctioned by Bristol for disobeying orders and playing for the Barbarians against South Africa at Twickenham last weekend, the club said on Tuesday. "We had a meeting with Mark today and, as a result, he has been sanctioned in accordance with a breach of the disciplinary conditions of his contract," Bristol said on their Web site. "We now consider the matter closed and will not be making any further comment on the matter." The club did not reveal details of Regan's punishment.
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
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
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
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