■ SQUASH
England claim world title
England came from behind to defeat Australia 2-1 to capture their second successive World Men's Team Squash Championship title on Wednesday. This was England's sixth title after wins in 1976, 1979, 1995, 1997 and 2005. England were on the back foot after Nick Mathew lost to Australia's No. 1 player David Palmer 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2, 4-11, but James Willstrop levelled the final defeating Stewart Boswell 11-8, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0). That left it all down to Peter Barker who came good for the defending champions with a 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 win over Cameron Pilley.
■ FORMULA ONE
Rosberg extends contract
Nico Rosberg will drive for the Williams Formula One team through the 2009 season. Rosberg was already confirmed for next season and extended the contract for another year after talks with team chief Frank Williams. "I first tested for Williams when I was 17, so our relationship is now five years old and I'm happy to maintain this relationship and have the chance to help push the team further toward the front of the grid," Rosberg said in an interview posted on the Williams Web site on Wednesday.
■ GYMNASTICS
Gold medalist Ponor retires
Triple Olympic champion Catalina Ponor has decided to retire for health reasons, a Romanian Gymnastics Federation (FRG) official said on Wednesday. "Ponor has failed to overcome her back problems, so she has decided to put an end to her activity as an athlete," FRG president Adrian Stoica told reporters. Now 20, she led Romania to the team title at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and also won individual gold medals in the balance beam and floor exercises. She also won five European championship gold medals from 2004 to last year. Ponor had previously retired last year but changed her mind several months later and went on to compete at this year's world championships in Germany, with the aim of going through to next year's Olympic Games.
■ SOCCER
Indonesian teams excluded
Indonesian teams have been excluded from next year's AFC Champions League, dealing another blow to a sport in crisis in the world's fourth most populous country. The Asian Football Confederation cited the late completion of Indonesia's domestic league and cup competitions as the reason, with the slots instead going to Thai Premier League runners-up Krung Thai Bank and Vietnam Cup holders Nam Dinh. The Indonesian league season kicked off in February but was halted from May to August for the Asian Cup and again in September for Ramadan, making for a backlog of matches.
■ CRICKET
Promote Clarke, Warne says
Michael Clarke should be groomed to take over from Ricky Ponting as Australia's next cricket captain, retired spinner Shane Warne said. Warne said the Australian selectors should ditch Adam Gilchrist as vice-captain and give the job to Clarke to help prepare him to eventually take over from Ponting. "To me the next logical step is to groom him. I believe the best way to do this would be to elevate him to the vice-captaincy in all forms of the game," Warne wrote in his weekly column for Sydney's Daily Telegraph on Thursday. "Gilly has done a wonderful job but won't be around for too much longer in all forms of the game. I reckon he will hang the gloves up and decide to play only one form, probably Test matches.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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