■ CZECH REPUBLIC
Slavia want Patrik Berger
Czech league leaders Slavia Prague want veteran midfielder Patrik Berger to return to the club, director Petr Dolezal said on Thursday. "His contract runs out at the end of this season. We are sounding him out," Dolezal told Nova TV. Berger played for Slavia from 1991-1995 before moving to Borussia Dortmund, where he picked up a Bundesliga title in 1996. He joined Liverpool in the same year following the Czech national team's impressive run to the Euro-96 finals, moved to Portsmouth in 2003 and more recently Aston Villa where his extended contract runs out in May.
■ ITALY
Inter near signing Brazilian
Inter Milan are on the verge of signing Brazilian Daniel Carvalho from CSKA Moscow, the club's general manager, Ernesto Paolillo said on Thursday. The attacking midfielder came to Italy to have a medical and will join the club once the winter transfer window opens next month. "Our coaching staff have been following Carvalho for some time and the time has come to make a decision," Paolillo said. "I think when you look at the signings we've made over the last two years and the results the players have achieved, you can see that whoever is scouting players has done not a good job but a great job."
■ ARGENTINA
Maradona wants Chavez
Soccer great Diego Maradona wants to add an image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to his well-known collection of tattoos of leftist leaders. "I'd like to get some sort of Chavez tattoo, really," Maradona told reporters on Wednesday ahead of a celebrity indoor soccer match. Maradona has a tattoo of Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara on his right shoulder and another of Cuban leader Fidel Castro on his left leg. Maradona, considered by many the best soccer player of all time, lived several years in Cuba while recovering from drug addiction. There he made friends with Castro, who is a close ally of Chavez.
■ GERMANY
Lehmann looks like staying
VfL Wolfsburg's coach Felix Magath insisted on Thursday there is little chance German national team goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will leave English giants Arsenal to join the Bundesliga side. Wolfsburg's owners -- car giants Volkswagen -- said earlier this week they were interested in signing Arsenal's disgruntled goalkeeper while Magath also said he wanted to sign the Gunners' shot-stopper. Lehmann, 38, has been out of favor at the English Premier League side since being replaced by Spaniard Manuel Almunia in September and has said he would like to return to Germany in the future. "My information is that Lehmann will stay in London," Magath told yesterday's edition of Ruhr Nachrichten.
■ ENGLAND
Grant contract extended
Chelsea have crushed suggestions that Avram Grant was only a stop-gap appointment by handing the former Israel boss a new four-year contract as the west London club's manager/first-team coach. The unexpected news was announced by the club on Thursday, three days before Grant takes Chelsea to Arsenal for a crunch clash with the Premier League leaders. The new deal for Grant, 52, is a reward for the strong form Chelsea have shown since the former Israel manager took over from Jose Mourinho in September. Although Chelsea lost his first match in charge to Manchester United, they are since unbeaten in 16 games.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
Kumar Rocker, a first-round pick in both the 2021 and 2022 drafts, on Thursday won for the first time in the major leagues. Rocker struck out a career-best eight in a career-best seven innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Rocker (1-2) threw a career-high 78 pitches and allowed three runs on five hits without a walk. The 25-year-old right-hander was drafted third overall by Texas in 2022, a year after concerns over a physical led to him going unsigned by the New York Mets as the 10th overall pick. He made his major
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