■ TENNIS
Local favorite pulls out
Australian Samantha Stosur has withdrawn from January's Australian tennis open because she is not fit enough to play, she said yesterday. Stosur, 23, the top-ranked Australian woman, said she only resumed training three weeks ago after battling viral illnesses throughout this year, and that she was not ready for the Australian Open -- the first grand slam tournament of the year -- and other local events. Stosur was hospitalized in Florida in September with viral meningitis after earlier missing a Fed Cup tie and tournaments in the US because of an unrelated virus.
■ BASEBALL
Taguchi signs for Phillies
Japanese outfielder So Taguchi, who hit .290 for St Louis last season, signed a one-year contract with the Phillies on Sunday. The 38-year-old Taguchi led all National League pinch hitters with a .406 (13-32) batting average. A 10-year veteran with the Orix Blue Wave before moving to the US following the 2001 season, Taguchi played all three outfield positions for St Louis this year, starting 41 times in center field, 21 times in left field and twice in right. "Taguchi gives our team more defensive versatility in the outfield," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro said in a statement released by the team. "And he has proven over his career that he can get key hits in big situations."
■ RUGBY UNION
Gloucester stay top
Tries from Iain Balshaw and Olivier Azam and a rare off-day for Jonny Wilkinson's kicking helped Gloucester to a 20-13 win over Newcastle that keeps them top of the English Premiership. Newcastle will be disappointed after turning over lots of possession and Wilkinson missed two kicks at goal, including one straightforward second half opportunity. Wilkinson was on the mark with two penalties plus a conversion after Geoff Parling's try while Ryan Lamb kicked the rest of Gloucester's points with two conversions and two penalties of his own. Elsewhere Luke McAlister outshone New Zealand World Cup colleague Aaron Mauger as Sale edged a hard-fought encounter 20-14 to leapfrog opponents Leicester.
■ GERMANY
Politician slams athletes
A top German politician criticized professional athletes for getting "excessive" money and singled out Bayern Munich, the country's richest soccer club. Norbert Lammert, the president of the German parliament, made the remarks amid an ongoing debate in Germany about large salaries and bonuses for business executives. "The excessive salaries that we have seen for years in sports, especially soccer, upsets me considerably," Lammert was quoted as saying by weekly Bild am Sonntag on Sunday.
■ SOCCER
Rennes end losing streak
Rennes ended a six-match losing streak in the French league with a 0-0 draw against Toulouse on Sunday, in Guy Lacombe's first match as manager. Lacombe replaced Pierre Dreossi last week. Rennes have gone winless in 11 straight games since a 2-1 victory at Lens on Oct. 28. Also on Sunday, Peguy Luyindula scored to give PSG a 1-0 victory at Saint-Etienne. Their fifth win of the season pushed them into 16th place and out of the relegation zone. The matches were the last before the French league heads into its three-week winter break.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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