■ WALES
UEFA skeptical over plan
European soccer's governing body UEFA has expressed skepticism at controversial plans to boost Welsh involvement in the Champions League. Welsh soccer officials confirmed earlier this week that they were considering letting Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham field teams in the Welsh league while also maintaining their current positions in the English leagues. The proposals are aimed at giving Wales' top three sides a chance of reaching the qualifying stages of the Champions League at the expense of their less well-funded rivals in the Welsh league.
■ SPAIN
Mallorca tame Real Madrid
Juan Arango's second-half strike gave Real Mallorca a slender advantage after they beat Primera Liga leaders Real Madrid 2-1 at home in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 tie on Thursday. Mallorca's Argentine striker Oscar Trejo stabbed home from close range at a corner in the 23rd minute, but two minutes later compatriot Gonzalo Higuain lashed a superb volley high into the net to level the scores. The home side had a good shout for a penalty waved away, but early in the second half Venezuelan forward Arango fired in a long range effort to put the 2003 winners back in front. Atletico Madrid may be left to rue their poor finishing after being held to a 0-0 home draw by Valladolid.
■ ENGLAND
Kitson to appear in court
Dave Kitson, striker with English Premier League side Reading, is to appear in court after he was arrested for an alleged drunk-driving offense. Kitson, 27, has been accused of failing to give a breath sample and failing to cooperate in providing a sample after being stopped by officers near his home in the village of Shinfield, near Reading, southwest of London in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A Reading Football Club spokesman said: "We can confirm that a player has been arrested in connection with a drink-driving allegation and is due to appear in court."
■ ENGLAND
Briatore lauds fair play
Renault Formula One Team boss and Queens Park Rangers co-owner Flavio Briatore has blasted the Italian soccer world and lauded the sport in Britain for its fair play and meritocracy. "Here you are on market and you play in a clean competition, where the rules have no shadowy areas," he told the Italian edition of GQ magazine when asked why he bought into an English Championship (second division) club instead of one in his homeland. "It's a challenge with only one yardstick: merit. That's why there are investors from all over the world here, while in [soccer in] Italy, there is not even one."
■ TRINIDAD
Maturana made manager
Francisco Maturana, who led Colombia to two World Cup appearances, has been selected as the new manager of Trinidad and Tobago's national team. Maturana, who coached Colombia in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, will begin leading the twin-island Caribbean country's side early next month in time for a friendly against Guadeloupe on Feb. 6, said Jack Warner, special adviser to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. Warner told local reporters that Maturana will replace the suspended Wim Rijsbergen as the Soca Warriors manager. "I know Rijsbergen will not be back here -- since he left he has not contacted anybody. We needed the best available coach and I went for the best," Warner said.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),