■ BASKETBALL
Nene has tumor removed
Denver Nuggets forward Nene underwent surgery in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday to remove a testicular tumor, and a biopsy will determine if it was cancerous. The Brazilian player took an indefinite leave of absence on Friday, and there is no timetable for his return. "Nene is recovering well and in good condition," Dr Fernando Kim said. The operation was done at Denver Health Medical Center. Kim said a "right testicular mass was found incidentally and it was managed surgically." The tumor was found last week in an exam by team physician Dr Saurabh Mangalik.
■ OLYMPICS
Dion enters song contest
Canadian pop superstar Celine Dion will play her first concert in China in April and has submitted an entry for the Beijing Olympics theme song competition, Games organizers said yesterday. The 39-year-old multiple Grammy Award winner has scheduled a stop on her worldwide tour at the newly renovated Workers' Stadium in the Chinese capital on April 13, which will be part of Beijing's official celebration of the Games. Dion sang the theme song The Power of the Dream at the opening ceremony of 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. So far, more than 30 artists from China and abroad have submitted their works for the theme song.
■ SOCCER
Barca ends Sevilla's reign
Barcelona ended Sevilla's reign as King's Cup holders on Tuesday as a dull 0-0 draw was sufficient to see the Catalan giants through in their last 16 second-leg clash. Barcelona progressed thanks to the away goal rule, as the first leg had finished 1-1. With both sides missing several key players who had either been called away on African Nations Cup duty or were suspended and injured, the quality of the game in Barcelona slipped a notch or two from their previous encounters. The defeat leaves Sevilla effectively with just the Champions League to play for this season, as they are 10 points adrift of Real Madrid in the title race.
■ SOCCER
Del Piero rescues Juventus
Alessandro Del Piero rescued Juventus again on Tuesday, converting a decisive penalty in a 5-3 win over Empoli in Turin that qualified the Bianconeri for the Italian Cup quarter-finals. Coach Claudio Ranieri inserted Del Piero in the 65th minute and the Juventus captain scored 13 minutes later after Vincenzo Iaquinta was tripped. Juventus advanced on 6-5 aggregate after Empoli won the first leg 2-1. Juventus will play the winner of today's contest between Inter Milan and Reggina. Inter won the first leg 4-1. Del Piero also converted a 90th-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw with Catania in Serie A on Saturday.
■ OLYMPICS
Rio, Doha unveil 2016 bids
Rio de Janeiro and Doha released details of their 2016 Olympics bids on Tuesday. The Rio bid committee released plans to hold all sporting events within the city, a metropolitan area of 12 million people. Rio plans to use 19 existing venues, including many that will be in place for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Seven new venues will be built, and four temporary venues. Doha proposed to hold the games in October to avoid Qatar's searing summer temperatures. Daytime and evening temperatures as well as humidity levels will be conducive to the performance of athletes and the comfort of spectators, the committee said. The average temperature at 3pm during the proposed dates has been 31oC over the last 10 years.
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),