■ ENGLAND
No return for Shearer, yet
Kevin Keegan has revealed that Alan Shearer will not be returning to Newcastle as his No. 2 but insists there could still be a role at St James' Park for the club's greatest goalscorer. Shearer, 37, has had talks with Keegan about joining his staff but the two men have agreed that a managerial partnership would not be viable, Keegan said on Friday. More talks are planned tomorrow. Shearer has long been seen as a future Newcastle manager.
■ FRANCE
Baros in line for return
Czech striker Milan Baros has been lined up for a return to the English Premiership after Lyon confirmed on Friday that they were negotiating a loan deal with Portsmouth. A source said that the 26-year-old Baros will be loaned to the Fratton Park side with a view to making the move permanent. The former Liverpool player has scored seven times for league leaders Lyon during his stay but has struggled to hold down a permanent starting place due to the sensational form of Karim Benzema.
■ ENGLAND
US consortium eyes Rams
English Premier League basement club Derby County are set to become the latest top flight club to be taken over by a US consortium, it was reported on Friday. Derby are expected to formally announce the deal at a news conference tomorrow. But in a statement due to be published in yesterday's matchday program for the FA Cup fourth round clash with Preston, Derby chairman Adam Pearson confirmed that there will be new money coming into the Midlands club. "This new investment will establish the Derby County brand worldwide through successful alliances with sporting teams in the USA, the Far East and Africa," Pearson said.
■ SWITZERLAND
Hitzfeld reveals Swiss role
Ottmar Hitzfeld, who will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, confirmed on Friday that he was ready to take over the Swiss national team after Euro 2008. "Representing a country and preparing a team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup would be, for me, the best job to have before retiring," Hitzfeld told yesterday's edition of Suddeutsche Zeitung. "The pressure and expectations in Switzerland would be very important but can be coped with," he said. The Champions League-winning coach told Bayern last month that he did not want to remain with the Munich side once his contract runs out in June. He revealed in the autumn that he had been approached by the Swiss soccer federation to succeed Kobi Kuhn as national team coach after Euro 2008.
■ ENGLAND
King goes to Wigan
Wigan signed Watford striker Marlon King on Friday after the player's protracted move to Premiership strugglers Fulham broke down. King had looked set to move to Craven Cottage from the Championship club, only for reports to emerge claiming he failed a medical and Wigan boss Steve Bruce seized his chance. "I went down [to Fulham], had a long medical and for some reason there was a hitch," he told Sky Sports. "I think the two clubs were trying to renegotiate the fee, it had nothing to do with me, but when I picked up the newspapers I see I had failed a medical! I know my body is 110 percent. I didn't fail a medical. I've been playing for a season and a half now and scoring goals -- nothing has changed.
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,
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 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
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),