■ BOXING
Lightweight battles weight
Jose Luis Castillo failed to make weight for his super lightweight World Boxing Council eliminator bout in Cancun, Mexico, on Friday, forcing the cancelation of yet another important fight for a boxer with a long history of weighty problems. Castillo didn't even show up at an amphitheater next to Nichupte Lagoon for the weigh-in before his 63.5kg bout with Timothy Bradley on the undercard of yesterday's WBC heavyweight title bout between Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter. When Castillo weighed himself on Thursday night, he was 66.6kg -- and two hours before the official weigh-in, he still topped the scales at 65.5kg, Bradley's camp said. While Castillo headed home to Mexicali, Mexico, Bradley was left frustrated by at least Castillo's fourth major problem making weight in the last few years.
■ SKI JUMPING
Schlierenzauer edges Kuttel
Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria won a World Cup ski jumping meet on Friday, edging Andreas Kuttel of Switzerland by 2.1 points. Schlierenzauer jumped 132m and 129.5m for 257.9 points on the illuminated Lysgardsbakken hill in Lillehammer, Norway, that was used during the 1994 Winter Olympics. It was his third win of the season. Kuttel jumped 126.5m and 133m. Janne Happonen of Finland finished third with 255.3 points after jumps of 124.5m and 135m.
■ FREESTYLE SKIING
Begg-Smith, Uemura win
Dale Begg-Smith of Australia and Aiko Uemura of Japan closed in on the overall titles by winning the moguls on Friday at a World Cup freestyle meet. Begg-Smith, the Olympic champion, had 25.94 points to edge Nathan Roberts of the US with 25.88 in the men's final down the 210m Slalombacken course in Are Sweden. Begg-Smith moved to 539 points in the overall standings. Guilbaut Colas of France, who wound up 11th, is second with 448 points. A win is worth 100 points. Two events are left. Uemura beat Kristi Richards of Canada 24.43 points to 23.73 in the women's final.
■ SPEED SKATING
Wolf dominates 500m
Germany's world sprint record holder Jenny Wolf dominated the women's 500m race to defend her title at the world speed skating single distance championships in Nagano, Japan, yesterday. The 29-year-old timed a rink-record of 37.88 seconds in her first race and then bettered it with 37.74 for a combined time of one minute, 15.62 seconds, also a new record for the Nagano arena. Wang Beixing of China, who has beaten Wolf twice in this season's World Cup series, finished second with 1:16.28, followed by Annette Gerritsen of the Netherlands in 1:17.20. The US' Shani Davis won the men's 1,000m title for the second year running with a rink-record time of 1:08.99, beating Russia's Yevgeny Lalenkov into second in 1:09.39 and Canadian Denny Morrison into third in 1:09.42.
■ SPEED SKATING
Ohno bounces back
Apolo Anton Ohno of the US bounced back from Friday's disappointment to take the 500m gold medal on the second day of the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, yesterday. The two-time Olympic champion finished in 42.568 to claim gold, a day after being disqualified from the 1500m final. In the women's 500m final, China's Wang Meng picked up her second gold in two days with a time of 43.888. She beat home compatriot Liu Qiuhong, who had 43.973. Kalyna Roberge of Canada took the bronze with 44.018.
■ GOLF
Golfer kills protected hawk
Pro golfer Tripp Isenhour said it was a "one-in-a-million" golf shot that killed a protected hawk and that he was only trying to scare the bird he now faces criminal charges for killing. Isenhour spoke on TV's the Golf Channel during the PODS Championship post-round show on Friday, his first interview since news broke that he killed the protected bird on Dec. 12. Investigators say Isenhour got upset because the hawk's loud chirps interrupted the filming of his instructional video. He was charged on Wednesday in Orange County Circuit Court with animal cruelty and killing a migratory bird, charges that carry a combined 14 months in jail and a US$1,500 in fines.
■ SOCCER
Hertha draw with Dortmund
Marko Pantelic's 50th-minute goal gave Hertha Berlin a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund on Friday and extended the club's unbeaten streak to five matches. The Serbian forward's 11th goal of the season came five minutes after Sebastian Kehl put Dortmund ahead 1-0 to delight a home crowd of 70,000. Berlin entered with three straight wins and improved to 10th, closing on the UEFA Cup berth expected by management. Dortmund remained in 13th place. Kehl's header gave Dortmund the first goal off Berlin keeper Jaroslav Drobny in four games, but after the break Berlin took control.
■ RUGBY UNION
Hurricanes pair cited
Wellington Hurricanes pair Ma'a Nonu and Jerry Collins have been ordered to appear before a judiciary hearing following incidents in their side's Super 14 match on Friday. The All Blacks duo were cited by match commissioner Mike O'Leary after the Hurricanes beat the Otago Highlanders 10-6 in the dour struggle in Dunedin. Nonu was cited for a dangerous tackle on Highlanders prop Clint Newland in the 55th minute, while Collins was cited for allegedly punching or striking David Hall in the 67th minute. Nonu was sinbinned for his tackle. They will appear before a SANZAR hearing in Wellington tomorrow.
■ SOCCER
Brady takes Ireland job
Former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder Liam Brady has agreed to work as an assistant to new Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni. Brady, who worked under Trapattoni when he was playing at Juventus, has agreed to take the post on a two-year contract, the Football Association of Ireland announced. Trapattoni was appointed last month as the successor to Steve Staunton, who stepped down after failing to lead Ireland to the finals of Euro 2008. Ireland are due to play friendlies against Serbia and Colombia in May before beginning their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign later this year in a group that includes world champions Italy.
■ SAILING
Portuguese win Bacardi Cup
Portugal's Afonso Domingos and crew Bernardo Santos won the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on Friday on Biscayne Bay. The duo, also the 2004 champions, are the only European sailors to win the regatta in its 81-year history. Domingos and Santos, who will represent Portugal at the Beijing Olympics, finished second in both of Friday's races to take the overall lead. They edged Iain Percy and crew Andrew Simpson of Britain in a tiebreaker based on their finishes in the final race.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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