■ 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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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