■ RUGBY UNION
Spies cleared to play
Former Springboks No. 8 Pierre Spies is en route to New Zealand to try and help slumping Super 14 champions the Bulls. Spies was cleared to play for the first time in eight months, ever since he was dropped from South Africa's World Cup squad last August, just days before the tournament that the Springboks would win. Dawie Spies, the player's uncle, told Afrikaans Sunday newspaper Sondag that specialists cleared Spies and he took the first available flight to New Zealand, where the Bulls were on tour. "It's a wonderful day for our family to get such news," Dawie Spies said. Pierre Spies coughed up blood at a Springboks practice and tests revealed blood clots on his lungs. The exact nature of his illness was never determined but he finally stopped taking blood-thinning medication at the end of last month. That allowed Spies and the Bulls to plan his return halfway through their tour. Western Force the following Friday before returning home.
■ SOCCER
Honduras grab late victory
Georgie Wilson Welcome scored in the 103rd minute to give Honduras a 1-0 victory over the US in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday in the final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. In the championship matchup of North American under-23 teams that had already booked their trips to the Beijing Olympics in August, Welcome beat US goalkeeper Dominic Cervi to the far post in the first period of extra time for the decider. The Hondurans got revenge for a 1-0 round-robin loss to the US squad eight days ago on Eddie Gaven's penalty kick five minutes into stoppage time.
■ BOXING
Pacquiao returns a hero
New World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao returned home to the Philippines yesterday to a hero's welcome and said he was not ruling out a second rematch with Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez. Philippine Cabinet officials joined Pacquiao's wife and three young children in welcoming the 29-year-old slugger, a week after a bruising 12 rounder with Marquez whom he beat by a split decision to grab the title in Las Vegas. The March 16 fight was a rematch of a 2004 draw in which Pacquiao knocked Marquez to the canvas three times in the first round. Now, Marquez's camp claims errors in judging and says a second rematch would settle the matter once and for all. Pacquiao, who took home a purse of at least US$5 million from the fight, said yesterday he was looking at going up to the lightweight division to face WBC champ David Diaz. But he says that can wait and he would oblige Marquez.
■ CYCLING
Meares to miss track meet
Anna Meares, the world record holder and gold medalist in the 500m time trial at the 2004 Olympics, will miss this week's world track cycling championships, placing her Beijing Games status in doubt. Meares is still recovering from a serious race accident she suffered during a World Cup meet in Los Angeles on Jan. 20. Cycling Australia yesterday announced its final team for the world titles which begin tomorrow in Manchester, England. Meares was replaced by Kaarle McCulloch in the sprint events. Given the complexity of the Olympic qualifying process, it is unclear how Meares' absence will affect her selection chances for Beijing. The women's 500m time trial is no longer on the Olympic program, meaning that Meares would have to attempt to qualify in other sprint events for Beijing.
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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