■ SOCCER
Parreira to quit S Africa job
Carlos Alberto Parreira is set to resign as coach of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa and help his wife recover from major surgery, Brazilian press reported on Friday. Leila Parreira told Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo her husband had decided to return home 15 months into a contract due to expire only after the international soccer showcase is staged in Africa for the first time. “I cannot comment on this report until further notice,” Parreira said in Johannesburg. South African Football Association spokesman Raymond Hack said: “I have no comment to make now, but will speak on the issue next week.” But a close friend of the 65-year-old Brazilian, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Parreira is quitting because he misses his family desperately and spends a fortune phoning them. Parreira dashed to Brazil in February when his wife underwent undisclosed surgery and she told Folha her husband intends leaving South Africa next month. “He has already made his decision and is set to return to Brazil at the beginning of next month,” she said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Carter staying mum on deal
Star All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter was yesterday staying quiet about a reported deal with French giants Toulouse that would make him the world’s highest paid rugby player. Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported on Thursday that Carter would sign a £750,000 (US$1.5 million) deal for one season with Toulouse, although the club has denied they are about to sign the 26-year-old. Carter, who is recovering from a serious ankle strain suffered in a recent Super 14 match, was not available for comment, a spokesman for his Canterbury team in New Zealand said. The Press newspaper said his manager Dean Hegan also would not comment. The offer to Carter, if confirmed, would be double the salary earned by the likes of All Blacks teammates Luke McAlister at Sale and Carl Hayman who plays at Newcastle.
■ OLYMPICS
Domenech urges TV turn-off
The coach of France’s soccer team is urging people who advocate a boycott of the Beijing Olympics to simply turn off their TV sets at Games time. Raymond Domenech says he will not tune in and is urging journalists not to travel to China to cover the Games. But he says he understands why athletes in training want to attend. He says some French disdain China’s human rights record and calls it “courageous” to act individually. His comments were published on Friday in Le Monde newspaper.
■ CRICKET
Pakistan drop Yousuf
Pakistan on Friday dropped experienced batsman Mohammad Yousuf for their first ever home Twenty20 international. The prolific Yousuf, 33, was also left out for Pakistan’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign when they finished runners-up to India. Pakistan have already secured the five-match one-day series against Bangladesh. The Twenty20 match is today.
■ SOCCER
Keegan hopeful on Owen
Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan believes England striker Michael Owen will sign a new deal to remain at St James’ Park. The 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season and manager Keegan, whose side face local rivals Sunderland today, has made his retention a priority. “It’s for [chairman] Chris Mort to do that now. I have made it absolutely clear what I think should be done and I have passed that on to him,” Keegan said.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
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