■ VOLLEYBALL
Australia beat Thailand
Australia powered past Thailand in three sets to get off to a winning start in the final qualifying round for the Beijing Olympics men’s volleyball in Tokyo yesterday. Paul Carroll scored 16 points, including two service winners, to lead the Asian champions to a 25-12, 25-15, 25-14 victory in the eight-team round-robin competition. In the second match, Argentina needed five match points before beating South Korea 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 29-27.
■ MOTORSPORT
Loeb dominates Acropolis
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb dominated the first day of the Acropolis Rally, taking four of the seven stages. The defending world champion ended 15.7 seconds ahead of fellow Citroen driver Dani Sordo of Spain on Friday, and 59.1 in front of Subaru driver Petter Solberg of Norway. The grueling Greek rally around Athens ends today. Championship leader Mikko Hirvonen was seventh at the end of the first day. The Ford driver had a broken suspension in the 4.6km final stage, which cost him 50 seconds and three places in the day’s rankings.
■ GOLF
US extends Curtis Cup lead
Amanda Blumenherst and Stacy Lewis each won two matches on Friday to help the US take a 4-2 lead against Great Britain & Ireland at the Curtis Cup. The US, which has not lost the amateur matches since 1996, started quickly in miserable weather on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Blumenherst and Tiffany Joh looked to be coasting in the morning foursome match by taking a 5-up lead through 12 holes until Breanne Loucks and Florentyna Parker won four of the next five. But on the 18th hole, Parker’s 6-foot birdie putt to halve the match just missed, giving the Americans a 2-1 lead after the morning session. Lewis teamed with Alison Walshe in the morning for a 3-and-1 victory. Then, Lewis teamed with Blumenherst for a 3-and-1 victory in a fourball match that ultimately gave the Americans early control of the cup. Harigae and Kimberly Kim won their fourballs match against Thomson and 15-year-old Carly Booth of Scotland.
■ ROWING
Waddell returns in style
Former Olympic singles sculls champion Rob Waddell made a triumphant return on Friday after eight years away from the international scene. The 33-year-old New Zealander partnered Nathan Cohen to victory in their double sculls heat at a World Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland. Waddell, who has raced with a heart ailment throughout his career, last competed on the world stage when he won gold in the single sculls at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He and Cohen have Olympic medal potential in the double sculls, overcoming a slow start to beat reigning world champions Iztok Cop and Luka Spik of Slovenia in their heat on Friday.
■ CRICKET
Afghanistan, Jersey qualify
Afghanistan and Jersey qualified for the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 semi-finals on Friday to stay on course for possible qualification for the 2011 World Cup finals, the International Cricket Council announced. Afghanistan successfully defended a 142-run total to defeat Nepal by 37 runs at the Grainville, while hosts Jersey outsmarted the US by 84 runs at the FB Fields. Afghanistan and Jersey not only progressed through to yesterday’s final, but will also join Hong Kong, Fiji, Tanzania and Italy in the six-team Division four set for the Tanzanian capital of Dar Es Salaam from Oct. 4 to Oct. 11.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Mathys Tel was hero and villain as Tottenham drew 1-1 at home to Leeds United on Monday — a result that leaves their English Premier League future hanging in the balance. The Frenchman broke the deadlock early in the second half to ease the tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but then gave away a penalty with a reckless attempted clearance. In the dying minutes, Spurs were grateful to Antonin Kinsky, who produced an astonishing save to deny the visitors a win. Tottenham are now two points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with just two games left this season. The
‘DONE IT ALL’: LeBron James is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season as a free agent with uncertainty swirling around his future LeBron James on Monday said he would take time to consider his future after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could turn out to be the final game of his career. James, 41, delivered a typically defiant performance with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent the Lakers from falling 115-110 as the Thunder completed a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference semi-finals series. The four-time NBA champion is now out of contract with the Lakers and would head into the off season
Houston Astros right-hander Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese pitcher in MLB, on Sunday suffered his third loss of the season, throwing a season-high 63 pitches in his second start of the year. Teng allowed three earned runs over three innings on five hits in the Astros’ 5-0 road loss to the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out one, walked one, and hit one batter among the 15 hitters he faced, raising his earned run average to 3.12. It was the Astros’ second attempt to use the 27-year-old Taiwanese as a starter, after he had established himself as a reliable bullpen
RSS