■SOCCER
Silvestre signs for Arsenal
Manchester United’s French defender Mikael Silvestre has signed for Arsenal on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee, British media reported on Wednesday. Silvestre had spent nine seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, but his move south to North London means he joins up with manager Arsene Wenger, whose defensive options will have increased with his signature. The United contract of the 31-year-old, who missed a large part of last season with knee ligament damage, was set to expire next season. He had been linked with a move to Bordeaux and Manchester City during the summer but opted to move to the capital city instead. Silvestre is the first player to leave United for Arsenal since Brian Kidd 34 years ago.
■BASEBALL
Instant replay deal signed
Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires and management signed an agreement on Wednesday that will introduce instant replay to help determine calls on the field. The deal was signed by lawyers for the commissioner’s office and the World Umpires Association (WUA) one day after a WUA spokesman went public with complaints over negotiations. “We reached an agreement. Final decision with respect to moving ahead has not been made yet, but we have an agreement with the umpires,” said Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive vice president of labor relations. MLB had already started installing equipment in ballparks, hoping to get the replay system running this month. It would be used for boundary calls, such as determining whether balls cleared fences for home runs and whether potential homers near foul poles were fair.
■CRICKET
Scots to replace Zimbabwe
Scotland will replace Zimbabwe in next year’s World Twenty20 in England, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Wednesday. Zimbabwe withdrew from the event last month to avert demands that they be suspended because of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s government. Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed its decision at a meeting with senior ICC officials at the ruling body’s Dubai headquarters. “This allows the ICC the opportunity to plan with certainty the ICC World Twenty20 2009, as well as giving Scotland ... plenty of preparation time ahead of the tournament,” ICC president David Morgan said in a statement on the organization’s Web site after the meeting. Zimbabwe was persuaded by the ICC executive board last month to stay away from next June’s event. An ICC statement said the Zimbabwe board recognised the British government was unlikely to issue visas for the team, having already canceled next year’s bilateral series between England and Zimbabwe.
■CRICKET
Sarwan guides Windies win
Ramnaresh Sarwan hammered an unbeaten 49 to guide the West Indies to a crushing six-wicket victory over Bermuda in the second match of the Canada Cup Tri-Series in King City, Ontario, on Wednesday. Man-of-the-match Sarwan struck five fours and a six in 58 balls as the West Indies totaled 159 for four in reply to Bermuda’s 158-9 at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club. Left-hander Shawn Findlay weighed in with a whirlwind 41 to help the tournament favorites cruise to victory with 18.1 of their 50 overs to spare. The West Indies face hosts Canada today before the two sides meet again in the tournament final on Sunday.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
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