■ATHLETICS
Jumper has explaining to do
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will ask Russian high jumper Ivan Ukhov to explain his apparently drunk appearance at the Athletissima Grand Prix. The 22-year-old Ukhov failed with each attempt to clear the bar, before being asked to stop competing on Tuesday at the Swiss meet. Rival high jumpers later reported the Russian had been drinking vodka and Red Bull during the competition. Meet organizers refused to pay Ukhov’s expenses and have been asked to supply video evidence to the IAAF. “We will for sure ask for an explanation from the athlete about his behavior and ask that it is not repeated in the future,” IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said in a statement.
■SURFING
Four jailed for beating death
Four men have been sentenced to between 90 and 349 days in jail for their roles in the beating death of professional surfer Emery Kauanui last year. The four received varying amounts of credit for time served and were also placed on probation on Friday. All pleaded to lesser charges than the original murder case against them. Remaining defendant Seth Cravens, the alleged leader of the group, has pleaded not guilty to murder and his trial is scheduled for Oct. 14. A bar argument last year ended with a showdown that left Kauanui bleeding outside his mother’s home in upscale La Jolla, California.
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CRICKET
Akhtar sent back at airport
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was sent back home from Heathrow airport on Thursday morning because he did not have all the documents allowing him to enter England and play for Surrey. “I had got a work permit, but apparently you also need to have a work visa for that,” he said. “I had a multiple visit visa so I had to come back. Now the documents are complete and I will hopefully fly out on Friday.” Akhtar, 33, has been given special permission by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to play for Surrey for the remainder of the season. The PCB has served a legal notice on Akhtar to pay a fine of 7 million rupees (US$92,000) after a five-year ban was cut to 18 months.
■SWIMMING
Gusmao banned for life
The International Swimming Federation on Friday banned Brazilian star Rebeca Gusmao for life for failing two drug tests. Lawyers for Gusmao said she would appeal the decision. In July, Gusmao received a second two-year doping suspension after a positive test for testosterone at a 2006 competition — a decision delayed by problems with the tests. Gusmao also tested positive for the substance before last year’s Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
■SOCCER
Barton banned for assault
Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton was banned on Friday for 12 matches — with six suspended — for his training ground assault on former teammate Ousmane Dabo. The Football Association said the 26-year-old Barton will only serve the additional six-match ban if he is found guilty of a similar offense or is sent off for violent conduct before the end of next season. Barton, who was also fined £25,000 (US$44,000) has 14 days to appeal the punishment. Barton has already been sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, over last year’s assault on Dabo. The sentence was imposed in July while Barton was serving a 74-day jail term for an alcohol-fueled attack on two men last December.
■SAILING
Ainslie may skip Games
British triple Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie on Friday said he may not compete in the 2012 London Games in order to concentrate on winning the America’s Cup. Ainslie said winning the cup was his biggest objective for which he was prepared to forego the defense of his Olympic crown. “The America’s Cup is the biggest goal left for me now,” said Ainslie. Britain’s most successful sailor, in London for an event on the River Thames to commemorate his Beijing landmark, said he could not commit to the 2012 Games as it may clash with the America’s Cup, the date of which is yet to be announced.
■SOCCER
FIFA bans Rajkovic
Serbian defender Slobodan Rajkovic was on Friday banned for 12 months for spitting at the referee following his side’s 2-0 defeat by Argentina in a group match at the Beijing Olympics, FIFA announced. The incident took place after 19-year-old Rajkovic, who plays at Chelsea but has been loaned out to Dutch side Twente, had been one of two Serbian players shown a red card by Abdullah Al Hilali in the Aug. 13 match.
■CYCLING
Auge wins seventh stage
Frenchman Stephane Auge of the Cofidis team outsprinted compatriot Thierry Dupond and Italian Mauro Da Dalto to win the seventh stage of the Tour of Germany on Friday. The trio were among a group of 11 who broke clear after 30km of the 214.3km stage from Neuss to Georgsmarienhutte. With just one stage left to race, Linus Gerdemann of Germany remains in the overall lead after finishing safely in the main pack. The Columbian’s teammate Thomas Lovkvist is in second, 17 seconds behind, with Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia third 20 seconds behind. Yesterday’s final stage was a 34km individual time trial.
■ATHLETICS
Sprinters appeal to CAS
The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee appealed on Friday to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the disqualification of sprinter Churandy Martina after he finished second in the Beijing Olympics 200m final. Martina and third-placed American Wallace Spearmon were disqualified for running out of lane behind Jamaican Usain Bolt who won the race in world record time. Defending champion Shawn Crawford of the US, who crossed the line in fourth place, was promoted to silver while his teammate Walter Dix won another bronze after finishing third in the 100m.
■ATHLETICS
Marion Jones released
Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones was released on Friday from federal prison after completing most of her six-month sentence for lying about her steroid use. Jones left a halfway house in San Antonio at around 8am, said LaTanya Robinson, a community corrections manager for the federal Bureau of Prisons. Jones, who has a house in Austin, will remain on probation. The sprinter admitted last October that she used a designer steroid known as “the clear” from September 2000 to July 2001. The drug was linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab that became the center of a doping scandal that touched numerous professional athletes, including baseball star Barry Bonds. Her admission of drug use last year came after years of denials. In 2004, she sued the founder of BALCO for defamation after he said she used steroids. The lawsuit was settled the following year. Jones gave back the three gold medals and two bronze medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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