■BOXING
‘Human punchbag’ wins
Boxing’s biggest loser avoided a 257th defeat when Peter Buckley won his last bout on points against Matin Mohammed in Birmingham, England, on Friday. Fighting before his home fans, the 39-year-old super-featherweight took his tally of victories to 32 in his 300th pro fight with a 40-38 decision at the end of the four-round contest. Billed as the worst loser in boxing, Buckley has been fighting virtually once a week, and once lost 88 contests in a row. He also has 12 draws on his record, the last being against Mohammed on Oct. 5 in Nottingham. This was his first victory since a decision over Joel Viney in October 2003.
■BASEBALL
Boston keep Wakefield
Boston exercised an option on pitcher Tim Wakefield on Friday, keeping the veteran knuckleballer on for next season as fellow Red Sox pitchers Curt Schilling and Bartolo Colon filed for free agency. The 42-year-old is on a deal that gives Boston the option to renew his contract on an annual basis at US$4 million per year. In his 14th year with the Red Sox, he had a moderate record of 10 wins and 11 losses with an earned run average of 4.13. He is second in club history with 1,797 strikeouts and has 164 wins for Boston, 28 behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young, who share the team lead with 192. Wakefield struggled in the fourth game of the American League championship series, giving up three homers and five runs, lasting only 2-2/3 innings as Tampa Bay won 13-4.
■ICE HOCKEY
Valentenko suspended
The Montreal Canadiens suspended Pavel Valentenko without pay on Friday after he left the minor league Hamilton Bulldogs to sign a three-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. Valentenko was in the second year of a three-year, entry-level deal with the Canadiens but opted to sign with Dynamo at the urging of his family, the player’s Ottawa-based agent Rolland Hedges said. The Canadiens made no further comment, but an NHL spokesman said the league has raised the issue with the International Ice Hockey Federation. Valentenko will also need clearance from the Russian Hockey Federation before he can play for Dynamo in their Continental Hockey League, Hedges said. He said Valentenko did not want to return to Russia, but he supports his entire family on his ice hockey earnings and was unable to do that on an American Hockey League salary. The NHL was without an agreement with the Russian federation on player transfers and the two sides remain at odds over last summer’s signing of Nashville Predators forward Alexander Radulov to a three-year contract with Russian club Salavat Ufa.
■BASKETBALL
Celtics hold on to Rondo
Reigning NBA champion Boston exercised a contract option on Friday to keep point guard Rajon Rondo for a fourth season. The 22-year-old, who helped the Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in last season’s NBA Finals, will make about US$2.9 million in the 2009-2010 season. The campaign will be the option year of his contract. Rondo averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals last season, his second season with the Celtics. Against the Lakers in the best-of-seven championship series, Rondo scored 9.7 points and added 6.7 assists a game as the Celtics won in six games. Rondo scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and passed out five assists on Tuesday as the Celtics defeated Cleveland in their 2008-2009 season opener.
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
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