■HORSE RACING
Jockey fined for Hitler jibe
Irish jockey John Egan was fined A$8,000 (US$5,370) yesterday for describing Australian veterinary surgeons as a “couple of tin pot Hitlers.” Egan made the remark at the weekend after vets ordered his mount Yellowstone to undergo an additional fitness test before being allowed to run in today’s Melbourne Cup. Yellowstone injured his hip in his stall last week and was eventually scratched on the eve of the race on vet’s advice. Australian racing stewards took a dim view of Egan’s remarks, charging him with bringing the sport into disrepute. Egan pleaded guilty to the offense but said his remarks were not aimed at the vets. Racing Appeals Disciplinary Board chairman Russell Lewis described Egan as an unreliable witness whose comments were reprehensible.
■SOCCER
‘Spider Hands’ returns
A year after being banned from the national team for a late-night drinking session during the Asian Cup, veteran South Korea goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae has been called up to the squad for a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia. Coach Huh Jung-moo included Lee in his 25-man squad for the Nov. 19 game in Riyadh. Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung, AS Monaco striker Park Chu-young and Borussia Dortmund defender Lee Young-pyo were also called up to the squad announced yesterday. Goalkeeper Lee was axed from the national team last year after he and three other players left the team hotel to go drinking following Korea’s shock 2-1 loss to Bahrain in the Asian Cup in Jakarta. The 35-year-old, nicknamed “Spider Hands,” was also ordered to serve 80 hours of public service and his international career looked over after the Korea Football Association said the episode had tarnished the reputation of Korean soccer.
■SOCCER
Obama defeated
A local soccer team christened Obama FC were beaten 1-0 in a tournament held in western Kenya on the weekend. The Obama Big Day Soccer Tournament was organized by Barack Obama’s step-brother Malik Obama in anticipation of the senator’s victory in today’s US presidential elections. Obama FC goalkeeper Boaz Okelo blamed a player in the opposing team of leaking to his team mates that he had an elbow injury, which they exploited in a penalty shoot out after the match ended in a draw after regular time. “The other players were kicking the ball towards my injured elbow,” Okelo said on Sunday, a day after Obama FC were eliminated in the knock-out stages of the tournament. Originally called Kogelo FC — named after the village of Obama’s Kenyan father — the team changed its name to Obama FC in 2004 when the Democrat first made headlines after giving an electrifying speech at the Democratic Party convention.
■SOCCER
Bolton climb from drop zone
Bolton scored twice in the last 13 minutes on Sunday to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-0 win over visiting Manchester City. Substitute Ricardo Gardner met a cross from the right for his first league goal since December 2002. City captain Richard Dunne then capped a poor performance by his side when he scored an own goal in the 88th minute. “It’s very important for us,” Gardner said. “We can gain confidence from this and we can do even better in our next game than we did today. It’s been a long time, but I’m just glad for the lads. We thoroughly deserved it.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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