■ BRAZIL
Ronaldo back in training
Ronaldo trained for the first time with Corinthians on Friday, a fortnight after signing a one-year contract with Brazil’s most popular club. The 32-year-old Ronaldo, trying to come back from a major knee injury this year, did not take to the field with the other players. Instead, he worked out for several hours inside the team’s gym — out of sight from the nearly 500 fans who hoped to see him practice outside. The three-time world player of the year showed up at the gym without the team’s kit, but when he saw the army of photographers awaiting him, he retreated back into the dressing room to re-emerge minutes later, wearing the kit. Ronaldo ruptured a tendon in his left knee while playing for AC Milan in February, the third major knee injury of his career. This month he signed a one-year deal with Corinthians with a one-year option and an opt-out clause for any time. Corinthians’ first game of the new season is not until Jan. 21 at home against Barueri.
■ENGLAND
Forest fire Calderwood
Nottingham Forest fired manager Colin Calderwood on Friday after a 4-2 loss against Doncaster Rovers left the former European champions in the relegation zone of the second-tier League Championship. Forest are 22nd in the 24-team league after winning just four games since being promoted from the third-tier League One. “We’re in a results business and it’s imperative that the club stays in the Championship,” chief executive Mark Arthur said. “We need to give ourselves every opportunity to do that.” Forest hired Calderwood, a former Scotland defender, in May 2006 after he guided Northampton out of League Two. Brian Clough led Forest to European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980.
■BRAZIL
FIFA agree to more venues
FIFA has agreed to increase from 10 to 12 the number of Brazilian cities that will host the 2014 World Cup, a spokesman for the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Friday. The confederation convinced the executive committee of soccer’s world governing body to increase the number because Brazil is such a big country, the spokesman said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. The O Globo newspaper reported that five of the 18 potential host cities will definitely stage World Cup games — Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Porto Alegre. The northeastern cities of Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador and Curitiba in the south are “almost certain” sites, the newspaper said, adding that the remaining three cities will be chosen from Manaus, Belem, Cuiaba, Goiania, Campo Grande and Florianpolis.
■SPAIN
Real to appeal to UEFA
Real Madrid will appeal to UEFA against its rule that means only one of the team’s new signings — France midfielder Lassana Diarra and Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar — is eligible to play in the Champions League. UEFA rules state that teams can sign three new players up until Feb. 1, but that only one who has played European soccer that season can play in the Champions League for his new club. Diarra and Huntelaar played in this season’s UEFA Cup for Portsmouth and Ajax, respectively. Madrid said in a statement on Friday that it had “another interpretation” of the rules, claiming they were designed to stop players changing teams within a competition and that they don’t apply in this case because Diarra and Huntelaar played in the UEFA Cup.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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