■BASEBALL
Torre criticizes A-Rod
Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre is scathingly critical of superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez and general manager Brian Cashman in his new book called The Yankee Years. The New York Post reports that Torre claims in the book that Rodriguez’s teammates dubbed him “A-Fraud” after the three-time Most Valuable Player developed an obsession with Yankees captain Derek Jeter. Torre also claims that Rodriguez asked for a personal clubhouse attendant to run errands for him. Torre, who became manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers after an acrimonious split with the Yankees, was also critical of Cashman, saying the general manager never told the team’s ownership that Torre wanted a two-year contract.
■SOCCER
Broken net causes confusion
A Brazilian match was held up for nearly 10 minutes due to confusion over a broken net. Trouble started in the second half of Saturday’s Rio de Janeiro state championship match between Boavista and Botafogo when a header from Botafogo striker Alessandro ended up in the net. A goal was given but television replays clearly showed the ball had hit the ground wide of the goal and bounced in through a hole in the side. Boavista players protested but, after several minutes of consultations, the referee again pointed to the center circle. The protests continued, the referee and linesman consulted again for another three minutes and the goal was eventually confirmed for a second time. As Boavista players refused to re-start the game, there were more deliberations and the referee finally back-tracked and awarded a goal kick.
■RUGBY UNION
All Black hero turns Aussie
The All Blacks and New Zealand suffered a shock loss yesterday when the only All Blacks skipper to hoist the rugby World Cup switched teams and became an Australian. David Kirk, who led the All Blacks to victory in the inaugural 1987 World Cup final, became Australia’s newest citizen in a ceremony aptly held on Australia Day. “We’ve lived here as a family for 10 years. My children have grown up here, particularly the younger one, and it just seemed like the right time,” he told Television Three News. But Kirk said his heart still belonged to New Zealand and he would hold dual citizenship: “I grew up in New Zealand. My heart, my emotion, my commitment of course is to New Zealand.” Kirk also confirmed he would always back the All Blacks over the Wallabies. “Of course I’m an All Blacks supporter. I’m a massive All Blacks supporter and it’s the All Blacks all the way,” he said.
■CRICKET
Afghanistan bounce back
Afghanistan recovered from their first day defeat to Uganda to beat Hong Kong by 13 runs on Sunday to get their World Cricket League Division Three campaign back on track and keep their hopes of reaching April’s 2011 World Cup qualifier alive. Hong Kong were reduced to 90-8 as they chased a 202-run victory target but came close to an unlikely win with a ninth-wicket stand of 62 and 36 for the final wicket. None of Hong Kong’s top eight batsmen got beyond 20 but some late-order hitting from Moner Ahmed, who scored 49 off 38 balls, including three consecutive sixes off Mohammad Nabi, threatened a dramatic finish. No. 11 Nadeem Ahmed then scored 27 off 18 balls, only to be dismissed by Nabi when a top-edged hook was caught on the boundary by Mawais Naziri.
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
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
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
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