Fri, Aug 07, 2009 page19

• Sports Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■SOCCER

  Canales nets late equalizer

  Gustavo Canales scored a last-minute equalizer to give Union Espanola of Chile a 2-2 away draw with La Equidad of Colombia in the Copa Sudamericana preliminary round on Wednesday. Franco Mendoza also scored in extra-time to give Emelec of Ecuador a 1-0 away win over Zamora of Venezuela in the day’s other preliminary-round fixture. The return legs of both matches will be played in three weeks. Canales opened the scoring for Union Espanola in the fourth minute, applying the final touch as Miguel Aceval’s free-kick ricocheted inside the area. La Equidad drew level when Ariel Carreno bundled home a 54th-minute corner and took the lead when Union defender Sebastian Miranda diverted into his own net from Wilson Carpintero’s cross in the 80th minute. Canales seized on a defensive lapse in the third minute of injury-time to ensure the draw. In Venezuela, substitute Mendoza headed home from a corner in the final minute to give the Ecuadorian club a valuable away victory.

  ■FOOTBALL

  Eli Manning agrees to deal

  New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has agreed to a six-year, US$97 million contract extension, making him the NFL’s highest-paid player. A person close to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been signed or announced, said Manning would be paid about US$15.3 million in annual salary to the end of the 2015 season. The deal means he will now be paid more than his older brother and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who receives an average US$14.2 million annually.

  ■ICE HOCKEY

  Teppo Numminen retires

  Veteran defenseman Teppo Numminen will retire after 20 seasons in the NHL. The 41-year-old Finn was an unrestricted free agent after playing the last four seasons in Buffalo. He also had stops in Winnipeg, Phoenix and Dallas during his career. He made the announcement on Wednesday, saying “playing hockey in the NHL and also for my country, Finland, was very enjoyable.” The three-time All-Star had 17 points in 57 games for the Sabres last season. In 1,372 career games, he recorded 117 goals and had 520 assists.

  ■CYCLING

  Hagen wins in Rzeszow

  Norwegian ace Edvald Boasson Hagen of the Columbia team won the fourth stage of the Tour of Poland on Wednesday after outshining teammate Andre Greipel in a sprint finish. Greipel, wearing the race leader’s jersey, finished second on the 239.7km stage from Naleczow to Rzeszow, but was later disqualified by race officials after an incident with another rider, believed to be Australia’s Allan Davis. It meant Belgium’s Jurgen Roelandts and Italy’s Danilo Napolitano were credited with second and third place finishes, meaning Roelandts was the new race leader. Roelandts leads Slovakia’s Borut Boziuc and a handful of other riders, including Greipel, by two seconds.

  ■RUGBY UNION

  Giteau family to celebrate

  The Giteau family will celebrate a unique double tomorrow when brother and sister Matt and Kristy both represent Australia. Matt will turn out for the Wallabies in their Tri-Nations match against South Africa in Cape Town, while his older sister Kristy will play for the national women’s team in a World Cup qualifier in Samoa. While Matt has been a regular in the since 2002, Kristy will be making her debut for the Wallaroos, although she has already represented her country at rugby league.
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