■BASKETBALL
Yao sits out next season
Encouraged by progress in his recovery from major foot surgery, Yao Ming says he will return to action — just not next season. “The [X-ray] picture looks good. The bones heal well,” he said in an interview with Houston television station KRIV on Wednesday. He also said, however, that there was no chance that he will play in the 2009-2010 NBA season. “The answer is no. You don’t want to rush it, because they want it to totally heal this time. I have been in this situation enough,” he said. The 2.29m Chinese star underwent surgery in May to repair a hairline fracture in his left foot suffered late in a May 8 NBA playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The injury had raised questions, especially in China, about Yao’s playing future. This week, he said he expects his career will take on new life. “I am able to play again,” he said. However, there may be a change in the style of his play. “Obviously, I want to play basketball. This is my life right there,” he said. “But for long term, believe me for long term, I need to slow down.”
■BASEBALL
US win, Taiwan lose again
Terry Tiffee hit his fourth home run of the baseball World Cup as the US beat Cuba 5-3 in Rome on Thursday in a likely preview of this weekend’s final. The US stretched its winning streak to 12 games after opening the competition with a loss to Venezuela. Lucas Harrell earned the win, allowing only one hit over four innings, and Ehren Wasserman got the save, also allowing only one hit in 2-1/3 innings. Puerto Rico defeated Taiwan 8-2, while Venezuela beat Australia 9-4 and Canada downed the Netherlands 11-5.
■BOXING
Japan to get heavy again
Japan plans to reintroduce domestic heavyweight boxing rankings after a gap of 51 years. The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) will give tests to 10 applicants, including kickboxers and mixed martial arts fighters hoping to join the professional ranks from late November. “The heavyweight division existed in Japan, but there were insufficient boxers above super middleweight to sustain a ranking system,” the JBC’s Eiichiro Sameshima said yesterday. “We have had 10 applications for tests above the 75kg class [super middle].” JBC officials are also bringing in light heavyweight and cruiserweight rankings in a bid to boost the sport’s image in the country and generate more revenue.
■ATHLETICS
ASA chief to keep his job
Athletics South Africa (ASA) president Leonard Chuene will keep his job despite government calls for him to be fired for lying about gender tests made on runner Caster Semenya, SAPA news agency reported on Thursday. SAPA said the athletics federation’s board had decided to keep Chuene in his post at a meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding whether gender tests were conducted on Semenya before her world championship 800m victory last month. “The meeting unanimously expressed confidence in the current ASA leadership,” the agency quoted the federation as saying. Chuene said last week that Semenya had undergone tests before the world championships in Berlin, something he had previously denied. He said he had lied to protect the gold medalist’s privacy and said a team doctor had advised that she should be withdrawn from last month’s championships.
■SKIING
Miller rejoins US team
Three-time Olympian Bode Miller announced on Thursday that he is returning to the US ski team after a two-year solo adventure with mixed results. Miller, who battled injuries at the end of last season and pondered retirement, said he telephoned US ski team coach Sasha Rearick four weeks ago and asked to rejoin the team for the upcoming World Cup ski season. “I asked what is your program and how do I look like I can fit into that,” Miller said. “It didn’t take a lot of encouragement when I reached out to Sasha. Everyone on the team is on the same page and when you talk about important issues they are dealt with.” The two-time World Cup overall champion is also hoping to qualify for his fourth Winter Olympics, which begin in Vancouver in just over four months.
■SOCCER
Keeper moves goalposts
IFK Goteborg goalkeeper Kim Christensen could face a suspension or fine after moving the posts to make the goal slightly smaller during a Swedish first division match. Christensen was caught by TV cameras pushing the posts toward each other, moving the bottom parts inward by a few centimeters, before Thursday night’s game against Orebro. Referee Stefan Johannesson spotted that the posts had been moved about 20 minutes into the game and pushed them back into their original place. He was unsure, however, who had moved them and did not take any action against Christensen. The Danish goalkeeper later admitted that he had done the same thing before several previous games, when the same type of goal was used. The Swedish Football Association is investigating the incident. “I have never heard anything like this before, it’s unique,” the Swedish FA’s disciplinary committee chairman Kheneth Tallinger told daily Aftonbladet.
■SOCCER
Bellamy probe dropped
Police have dropped an investigation into a clash between Craig Bellamy and a fan who ran onto the pitch at last weekend’s explosive Manchester derby, a spokesman said on Thursday. The Manchester City player was warned by the Football Association after he responded to the fan by pushing him in the face on Sunday, while the police said they had launched a probe. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman, however, said on Thursday: “We have received no complaints about this incident and are currently not investigating the matter.” The fan involved will appear in court on Wednesday charged with going on to a playing area without lawful authority. Gary Neville, a non-playing Manchester United substitute, was also investigated for his actions in celebrating the home side’s winner by running down the touchline toward the City fans, but the FA have decided against charging either player with improper conduct.
■SOCCER
Burglars confront Jagielka
Everton defender Phil Jagielka was confronted by knife-wielding burglars, the latest Premier League star to fall victim to gangs raiding the homes of soccer’s super-rich. The 27-year-old, who is currently injured, was watching his team on TV on Wednesday when three men burst into the father-of-two’s plush home in Knutsford, northwest England. He was threatened with a knife and forced to hand over jewelry and the keys to his car. Last month, Blackburn Rovers midfielder Vince Grella was also held at knife-point when thieves smashed their way into his home in Wilmslow, also in Cheshire.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS