■BOXING
Mayweather scared: Pacman
Manny Pacquiao believes the biggest potential fight in boxing will never happen because Floyd Mayweather Jr wants no part of him. Pacquiao is training in Hollywood for his bout with Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14, but the pound-for-pound champion spared a moment on Thursday to consider his chances of fighting pay-per-view king Mayweather in what would be an extremely lucrative bout for both fighters. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Pacquiao said. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight.” Pacquiao said Mayweather treats boxing too much like a business and doesn’t care about entertainment value for his fans. Pacquiao, from the Philippines, is known for his crowd-pleasing style, while Mayweather is boxing’s most accomplished tactician.
■NASCAR
Driver charged with DUI
NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger was arrested on a charge of drunken driving on Thursday. Police in Mooresville, North Carolina, said Allmendinger failed a field sobriety test after he was pulled over. Allmendinger, who drives the No. 44 stock car for Richard Petty Motorsports, said in a statement he had drinks with dinner and made a mistake in driving afterward. “I honestly felt fine, but I obviously should have erred more on the side of caution, particularly given what I do for a living,” Allmendinger said. “It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that.” Team co-owner Richard Petty said in a statement: “I am deeply disappointed this has happened. A.J. has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will work to make this right.” Allmendinger is a major factor in RPM’s long-range plans, and team officials said Allmendinger was going to be moved into Petty’s famed No. 43 next season. Best Buy is expected to sponsor the car. It’s not clear how his arrest may affect that relationship. Petty routinely shunned alcohol sponsorship, and refused to allow his teams to participate in NASCAR’s second-tier series when it was sponsored by Busch.
■FORMULA ONE
Senna to drive for Campos
A racing official says Bruno Senna will drive next year for new Formula One team Campos. A Brazilian official involved in the negotiations said the 26-year-old nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna finalized a deal to race for the Spanish team last weekend. No other details were disclosed and the official asked on Thursday not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss the deal. Calls to Campos’ Madrid office were unanswered. Senna said during the Brazilian Grand Prix this month he was in talks with three teams, including Campos. It will be the first time in 15 years that the iconic Senna name will be back in F1. Before his death on the track in 1994, Ayrton Senna predicted his nephew would one day be an F1 star.
■CYCLING
ICU lashes out at France
The International Cycling Union has compiled a strongly worded response rebuffing claims by France’s anti-doping agency of lapses and favoritism in drug testing at this year’s Tour de France. The UCI’s report singles out agency president Pierre Bordry for particular criticism, calling him “mischievous and misinformed.” It also says that the team of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong was tested more than others, countering the French agency’s allegations that the American received preferential treatment. The UCI says Astana riders were subjected to 81 doping tests, or more than 10 percent of the total conducted for the three-week race.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
Real Madrid announced on Friday they had fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde 500,000 euros (US$588,000) each after a training ground clash that saw Valverde transported for medical care. The club did not impose any sporting sanctions on the two players, saying in a statement that the fine “thereby concludes the internal procedures” launched against them. Valverde is going to miss today’s Clasico against Barcelona as a result of the head injury he suffered during the altercation. The club said he would be out for up to two weeks. Tchouameni took part in training on Friday and could feature at Camp
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