■SOCCER
One handed player debuts
Zaragoza striker Alejandro Sanchez Lopez over the weekend became the first one handed player to take part in a Spanish top flight match. “I am missing my fingers, I am not missing part of my arm, and for this reason I don’t have balance problems,” the 20-year-old, who was born with his disability, said. Lopez, a law student who has up until now played for Zaragoza’s B team, came on as a substitute for Angel Lafita during the 75th minute of his club’s 1-3 loss to Valencia on Sunday.
■BOXING
Pavlik to defend title
Kelly Pavlik, who has twice called off title fights due to an injured left hand, will climb back into the ring to defend his middlewight crown on Dec. 19 in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, where he will face fellow American Miguel Espino. Espino, 20-2, has won 11 fights in a row. Pavlik, 35-1 with 31 knockouts, has twice postponed World Boxing Council middleweight title defenses against Paul Williams, a US southpaw who is 37-1. But Pavlik will find his way back into the ring just two weeks after he had been scheduled to face Williams away from his home supporters. Williams replaced Pavlik for a Dec. 5 bout in Atlantic City with Argentina’s Sergio Martinez to end a one-year layoff but hopes to finally meet Pavlik for the title next year should both win next month. Pavlik has not fought since stopping Mexico’s Marco Antonio Rubio in February due to infection from the hand injury. That victory came after Pavlik suffered his only loss in October of last year, dropping a 12-round unanimous decision to Bernard Hopkins after moving up to 170 pounds (77kg) for a non-title bout.
■SOCCER
Fergie junior gets sack
Darren Ferguson, the son of Manchester United boss Sir Alex, was dismissed on Tuesday as manager of English Championship side Peterborough. The 37-year-old Ferguson junior guided the club to successive promotions since taking over at London Road in January 2007. But Saturday’s 3-1 defeat away to Newcastle, leaders of the second-tier Championship, the division below the lucrative English Premier League, left Peterborough bottom of the table with just two wins from 16 games.
■HORSE RACING
Star horse Azeri sold
Former US Horse of the Year Azeri brought US$2.25 million from Japanese businessman Shunsuke Yoshia in the opening session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale on Tuesday. Yoshia purchased the 11-year-old mare in foal to Distorted Humor on behalf of his family’s Japan-based Northern Farm. John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm consigned Azeri on behalf of the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust, who campaigned her to a 17-win record from 24 lifetime starts and earnings of more than US$4 million. Azeri earned US Horse of the Year honors in 2002.
■SOCCER
Injury rules out Johnson
Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson has withdrawn from the England squad to play Brazil in Qatar on Saturday, the Football Association announced on Tuesday. Johnson did not train with the rest of the England squad on Tuesday after playing in Monday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Birmingham City. During a standard recovery session on Tuesday it was discovered that Johnson, who played for the full 90 minutes at Anfield, had suffered a slight injury. Johnson’s exit leaves Wes Brown as the only right-back still in the squad.
■GOLF
Faldo receives knighthood
Six-time major winner Nick Faldo received a knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday, describing the honor as beyond his boyhood dreams. “I was so delighted my family were there to see that,” the 52-year-old said after the Windsor Castle ceremony. “It was quite an incredible experience.” Faldo, England’s most successful golfer, won the British Open three times and the US Masters three times between 1987 and 1996 and played in 11 Ryder Cups. Faldo, who captained Europe’s defeated Ryder Cup team last year, is the second golfer to be knighted after Henry Cotton was awarded the honor posthumously in 1987.
■CYCLING
Sagasti found dead at 39
Agustin Sagasti, a former Spanish rider who successfully sued the organizers of a race following an accident that ended his career, has been found dead in his home, Mungia, Spain, the Basque cycling federation said. He was 39. Sagasti’s career was cut short in June 1994 after colliding with a car during the Tour of Valles Mineros, leaving him in a coma with severe injuries. He never raced again but won a payout worth more than US$500,000 after organizers were judged to have failed to control traffic. Sagasti was coach from 1996 to 2000 of the Basque federation, which confirmed his death on Monday.
■BASKETBALL
Shaq, wife splitting up
Shaquille O’Neal’s wife is splitting from the Cleveland Cavaliers center. Va’Shaundya O’Neal filed for legal separation with intent to divorce on Monday in Los Angeles. She cited irreconcilable differences. She is seeking spousal and child support and full legal custody of the couple’s four children. No monetary amounts were listed in the court filing. “Obviously, this is a difficult time for our family, and we request that the media respect our privacy,” Shaquille O’Neal said in a statement released by the team late on Tuesday. “I will continue to focus on being there for our children and I am confident that Shaunie will do the same.” The O’Neals were married for six years, 11 months.
■BASKETBALL
Police cleared in fan death
An independent investigation of the death of a Boston Celtics fan who stopped breathing while in police custody found that officers acted “reasonably” and did not contribute to the man’s death, but also concluded that police made “any number of missteps” during the arrest. A report released by former US Attorney Donald Stern on Tuesday accepted the findings of the Massachusetts state medical examiner — which concluded that David Woodman’s death was brought on by a heart arrhythmia that was the result of a pre-existing heart condition — and cleared police of any wrongdoing. But Woodman’s parents, Cathy and Jeff Woodman, said they did not accept the report’s findings and believe that police lied about what happened during their son’s arrest. During a news conference in their lawyer’s office, the Woodmans said Stern’s report does not mention their son’s injuries, as documented by the medical examiner, including seven abrasions or bruises on his face, a laceration of his lip, a bruise on his right arm and a cut under his chin.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
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