Thu, Jan 21, 2010 page19

• Sports Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■SOCCER

  Olympiakos fire Zico

  Defending champion Olympiakos has fired Brazilian coach Zico following poor results in the Greek league. Two losses in a row and a goalless draw at Kavala has helped rival Panathinaikos extend its lead from two to seven points. After 18 of 30 rounds, Panathinaikos has 47 points against 40 for Olympiakos. Olympiakos said on its Web site on Tuesday that it named former player Bozidar Bandovic as new coach. Zico has been at Olympiakos since September. He replaced Temuri Ketsbaia, who was fired after 85 days in charge — also for poor results. Olympiakos reached the round of 16 in the Champions League and hosts French club Bordeaux in the first leg on Feb. 23.

  ■SOCCER

  Gorosito to coach Xerez

  Struggling Xerez, who are bottom of La Liga in their first season in Spain’s top flight and in administration, have appointed Argentine Nestor Raul Gorosito as coach until the end of the season, the club said on Tuesday. Gorosito replaces Jose Angel Ziganda, who was sacked last week. The Andalusians are six points adrift at the bottom of the standings with only one win and seven goals scored in 18 games this term. “The sporting reality is not good but we hope to achieve our goals,” Gorosito said at a news conference. “I know the situation of the club but we are confident that with hard work we can change things around.”

  ■SOCCER

  Fifteen charged with murder

  Serbian authorities charged 15 people with the premeditated murder of a French soccer fan in Belgrade in September, the state prosecutor said on Tuesday. Brice Taton, 28, sustained multiple head and chest injuries when Partizan Belgrade fans attacked him with iron bars and baseball bats on Sept. 17 before a Europa League match against Toulouse. He died 12 days later despite several operations. “The group mercilessly attacked Taton, fully aware of the severity and illegality of their act,” a statement issued by the Serbian State Prosecutor’s office said. If convicted, the defendants face up to 40 years in prison, the maximum sentence under Serbian law. Police have arrested 13 suspects, including one they consider the main perpetrator of the attack on Taton in front of a central Belgrade bar. Two suspects remain at large. The death of the French soccer fan prompted President Boris Tadic and the government to launch a campaign to root out violence in sport as well as racist attacks and those on foreigners and minority groups such as Roma or homosexuals.

  ■BADMINTON

  Hidayat to set up school

  Indonesia’s former world champion Taufik Hidayat will set up a badminton school in Jakarta to unearth fresh talent in his country, Malaysian media reported on Tuesday. The Taufik Hidayat Arena will take shape next year, the Star reported on Tuesday, quoting the world No. 3, who is playing in the Malaysian Open. Hidayat told the paper that his decision was prompted by a lack of international success by the younger players of his country. “I do not know what is preventing them from bursting on to the international stage,” he said. “But I think it is the same phenomenon in Malaysia. Talent are just hard to come by nowadays.” Hidayat will be assisted by his long-serving coach Mulyo Handoyo in the project. “I hope to identify players between the ages of 10 and 12 to be groomed to become world beaters,” he said. “This will take some time and I will probably be able to see new stars between the next seven and 10 years.”

  ■BASEBALL

  Dodgers retain Kuo

  Kuo Hong-chih, a 28-year-old left-handed relief pitcher from Taiwan, was among four players agreeing to one-year deals on Tuesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Major League Baseball club said. Kuo went 0-2 with a 3.00 earned-run average last season for the Dodgers, striking out 32 batters while surrendering 10 runs on 21 hits and 13 walks in 30 innings over 35 games. Kuo, 9-13 in five seasons with the Dodgers, made US$437,000 last year but will take home US$937,000 for this year’s season. Under incentive bonuses, Kuo would make US$25,000 more for reaching 55 and 60 appearances and an extra US$50,000 for pitching in 65 or 70 games. His most career appearances in a major league season, 42, came in 2008. The Dodgers also agreed to terms with first baseman James Loney, catcher Russell Martin and relief pitcher George Sherrill. Sherrill will be paid US$4.5 million, with Loney taking home US$3.1 million next season.

  ■GOLF

  Taipei to host tourney

  The Asian Tour yesterday announced a new tournament, the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship, to be held in Taipei later this year. A three-year agreement was reached, with the event being played from Sept. 16 to Sept. 19. It will be the second Asian Tour tournament in Taiwan, with the Mercuries Taiwan Masters an established date on the calendar. “We are delighted to return to Taiwan for the staging of our second event here,” Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said. “Taiwan has a very strong golfing culture due to its long history in the game and the Asian Tour is always ready to support it by providing our players with the opportunities to grow and develop their games.” The tournament will offer US$300,000 in prizemoney and be played at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club. The Asian Tour, which is battling the emergence of the rival OneAsia Tour, will host at least 28 tournaments this year with the season getting underway at the Asian Tour International in Bangkok from Feb. 4 to Feb. 7.

  ■BASKETBALL

  Hawks’ protest denied

  NBA commissioner David Stern denied the Atlanta Hawks’ protest of a 106-101 loss to Cleveland three weeks ago because of a shot clock operator’s error, the league announced on Tuesday. In their complaint, the Hawks said the shot clock operator failed to re-set the 24-second shot clock after a defensive rebound by Atlanta with 1:57 to play in the fourth quarter, warranting a replay of the game from that point. Stern ruled the shot clock mistake did not have a clear impact on the outcome and as a result did not justify the extraordinary remedy of overturning the result of the Dec. 30 game.

  ■FOOTBALL

  Gailey to coach Bills

  Chan Gailey, who has not guided an NFL team in 10 years, was hired on Tuesday as coach of the Buffalo Bills, a team that has missed the NFL playoffs for 10 years in a row. The Bills, who lost four Super Bowls in a row from 1991 through 1994, went 6-10 this season and fired Dick Jauron in November. Gailey is the fifth coach for the Bills since Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy retired after the 1997 season. “I understand the challenge ahead of us, to get the Buffalo Bills back to being a winning franchise on a consistent basis,” Gailey said. “I have, through the years, come to know what it takes to build a winning organization. It’s going to take a lot of hard work.”
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