■BOXING
Johnny Tapia jailed again
Former five-time world champion boxer Johnny Tapia has been jailed in New Mexico again, this time for reportedly failing a drug test. A spokeswoman for Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Detention Center said Tapia’s urine tested positive for cocaine and he was returned to jail on Thursday. Tapia was undergoing the test as part of the conditions of his release into a community custody program rather than remaining behind bars on a probation violation. The 43-year-old Tapia has a career record of 57-5-2 with 29 KOs. He returned to the ring for the first time in three years with a fourth-round technical knockout over Carlos “El Gallo” Sanchez on March 7 at the Ohkay Casino. Tapia was jailed in July last year for leaving town, which violated the terms of his probation.
■GOLF
Teen qualifies for Open
Chinese teenager Zhang Jin successfully battled the Beijing winds to top northern qualifying for the US$2.6 million China Open by a stunning eight shots. At 14 years and five months, the Beijing amateur is likely to be the youngest player in the field at the European Tour and OneAsia-sanctioned event at the Jinji Lake International Golf Club in Suzhou from April 15 to April 18. Zhang braved high winds to shoot a second-round 77 on Friday to add to his 76 on the first day of qualifying at Beijing’s Honghua Golf Club, which hosted the 2006 China Open.
■RUGBY UNION
Rebels sign Cordingley
Former Australia scrumhalf Sam Cordingley has signed to play for rugby expansion franchise Melbourne Rebels in the revamped Super 15 next year. The Rebels have also signed former Western Force and New South Wales Waratahs back rower Tim Davidson and 21-year-old outside back Peter Betham, formerly of the ACT Brumbies. The trio join a Rebels squad that includes former Australia captain Stirling Mortlock and England flyhalf Danny Cipriani. “After speaking with [coach] Rod Macqueen and [CEO] Brian Waldron about their ideas for taking the club forward, it became a quick decision to join,” 22-test Wallaby Cordingley said in a statement yesterday. The 34-year-old made his Super rugby debut with the ACT Brumbies in 1998 and has had stints with the Queensland Reds, Welsh club Swansea and French second division side Grenoble, where he has played the last two seasons.
■CYCLING
Zirbel positive for doping
Cyclist Tom Zirbel has been suspended for two years after testing positive for testosterone at the US Pro Road Championships last August, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Friday. Zirbel, 31, finished second to David Zabriskie in the individual time trial at the championships, held in Greenville, South Carolina. But his urine sample was positive for testosterone or its precursors, banned as an anabolic steroid. Zirbel, who has denied doping, said in a blog in February that he was “walking away” from the sport rather than pursue an aggressive fight against the charge. USADA said that Zirbel “accepted a two-year period of ineligibility which began on November 17 last year, the day he accepted a provisional suspension.” Zirbel’s results achieved at and subsequent to the meeting are forfeited. In his blog on Friday, Zirbel wrote that he accepted the sanction in order to “gain a little credibility with USADA,” but indicated he still didn’t know how the positive result came about. “Even when my friends and family know that I am not a cheat, it still hurts to write this and it really hurt to send that fax today,” he wrote.
■FOOTBALL
Eagles make five-player deal
The Philadelphia Eagles have traded cornerback Sheldon Brown and linebacker Chris Gocong to the Cleveland Browns for linebacker Alex Hall in a five-player deal. Philadelphia will also receive Cleveland’s fourth-round and fifth-round picks in this year’s NFL draft. Brown, taken in the second round of the 2002 draft, spent eight seasons in Philadelphia where he recorded 433 tackles and 19 interceptions including three that were returned for touchdowns. According to media reports he was unhappy with his Eagles contract. Gocong, who spent three seasons with Philadelphia, had 44 tackles and one sack in 15 games last year. Hall, Cleveland’s seventh-round selection in 2008, appeared in 30 games for the Browns and recorded 30 tackles and three sacks.
■MOTORSPORTS
Team USF1 shuts down
Prospective Formula One team USF1 has shut down operations, according to a newspaper report citing team boss Ken Anderson. USF1, backed by YouTube founder Chad Hurley, was granted an entry for the 2010 season but was forced to pull out as it was not able to develop its cars in time, amid reports of the withdrawal of a key sponsor. The team had hoped to reapply for a 2011 entry, but a report on the **Charlotte Business Journal**’s Web site said Anderson had sent an e-mail to team staff notifying them that operations were being shut down, citing “serious economic and funding challenges.” The newspaper said the e-mail told workers they may be rehired if there was a turnaround in business conditions.
■BASKETBALL
Garnett fined for cursing
The NBA fined Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett US$25,000 on Friday for criticizing officials and using inappropriate language in a post-game news conference. The league said in a statement that the player had been fined for his behavior after a 109-104 defeat by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Garnett, who helped the Celtics to their 17th NBA title in 2008, used an expletive as he expressed concern at the number of free throws awarded to Oklahoma’s Kevin Durant.
■BASKETBALL
Bryant inks extension
Kobe Bryant is staying with the LA Lakers for another three years. The deal, announced Friday, will begin after next season. Bryant is making US$23 million this season and is due to earn US$24.8 million next season. Bryant would earn US$27.4 million in 2011-12, US$30.2 million the following season and more than US$32 million in his final year, when he would be 35. The deal means the Lakers achieved two main objectives going into the season — signing Bryant and forward Pau Gasol to extensions. “We were able to accomplish those goals, helping to keep the core of this team intact for the foreseeable future and in turn help to ensure the franchise’s continued success over the years to come,” Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said on Friday.
■HOCKEY
Armstrong suspended
Atlanta Thrashers forward Colby Armstrong was suspended for two games after elbowing Washington’s Mathieu Perreault in the head, the NHL said on Friday. Armstrong was not assessed a penalty for the hit, which occurred in the second period of the Thrashers’ 2-1 loss on Thursday. Perreault was injured on the play but returned later in the game.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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