Sun, May 02, 2010 page19

• Sport Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■SOCCER

  Barca to choose new head

  Barcelona says its membership will vote for president Joan Laporta’s replacement on June 13. Barcelona says candidates can register for the June 4 to June 11 election campaign between May 25 and June 1 if they collect at least 2,095 signatures. Laporta, who has been president since 2003, leaves the Spanish champions having presided over one of the most successful periods in the Catalan club’s history. Barcelona is one of the richest clubs in the world on the back of two Champions League titles, three Spanish league crowns and a Copa Del Rey. Coach Pep Guardiola said he would not commit to the club for next year until knowing who the new president would be. Guardiola led Barcelona to six major trophies last year.

  ■SOCCER

  Brazil is best team: Mueller

  Former Germany great Gerd Mueller says Brazil is the favorite to win the World Cup, adding that his own country doesn’t have a good team. Mueller, one of the heroes of Germany’s 1974 World Cup triumph at home, says Germany coach Joachim Loew is being stubborn for still not picking Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi for the World Cup. Mueller says “as long as he [Loew] is stubborn, we won’t have the best [Germany] team. He [Kuranyi] is the man scoring goals right now. Loew has said he will consider Kuranyi’s return after kicking the striker off the team for disciplinary reasons in October 2008. Asked to name a World Cup favorite, the 64-year-old Mueller says “Brazil.”

  ■BOXING

  Montiel eyes title bouts

  Mexico’s Fernando Montiel is eying off a bout against the likes of Nonito Donaire or Vic Darchinyan after claiming the WBC bantamweight title. Montiel claimed the belt with a surprise fourth-round TKO defeat of Hozumi Hasegawa in front of the Japanese fighter’s home fans in Tokyo on Friday. A bout with either Filipino Donaire or Australia-based Armenian Darchinyan would require either them moving up from super flyweight or Montiel going back down to that level where he formerly held the WBO title. The Mexican staggered Hasegawa with a series of punches at Nippon Budokan and the referee stopped the bout at two minutes, 59 seconds in the fourth round.

  ■SOCCER

  No action against Fulham

  The Premier League has announced it will take no action against Fulham for fielding a below-strength lineup against relegation-threatened Hull. West Ham, which was also threatened by relegation, complained that Fulham rested five key players for the March 27 game that came ahead of its Europa League match at home to Wolfsburg. Fulham, which reached the Europa League final on Thursday, lost that domestic league game 2-0. The Premier League issued a statement on Friday saying that it had heard from Fulham and decided there had been no breach of its rules. Hull is now six points behind West Ham and with two games to play and a hugely inferior goal difference.

  ■SOCCER

  Valeron signs contract

  Deportivo La Coruna has signed Juan Carlos Valeron to a five-year contract extension that will see the former Spain midfielder eventually move into the front office. Deportivo says the 34-year-old Valeron will play for the Spanish club at least next season before evaluating whether to continue his career.

  ■SOCCER

  S Korean striker may return

  South Korea striker Ahn Jung-hwan, whose golden goal knocked Italy out of the 2002 World Cup, could be set for a dramatic World Cup return after making a provisional 30-man squad for the South Africa finals. The China-based forward, who played his last game for South Korea in a World Cup qualifier two years ago, was named by coach Huh Jung-moo for a May 16 home friendly with Ecuador. Ahn, South Korea’s answer to David Beckham, cemented his place as a national idol during South Korea’s barnstorming run to the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup and also found the net at the 2006 finals in Germany.

  ■BASEBALL

  Arizona boycott urged

  Major League Baseball chiefs were urged to strip Arizona of next year’s All-Star game on Friday in protest at the state’s tough new immigration law. San Francisco city officials called on MLB commissioner Bud Selig to move next year’s mid-season extravaganza to a different state. Arizona’s law, which makes it a crime to lack proper immigration papers and requires police to determine whether people are in the US legally, has triggered calls for an economic boycott of the southwestern state. Now baseball has entered the debate, with San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera and supervisor David Campos lobbying Selig in an open letter.

  ■ATHLETICS

  Swimming not doing enough

  As USA Swimming gets set to discuss a new plan to deal with a rash of sexual abuse cases, a former vice president says the governing body has dragged its feet for years and still isn’t doing enough to prevent coaches from having improper contact with athletes. Mike Saltzstein, a vice president at USA Swimming from 2000 to 2006, wrote a letter to the organization recommending what he says are six decisive steps to deal with a culture that makes it easier for abuse to occur. Saltzstein says the seven-point plan that USA Swimming unveiled last week doesn’t address the problem.

  ■MOTOGP

  Stoner dominates practice

  Australia’s Casey Stoner, desperate to make up for his crash at the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix, dominated practice on Friday for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain. The Ducati rider clocked one minute, 39:731 seconds, to edge Spain’s Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden of the US in third place, 0.417 seconds off the pace. World champion Valentino Rossi, who injured his shoulder in a motocross accident recently, was in fifth place on his Yamaha at 0.628 seconds behind old rival Stoner. The Australian rider had also set the fastest time in Qatar and then went on to take pole position, but he crashed out on the fifth lap.

  ■BASEBALL

  Phillies lose Ryan Madson

  The Philadelphia Phillies lost reliever Ryan Madson to injury, but welcomed back closer Brad Lidge from the disabled list, the team said on Friday. Madson, 1-0 with four saves this season, was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken right big toe sustained after Wednesday’s game, the National League champions said without providing any other detail. Helping to ease the loss of Madson was the return of Lidge, who joined the club after off-season elbow and knee surgeries. Philadelphia recalled reliever Antonio Bastardo from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace Madson on the roster.
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